It started with a passing-by conversation at lunch, the kind had hundreds of times a day that go nowhere. But when Trevor Rosen and his pal ran into Ty Hauter, CEO of Good Time Design, at his restaurant in Franklin, TN, the keyboard/accordion/utility player/songwriter remembered how much fun the band had almost a decade earlier playing Hauter’s Moonshine Flats and Moonshine Beach in San Diego.
One thing led to another, conversations turned to drawings, designs and memories of when Rosen, lead singer/guitarist Matthew Ramsey, guitarist/vocalist Brad Tursi would finish writing and get lost in one of the holes in the wall around Music Row. It was before the torrential tourist landslide that transformed Lower Broadway, back when writers and players would run into each other in local haunts.
It needed to be authentic, something that felt like who they were when they were loading up the van with a wicked rhythm section of bassist Geoff Sprung and drummer Whit Sellers: a place where people could swap songs, jam with friends and have a low-key hang. Having left their lyrics on the wall of Moonshine Flatts, the band knew that Hauter and his team understood the heart of people who create – and the fun that comes from that kind of spontaneous fun.
“We didn’t quite know what it was,” Rosen says, “but we also knew what we were missing. The more we talked, the more we realized we wanted a bar like the places we went to when we were just having our first cuts, hanging out with other writers.”
When 1919 Division – longtime location of the beloved ReBar– came into the equation, all the pieces fell into place. For the good-time band of songwriters and players, that address was in the vortex that included the Red Door, as well as neighboring Losers and Winners. If there was a zone that embodied the creative spirit of early 21st century Music Row, this was it.
“And we wanted it to be a place where a group of songwriters who might have a band could play,” continues Rosen, “or someone starting out might be able to be part of a writers thing and get heard. You know, pay it forward because all these years later, we know it works. That’s much better than just a temple to who we think we are.”
With plans to open this summer, Odie’s lives up to OD’s No Bad Vibes appeal. Set away from the tourist frenzy, the singular concept is also about being a great place to grab a drink whether you’re in the music business, looking to just hang with your friends after work or meet some people who love music.
For the band who lives to play, Odie’s (re)creates something they all love. With Hauter, who understands giving bands a place to come into their own, bring the songs into the world and to the people, at the helm, that organic feel is a cornerstone of what this bar will be, as well as what sets it apart.
Odie’s is expected to open summer 2024.
Had better comply with ADA or you’ll have to add it later. Seeing that there is no Handicap entrance.