Jim Odom joined forces with LeRoux
in 1981 for the RCA Records release of So Fired Up. Born
July 14th, 1961 in Baton Rouge, LA, Jim began his musical career
at an early age. He played in several succesful Rock and Roll
bands in the late '70s before accepting a scholarship from Downbeat
Magazine to attend the prestigous Berklee College of Music in
Boston.
Following a successful stint in
the Boston music scene, Jim returned to Louisiana and formed
the popular local band Asia. During recording sessions
with that band, Jim became good friends with LeRoux drummer
David Peters.
When LeRoux found itself needing
to replace the omni-talented Jeff Pollard, David recommended
Odom. The So Fired Up sessions were complemented by Jim's
intense guitar technique. He also co-wrote three of the ten
songs on that album.
Following the breakup of LeRoux
in 1983, Odom formed the group Network with the then-Kansas
band touring vocalist Terry Brock. Brock and Odom wrote
many fantastic songs together, including the National Lampoon's
European Vacation movie closing track "Back In America."
While playing, writing, and touring
were Jim's passion, he also began producing and engineering
music for many bands in Southeast. His engineering efforts produced
Gold and Platinum sales awards and work in many studios such
as Criteria Studios in Miami, The Village in Los Angeles, and
Studio in the Country in Louisiana.
Jim is presently the founder and
president of
PreSonus Audio,
a global manufacturing company that designs and develops recording
products for musicians. PreSonus is now a premier brand in the
recording products industry with distribution to over 50 countries
worldwide. Jim's designs can be found in the US at Sweetwater
Sound, the Guitar Center retail chain, the Sam Ash retail chain,
and over 1,000 independent musical instrument retailers.
