Taken From the High Plains Reader, Fargo ND.

When I was asked to write an article on Oddball Protocol my response was the same as yours. Oddball who? But after I listened to them I knew why the world had to be informed of their existence. These guys are GOOD!

A band of four, Oddball Protocol have enough energy to get even the laziest crowd off there butts and onto the dance floor. Having been referred to as having the sound of Umphreys McGee, Phish and moe. OBP has also been said to sound like The Allman Brothers Band had a bastard child with Iron Maiden.. When asked what OBP thinks they sound like they said, "We hope we just sound like Oddball Protocol, and that people will hear us and remember our sound as an original idea, instead of just another jamband clone."

With all four of the members having different musical backgrounds it is hard to pigeon hole OBP into a genre. Each member brings his own musicality to the band and when writing music or playing a show creative input from every band member is not only encouraged, but expected. this gives Oddball Protocol a full and unique sound but does not get the audience overwhelmed. OBP remarks, "We try to write songs with structure and meaning, rather than total free form improvisation. Rock and roll is the backbone of our music, but there are heavy elements of funk, blues, jazz, punk, reggae and just about every other genre throughout our catalog. But make no mistake about it, every OBP show is a rock show at its heart." And because of all the different musical genres that influence their music there is something that everyone will enjoy. "There is no target demographic for our music. We try to appeal to an extremely wide range of tastes" says OBP, "the most apparent thing about our band is that every person who comes to a show can tell we are having the time of our lives every time we are on stage. The audience feeds off that, and in turn we feed off the energy that they give us when we know they are enjoying themselves too."

Having only played their first show together a year ago at Summerfest in Milwaukee these four guys; Marty Bement on drums/ percussion, Tyler Melton on guitar/vocals, Bobby Patrick on guitar/vocals, and Peter Verdin on bass/vocals; sound as though they have been friends since the womb and have been playing music together for their entire lives. With fluid, easy to comprehend transfers between different parts of a song and an understanding of how each other plays, Oddball Protocol will jam your socks off. Even though, "We want to bring old fashioned rock and roll back to the jam scene." say the OBP guys.

So what should you expect from an Oddball Protocol show? OBP says, "We hope to throw an old fashioned hootenanny, and everybody goes home tired from dancing." Show up Friday at 10 at the Nestor. You wont want to miss Oddball Protocol.

Oddball Protocol is a Minneapolis based band. A variety of musical backgrounds and influences gives the band a flavor of versatility and virtuosity that has been described as "...very close knit, to the likes of Umphrey’s McGee, Phish, and moe., but still unique."-Paul Bowman, Dinkytown Exchange. That unique sound is a product of Oddball Protocol’s sense of humor and passion for quality music. Every show consists of original compositions, sprinkled with unpredictable cover songs, and sit-ins from some of the region’s finest musicians. ODDBALL PROTOCOL EATS HIPPIES!