Michael O’Dorn devotes his life to performing and the promotion of Fingerstyle guitar music.
Read Michael O`Dorn's candid auto-biographical article in the July 2007 edition of Mel Bay's free On-Line Magazine Guitar Sessions! :
Check out Michael's feature article 'Honoring a Legacy' in the current issue of Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine 63 - Click on the cover below for details!
BIO & ENDORSEMENTS:
Inspired by his father's recordings and the gift of an early '50s Gibson acoustic, Michael O'Dorn began playing guitar when he was about six years old. He learned to play fingerstyle listening to records repeatedly until he was able to figure out progressions and licks.
Michael's early influences included Merle Travis and Chet Atkins, and later Marcel Dadi; he would eventually meet all three of his guitar heroes. When he was in his 20's, Travis encouraged Michael to "keep pickin'" and even showed him some of his original licks. Michael recalls, "I went home and practiced 'til my fingers fell off."
Michael's diligence paid off in the form of an endorsement relationship with D'Aquisto Strings which lead to meeting Marcel Dadi at a NAMM Show. Marcel and Teddy Krause of D'Aquisto Strings arranged for Michael to perform at the 1994 Atkins Dadi guitar festival in Issoudun, France. There, Mark Pritcher, the president of the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society invited Michael to perform a concert set and teach a workshop on the music and style of Merle Travis at the annual CAAS convention in Nashville. Michael has been invited back every year since.
In 1995 Michael and Marcel Dadi were driving around Nashville when Marcel asked him to pull over at a familiar mansion on Seventeenth Avenue. To his surprise, he spent the day with Mister Guitar himself-- Chet Atkins. Chet gave Michael a theory lesson and taught him his arrangement of Mister Bojangles.
Michael O'Dorn is endorsed by RC Allen Guitars, CA Guitars, D'Aquisto Strings, Ultrasound Amplifiers, Aphex Systems, Fred Kelly Thumb Picks, and String Swing.
Michael O'Dorn is an author and songwriter with Mel Bay Publications. His music can be found in Mel Bay's Master Anthology of Fingerstyle Guitar Solos, Vol.II, and in a Mel Bay book called Remembering Marcel (a book celebrating the life and music of French fingerstyle guitarist Marcel Dadi). In 2002 Michael's music has been published in the international Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine.
In March 2005 Mel Bay released Michael's definitive fingerstyle book & CD set 'Getting Into Travis Picking'. In September 2006 the Michael O'Dorn In Concert DVD was also released by Mel Bay.
Michael is a master of Fingerstyle guitar who performs, composes, and teaches guitar music internationally. Michael is a Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) songwriter. Michael excelled in music composition and lyric writing at UCLA. Michael is a member of the Country Music Association (CMA), the Academy of Country Music (ACM), the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS), and the Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists (AFG)
Michael's mastery of the guitar styles of Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Marcel Dadi, and, of course, his own style has him in demand to perform several times a year for the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society in Nashville, Tennessee, and for the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show in California and Tennessee. He has taught Merle Travis style guitar at these events and for the National Guitar Summer Workshop (NGSW) at the University of Redlands in California. Michael has performed numerous concerts in France, California, and Tennessee and has opened for country performer Joe Diffie, and for Jeff Cook of the group Alabama. He has recorded on several of Jody Reynolds' (Endless Sleep) albums. Also, Michael frequently donates his time to perform for hospitals, benefits, and telethons for groups such as the United Way.
Michael is endorsed by D'Aquisto Strings, Jim Triggs Guitars, B. C. Rich Guitars, R. C. Allen Guitars, and Traveler Guitars. He is an Artist Representative for Standel Amplifiers, is endorsed by Ultrasound Amplifiers, and by Fred Kelly Thumbpicks.
Michael has released three albums (CDs): Michael's Guitar Christmas, Hand Picked, Tennessee Sunshine and is currently working on two new albums.
PRODUCTS:
Mel Bay's Michael O'Dorn In Concert DVD & Michael O`Dorn's Getting Into Travis Picking fingerstyle guitar instruction book with companion CD are available online from MelBay.com & Amazon.com as well as better bookstores including Barnes & Noble, Borders, and music stores all over the world including Sam Ash, Guitar Center and many others wherever quality instruments and music instruction media are sold! --- Michael O'Dorn CD's on Skylar Records available from www.michaelodorn.com: Tennessee Sunshine --- Hand Picked --- Michael's Magical Christmas (soon to be re-released! Please stay tuned!)
REVIEWS
"Michael is a Travis style picker from California. He was noticed by Marcel Dadi when he was playing for the 1994 Nashville NAMM show. He has played in France and will be back this year for NAMM. Michael is going to help teach us some of Merle's music." -Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Program Guide, Convention '95
"Michael O'Dorn entertained convention goers and numerous guest guitarists from France, England and elsewhere in Issoudun and also at a hotel in the village of Rosemary … was, by all reports, well received." -Cannonball Rag, Feb. 1995
"Michael O'Dorn steps on the stage. What a pleasure to listen to and watch. He showed us some Marcel Dadi tricks and then started off with that fine Travis tune 'Saturday Night Shuffle', then performed 'Freight Train', a medley of 'My Town', 'Windy and Warm' and 'Blue Bell' demonstrating his Travis mastery. He also played John Lennon's tune 'Imagine' and finished with 'Drive-In'. He makes it look so easy." -The Sound Hole, July 1997
"Guitarist Michael O'Dorn has a very pleasant personality. This year there was added reason for his cheerfulness. He introduced his bride, Linda, and explained that the convention was a part of their honeymoon. His set included 'Freight Train, Blue Bell, Memphis Blues' and a tribute story, along with Marcel Dadi's composition 'Je Te Veux'." -Mister Guitar, Dec. 1997
"Michael O'Dorn being his joyful self started off with 'Happy Again', followed by some Marcel Dadi and Travis picking, of which I really enjoyed 'Walking the Strings' and 'Blue Bell' … Bob Saxton came up and asked Michael to play it again while he moved the vibrato up and down to show how he and Merle Travis had played it way back when." -The Sound Hole, March 1998
"Michael's Guitar Christmas" … is done exclusively on an acoustic guitar. All but two of Michael's recordings uses a combination of keyboards, strings, drums, and effects blended in with his great talent on the guitar to create some fantastic arrangements of mostly traditional Christmas music. Michael went solo guitar on two ('It Came Upon a Midnight Clear', and 'O Come All Ye Faithful') of the sixteen cuts on his CD. A couple of other numbers I particularly enjoyed were his arrangements of 'O Christmas Tree' and 'Winter Wonderland'. This was Michael's first CD which he recorded in 1992, and which was chosen later to be used for the background music by a major TV station (ABC Channel 7, Los Angeles) for a Christmas news story … beautifully done Christmas music played superbly … which you will enjoy not only each year at Christmas time, but year 'round." -The Sound Hole, Oct. 1998
"Hand Picked, the new CD that Michael O'Dorn has out is pure traditional thumb and fingerstyle listening pleasure. Containing tunes of Michael's heroes, Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and Marcel Dadi, that he hand picked to play on this CD, plus a couple of his own compositions are a compilation of tunes that let him demonstrate his great talent. To name a few: 'Je Te Veux', a Marcel Dadi number has a very pretty melody and a great bridge. He does Merle's 'Saturday Night Shuffle', which is a real fun tune, 'Spirit of Brother Marcel', one he wrote and dedicated to Mr. Dadi, is a bouncy sounding number. Chet's 'Happy Again', and 'Freight Train' which has a great ending.
The last number 'Elisa Daniel', is a beautiful melody (another one he wrote) that Michael starts and then a mandolin (Buddy McPeters) joins in, (the only tune with an instrument other than Michael's guitar) to embellish the melody. All tunes done in his super clean style of playing and in a variety of tempos, total up to a great CD. I'm sure you will enjoy it." -The Sound Hole, Oct. 1998
"Fingerstyle guitarist Michael O'Dorn … has released another fine CD of classic tunes. He covers Travis tunes like 'Blue Bell' and 'Saturday Night Shuffle' with ease, and Atkins tunes like 'Happy Again' and 'Windy and Warm', adding his own unique touch." -Mister Guitar, April 1999
"Michael O'Dorn's 'Hand Picked' is a wonderful collection of tunes that have special meaning for Michael and each is a tribute in itself to the guitarists and songwriters and other people connected to each song! Each one is a masterpiece and Michael performs the entire album 'live'. It's him and a guitar throughout, although he plays many guitars, there are no overdubbed tracks. He plays all of the instrumentation - just guitars, except for the acoustic mandolin on the final track, 'Elisa Daniel'... You will love 'Hand Picked'!!! It will bless your socks off!" -Amazon.com
"Michael's new CD, Tennessee Sunshine, is his best yet, a fine assortment of original compositions and guitar standards in the Atkins/Travis style. The tune for his wife, 'My Beautiful Linda', is the pick of the CD, but not far behind are the other 12 tunes, including 'Yesterday', 'Sheik of Araby', 'If You Could Read My Mind', 'Nine Pound Hammer', 'Puff The Magic Dragon', 'Memphis Blues', 'Heart Of My Heart', and 'Bicycle Built For Two'. -Mister Guitar, 2002
Michael O`Dorn`s MySpace Music Artist Profile edited with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4