About Jason Odell

Musician Jason Odell, also known as Catfish Seagal, is a Minnesota native. Playing guitar for more than 25 years, he has created his own style by fusing heavy metal with jazz to make an interesting musical art form. He got his name “Catfish Seagal” from having people tell him he looks like Steven Seagal, and He added “Catfish” because he has a sense of humor, and jokes about being a total bottom feeder.

Catfish grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota. His major influences are Megadeth, Pantera, Testament and other bands from the underground metal scene of the 1990s. His first band formed with high-school buddies, broke up due to musical differences in 2001. After that he went on a six-year break from music to pursue other things. Once settled into a cabinet shop job, he got the guitar bug again. After work, he started practicing guitar scales and eventually started studying jazz guitar at a local music shop with an instructor. Before long, he had enrolled at McNally Smith, a music college in St.Paul, graduating in 2016 with a Bachelors of music degree in Guitar Performance. Today he is playing live shows and having a blast.