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Who Is Odiss Kohn?
As an only child born to self-employed parents in the Mississippi Delta, Odiss Kohn was blessed with an ideal childhood. His Mom, a beautician, and Dad a transmission specialist could both take off work as they pleased to travel with their young son and enjoy the great outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are of riding shotgun in his Dad’s ’69 Ford F-100 custom pickup to go fishing and hunting, horse back riding and camping month after month, year after year.
They would listen to “old timey” folk and country music, and it was through his Dad he learned to appreciate true traditional country. He recalls that much of his inspiration stemmed from hearing his Dad say ”Son, this type of music gives you a glimpse of where the person was, where he is now, and where he wants to be….these songs have a message anybody can relate to and embrace.” Further inspiration comes from his connection to the soul within the alluvia dirt of his home, the jazzy mellow of the magnolia trees, the folklore of the cotton fields, and the country of the back roads and fishing holes from childhood.
Odiss began singing in publicly at the tender young age of five when he was chosen to perform at his pre-K graduation at the local high school auditorium. He was able to choose the song, and as the family was active members of their church, (COC) he knew and loved the song Victory in Jesus. Although a little scared and somewhat nervous, he was delighted when he received a standing ovation.
Besides being a music lover, Odiss is also patriotic and found the best way to show the love of his country was to join its military. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 2003.
Kohn’s military time was well spent educating himself and becoming proficient in courses such as the U.S. Army Ranger Course, Basic Airborne Course, Air Assault Course, Pathfinder School, and the Warrior Leadership Course.
His willingness to learn and dedication to his military career proved helpful in becoming a better solider. He was deployed on multiple tours which include serving in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait. Each deployment, each mission, he'd strive to help bring the man to his left, the man to his right, and himself home to family. After ten years of service, Kohn ended his military career with several medals and accommodations.
Strong and solid work ethic plus the words of his late grandfather to "love what you do, because if you love it you’ll acquire knowledge of it faster and stick with it longer” has gotten Odiss Kohn where he wanted to be in his military career and is now one of the driving forces in his music career. The other is that of his wife and four children. “They are the reason I'm the first to get up in the morning, and the last to go down every night.”
Finally moving to Nashville, he has had the blessing of coming face to face with some of Nashville’s greatest from Reba McEntire, Jo Dee Messina, Charlie Louvin, John Rich, Bucky Covington, Tracy Lawrence, Trent Tomlinson, Sammy Kershaw, “The Possum,” George Jones and many others. Odiss has also had the opportunity to work with some of the best song writers in the industry such as Monty Holmes, Tommy Barnes, James Dean Hicks, The late Buck Moore, Troy Shields, Tony Stampley, Ed Hill, and Billy Lawson just to name a few. “It’s truly amazing to be part of something so vast! Something larger than myself, something we can all share and have in common….MUSIC!"