Original print: Thursday Jan. 22 2009 Deseret News

By Scott Iwasaki

Codi Jordan is in a peculiar position.

He's released a new CD, "Vacation," which is available on iTunes, and will play Ogden's club Kamikaze tonight. Next week he and his band will play in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay, opening for eclectic rock/fusion band Slightly Stoopid.

The next day, the band will come home and donate its time to play with a talent show winner at Snowcrest Junior High in Eden, Jordan's hometown.

"That's where we are right now," Jordan said during an interview with the Deseret News. "We get these big shows and then play these smaller shows. But regardless, we love playing and will play anywhere and anytime."

Jordan grew up listening to his father and mother's vinyl albums.

"Dad liked Crosby Stills & Nash, Creedence Clearwater Revival and mom liked the Beach Boys and Tom Petty," he said. "And my mom taught me how to play the guitar."

When he was older, Jordan discovered Nirvana and then Snoop Dogg.

"That opened a whole new world to me," he said about his newfound music. "And then I heard Sublime."

Jordan said he still keeps his ears and eyes open for new and exciting music. And it doesn't matter what genre it is. As long as it sounds good, he'll dig it.

"More music is more accessible to people these days," he said. "And it's not smart to not take advantage of what's out there. Keep an open mind and you will hear music in different ways."

From junior high to now, Jordan has played in many different bands in Eden. However, he didn't want to start writing his own music until he saw the Foo Fighters in the 1990s at Saltair.

"That was the moment when I said to myself, 'I want to do this.' " he said.

Throughout the years, Jordan has been gearing up to make his own CD. And this year, he accomplished that goal.

"I had written a bunch of songs over the years," he said. "And then I played acoustic sets at places and met a producer who attended one of my shows."

The producer, Derek Keith, who also plays keyboards for Jordan's band, sat down with Jordan and the two went through song after song and decided which were going to end up on the CD.

"I had no idea what actually went into recording a CD," Jordan said with a laugh. "I thought I'd go in and push 'play' and hammer it out in a few hours. But that wasn't the case. We worked hours upon hours on one song."

The sessions also gave Jordan time to experiment with his music.

"Derek would have these ideas and we'd put some hip-hop beats to my acoustic guitar and we'd fill it out," said Jordan. "In fact, the only acoustic instrument on the CD is my guitar. The rest is stuff we came up with."

For months, the two labored in the studio, and in November 2008, "Vacation" was finally released. "It was a relief getting it out," Jordan said. "And I've got a lot of ideas for the next CD. But if this is the only CD I can make, I'm really proud of it. If anything, I can bring it out years down the line and say to my grandkids, 'Hey, here's what granddad did when he was young.' "