About Mr. O'Dea
Born: June 12, 1977
Grew up: Castro Valley, CA
Current city: Oakland, CA
High School: Bishop O'Dowd, Oakland, CA
College:
-M.A. in Education--Instructional Technology: San Francisco State University
-Single Subject Teaching Credentials (Earth Sciences and Biology): Cal State East Bay
-B.S. in Geology (Paleontology), Minor in Biology: University of Oregon
Favorite music: James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Kool & The Gang, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Khruangbin, Madlib, J Dilla, Little Beaver, Led Zeppelin, Mickey & the Soul Generation, Tower of Power, A Tribe Called Quest and most other golden era hip-hop
Favorite Sports: Baseball, ultimate frisbee, whiffleball, golf, disc golf, table tennis, badminton, billiards, horseshoes, darts
Favorite TV shows: Stranger Things, Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, Simpsons, Sopranos, Family Guy, NOVA, Nature, The Office, Kids in the Hall, and anything narrated by David Attenborough
Favorite podcasts: Radiolab, The Dollop, This American Life, Broken Record, 99% Invisible, Questlove Supreme
Favorite Authors: Mary Roach, Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Crichton, Jon Krakauer, Amy Stewart, David Sedaris, John McPhee, Stephen Jay Gould, Bill Bryson, John Steinbeck
Favorite Foods: Tacos al pastor, thick cut bacon, craft beer, donuts/beignets, cheesecake, green curry, Loard's ice cream, any free range livestock that's been grass-fed and then BBQ'd or smoked at low temperatures.
Outside of being a teacher by day, by night I am a DJ and play guitar in bands around the Bay Area. I play mainly funk and soul, but also dabble in rock, hip-hop, jazz, and latin music.
My funk and soul band, The Grease Traps, released an album "Solid Ground" worldwide this in 2021!
I have been married for 15 years to my lovely wife, Sara. I am also a father of two young boys, Ellis (12) and Emmet (10). They are a handful, but also hilarious.
I love playing with them and teaching them about the world.
Some of my other favorite hobbies include traveling/road trips, nature photography, hiking, camping, cooking, and collecting records (if your parents have any they want to get rid of, feel free to drop them by my classroom ;-).
Hiking at Crater Lake
Getting some vitamin D on a black sand beach on the big island of Hawaii.
Backpacking in the Emigrant Wilderness of CA.