The OaKs

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Masood

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Released: Jan 1, 2008

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Masood
5:44
17,894 plays
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Sins of My Fathers
4:48
6,148 plays
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My heart is weighed
4:42
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The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
7:54
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The Two Calls
4:14
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Total Plays: 53,592 / Plays Today: 9See All Featured ►

General Info

Genre: Alternative / Folk / Indie
Location Orlando, Florida, US
Profile Views: 125787
Last Login: 9/20/2011
Member Since 1/18/2007
Website WWW.THEOAKSBAND.COM
Record Label Unsigned
Bio
..-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.... ..SONGS FOR WAITING by The OaKs - (2008) - TRACK LISTING..:.. 1. The Two Calls (of Dietrich Bonhoeffer).. 2. Masood.. 3. Old Bones.. 4. Pike County.. 5. After the Fires.. 6. The Attraction of the Pilgrim.. 7. Here I Am Again.. 8. War Changes Everything.. 9. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.. 10. Song For Waiting.. .. .... .. OUR FATHERS AND THE THINGS THEY LEFT BEHIND (2006) - ..TRACK LISTING:...... 1. Prologue, Meditation.. 2. For Hugh Thompson, Who Stood Alone. Vietnam, Mai-Lai Massacre, 1968.. 3. The Sins of My Fathers.. 4. My Heart Is Weighed and Found Wanting, Kabul.. 5. Survey for a Distribution of Winter Clothing.. 6. My Father's God.. 7. Hugh Thompson, The Aftermath.. 8. Message from the Moon.. 9. Freeing My Heart.. 10. Epilogue, Celebration.. .... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...... .. .... Songs For Waiting ..CD - 2008 - Click below to purchase on Itunes .. .......... .. .. ...... .... ..Our Fathers and the Things They Left Behind.... CD - 2006 - Click below to purchase on Itunes.... ....50% of profits from each copy of .. Our Fathers .. sold go directly to Afghan widows and recently returned refugees.... ........ .. .. ..----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...... In late 2003, just two years after 9/11, The OaKs's Ryan Costello sold everything he owned, joined a humanitarian organization and moved to Afghanistan. Costello lived there for two years, working in the Central Afghan mountains with returned refugees, teaching them creative agricultural techniques and becoming fluent in their native language, Farsi. Late at night, while the dust storms blocked out the stars and rattled the windows, he would sit and work out impressions of what he had seen and heard that day on his acoustic guitar. .. After returning to the United States, Costello joined back up with his long-time creative and song-writing partner Matthew Antolick, who was drumming full-time in a Moroccan band. Antolick and Costello began working out Costello’s melodic ideas and lyrical concepts, home-recording in Antolick’s apartment what eventually became ..Our Fathers and the Things They Left Behind... Exploring themes of self-sacrifice and introspection over roots-folk and jazzy melodic layers, Our Fathers... was an original breath of fresh air for independent music. .. The release of Our Fathers... drew immediate attention to The OaKs in Orlando's press and music scene, and the attention quickly went national as Paste magazine featured Costello and The OaKs in their July 2007 cover story "Can Rock Save the World." The OaKs also partnered with Global Hope Network on the release of Our Fathers...and agreed to donate 50% of the profits from each CD or track download from that album to aid widows and recently-returned refugees from Afghanistan. .. Costello and Antolick immediately realized the difficulty of translating their multi-tracked compositions into a live setting with just a duo, and began working to put together a band of diverse musicians who could make the compositions come to life on stage. They were joined by Jeremy Siegel, a classically trained bassist steeped in Led Zeppelin and Bootsy Collins riffs, and also fluent in classical and jazz trombone. Tim Cocking came next - a piano major and audio engineer who's as dexterous on his trumpet as he is on his keyboard and accordion, and Greg Willson, a seminary student wielding a mandolin and electric guitar and who played the breathiest Stan Getz-style saxophone they had ever heard. Their lineup was completed shortly thereafter by Melissa Reyes, a singer-songwriter whose alto voice and folk harmonies complemented perfectly with Costello’s high vibrato. From the first guitar riff at their debut show on stage at the 2006 Anti-Pop Music Festival, it was apparent that they were meant to be making music together – the energy in the room was electric, and the reviews were raving. .. Out of this natural chemistry was born many new songs over the winter of 2006/2007. Inspired by the unique talents of each member, Costello and Antolick began writing songs that would showcase the bands rhythmic tightness and diverse instrumentation. Lyrically, Costello delved into themes of spirituality in the midst of brokenness, of longing and searching, and continued to explore the previous album’s themes of social justice and self-sacrifice. The OaKs honed these tracks in the living room of Costello’s wood-floored 1950’s style house, and at live shows across the state, until the musical complexity and rhythmic tightness of the music exceeded anything they had created before. .. In late July of 2007, Costello put in for part-time employment at his social work job and the OaKs began recording ..Songs For Waiting... Using the warm, full sound of Costello’s old house, they determined to use no artificial reverb on the new album, instead using room mic’ing techniques to mix the elements together in the style of their favorite 1960’s jazz and rock albums. Even synthesizers were played through amplifiers and speakers and run into the room to give them the woody ambience of Costello’s house. Over the next few months The OaKs employed trumpet, trombone, sax, Hammond organ, bells, synths from the 70’s and 80’s, acoustic and classical guitars, electric and acoustic bass, a plethora of shakers, tambourines, and hand-drums, and a Wurlitzer electric piano from 1959. .. In mid October Antolick, Costello, and keyboardist Tim Cocking began mixing the new album. Using as few modern mixing tricks as possible, including no artificial reverb or delay, they carefully arranged each song. Throughout the mixing process they were mentored and guided by Alan Douches of West West Side Music, who’s hand has been on great recordings from Paul Simon’s .. Graceland .. to Grizzly Bear’s ..Yellow House.. and Sufjan Steven’s ..Illinois... .. Finally, after over four long months, the OaKs’ ..Songs For Waiting.. was finished on November 8, 2007. The album was released on March 4, 2008. .. ..-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.... ..Check out our feature article in the July 2007 Issue of Paste Magazine .. here.. ..Read more about Ryan's work doing agricultural development in Afghanistan with Global Hope Network at .. www.ghni.org .. ..and see the photos Ryan took while living in Afghanistan .. here .. ..Visit our Virb.com page .. here .. ..Become a "fan" of the OaKs on our PURE VOLUME page .. here .. ..and you can check out our Sonicbids electronic press kit.. here .... .......... Thanks for stopping by!.. .. ..------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .......... .. ..
Members
..Matthew Antolick ..-- drums, marimba, vibraphone, percussion, electronics, some keys.. ..Ryan Costello ..-- vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, pianica, organs and keyboards, lyrics... ..Jeremy Siegel..-- bass, trombone and some keys, mandolin.. ..Melissa Reyes ..-- vocals, accordian, bells, percussion, some keys.. ..Greg Willson ..-- guitars, saxophone and vocals .. ..Tim Cocking ..-- Wurlitzer electric piano, accordian, synths, organ, bells, trumpet, vocals ...... ..PROMOTIONAL INQUIRIES..:.. ..Press..: ..Vai Godhania ..: vai@fanaticpromotion.com.. ..Radio..: ..Dan Yocom.. : dan@fanaticpromotion.com.. ..Internet Media..: ..Andy Silva ..: andy@fanaticpromotion.com.. .. ..LEGAL..:.. ..Nick Nanton, Esq ..: ndnanton@dicksnanton.com..
Influences
Our experiences both in America and abroad, infused with the sounds of.. Kansas, Sting, The Police, Iona, The Beatles, George Winston, AKUS, King's X, Marillion, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Who, AC/DC, Steely Dan, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews Band, Parliament/Funkadelic, Bonnie Prince Billie, Isley Brothers, Curtis Mayfield, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Metallica, Guns'n'Roses, Miles Davis, James Brown, Rush, Yes, Deep Purple, The Police, Cannonball Adderley, J.J. Johnson, Modern Jazz Quartet, Frank Sinatra, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Rage Against The Machine, Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Big Bill Broonzy, Wynton Marsalis, Buddy Guy, David Bowie, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Bartok, Mahler, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Billie Holiday, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Spacehog, Flaming Lips, Al Green, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Barry White, Charles Mingus, Kool and the Gang, Earth, Wind and Fire, Mendelssohn, Frank Zappa, Genesis, Guided By Voices, Gnarls Barkley, Heart, Herbie Hancock, Jamiroquai, Jethro Tull, Primus, Oysterhead, Black Crows, John Mayer Trio, John McLaughlin, Marvin Gaye, The Meters, Ralph Stanley, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, Skatalites, Queens of the Stone Age, Santana, Spinal Tap, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Tool, Weather Report, Jaco Pastorious, Nirvana, Megadeth, Cream, Ellington, Tito Puentes, Arturo Sandoval, Machito, Tower of Power, Blood Sweat and Tears, Lee Morgan, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Sade, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Count Basie, My Bloody Valentine, The Album Leaf, Ahmad Jahmal, Bubber Miley, Pee Wee Ellis, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, The Pixies, Ahmad Jamal, Sufjan Stevens, Archer Prewitt, Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, The Loving Spoonful, Bill Evans, Yo La Tengo, American Analog Set, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Gilian Welch, Neil Young, Cat Power, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto .. Ryan's lyrical influences include Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, Andrew Young, e e cummings, Robert Bly, Frida Kahlo and Terrence Malick.
Sounds Like
.. ..Praise for Songs For Waiting:.... .. .. .. "On the band's sophomore release, Costello, drummer Matthew Antolick, and a host of new multi-instrumentalists strive to tell such hidden stories, from a minister's calling to assassinate Hitler to an Afghan boy's home-life heroism. Antolick is as illustrative and creative a percussionist as one could ask for - Art Blakey filling in for Levon Helm. Their success lies in that balance between hyper-literacy and a catholic musical sensibility that finds as much gravitas in a clap-along as a plucked guitar." ....- Paste Magazine.... .."Songs For Waiting” is an essential listen that is as deep and thrilling as any album released in recent memory. The OaKs have used personal experience to create a work of universal importance, and now the vultures will have to find something else to scavenge. A bigger and better rival has arrived."....- The Harvard Crimson.... .. .. "Much of what's called wrong in indie rock seems to get righted in Ryan Costello's project: Instead of alienated and academic music, we get something intimate and visceral." ....- CNET/Download.com.... .. ...."Though this album’s roots are heavily folk and indie, far more informs the artistic vision of the OaKs, a six-piece from Orlando, Florida; Afro-Cuban rhythms subtly infiltrate the album in the clave-clap breakdown on “Pike County” and in the percussive jam on “Old Bones.” Aside from being incredibly engaging melodically, the eclectic yet solid grooves of drummer Matthew Antolick and bassist Jeremy Siegel provide a fluid feel as engaging as the vocal harmonies they support." ....- Bass Player Magazine.... .. "With electric guitars and keyboards flavored by accordion, glockenspiel and ethereal vocal harmonies, the Waiting songs maintain the intimacy of the band's first album. Yet the music also unfolds with a sonic energy that eclipses Our Fathers....the band has refined its approach impressively on songs such as the epic "The Heart Is the Hunter" and the rhythmically charged "Old Bones."".. .. ..- The Orlando Sentinel .. .. .. .. .. "The diverse styles of each of the band’s six members paint a landscape where experimental synth and folk melodies come together with sharp, jazzy beats and a classical understanding.".. ..- Two.One.Five Magazine .. "Whether it is through humanitarian efforts or making songs that speak about personal struggles, the members of The OaKs have produced an album that is rich in sound, lyrical philosophy and heart....Songs For Waiting is a stunning example of musicians merging and sharing their individual talents and ideas to create songs that are genuine and powerful." - Amplifier Magazine .. "Definitely a band to watch in 2008." - Muzzle Of Bees Blog ..-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.... .. ....The OaKs in NYC performing on Public Radio International's FAIR GAME with Faith Salie.. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ..Clip from The OaKs playing Masood live in Tampa:.... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ..The Making of ..Songs for Waiting.. Part 1 of 2 .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ..The Making of ..Songs For Waiting.., Part 2 of 2 .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .......... .... ..Seriously AWESOME KINGLY-NESS at South By South West (SXSW) 2008, in Austin**.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... **explanation: Please note the following important points. 1. Everyone in this video is sober. 2. Greg and Matt are demonstrating how to walk like a king. 3. How to walk like a king a. Be serious b. Walk in a straight line, with arms and legs in the same direction at the same time c. If you learn to walk like this you will rule. Try it! ....