Akron/Family

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Akron/Family


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Genre = Folk, psychedelic, experimental
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Years_active = 2002–present
Label = Young God
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URL = [http://www.akronfamily.com www.akronfamily.com]
Current_members = Dana Janssen
Seth Olinsky
Miles Seaton
Past_members = Ryan Vanderhoof
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Akron/Family is a folk-influenced experimental rock band that formed in 2002, and is currently based in parts New York City, Williamsport, Pennsylvania and Durham, North Carolina.

Music and history

Though each member of the band—Dana Janssen, Seth Olinsky, and Miles Seaton—can be relegated to loosely defined roles (drummer, vocalist/guitarist, and bassist, respectively), all of them in fact play several instruments and sing, as evidenced by their shows and recorded material: Live, the band uses improvisation and three-part harmonies in prominence. On their self-titled debut record, field recordings of a creaking chair, thunderclaps and the white noise of a television find their way alongside psychedelic and electronic elements, guitars and a glockenspiel.

Between 2003 and 2007 the band was the hub of a social scene in Williamsburgh Brooklyn which revolved around the 'Gimmie Coffee' coffee shop where Seth Olinsky worked. As principle song writer, Olinsky used many of the events of this period as material for songs. Local figures associated with the band include 'Inside Ed' (Ed is a portal) Sortman, 'Broccoli Rob' Davis, Chris 'The Arbitrator' Owens, poet Ossian Foley, and Jewish mystic David Chaim Smith who introduced Olinsky and Seaton to various spiritual practices including kabbalah and tantra. Many if not all of these individuals had beards, thus the term 'beard rock' (first mentioned in a review) came into usage to describe the community ethos.

Between 2004 and 2007 the band became immersed in various forms of spirituality including Chassidic mysticism. In 2005 the band was introduced to controversial American Buddhist teacher 'Scio' (son of UN ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick). All but Janssen became members of Scio's community based in Ann Arbor Michigan.

In 2003, the band began sending demos to Young God Records label head Michael Gira, who announced the following year their signing to the label. "Akron/Family", culled from several albums' worth of material recorded in the band's Brooklyn apartment, was released in March 2005. The Wire said, "Akron/Family's hushed left field pastoralism invite comparison with the loose US scene of folk-derived weirdness ... Immaculately interwoven electronics and the care with which each beautifully recorded track unfolds recall Chicago post-rock ..." (Davies 2005).

Released that same month was Angels of Light's "Sing "Other People"", on which Akron/Family served as the main backing band. Several extensive tours of the United States and Europe with Gira — playing as Angels of Light — followed immediately afterward, lasting much of the rest of the year. In the stretches supporting Gira, the band played dual roles as both the supporting and headlining act; in the stretches without Gira, their touring mates included Great Lake Swimmers and Sir Richard Bishop of Sun City Girls.

The next Akron/Family material released was "Akron/Family & Angels of Light", a split album with Angels of Light in October 2005. Shortly after releasing "Meek Warrior" in October 2006, the band debuted seven demo songs on WNYC radio, suggesting another album was already in the works. The band recently contributed vocals to Canadian post-rock band Do Make Say Think's album, "You, You're a History in Rust".

In October 2007, it was announced that original member, Ryan Vanderhoof, departed the group "amicably sometime between the completion of (2007 release) "Love Is Simple" and the start of the band's U.S. tour" according to Akron/Family's publicist. The reasoning behind his departure was that "he went to live in a Buddhist Dharma center in the Midwest." In the spring of 2008 the band began touring with Megafaun as their supporting act. In addition to opening, all three members of Megafaun joined Akron/Family onstage to create a six-piece band.

Discography

Albums

* "Akron/Family" (March 2005; Young God Records)
* "Akron/Family & Angels of Light" (October 2005; Young God Records) - split album with Angels of Light.
* "Meek Warrior" (October 2006; Young God Records) - a collaboration with a longtime hero, percussionist Hamid Drake
* "Love Is Simple" (September 2007)

Other

* "Akron/Family Live Tour CD" (2006; self-released) - 24 track collection of live recordings from 2002 to 2005 sold on tour, limited to 1000 copies.

* "Best Of Seth:" 3 CD Set From Seth Olinsky of Akron/Family (2006; Achord Recordings) - 42 tracks, some new as well as different versions of many songs from all of Akron/Family's other albums sold on tour, limited to 500 copies.

* "Akron/Family, Greg Davis, and Megafaun OM EP" (2007; self-released) - 8 track collection of live recordings and alternate versions sold on tour, limited to 1000 copies.

* "The Mushugana Rats" (2005, unreleased) a tribute to the fallen heroes of the battle of Saratoga in 1885

Bibliography

* Davies, Sam. " [http://www.younggodrecords.com/PressDetail.asp?PT_ID=83&ArticleID=1977 Akron/Family] ." "The Wire". April 2005.

External links

* [http://www.akronfamily.com Official Akron/Family Site]
* [http://naturalismo.wordpress.com/2008/02/22/akronfamily-the-naturalismo-interview/ Akron/Family: The Naturalismo Interview]
* [http://www.nedpr.org/2008/surrender-to-the-muse/ Recent Interview on NedPR] .
* [http://www.younggodrecords.com Young God Records]
* [http://www.scheduletwo.com/video/index.php?vid=12 set of live videos] at [http://www.scheduletwo.com scheduletwo.com]
* [http://platformsmagazine.com/contents/?p=23 Recent Interview on Platforms Magazine] .
* [http://www.splendidmagazine.com/features/akron/ Splendid Features: Akron/Family] - interview with Seth Olinsky (includes Real Player song clips).
* [http://www.killingthebuddha.com/dogma/akron.htm Killing the Buddha: Running, Returning (2005 May 16)] - article.
* [http://wnyc.org/shows/spinning/episodes/09252005 WNYC Spinning On Air: Akron/Family (2005 September 25)] - live radio performance.
* [http://www.wnyc.org/shows/spinning/episodes/04152005 WNYC Spinning On Air: Angels of Light & Akron/Family (2005 April 15)] - radio interview and album preview.
* [http://www.identitytheory.com/audio/akronfamily_interview.php Interview at identitytheory.com]
* [http://www.redefinemag.com/music/interviews_music_2.php?artist=Akron/Family&id=91 Akron/Family Interview at REDEFINE Magazine, October 2007]
* [http://www.stateofmindmusic.com/?entry=120 State of Mind - Conversation with Seth Olinsky of Akron/Family - December 2007]