- Animal Liberation Orchestra
-
Animal Liberation Orchestra Also known as ALO Origin Saratoga, California Genres Rock
Jam bandLabels Brushfire Records
Lagmusic RecordsWebsite www.alomusic.com Members Zach Gill
Steve Adams
David Brogan
Dan LebowitzAnimal Liberation Orchestra (also known by the initialism ALO) is an American musical group, currently signed on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label. They have released three full length albums. They have also released several EPs and independent albums, including Time Expander.
Contents
Biography
Born from a friendship nurtured during their days at Saratoga High School (California), the band calling themselves Django consisted of Zach Gill (Keys/Accordion/Ukulele/Vocals), Steve Adams (Bass Guitar/Vocals), Dan Lebowitz (Guitars/Percussion/Vocals) and Dave Brogan (Drums/Vocals).
Changing names and drummers repeatedly, and evolving into a nine-piece ensemble featuring a brass section, the eventual Animal Liberation Orchestra began drawing enormous attention in the Santa Barbara area with their rousing stage shows. When Zach, Dan and Steve returned to their hometown Saratoga, they stripped back down to a quartet, playing with a wide variety of different drummers, including Shree Shyam Das, Matt Butler, and Adam Goodhue. In 2002, the core trio reunited with drummer/songwriter David Brogan (with whom they had previously played in college) and the current version of ALO was solidified.
Zach Gill, the keyboard player, went to college with the popular singer-songwriter, Jack Johnson, and has recently provided piano for Jack Johnson's band, adding a new flavor to the live performances. Jack has in turn appeared frequently and without notice at ALO shows to play his music with ALO as his backup band, and his celebrity helped to promote the band to a wider audience.
ALO had already released several albums independently, the last of which was Fly Between Falls. This album includes another version of the track, "Girl, I Wanna Lay You Down", originally commissioned for the raw, funky soundtrack to their friend Matt Powers' neo-silent, monochromatic epic art film One Size Fits All, back in 1999. This time, the track featured Jack Johnson, who provided guitar and vocals. The new version of the track was wildly successful, and Jack Johnson took the opportunity to sign the band to his label Brushfire Records, which then re-released Fly Between Falls with worldwide distribution.
In 2005, ALO toured in support of Jack Johnson, along with Matt Costa, all across Europe, including United Kingdom, France and Spain, with two dates in mid-April 2006 supporting Jack Johnson in Brazil. In June, they opened for Dave Matthews Band at concerts in upstate New York and North Carolina. On October 14, 2006, they sold out their first headlining concert at the venerated Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. Dubbed "The Abnormal Formal," this show included supporting acts Mojow and the Vibration Army, Honeycut and Blue Turtle Seduction, and featured ALO playing with special guests including Brett Dennen and Jack Johnson. ALO performed an opening set on New Year's Eve at the Sea of Dreams event in San Francisco, then boarded a cruise ship to participate in the celebrated Jam Cruise 5 from January 2–7, 2007.
On May 1, 2007, ALO released their first album recorded for Brushfire, entitled "Roses & Clover". Consistent with their gradual transition from experimental college music to radio-friendly popular music, the band took a much more mainstream approach in the writing and preparation for this release. Recording in a barn nestled in the foothills of Santa Barbara, the band took 2 weeks to work on about 40 songs that were in various stages of completion, many of which had not even been performed live. Eventually, ten songs were chosen for the final cut. These songs were all performed live at the cd release party on May 5, 2007, again at the Fillmore, which again, was sold out.
2007 has seen ALO playing at such events as the Wakarusa Music Festival, Harmony Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Nedfest, and Earthdance, as well as playing with acts such as Brett Dennen and New Monsoon. The group has also reunited with Matt Powers to produce three music videos to promote the new album; all are available on YouTube. Tour plans for the rest of the year include a visit to Europe in September, a fall tour that winds from the Northeast through the South and to the Midwest, then the Monterey Music Summit and the Tortugas Dance of the Dead festivals in October.
ALO also played in the "Mostra Festival AlmaSurf" in November 2007 on an 11 day tour through Brazil along with G. Love, Donavon Frankenreiter, Matt Costa and artist/photographer Jay Alders.[1] They then came home to the Bay Area for a three night NYE stand at the Independent in San Francisco. In addition, several side projects continued as Zach toured with Jack Johnson, and Steve and Dan tour with Brett Dennen.
In 2008, Tour d'Amour II. Zach and Dave released solo albums. Dan and Steve worked on several side projects, including independent rock band Big Light. Outside Lands festival in August. Tortugas in October. New Year's Eve in San Francisco.
In 2009, ALO returned to Jam Cruise, which traveled to Belize City and Costa Maya, Mexico. Tour d'Amour III had 3 shows in Southern California in February.
In 2010, Jack Johnson's world tour To the Sea has ALO listed as an opening act. This publicized their name to thousands of people each day.
Discography
Albums
Year Title Label 1998 Animal Liberation Orchestra
& The Free Range Horns Vs. L.A.G.Lagmusic 2005 Fly Between Falls Lagmusic 2006 Fly Between Falls (Re-Issue) Brushfire 2007 Roses & Clover Brushfire 2010 Man of the World Brushfire EPs
Year Title Label 2000 Live Mix Lagmusic 2002 Time Expander Lagmusic Soundtracks
Year Title Label 1999 One Size Fits All Lagmusic Samplers & Guest Appearances (partial list)
Year Title Label 2000 SF2000 Time Capsule Unknown 2005 Acoustic Trippin' Unknown 2005 Grand Gallery Presents: Surf Time Unknown 2005 Pure Hemp Presents: One Love Volume 1 Unknown 2006 Brushfire Records Winter 2006 Music Sampler Brushfire References
- ^ www.jayalders.com
External links
- ALO at YahooGroups - discussion
- Animal Liberation Orchestra's official website
- ALO on archive.org's Live Music Archive
- ALO at Myspace
- Brushfire Records
- ALO at Tribe - discussion
- ALO Finds Their Comfort Zone by Tim Newby, from honesttune.com, 6/30/07.
Categories:- Brushfire Records artists
- Musical groups from California
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
