Akron/Family is a folk-influenced experimental rock band that formed in 2002, and its members currently live in New York City and Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

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 members 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 Williamsburg Brooklyn which revolved around the 'Gimmie Coffee' coffee shop. Many of the events of this period served as material for songs.

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 September 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 (Tsogyelgar/Flaming Jewel) in the Midwest." The Akron/Family tour in September 2007 included supporting acts Megafaun and Greg Davis who joined the Akron/Family onstage to create a seven-piece band. Megafaun and Greg Davis also played in Akron/Family band for their October 2007 west coast tour. The Dodos played the opening sets on this tour. In the spring of 2008 the band toured 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. Akron/Family are primarily performing as a three-piece band now.

On October 5, 2008, the News section of Akron/Family's official website was updated to announce that the band had begun recording a new album.^[1] The album, entitled Set 'Em Wild, Set Em Free will be released in May 5, 2009 by Dead Oceans Records. Crammed Discs will be putting it out in Europe on the same date. On February 15th, 2009 Set 'Em Wild, Set Em Free leaked on the internet.

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)
• Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free (May 2009)

Other

• Franny & The Portal To The Fractal Universe Of Positive Vibrations (2003; self-released) CDR including 13 tracks.

• 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.

References

Bibliography

• Davies, Sam. "Akron/Family." The Wire. April 2005.

External links

• Official Akron/Family Site
• Live & interview of singer Seth Olinsky on The Drone

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• Young God Records
• Review of Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free at Citizen Dick
• set of live videos at scheduletwo.com
• Recent Interview on Platforms Magazine.
• Splendid Features: Akron/Family - interview with Seth Olinsky (includes Real Player song clips).
• Killing the Buddha: Running, Returning (2005 May 16) - article.
• WNYC Spinning On Air: Akron/Family (2005 September 25) - live radio performance.
• WNYC Spinning On Air: Angels of Light & Akron/Family (2005 April 15) - radio interview and album preview.
• Interview at identitytheory.com
• State of Mind - Conversation with Seth Olinsky of Akron/Family - December 2007
• Interview with Seth Olinsky on HEAVEmedia, July 2009