Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group, noted for its cross-pollenation of diverse musical forms, including various forms of acoustic folk music, and modern electronic house music. Founded in Hawaii in 1985, the band moved to Austin, Texas in 1987, where they recorded their first three albums. In 1992, the band relocated once again, this time to Chicago, Illinois, and began to incorporate elements of house music into their style.
History
The band has always revolved around the music of lead singer-songwriter Frank Orrall. Poi Dog Pondering began in 1985 in Orrall's native Hawaii. The band traveled throughout the continental United States and in 1987 settled in Austin, Texas. At this time, member Abra Moore left to pursue a solo career. After some initial independent-label releases, including on the label Texas Motel Records, the band signed to Columbia Records and released three albums while in Austin.
During the Austin years (1987-1992), the band had the following lineup:
- Frank Orrall - acoustic guitar, tin flute, drums, vocals
- Susan Voelz - violin, vocals
- Ted Cho - electric guitar, mandolin, bass
- Adam Sultan - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Dave Max Crawford - organ, trumpet, accordion
- Bruce Hughes - bass, electric guitar, vocals
- Dick Ross - drum kit (1987-1990)
- John Nelson - congas, maracas, tom-toms, background vocals (1989-1992)
- Darren Hess - drum kit (1991-1992)
Additionally, the records featured literally dozens of musicians credited as "Satellite Poi Members". Most prominent amongst these satellite members were vocalist Abra Moore, drummer Sean Coffey and (on their third album) turntable operator Andre "DJ Cassanova" Irons.
Beginning with that third album, 1992's Volo Volo, the band began to experiment with new musical styles, including fully incorporating DJ Cassanova into the line-up. Orrall's emerging interest in dance and house music led the band to relocate to Chicago in 1992, where it developed a loyal local following and was named best band by Chicago magazine in 1997. Since moving to Chicago, Poi Dog Pondering has released two studio albums and two live albums on its own label.
The Poi Dog line-up fluctuates frequently, and Orrall, Voelz and Nelson are the only members of the band left from the Austin era. With the release of In Seed Comes Fruit' in 2003, Poi Dog Pondering consisted of:
- Frank Orrall - vocals, guitar, piano, synth. vibes, drums, samples, sequencing
- Susan Voelz - violin, vocals
- Paul Mertens - flute, sax, clarinet
- Leddie Garcia - congas, bongos, ganzas, bells, shakers, various percussion
- Kornell Hargrove - vocals
- Ron Hall - bass
- Rick Gehrenbeck - rhodes electric piano, clavinet, organ, synthesizers
- Charlette Wortham - vocals
- Alison Chesley - cello
- Carla Prather - vocals
- Tim Gant - piano, synthesizers
- John "El John" Nelson - drums
Music
Using a wide variety of instruments, Poi Dog Pondering altered the traditional verse-chorus-bridge structure of modern popular music. In some songs, melodic interludes entirely replace choruses, featuring lengthy, intricate solos blending the tin whistle, violin, trumpet, or other instruments in the Poi Dog menagerie (e.g. "Living with the Dreaming Body", "Bury me Deep"). Some Polynesian influences are evident ("Aloha Honolulu", written by bass player Bruce Hughes, and the introduction to "Circle round the sun"). Following the move to Chicago, the influence of house music became more apparent.
Lyrics & Philosophy
Lyrically, many songs paint slice-of-life portraits of people and situations, without telling a story ("Living with the Dreaming Body", "Wood Guitar"). The song topics vary widely, from the joys of eating breakfast ("Toast and jelly", the coda to "Postcard from a Dream") to:
- Environmentalism ("Ancient Egyptians")
- Globalism ("Big Walk")
- Death ("Fact of Life", "Circle Round the Sun", "Bury me Deep", "The me that was your son"), and
- Spirituality ("Praise the Lord").
In "Praise the Lord", Orrall contrasts Christianity with his naturalistic philosophy. "Praise the Lord he said to me.. And I said, 'Yeah!'. I was just down at the sea and it occurred to me that I like to feel it knock me down, twist and throw and churn me around. 'Cause it's Mother Ocean and I'm just one of her sons." Continuing in the vein of naturalism, Orrall paraphrases Nietzsche, "...where the lion will lay down with the lamb, 'cause you know damn well he'll eat him if he can. The lion doesn't want to be pacified with promises of an endless life...". In "Fact of Life", traces of stoicism, Taoism and Buddhism exist, "Relentlessly climbing and conquering and swallowing fresh pain". Stoicism and Taoism are again echoed in "Fruitless" and "Circle round the sun", "Pushing up, I hope for the sun, but I'll take the rain with what all it comes... Who am I to try to guide my life?".
In Orrall's lyrics, water imagery is prominent, with water as life-giving and cleansing, "Melting, reemerging and rising up clean in the pouring rain" (this theme is also found in "Sound of Water").
Orrall describes his view of the afterlife in the song, "And I know about heaven's gate...and I know that I'll be nothing there just food for fish and twisting worms". In "Bury me deep", he sings, "Only in death can one truly return. Return the carrots, the apples and potatoes, the chickens, the cows, the fish and tomatoes".
Two songs, "Fall upon me" ("Fall upon me like a hundred flowers") and "Pulling Touch" ("Are you the cup that I hold by the cheekbones, I pull you close and I drink you up") are about love, and in particular, sex. Jealousy (particularly of past loves) is addressed in "Thanksgiving" (written by guitarist Adam Sultan) and "Everybody's trying to figure it out", and the band comes out firmly against it. Their philosophy is further described in "U Li La Lu", "You should wear with pride the scars on your skin, they're a map of the adventures and the places you've been".
In spite of the number of songs about death and spirituality, a few songs venture into comedy, "The watermellon song" and "U Li La Lu" ("If I should die in a carwreck, may I have Van Morrison on my tapedeck").
Albums
Studio albums
- Poi Dog Pondering (1989)
- Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea (1990)
- Volo Volo (1992)
- Pomegranate (1995)
- Natural Thing (1999)
- In Seed Comes Fruit (2003)
- 7 (2008)
Live albums
- Liquid White Light (1997)
- Soul Sonic Orchestra (2000)
Compilations
- Sweeping Up the Cutting Room Floor (2001)
- The Best of Poi Dog Pondering (The Austin Years) (2005)
External links
