Poi Dog Pondering

Poi Dog Pondering
Poi Dog Pondering performing at the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival
Background information
Origin	Hawaii Austin, Texas Chicago, Illinois
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musicians
Years active	1984–present
Labels	Platetectonic Music
Associated acts	Susan Voelz Abra Moore
Website	Official site

Members	Frank Orrall Susan Voelz Paul Mertens John Nelson Ted Cho Dave Max Crawford Kornell Hargrove Dag Juhlin Ron Hall Rick Geherenbeck Charlette Wortham Robert Cornelius Carla Prather Ryan Murphy

Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group, noted for its cross-pollination of diverse musical genres, including various forms of acoustic and electronic music. Founded in Hawaii in 1984 by Frank Orrall, initially as a solo project. In 1985 Orrall formed the first line-up of PDP to perform its first concert; at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The band then embarked on a yearlong Street Performance Busking tour across North America, eventually settling in Austin, Texas in 1987, where they recorded their first three albums. In 1992, the band relocated, this time to Chicago, Illinois, where they began to incorporate Orchestral arrangements & elements of Electronic, House Music and Soul music into their Acoustic Rock style. The membership of Poi Dog Pondering has changed from album to album.

Hawaii / Street performing years; members

During the Hawaii years (1985–1986), the band had the following lineup:

Frank Orrall – Guitar, vocals, marimba, penny whistle
Abra Moore – Guitar, vocals, accordion
Sean Coffey – Drums
John "el John" Nelson – Percussion
Kalea Chapman – Guitar, vocals
Jean Francois Berneron – Photographer, cook, vocals, recorder
Cliff Kamida – Guitar, harmonica
Ted Cho – Mandolin, guitar
Joe Espinda – Guitar, recording engineer
Matt Miller - Bass, vocals

Austin years; members

During the Austin years (1987–1992), the band had the following lineup:

Frank Orrall – guitar, tin flute, drums, vocals
Ted Cho – electric guitar, mandolin, bass
Dave Max Crawford – organ, trumpet, accordion
Darren Hess – drum kit (1991–1992)
Bruce Hughes – bass, vocals, guitar
John Nelson – congas, maracas, tom-toms, background vocals (1989–1992)
Dick Ross – drum kit (1987–1990)
Adam Sultan – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
Susan Voelz – violin, guitar, vocals

Additionally, the records featured literally dozens of musicians credited as "Satellite Poi Members". Most prominent amongst these satellite members were vocalists Abra Moore & Malford Milligan, sound artist Ellen Fullman, drummer Sean Coffey and (on their third album) turntable operator Ashton "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 & "Best Pop and Rock Act" in the 2009 Chicago Readers Poll.

Early Chicago years; members

From 1993 to 1999, the band recorded the albums "Pomegranate" & "Natural Thing" and performed live with the following members in the lineup:

Frank Orrall – guitar, vocals
Dave Max Crawford – keyboards, clavinet
Paul Mertens – sax, clarinet, flute
Susan Voelz – violin
Dag Juhlin – guitar
Eddie Carlson – Bass
Brent Olds – bass
Tom Ray – Bass
Nick Kitsos – Drums
Steve Goulding – drums
Leddie Garcia – Percussion
Arlene Newson – backing vocals
Kornell Hargrove – backing vocals
Robert Cornelius – backing vocals

Satellite Members

Brigid Murphy – Alto Saxophone
Jason More – Berimbau
Lloyd Brodnax King – Alto Flute
Katherine Pisaro – Oboe

Mid Chicago years; members

From 1999 to 2013, (and for the album releases: In Seed Comes Fruit, "7" & "Audio Love Letter") the band had the following Members in the lineup:

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 – Percussion, drums
Earl A. Talbot – Drums
Dan Leali – Drums

Current Poi Dog Pondering Line-up; members

Frank Orrall – vocals, guitar, piano, synth. vibes, drums, samples, sequencing
Susan Voelz – violin, vocals
Dave Max Crawford – organ, piano, trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn, electric piano [Wurlitzer], clavinet, synthesizer, theremin
John Nelson – congas, bongos, drums, various percussion
Ted Cho – Guitar, Mandolin
Dag Juhlin – guitar
Kornell Hargrove – vocals
Ron Hall – bass
Rick Gehrenbeck – rhodes electric piano, clavinet, organ, synthesizers
Charlette Wortham – vocals
Robert Cornelius – vocals
Carla Prather – vocals
Ryan Murphy – Drums
Paul Mertens – flute, sax, clarinet

Releases^[1]

Early 4 track Cassette albums

Poi Dog Pondering PDP X 1 (1984)
Poi Dog Pondering Soliloqui PDP X 2 (1985)
8 Songs by Poi Dog Pondering PDP X 3 (1985)
Poi Dog Pondering Dig PDP X 4 (1986)

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)
Audio Love Letter (2011)
Everybody's Got A Star (2015)

Other Releases

Fruitless (EP) (1990)
Palm Fabric Orchestra (1994)
Electrique Plummagram (Re-Mix Album) (1996)
That's the Way Love Is (Re-Mix EP) (1999)

Live albums

Liquid White Light (1997)
Soul Sonic Orchestra (2000)
Live at Metro Chicago (4-CD set, paired with DVD release, Dec 21, 2012^[2])

Compilations

Sweeping Up the Cutting Room Floor (2001)
The Best of Poi Dog Pondering (The Austin Years) (2005)

DVD Releases

Audio Visivo (2004)
Live at Metro Chicago (2 DVD set, paired with CD release, Dec 21, 2012^[3])

References

External links

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