We had a blast on the road this Fall!  After such an epic Summer filled with festival appearances, great weather, and new friends, we set out on the road for 6 weeks.  The tour took us through WA, OR, CA, ID, MT, UT, WY, and CO.  25 shows in all, and some adventures that won't soon be forgotten.  Capping off the Fall tour we played our annual Halloween party in Bellingham that sold out and was a huge high-light!  We want to thank everyone for continuing to support us as we try to forge out beyond the borders of the NW.  All of the new friends and fans that were made, and all the old heads that continue to come out, thanks to you all!!  We wouldn't be able to have these experiences without you guys.  We're looking forward to 2010, as we are planning a new album, much more touring, and many great times ahead.

Another great review of our new album! Check it out!

http://obscuresound.com/?p=2075


Here's the text:

Acorn Project

"We'll Be Fine"

As all music fans know, a listener's mood can be a significant determining factor in choosing which record to pull from the shelf and give a listen to. Whether you are coming off the worst relationship of your life, partying hard on a Friday night, or cramming the night before a final exam, there is always something that just makes it seem all the better. As for an emotional state of indifference, a desire for something fascinating and memorable are often the only prerequisites, at least for me personally. A collection of varied emotional interpretations also serves nicely, depicting a wide range of moods that such a respective listener can tend to appreciate more than relate to. In such circumstances, the music of Acorn Project tends to sound best. Not only can the instrumentally eclectic group seamlessly unveil a wide range of both downcast and sprightly emotions, but they also do it in a form that is fun and consuming. Yeah, "fun" is a very linear sounding term when applied to music, but those who give a listen to Acorn Project should understand. With prevalent uses of saxophone and slide guitar making their way over a revolving array of accessibly intertwined genres, their ability to ceaselessly entertain has made them a local trademark in their native Bellingham, Washington.

Though I do believe that Acorn Project's music seems best suited for individuals with no consistent set of emotions, this is not to say that the music of Acorn Project is for overly passive individuals. I actually say it as a compliment, as there are certainly more artists today who specify in one specific sentiment than others who dare to venture in more emotionally flexible territory. Funk and prog-rock are the most evident styles at hand, though the sextet shows a tendency to dwell on as many varying genres as emotions. They usually correlate as well, as the perky piano-led pop in the anecdotally impatient fervor of "Hello Neuman" or the chilling alt-rock progression in the brooding "Wellness" demonstrates well. These tracks derive from We'll Be Fine, Acorn Project's second album. The 2006 release of their debut, Odd His Sleepy Soar, brought them plenty of attention throughout the Pacific Northwest and their shows - drawing hundreds of people due to their growing reputation - did even more justice. We'll Be Fine looks to be the album that should jump this talented group into a broader light, a more deserving placement considering their impressive diversity and esteemed level of musicianship.



Acorn Project's swirling mixture of rock, blues, and funk serves as a cohesive format for the instrumentation of choice. Apart from the multifariously talented drummer and saxophonist Sam Lax (who is exceedingly impressive), each member specializes in an instrument in which they have clearly studied up on. To no surprise, considering that they have influences heavily derived from blues and funk, it is even prevalent on record form that Acorn Project are an exceptional live band. While infectious, radio-friendly pop and rock songs like "Hello Neuman" and "Gringo Starr" are noticeable on We'll Be Fine, the group's more ambitious leanings are also quite conspicuous. "Crystal Myth" features an enthralling intro that mixes the seductive croon of a saxophone with a few slick guitar licks and a more restrained execution of keys, a mere tease of what is yet to come. Along with Andy Pritiken's apt vocals providing a structural backbone, guitar solos, sax solos, unconventional percussive fills, and sharp key changes carry the song's success. When "Crystal Myth" shifts into an irate form of alt-rock around the 04:30 mark, listeners may be understandably caught off guard. But when the section subsides and the icy chill of a saxophone fills the air over a funky guitar progression, it becomes evident why it was put there in the first place. Shown best on the epic "Crystal Myth" and "Werner, Terner", the ambitious nature of Acorn Project nearly always comes out successfully despite any initial judgments that listeners are inclined to make.

The aforementioned "Gringo Starr" surprisingly borrows more from folk and country than it does blues and funk. Yet another indication of Acorn Project's eclectic nature, Pritiken muses about the merits of freedom from the perspective of some with a slightly microscopic interpretation of humanity. "That's when I realized that this is what I need to be free," he sings over a slide guitar and frantic variation of keys. "Free from anxiety that society brings down on me." It is nothing short of inspiring how Acorn Project are able to incorporate their select choices of instrumentation – saxophone, slide guitar, and keys – in nearly all of their tracks despite the altering style at hand. It just goes to show that the group has made the evolution from primarily a "live band" to studio whizzes with heaps of good songwriting ideas up their sleeves. There are 3-minute radio-friendly charmers like "Gringo Starr" sitting alongside epic forces like the 8-minute "Werner, Terner" and "Crystal Myth", with both forms finding success on their own separate terms. As is the case with most music whose origins trace back to blues and funk, the music is highly expressive, which leads us back to the sextet's highly interpretative display of emotionalized characteristics. Whether the lightheartedly optimistic view of "Gringo Starr" or the ominous sax-led flair of "Stomp" fits your current mindset best, there is guaranteed to be something for everyone's current psyche on the intricately resounding We'll Be Fine.

http://eartaste.blogspot.com/2008/08/acorn-project-funny-pair-of-pants.html

Friday, August 08, 2008

The Acorn Project - Funny Pair Of Pants

I love an album that's simply perfect for the times. It's Friday night, and these Acorn Project folks know how to throw a party. The very first song with the crazy title, turns out to be a perfect poem. I get excited when someone can put together words that mean so much more in the spaces than in the shapes themselves. What is even more exciting is that these spaces are filled with these nebulous little creatures we call musical notes, tones, beats, rhythms. Tasty.

Using the playground slide
Or finding a good place to hide
Were my goals those days
Up in the big oak tree
Is where I wanted to be
And where I would stay
Day after day.


This first verse sets us up with the theme. Escape. Even as a child the narrator explains that the most important thing on his mind was escape. He wasn't concerned with reading, math, keeping his room clean. But escaping through play and/or finding a good place to hide. As we read the rest of the words we'll find the theme does not change. The second verse takes us to the place when the narrator is finally getting out of school and facing life on his own.

Twenty-four might be the age
Of counting sheep, but staying awake
Because the constant cost
Of knowing what's at stake
Means the more we give the more they take.


Ouch. Reality sets in, confusion abounds. Is this all there is? What is the answer to my purpose in life? I can hear the narrator behind the words digging deep into what sounds trivial written out, but causes pain in all humans nonetheless. The best thing is how these guys make it work. They use the music to express all types of emotions and hungers. The songwriter and narrator have enough confidence in themselves to let the whole band spread out and through their creation and thought processes. They know the band has just as much to offer the composition as the words do. That is rare, as I'm sure you all know. Usually the players on a recording are stifled. That's why we go to see live music, to see the musicians stretch. This recording is exciting because the musicians are given that opportunity. And, of course the story continues. What happens when you ask for advice for all the pain rumbling through your veins? You get "advice" from well meaning friends and relatives.

You say that talk is cheap
It seems expensive to me
When it sounds that way
And now you're feeling fine
After a big glass of wine
Helps you fly away


Lesson? Everyone is trying to escape. Look around, face it, admit it. We do not have a real tight grasp on exactly why we're here or what the heck we're supposed to be doing. You can take any field – religion – is there one that works for everyone? Politics – is there one that works for every one? And round and round we go. There is really no difference between the oak tree and the glass of wine. In fact, we can smile and consider that the poet is slyly making us think of a good, expensive oak-cured wine as we watch the story progress. Conscious or not, the writing is superb, and shows that humans are just one big compilation of emotional responses. However, one thing that can and does bind us together is good music. So, back to The Acorn Project.

This entire album is a shoutout. The players are all superb, the solos touch the heart. It's also worth a visit their myspace page and listen to their live music – there are three live jams currently posted that are wonderful examples of the musicianship you'll hear between the spaces on this album.

Funny Pair of Pants is a slow, soul-filled groove. Re-boot is a hard rocker with a jazzy interlude. Hello Neuman has a light touch with tons of humor in the playing. Gringo Starr shows off acoustic skills. Crystal Myth brings our earbuds into the 21st century. Wellness slows the party down, gives us a poetic glimpse at our mortality as we dance around and around with the musicians. Stomp, well it sounds just like it's title – prog rock with a beat. Werner, Turner returns to a humorous, funky romp on the dance floor. McGuffin ends the set with the keyboard player setting the pace, the narrator moving a mile a minute through space, pulling all the instruments together like a master conductor. Fine job all around. While there's no doubt these guys are rock and roll, there is plenty of jazz, reggae, soul, and pop influence to keep these guys constantly on the edge of creativity. I hold firm to all the singles I've talked about this year, but will said flat out that this is one of the five best all-round albums I've heard all year.

Acorn Project's CD Release

May 3 - GAF Church


by Stephanie Ashton



Acorn Project

For a band that never fails to put on a completely satisfying live show, Acorn Project's CD Release Party earlier this month managed to raise the bar of their performance flair even higher, and was nothing short of spectacular. For $25, attendees were given a copy of their new album, We'll Be Fine, along with a drink ticket redeemable for a pint of Boundary Bay Beer. Despite the price, the GAF Church was swarmed by fans and the band's ensuing three sets made sure those in attendance got what they paid for.

The first set was composed of mostly tried-and-true favorites, occasionally reinvented here and there with spontaneous additions and unexpected lyrics. This was definitely the way to go for starting the night off, as the familiar immediately roused the crowd's energy, helping the band segue into the second set which predominantly showcased their newer songs from We'll Be Fine. A few of these songs – I'm thinking of the playful, appropriately-named for its country bounce, "Gringo Starr" in particular – have long been included in the band's live shows but hearing the bulk of the new album's offerings together, live, made a big impression of how strong the new album truly is.

For the third and final set – which was, rather surprisingly, not a bit less dynamic than the first two – the audience was given a mixed bag of old and new elements. A second drummer was invited on stage and a strong reggae theme took hold. Somewhere, between the second or third set, the band threw in a random cover of "No Diggity" and completely pulled it off in their own style that was neither kitschy nor ironic. To see that take place was totally gratifying by itself, but set against the rest of the sparkling performance, fun decorations and lighting, and avid crowd, the show ended up creating a mood that was the perfect prologue to summer.

Acorn Project

We'll Be Fine


by Stephanie Ashton


May 2008 Cover
Though it presents an impressively grand departure from 2005's Odd His Sleepy Soar, Acorn Project's latest offering, the nine-song We'll Be Fine, still captures the trademark smoothness and funk that has made them a Bellingham favorite. This time around, the addition of a second guitar player has naturally lent a much stronger rock current to the album, and the band as a whole appears to have embraced a more aggressive approach to making music.

It's clear that the band has become more confident, as the album comes off as simultaneously more playful and more controlled than their first; elements such as echoing vocals and a much greater level of orchestration are surprising upon first listen, but so flawlessly executed that the listener doesn't realize the great degree of chance the band is taking on. As a whole, the greater nuances within each song allow the band to experiment with several different styles of music while still maintaining strong cohesion; intricate guitar work paired with a smattering of saxophone float to the top of each song and are truly a delightful combination.

We'll Be Fine includes one older song – a revisiting of "Stomp," one of the knock-out tracks from Odd His Sleepy Soar, and it's here that we are really shown how sophisticated Acorn Project has become. Elements that worked wonderfully before are shown again, and in this case, the juxtapositions of tempo are so refined that instead of being a song that runs simply from beginning to end, it comes across as a fully formed thought with a period at the end – somehow, something has clicked and now fits together perfectly.

The same can be said about the album as a whole; We'll Be Fine demonstrates a perfect balance of whimsy and work ethic and it's precisely the ability to keep things so effortlessly composed that ensures Acorn Project a lot to look forward to.

Not your average band

Acorn Project sets out to chart new territory, give back to the community


by Stephanie Ashton



Acorn Project

Over the course of the past five years, Bellingham's much loved Acorn Project has grown to be a cornerstone of locally performing live acts. With an ever increasing fan base, consistently packed shows, and what has appeared to be, in recent months, a near monopoly on big event nights – their New Year's show at Boundary Bay, Mardi Gras show at the Wild Buffalo, and St. Patrick's Day show at Callaloo were all widely attended – the band has come an impressive way from their non-ambitious beginnings as four college friends experimenting with music. Now, with two members added to the original line-up, the band comprises of Sam Lax playing saxophone, Andy Pritiken on rhythm guitar and providing lead vocals, Todd Benedict rocks the drums, Kale McGuiness on bass, Oscar Kollen plays keyboard, and Tristan Currin on lead guitar. Lax, Pritiken, Benedict and McGuiness have been playing together since the beginning, while Kollen was added sometime around the time the band recorded their first album, 2006's Odd His Sleepy Soar. Currin, having been a frequent on-stage guest of Acorn Project's live shows, officially joined in October 2006. Currently gearing up to release their second album, Acorn Project proves to be one of the most diverse and exciting bands in Bellingham.

Although they are frequently categorized as just another jam band, each Acorn Project member rejects the label and are all excited to see how their forthcoming album, titled We'll Be Fine, challenges the common misconceptions about who they are and what they play.

"We've been known to take the music into a dimension that some might call bizarro, but we're not just a twirling whirling hippy jam party funkathon," says Lax.

Pritiken explains, "We are six members that bring six different tastes together. We have all written songs, and as we get better musically, we end up doing more exploring and having more layers."

For We'll Be Fine, Lax lets on that a particularly eclectic mix of sounds is present. "We're trying to keep ourselves entertained by choosing many different styles to play," he says. "From funk to electronic, punk to pop, disco to rock."

Kollen adds, "None of us really know how to write a traditional pop song – so it's all about bouncing ideas around and then playing them." A process McGuiness describes as the band "chewing it up and spitting it back out."

"We learned how to play music in a live setting," Pritiken adds, "so we aren't really a studio band – we're a live band."

And while Odd His Sleepy Soar did lack a lot of the spark and charisma of Acorn Project's live shows, the experience of recording that album allowed them to use the recording studio to their advantage this time around. "We were really able to refine our sound, but keep the energy of the live shows," says Benedict.

"Finding structure and cues in our songs was most of the work when we recorded," Currin explains.

"Lately we've really been trying to push the envelope on the spontaneous elements of our music," Benedict adds, "because that's the part that's most fun."

Lax notes that their overall song writing has improved a lot. "We've been together for long enough to know that we have the ability to create a unified sound if we want to, and from the very start we've really wanted to push each other musically, which ends up making our song structures a little weird."

And on this subject, each member can't say enough about the album's producer, Rob Peebler. "We had a lot of material to sort through," says Lax, "and we owe a lot to him for making this disc come together."

When asked how they came up with the title We'll Be Fine, each member laughs. "It's just something we found ourselves repeating on the road," says Currin. "Like – should we gas up? We've got 40 miles to go and are running on fumes… nah, we'll be fine."

A certain confidence is present as more touring stories are told, which one can presume comes with the success Acorn Project has met and the way they've managed to build a mini-empire. Between organizing Bellingham's Urban Music Festival since 2005, and performing at several high profile events and venues, Acorn Project still finds time to devote to making a bigger impact in the community. The group established the organization CEED (Community Environmental Education Development) "to make sure that those who care about us… also have access to information about issues that matter in Bellingham, the Northwest and beyond," Lex says. From the 25 or so benefit concerts Acorn Project has put on since 2004, they have raised around $15,000 that CEED has donated to local non-profit causes. Ten percent of Acorn Project's profits are donated to local groups. Planned Parenthood, Surfrider Foundation, The Planet Environmental Magazine, Relay For Life, and Anything Grows are some of the groups that have received funds. The band is currently working on getting an official, non-profit designation for CEED.

Having so many pots cooking at once for so long, one might expect the band to be ready to sit back, satisfied. But they're ready to tour more frequently, and longer. "We're constantly searching for what's next," says Pritiken. "We're definitely excited to keep it going and keep it growing."

Currin says, "We are always trying to one-up ourselves and have fun. The steps we're taking now are taking longer to make, but they're much bigger steps."

Fans not only have We'll Be Fine to look forward to next month, but an upcoming summer calendar that is packed with festival appearances. And, at the rate the band is progressing, we can only expect the best has yet to come.

For more information, Acorn Project can be found online at www.acornproject.net or www.myspace.com/acornprojectmusic.


More Features

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Newest Issue


May 2008 Cover

Thanks to all the friends and family that came out to our set at The Flowmotion Summer Meltdown.  All of your support is what makes every show such a good time for all of us.  Brandon, Megan, Adam, David, it was great seeing you all again.  Thanks again to Flowmotion and the whole Meltdown crew, y'all ROCK! 

Our next show is going to be at the Broken Spoke Festival at Larabee Park.  Tristan and I (Andy) will be in the pack riding our bikes out to the park and Acorn will play a acoustic(ish) set on the Larabee Stage.  So grab your bike and ride out with us, and enjoy a free show!  Yambique will also be there.

Hello all of you wonderful people!

We've had an awesome fall hitting the road more than ever. A lot of great things happened over the past ten weeks, so here's a little update on where we stand as we bring home the Fall tour of '06.

We played 17 shows over the past 9 weeks...many of you made it to an incredible number of these shows travelling with us! Thanks!

Highlights included opening for Phix in Seattle at the Tractor Tavern, a 6 show tour in one week covering four states, a great Funk into Fall event with TapHabit, a string of 3 sold out performances in Spokane (Boulevard), Seattle (Nectar Lounge), and Bellingham (Wild Buffalo) including two epic Halloween bashes opening for Flowmotion. Finally, what we hope will be a great blowout at the Night Light this upcoming Friday to close out our Fall. We've got some suprises for finishing this run...a couple of new songs coming your way!

Other interesting notes:
We purchased our mini-bus, which has really opened up our ability to travel as a band. We're excited to see where it will take us as time moves forward. Also, Tristan Curin is officially the sixth member of Acorn Project. The band now is complete as a sexy sex-tet. Tristan can rip on guitar, and we're all excited about the tasty flavor he brings to the mix. Oh yeah, and we got some new stickers and t-shirts showing off Andy's impressive new logo design work... please pick one up at the next show!

On the horizon:
www.acornproject.net is almost here!! Stay tuned for more details...
Yeah, we've said that a million times, but it's going to go down... promise!

There's talk of our next studio project. Not sure how or when, but all we know is we hope to release a second full length album sometime within the next year. More details to come as this unfolds...

Over our Winter Tour dates will be a little less active than Fall. We have a few shows east of the mountains in December, a New Year's Bash being planned in Bellingham, and what is looking like a busy January/February. We're already planning an extended tour for March or early April. Winter dates will be posted just before Thanksgiving.

Thanks so much for your support!! We love you all!!

Happy Fall!!

Sam, Andy, Kale, Todd, Oskar, Tristan and Rabbit

I ain't no damn hippy.

Peace and Love to all in Cosmic Harmony...
Sam