Oakley Hall rambling toward Athens for night of folk rock
By Jen Kessler, Entertainment Staff Writer
October 3, 2007 | 10:10 a.m.
While Oakley Hall currently calls Brooklyn, N.Y. home, each of the six band members hail from separate states, from Michigan to Florida and a few states along the way.
When the eclectic collection of wayward drifters found itself thrown together in the midst of America’s largest city and cultural mecca, the result was a folk-infused explosion that showcased Oakley Hall’s integral, backwoods roots. The ambling harmonies of lead vocalists Patrick Sullivan and Rachel Cox, coupled with gentle yet poignant guitar melodies, shine with a dusty, "boondock" grace. The soft lyrics are coated with quiet rebellion and boast an immense emotional depth that encapsulates the soul of folk music.
The band’s name is borrowed from Oakley Hall, an 86-year-old novelist who is considered a literary pioneer of the West Coast. In a 2006 interview with DayTrotter.com, Sullivan described the band’s choice for a name while simultaneously cutting to the heart of the band’s most distinguishing principles.
“I liked the cadences in his name a lot,” Sullivan said. “It seemed to suggest something regal, American and mysterious, simultaneously. I’ve read a handful of his novels and was attracted by the realism and grit of his vision of the West.... He may have been one of the first guys to de-mythify the frontier.”
The realism, grit and regal American mystery of which Sullivan speaks are brilliantly illustrated in the music of the band, which conjures images that parallel works of art like Jack Kerouac’s classic novel “On the Road,” Allen Ginsberg’s legendary poem “Howl” or Bob Dylan’s landmark album Highway 61 Revisited. The excitement of pushing westward through the heart of America, on the road with the purpose of both physical and spiritual exploration, pulses vibrantly through Oakley Hall’s soulful art. Dashes of late '60s countercultures are evident, highlighted with hints of manifest destiny and splashes of late afternoon sun.
The unquestionable talent of the band has begun to catch the attention of not only the consumer audience, but peers and talented musicians as well. Conor Oberst, front man of the immensely popular indie group Bright Eyes, has been an avid fan and supporter of Oakley Hall since Sullivan played an anti-war benefit with him in New York City. In fact, the band toured with Bright Eyes last spring.
Since its founding in 2002, Oakley Hall has released one EP entitled Sweet & Low (2003) and four full-length albums, successively called Oakley Hall (2005), Second Guessing (2006), Gypsum Strings (2006), and I’ll Follow You (2007).
Oakley Hall will be hitting Athens at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3 at The Union for a show sponsored by the All Campus Radio Network. Local indie-folk act Kaslo and Columbus-based duo The Receiver will be opening the show.
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Want to listen to Oakley Hall's music before the show? Check out the band's MySpace.