California's finest table top dancers..
Odawas Bio:
Named for the Great Lakes Native American tribe the Odawas, the Indiana indie pop trio's quirky tales of myth and mayhem bring to mind everyone from Randy Newman and the Beach Boys to Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamanti. Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/harmonica player Mike Tapscott, keyboardist/songwriter Isaac Edwards, and drummer/flautist Jessica Halverson released their Vitamin City Demo on Birds and Rockets Records in 2003. They signed with Jagjaguwar the following year and released their full-length debut, The Aether Eater, in June of 2005. The LP-only Raven and the White Night (whose purchase was accompanied by a complimentary CD version) came out in early 2007, and featured Brad Cash as a replacement for Halverson on drums. Blue Depths arrived in 2009.
Hello, how are you?
(He left this blank, we'll assume he's ok..)
I often have problems placing your “brand of music” in a genre.. Can you please tell me, in your own words, what kind of music Odawas are?
Mike Tapscott: Well, the "brand of music" is constantly changing and evolving around a solid base of singer-songwriter. We want to always have great songs and experiment with sound around it. So we've moved from theatrical to psych-rock to folk to new age to electronic. Right now i would say it's new age-folk.
Growing up were you often fascinated by “experimental” music? How did Odawas sound become what it is today?
MT: I grew up listening to musicals and that progressed into a love of obscure lyrics and good stories - i think that can explain what I want to do with the songwriting. From high school on it was a typical progression from classic rock to the pretentious soundscapes and sound experiments i'm into now!
What are you currently listening to?
MT: I can't stop listening to Bernd Witthuser's "Lider Von Vampiren, Nonen Und Toten," i'm also loving Xela, Scott Tuma, and lately all sorts of reggae that's being played at the place i work...
Your newest album “The Blue Depths” is one of the most warm/lush/gorgeous albums I‘ve ever heard, an “obvious contender” for top music of 2009... How do you feel about the outcome of this album?
MT: Isaac and I were extremely proud of the new record, I don't know what will happen this year, maybe it will be nothing new at all, but it's exciting to have made a piece of art that will open new doors and opportunities.
Is there a theme with “The Blue Depths“?
MT: There is a running theme of water and the longing for a passionate lifestyle lyrically. Musically - it was all about the spirituality of machines and there tempting of us into nothingness through beauty - yeah that's right!
Can we expect a full US tour any time soon?
MT: Sure, the economic situation is rough here, we live in one of the most expensive places in the world here in the Bay Area of California, there are student loans, rents and jobs to hold onto however tenuously. We will be doing some touring and we will do as much as we can without completely ruining ourselves financially...
Is there a reason you named your band after the Great Lakes Native American tribe?
MT: As a boy i spent summers with my family in a little green cabin we shared with another family in northern michigan. off in the distance on lake michigan was the island, beaver island. whenever we got in the water or in our blow up boat we'd always say we were going to Beaver Island. In reality it was like 20 miles off shore and we would never get there - it's populated by the odawas indians and it is in economic depravity and is slowly sinking into lake michigan - it's very sad, but to us it was a magical place. It's a nod to the distortion of childhood memories.
Are you living your dream?
MT: um...well this isn't a dream, it's pretty real. music business is full of bitterness and jealousy and being constantly frustrated. it'll never be enough...
THANK YOU ODAWAS!
Odawas have a few US dates currently up on their website..
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