Saturday, January 26, 2013

First/Last-Akrasia

Saturday, January 26, 2013
Larryville

"Akrasia is a rock & roll band that jams like a jam band but likes to take showers. They are slackers with guitars and computers riding the vibe of the muse through the tangled webs of this reckless game of Risk, this perpetual game of Othello that is life in this modern age. They are prophets and poets. Observers and wanderers. Actors in the great unwritten play. They play music for beer and they like it. They dig fast cars, finely grilled red meat, long walks in the woods, free interpretation, extra innings, pure opium, the History Channel, listening to music through good headphones and relations with pretty girls. Akrasia has released eight or nine albums. They're pretty decent. If you dig decent music, you might dig them. They're probably currently recording another one or two. They will be most excellent. Their live shows are a spontaneous, groove-tastic romp through their catalog of a hundredsome original songs and a bunch of songs that they didn't write also.
Each show is different and special, like a snowflake or a vagina."

You can find the band on it's official Website and Bandcamp. They are headlining Brillobox tonight on a bill with The #'s, Nemo and Grainsquall. My thanks to the band's 'Shaman-in-Residence' Bill Danylo for taking the time to participate in this edition of First/Last.

The first album you ever bought?
Elvis, “Golden Records”.

Your last album bought?
BUY LOCAL! CHris Hannigan’s “Lickety Split”, EMay, “Summer 2012”, Broken Fences’ S/T, 123’s “New Heaven”.

Favorite album of all time?
Oh man. Too many. I consume albums like locusts. Impossible to list everything that's made an impact on me. Neil Young’s “On the Beach”, Dan Bern’s “Fifty Eggs”, Bob Dylan & the Band’s “Before the Flood”, The Beatles’ “Abbey Road”, Akrasia’s “Jagoff Hearts”, Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”, George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass”, Aridne’s “PRP”, TheClarks, “Let it Go”, TheRolling Stones’ “Exile on Main St.”, TMBG’s “Flood”.

Least favorite/most disappointing album?
CSNY’s “Looking Forward” (Trite. So trite), The Clarks’ “Another Happy Ending” (Great sound production, poor songs), DMB’s “Busted Stuff” (Lillywhite, FTW), Lotus’ “Lotus” (they don't play ‘Umbilical Moonrise’ anymore...), Weezer’s “Raditude” --> on (sigh), The White Stripes’ “Get Behind Me Satan” (geetars > marimbas).

First concert attended?
Folks took me to a 3WS Summer Oldies Celebration deally at Three Rivers Stadium back in the day. Was hooked from there.

Last concert?
Dan Bern in Pittsburgh/Cleveland. Probably my personal all time-favorite songwriter. Got to open the Pittsburgh show, hung out over the weekend, drank beers, bullshat. So very cool.

Favorite concert ever?
YIKES. Instead of quantifying, it's somehow easier just to list ALL OF THE CONCERTS! (...that I can honestly recall..) They all were amazing in their own ways.
Editor’s Note: Bill proceed’s to literally name every concert he’s attended alphabetically from Aerosmith to Wilco. If you just cannot live without knowing his concert history, track him down to ask him.

Least favorite concert?
Sparta. Soo, soo bad. So bad. This was also the weekend I learned about Ohian geography, specifically why it's not a great idea to book the hotel rooms in Cleveland when you've lost your mind at a show in Columbus.
Dude from Everclear was wasted. Forgot all of the words to his own songs.
Got 'mugged' at a Phish concert once. Was sitting on a bench with some buddies watching the sun set, reflecting on the awesomeness of the universe and eventually noticed that our belongings had been liberated.

Favorite thoughts, experiences about Pittsburgh?
I've lived in Pittsburgh my whole life. Grew up in Shaler, went to school at Pitt, worked and played all over town. Part of me always expected to leave someday, maybe somewhere warmer, but I genuinely like it here. In the future, I would like to get involved with Heath Miller's campaign for Mayor.


Thanks, Bill. You do have a difficult time narrowing down favorites, huh?

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