Orchestraville

Orchestraville went through many phases in their time. Formed in Athens, Ohio during the early 90s, they never fit into what was popular or trendy. But during their 15 years together, they matured from a quirky "alternative rock"band into a tight rock and roll outfit focused on songwriting instead of musicianship. In 1991, Christopher Forbes (guitar, vocals) and Dave Pascoe (bass) asked drummer Keith Hanlon to join them for demo recordings.

In 1991, Christopher Forbes (guitar, vocals) and Dave Pascoe (bass) asked drummer Keith Hanlon to join them for demo recordings. They enjoyed the experience so much that they brought in guitarist Brendan McKay to complete the group. McKay's guitar playing, inspired by horn players like Ornette Coleman and John Zorn, fit well with Forbes' dense picking style. They quickly fell in with touring bands from New York's ?Avante-Pop? Scene, opening shows for The Mommyheads, Beekeeper, Babe the Blue Ox and VPN. They spent a few years recording and playing shows along the east coast and midwest.

McKay was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lyphoma, and in 1997 he passed away. This affected the band considerably, but they continued as a trio and released their self-titled and self-released CD in 1998, culled heavily from recording sessions with McKay. They eventually relocated to Columbus, Ohio and began writing new songs.

They asked guitarist Matt Duckworth (Lemdaro, The Original Onions) to join them. By 2001, they had a new CD ready, "At Night It Is Particularly Lovely." The album showcased their newer accessible songwriting and a more cohesive sound overall. Duckworth left the group shortly after its release, but not before writing and recording more songs with the band. These sessions were finally released digitally in 2010 as the "Invent the Machine" EP.

Regrouping in 2002, the band began writing new material with keyboardist Parker Paul (former member of Curious Digit and a solo artist on Jagjaguwar Records). The new songs were more straight-forward, with vocal melodies recalling Ray Davies and George Harrison. They proceeded to record the new material by themselves, and the album ("Poison Berries") was to be released by Columbus' Anyway Records. However, the band decided to disband in 2005. Pascoe moved to Denver, Hanlon went back to school and Parker Paul started a family. Forbes and Hanlon later joined The Black Swans and Parker Paul continued his solo career, and now plays with Moviola.

In 2010, they began to re-release their past albums as digital downloads. This included material that was previously unreleased, such as the EP recorded with Duckworth, a full-length CD of tracks from the early 90s, and a single they were working on before disbanding.

Finally, they decided to release "?Poison Berries" simultaneously on vinyl and as a digital download in September 2010. They will play a few reunion shows in Athens and Columbus to celebrate.