EXTRA GOLDEN "THANK YOU VERY QUICKLY" A BRIGHT LIGHT FROM KENYA & POCONO
The situation broke down day after day We could only reach for the best With no hope for answer -- No possible way Your heart was really put to the test
So, 'Thank you very quickly' That's all I can say You never know when you might be next ~ From the song "Thank You Very Quickly"
The story of Extra Golden is an inspiration, and the music may just save that war torn part of the world beating out the call to arms in your own heart. This band was formed the old fashioned way, as a jam between buddies for the love of the song. What was once an extraordinarily fine experimental coupling of music from the Luo tribe in Kenya and the Pocono tribe in the region of Pennsylvania (United States), has become a fully realized thing of beauty right there on your CD player. There may not be a more potent force on compact disc than "Thank You Very Quickly" for the delivery of music with love as the drug, joy in the beat, and words that translate into a call for change to bring a little happiness at the prospects of life on our little blue marble. There is a call for the destruction of the plague of AIDS, a story of the band song in the title cut (built on "Don't You Love Me" by Human League for a sweet New Wave cameo) and depth in the batter of every confection on this disc. There's more to this band than meets the ear.
What began as a casual collaboration back in 2004 between Pocono natives Ian Eagleson and Alex Minoff with the late Kenyan songwriter Otieno Jagwasi, has cooked up Extra Golden in the frying pan of a stovetop world. The first album by Extra Golden took some three hours to become worth of vinyl, but Otieno lost his battle with liver disease sometime thereafter. The joy of life in the songs of EG is not some privileged remnant from a life without events. They have survived life threatening politics and the consequences of mortality and emerged a worldwide road tested delivery system for hope and joy against the odds stacked against them like biblical Job if he had formed a dance band. You can trust this hope as a thing with roots as deep as our own predicament here in tribes and states that purport to be United.
Otieno Jagwasi and Ian Eagleson had been documenting the guitar-heavy dance music of the Luo people called "benga" for Ian's doctoral thesis since 2000 when they fooled around and fell into a band. Otieno hailed from Gwasi district in western Kenya which is described in press releases as a "hotbed of musical activity for the specific type of benga played by the Luo. Candidate Raila Odinga, a Luo was a likely new leader for Kenya, and Extra Golden was a likely candidates for some parties in celebration, but political upheaval resulted in some dangerous times for the people and the band.
"Obama" The Song for The Senator
Extra Golden was invited to the Chicago World Music Festival at a time of trouble, but none of the Kenyan musicians had passports or visas to make the trip. Bass player Minoff put out a "Hail Mary" call to then U.S. Senator Barach Obama, D-Ill, whose father was Kenyan. "I got through to a woman named Jenna Pilot," Minoff says. "And I went through a whole rant. I must have had 400 cups of coffee. There was a pause. And she said, 'Okay, I think I can help you.'" Extra golden made it to Chicago on the wings of brinkmanship, and thereafter recorded the song "Obama" for their second album, Hera Ma Nono. (This paragraph owes it's substance to the NPR report on this subject.)
The New Sound Born From Respect and Joy
Music has benefited greatly from the mash up of cultures with such byproducts as The Blues, Jazz, Bartok, Stravinsky, and just about everything worth listening to. Extra Golden might sound like Kenya to American ears, and like something else in Kenya. This mash up of cultures has produced a new sound, and a spirit to go along with it. This story shines to me like a diamond in a dime store, with facets for every taste, and a sound built on respect between people brought together by the music. There's just no downside to Extra Golden. Whether the album photo is a sunset or a sunrise, the future looks bright listening to this band. They have replaced the happy talk of false optimism with the joy of humanity. It's time to face the music and dance.
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THE SONGS
1. GIMAKINY AKIA starts with a cycle of chords building to laughter and a dramatic and powerful dance against the machine.
2. FANTASIES OF THE ORIENT reminds the audience a man doesn't doesn’t have to live as a monkey to find happiness. The lyrics are not in English, but the music has enough feeling to carry the message.
3. PINY YORE YORE takes the guitar into a fuzz box funk of benga on the verge of punk, but the beat is sweet and infectious with or without a translation.
4. ANYANGO starts with a slide guitar, Duane Allman tinged finale just for a lark. Ian's slide sounds like Sun House had vacationed near Nairobi one hot Summer. There's room in my music box for a little roadhouse benga music any day. This stuff rocks, sways and dances off the groove. Yousa! Sounds like the vocalist just about says "Hotcha!" at the end. Sweet!
5. UKIMWI Drummer Onyango Wuod Omari steps out front on “Ukimwi”, a passionate plea to destroy AIDS. This is as close to a haunting ballad as Extra Golden gets. There are voices in chorus here with just a touch in my ear of Africa Black Mambazo. This one has a deeper beauty full of sorrow and humanity. Oh yes, you can dance to it! That's a given.
6. THANK YOU VERY QUICKLY benefits from Don’t You Want Me by Human League as though Ian might have been writing the story of Extra Golden to that tune on the tour bus. The resulting song is a benga backed New Wave mash up that tells the story of fragile humanity in the face of big circumstance in English and the language of that Luo vocalist.
EXTRA GOLDEN
Opiyo Bilongo = guitar Ian Eagleson = guitar Alex Minoff = bass Onyango Wuod Omari = drums
Ian Eagleson, Alex Minoff, Otieno Jagwasi, Onyango Wuod Omari, Onyango Jagwasi, Noel Kupersmith, Opiyo Bilongo
The Extra Golden tour dates:
Sat ~ Apr 25 ~ Cleveland, OH ~ - Beachland Ballroom Fri ~ May 8 ~ Berkeley, CA ~ - Ashkenaz Music and Dance Sat ~ May 9 ~ Big Sur, CA ~ - Big Sur Spirit Garden Mon ~ May 11 ~ San Francisco, CA ~ - Elbo Room Tue ~ May 12 ~ Santa Cruz, CA ~ - Moe's Alley Wed ~ May 13 ~ Los Angeles, CA ~ - The Echo Thu ~ May 14 ~ San Diego, CA ~ - Pink Elephant Bar Fri ~ May 15 ~ Goleta, CA ~ - Mercury Lounge Sat ~ May 16 ~ Visalia, CA ~ - Cellar Door Sun ~ May 17 ~ Joshua Tree, CA ~ - Joshua Tree Music Festival Mon ~ May 18 ~ Phoenix, AZ ~ - Rhythm Room Tue ~ May 19 ~ Albuquerque, NM ~ - The Cooperage Wed ~ May 20 ~ Lubbock, TX ~ - Bash Riprock's Thu ~ May 21 ~ Austin, TX ~ - Emo's Fri ~ May 22 ~ Fort Worth, TX ~ - Longhorne Saloon Sat ~ May 23 ~ Houston, TX ~ - Walter's On Washington Sat ~ Aug 29 ~ San Francisco, CA ~ - Outside Lands Festival Sun ~ Sep 6 ~ Seattle, WA ~ - Bumbershoot
The image below is linked to Extra Golden's band website:
