Quick, Before It Melts.

All too often, music and musicians with a conscience are looked upon with suspicion and, sometimes unfairly, derision. They talk the talk, but often don't bother walking the walk. Ryan Costello, on the other hand, is one musician whose lyrics speak directly from first-hand experiences. He spent two years working in the Central Afghan Mountains of Afghanistan, helping refugees create sustainable agricultural development He documented what he saw through a series of moving portraits (www.ryancostello.com) and by way of his guitar.

After returning to the United States, he re-teamed with long-time collaborator Matthew Antolick and the two worked on the fragments and impressions Costello brought home with him, eventually creating and recording the songs on Our Fathers and The Things They Left Behind, their debut album under the name The OaKs.

In order to translate their multi-dimensional music to a live setting, the duo recruited a motley crew of like-minded musicians: Jeremy Siegel on bass, trombone and some keys, mandolin;
Melissa Reyes providing vocals, accordion, bells, percussion, some keys; Greg Willson on guitars, saxophone and vocals; Tim Cocking adding Wurlitzer electric piano, accordion, synths, organ, bells, trumpet, and vocals. Impressed by their new band mates' prowess on their respective instruments, Costello and Antolick started writing pieces for them to really sink their teeth into. The resulting album, Songs For Waiting, is void of most modern recording techniques, relying on the acoustic qualities of Costello's house-cum-recording studio to add the ambiance and reverb necessary. It's a beautiful album that conjures up images of 60s jazz and countrified folk dressed up in musical colours and flourishes from around the world.