Music Store

The Poi Dog pondering catalogue is now up on iTunes!
Almost all the records are available except the first record (in about a month).
To visit the Poi iTunes store click on any record below

The Poi Dog Pondering Sound / all the main releases in order

Album Notes: POI DOG PONDERING

Poi dog Pondering's debut CD. Originally released as 2 e.p.s on Texas Hotel records.
This record captures the whimsical elegance of the the bands early acoustic rock sound, fresh off the street from their beginnings as a street playing "busking" band. This album sounds as fresh today as the day it was recorded thanks to Mike Stewart's warm analogue recording. It's time-less and heart-felt. Earnest and honest.
Violins, accordions, mandolins, mando cellos, bass, oboe, drums, electric guitars, penny whistles, harps and trumpets are a few of the instruments that give this recording it's unique texture. Threaded together with prose that knows that life is short, and sometimes painful, and should be lived with both hands and a healthy thirst. Zorba the Greek would like this record.
Album Notes: WISHING LIKE A MOUNTAIN, THINKING LIKE THE SEA

The whimsical apex of early PDP. Before the Sony / Columbia machine and cynical press cavity toothed mutterings scared them into self awareness... (which is not as bad as it seems...) this is the sound of PDP just happy to be there in the world playing music and unaware that it might matter to anyone - and bliss-full to the fact that the lions in wait of "thou shall not indie to major trade" were ready to pounce.
Little had anyone known that we had in our brashness, beaten the best contract out of columbia, better than any indy contract - filled with creative control.... (including clauses for a kid's record, and an instrumental record... ) and kept our own publishing - all because we could care less and fought them for it. But none of this has anything to do with the sound and the songs here.
This is pre-indy back lash poi being it's natural heart on the sleeve self.
Angered letters from fundamentalist religious zealots came in addressing the songs: "Bury me deep" and "Praise the lord". PDP took it as a good sign.
Album Notes: VOLO VOLO

This began as an instrumental record, When our label contact heard what we were making he flew right down to Austin and said, point blank:
"Columbia wants a lyric record or else they're gonna drop the band."
In-sensed by this form of control PDP decided rather than to quit or quibble, to take their cue from Madona; "Gain power, then do what you want with it", so they wrote a stone solid pop lyric record, put boxing gloves on for the cover photo and let Columbia know they were in the ring. "In retrospect, I'm glad Columbia pushed us - cause it ended up producing 2 good records - the one we meant to make (Palm Fabric Orchestra) and Volo Volo.... "
That's a good story - and true... but an equally important truth is; when the band was on tour in England in 89 and they heard the Happy Mondays, that kinda started a revolution in the poi sound. And with Palm Fabric in the bag - they were happy to move on and explore again. You can start to hear it here.
The band got hate mail from fans who feared they sold out when volo volo hit.
Album Notes: POMEGRANATE

Made under the pressure of tending to a lover ( and band member ) struggling with cancer, this record emerged a diamond. It's a determined deep breath, and acceptance of life and it's ways and choosing to live and love it.
It's sex and dreams and dirt and earth. A masterpiece.
Album Notes: ELECTRIQUE PLUMMAGRAM

In the mid 90's PDP were enjoying fresh inspiration from the vibrant Chicago underground electronic dance movement, and so Fresh off of releasing "Pomegranate", PDP went back into the studio with producers Frank Orrall and Martin Stebbing and engineer Scott Ramsayer to make this RE-MIX album. They locked themselves into the studio and experimented with vintage synthesizers and drum machines to make club ready versions of 4 previously released PDP songs. This session yielded 3 new cuts; "Zap Disco" (inspired by Chicago's south side 'Juke' and ' booty house' sound), "Platetectonic" a quasi rock / electronic house Frankenstein, and the hidden JEM of the whole record; "Diva (bliss mix)" closes out the record.
This record freaked out some fans of the band who thought the band "went disco" - but it also made new fans, and is a testimony to PDPs musical elasticity.
"Diva" is singularly beautiful in it's organic electronic-ness - fully electronic - but somehow it sounds like it could fit right along side PDP's most acoustic tender songs. Frank Orrall counts "Diva" and "Falling" as two of his favorite PDP recordings - they are like the north and south pole of the poi catalogue - a world apart from each-other, but very much in the same glove of poi's tender melancholic joy.
Album Notes: LIQUID WHITE LIGHT

The quintessential live PDP record to date.
This captures the early Chicago line up in it's prime. Knowing it was the band's first live record, and at the decade mark of the band's existence - they chose to lay the concert out like a sonic retrospective; Starting with "Angelika Suspended" 's early poi acoustic sound and ending the night with the bands emerging interest in electronic textures and dance / rock music.
Recorded over 4 nights at the Vic Theater,
Expertly mixed by PDP's #1 trusted 'man at the controls' Martin Stebbing and assisted by Max Crawford's dedicated attention to detail and choice of passion over performance...
This record captures the late '90's poi to perfection.
Album Notes: NATURAL THING

"Natural Thing" is the sound of PDP in the summer light fire of re-invention. Again.
The lyrics get thrown in the fire, and the music rises higher.
"At this time in my life I felt like music was so much more expressive than words..." said Frank Orrall, "And I just wanted to let the music speak." "Rather than traditional song writing structures like; "verse / chorus / bridge " etc., We just let the musicians be musicians and play. Martin and I followed where they went and made the song fit their intuitive structure.... The instrumentalist was the conductor, and the songs just wrapped around that cosmic shape."
"Also at this time in my life lyrics were not coming to me and so I just felt like lyrics should be short and to the point. Set the stage and let the music talk to the listener in the sound of the soul. The arc of emotion in "Octavio / Beautiful to meet you", Spend my life", "Diva" and "Tracery / Tana dery Na" literally pull at my heart" say's Frank Orrall.
Album Notes: THAT'S THE WAY LOVE IS

Re-Mixes of the Ten City classic "That's the way love is" as well as Poi dog pondering's "Complicated".
Featuring remixes by Maurice Josusah, Mike Dunn, Lego, Jesse De La Pena and Bunky.
Album Notes: SOUL SONIC ORCHESTRA

The neo Disco soul of poi dog pondering shines here live at the turning of the millennium.
This record captures PDP in the midst of exploring how to combine the 70's Philly soul disco with House and rock.
With a controversial new line up and focus on soul, disco jazz and house music, PDP set out to explore that field planted in the 70's by The Sound of Philadelphia (or TSOP), Big band live disco with strings and horns, Jazz keys, bass, congas and drums. Striving to become the organic link between that and the electronic present.
Recorded live on NYE at the dawn of 2000, This record captures the band feeling flush with creative energy and determined to follow it's heart in-spite of a vocal portion of it's fan-base resistant to let the band morph as it always seems to need to do.
Album Notes: IN SEED COMES FRUIT

One of the most elegant albums of the poi catalogue. Susan Voelz and Paul Mertens stretch their orchestral wings on this record and give this record a unique intimate - yet expansive sound. This is the most collaborative of all the PDP records with many members sharing in the writing of lyrics as well as the music. Chief song writer Frank Orrall seems more interested in sound than lyrics during this period and so cozies up to co-producer Martin Stebbing's chair and enjoys the ride in more of a sonic conductors role. Singers Charlette Wortham, Carla Prather, Kornell Hargrove and Susan Voelz take the lyrical reigns and the result is broad in palate, but richly cohesive.
This is a record for musicians, painters, long distance drivers and lovers.
Album Notes: 7

A tour de force filled with love, swagger, raw honesty and moxie. 7 somehow sounds like a brother / sister record to PDP's '95 release "Pomegranate". The band have taken 10 years of experimenting with orchestral arrangements and honed them into something more akin to Tyrone Davis' Chicago bar room soul strings and horn sections and put them through the engine room of a lean mean rock band on tour in a van, towing a trailer towards Detroit.
An instant classic in the poi catalogue.

Produced by Frank Orrall, Martin Stebbing and Ted Cho.
String arrangements by Susan Mary Voelz, Horn arrangements by Dave Max Crawford. Guest vocalist Abra Moore. -
Sweeping up the cutting room floor (rarities & b-sides)
Audio Visivo (dvd and 3 song e.p. packaged together)
The best of the Austin years (compilation)