Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, this quartet of three men and a lady creates music that dances from genre to genre as if there’s ain't no such thang... Easy to fall in love with, hard not to dance to, plain difficult to describe.
While the eclectic atmosphere of San Francisco is the perfect incubator for such a sound, Antioquia’s conception took place much farther south in the state of Colombia that gave the band its name... and where guitarist Adley Penner and drummer Craig Miller discovered their musical chemistry. The two northern transplants first met in 2003 while playing music in Ecuador. They traveled together to Medellin where they became enthralled with Afro-Colombian folklore music, and took lessons from accomplished percussionist Juan Guillermo.
In June 2006, Miller and Penner moved to SF and performed with three different bassists until a Craigslist ad delivered Paul "Fresh" Martin. With a soulful playing style, experimental leanings and a decent sense of humor, Paul was the perfect fit. "Mana" Maddy Streicek joined the group in December 2006. Her inspired vocals and passion for performance completed the equation. The line up is often joined by well-known Bay Area percussionist Ben Isaacs, perhaps better known as "Professor Slap" complementing the arrangements with African percussion including tama, djembe and bugaribu.
Antioquia pulls inspiration from artists and visionaries ranging from Muddy Waters to Megadeth, Phish to Fela Kuti, Grace Slick to Gandhi, Toto la Momposina to Talking Heads. But what distinguishes Antioquia from other genre-bending acts are the rhythms that permeate their sound, from the Afro-Colombian garabato and puya to their adaptations of West African dunun rhythms.
Each member pushes the others to explore unfamiliar territory, understanding that it’s within the intersections and clashes of their individual musical styles that the juiciest combinations are found. Peppered with fits of improvisation, bouts of silliness and crowd-rousing percussion pieces performed off stage, an Antioquia set is everything but predictable. That said, each show can be depended upon to bring the audience closer to the stage and closer together.
Antioquia is currently working to wean their music off fossil fuels and are documenting their efforts in the hopes that other bands will be inspired to follow suit. Called their "Post (Peak Oil) Rock Project," the aim is to tour by a combination of bicycle and Waste Veggie Oil bus, and to play shows on a pedal-powered sound system. Their larger vision includes the formation of a green music resource network that will aid bands in learning about and adopting green practices in their musical endeavours. Learn more about this project at the website:
www.postpeakoilrock.com
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