Album Notes

Before we get into the description of the disc and the band, I want to announce exciting news. For fans of prog in general and Christian prog in particular, Akacia has a new song on a new cd called CPR Vol. 1. After you are done shopping at CD Baby, please go hunt that album down. I hope you're as impressed by the music as I am. Akacia is the brainchild of Mike Tenenbaum who has been devoted to the music of Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and the like for years. After leaving his last band, he decided to assemble his own group of musicians to make music that reflects his love of everything prog. Mike then started looking into the current underground and independent prog resurgence and has found influences in the Flower Kings, Salem Hill, Spock's Beard and so on. The music of Akacia flows and drives with all the time, mood and theme changes that you'd expect from classic prog. The layers of guitar and synth form a tightly woven tapestry with the lyrics that never ceases to wrap around your attention. Energetic drumming and basswork grounded firmly in progressive sensibility form a solid foundation. The music jams, then soothes, then soars through the four epic tracks. Each new listen reveals more of the talent and genius behind the music. These 2 minute song samples may give you a small taste but there is much more to each of these tracks than 2 minutes will ever do justice to. For some longer clips, check out Akacia's mp3 site at www.mp3.com/akacia. Akacia is working on its second album now with renewed enthusiasm and determination. Akacia is: Mike Tenenbaum - guitar player par excellence. He plays any instrument or piece of wood or glass that makes music, but this album should put him on the map of progressive guitar greats. He is also responsible for most of the writing, arranging, keyboards and production. He is the band's fearless leader. Doug Meadows - professionally trained drummer with years and years of experience in just about every genre. He knows every band from Love to Carnivore, from Deep Purple to Frank Zappa to Jimi Hendrix. Name a song, and he'll slap out the beat. Doug is also handy with the axe, but Akacia keeps him behind the skins for now. Eric Naylor - has played bass, guitar and drums in other bands, but Akacia handed him the microphone and asked for his vocal talents. His wife is also a lead vocalist in a rock band. Although he sings in Jon Anderson's alto range, with his carpentry-formed physique, he's no featherweight. Steve Stortz - a complete hack(NOT!) of a bassist whose experience is in country music (yes, country!) He listens to Genesis and King Crimson on his 8-track player and collects comedy music in his spare time. He also reads existential philosophy and is a huge baseball fan. What?