Poi Dog Pondering


Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group, noted for its cross-pollination of diverse musical genres, including various forms of acoustic and electronic music. Founded in Hawaii in 1984 by Frank Orrall, initially as a solo project. In 1985 Orrall formed the first line-up of PDP to perform its first concert; at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The band then embarked on a yearlong Street Performance Busking tour across North America, eventually settling in Austin, Texas in 1987, where they recorded their first three albums. In 1992, the band relocated, this time to Chicago, Illinois, where they began to incorporate Orchestral arrangements & elements of Electronic, House Music and Soul music into their Acoustic Rock style. The membership of Poi Dog Pondering has evolved from album to album, with Frank Orrall being the constant since the inception.

Hawaii / Street performing years; members

During the Hawaii years, the band had the following lineup:
During the Austin years, the band had the following lineup:
Additionally, the records featured literally dozens of musicians credited as "Satellite Poi Members". Most prominent amongst these satellite members were vocalists Abra Moore & Malford Milligan, sound artist Ellen Fullman, drummer Sean Coffey and turntable operator Ashton "DJ Cassanova" Irons.
Beginning with that third album, 1992's Volo Volo, the band began to experiment with new musical styles, including fully incorporating DJ Cassanova into the line-up. Orrall's emerging interest in dance and house music led the band to relocate to Chicago in 1992, where it developed a loyal local following and was named best band by Chicago magazine in 1997 & "Best Pop and Rock Act" in the 2009 Chicago Readers Poll.

Early Chicago years; members

From 1993 to 1999, the band recorded the albums "Pomegranate" & "Natural Thing" and performed live with the following members in the lineup:
Satellite Members
From 1999 to 2013, the band had the following members in the lineup:

Early 4 track cassette albums