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The Oaks (sometimes stylised as “The OaKs”) are an American rock band based out of Orlando, Florida, created by singer/songwriter/guitarist Ryan Costello and drummer/percussionist Matthew Antolick. The band’s sound contains elements of indie rock with classic rock, soul music, jazz, folk music and modern rock. The Oaks have gained international attention through their original fusion of music performance and humanitarian aid. Costello spent two years in Afghanistan, living among recently returned refugees, teaching agricultural techniques and directly participating in food distributions. When he returned to the United States, he vowed to get the word out about the need of the Afghan people. The Oaks is the result of these aspirations. ==Biography== Costello and Antolick met as students at the University of South Florida. They played together in the project “Figure vs Ground” before relocating to suburban Orlando and creating The Oaks. Costello was pursuing a BA in Biology, while Antolick was working on his Master's in Philosophy and teaching Environmental Ethics. In 2003, The OaKs' Ryan Costello sold everything he owned, joined a humanitarian organization and moved to Afghanistan. Costello lived there for two years, working in the Central Afghan mountains with returned refugees, teaching them creative agricultural techniques and becoming fluent in their native language, Dari (Persian). In 2005, Costello returned to the United States, reuniting with his long-time creative partner, The OaKs' drummer Matthew Antolick. Costello and Antolick collaborated to create the band’s first CD, “Our Fathers and The Things They Left Behind”, lyrically inspired mostly by Costello’s time spent in Afghanistan. The duo released the album independently in late summer 2006. They also partnered with Global Hope Network - an organization dedicated to helping impoverished refugees in Afghanistan - pledging 50% of CD and download sales towards their cause. The self-released album was completely home recorded by the pair, mixed by Martin Feveyear of Jupiter Studios, Seattle (Modest Mouse, Damien Jurado), and mastered by Alan Douches of West West Side Music, NY (Sufjan Stevens). Their diverse mix of instruments includes accordion, mandolin, bells, vibraphone, horns, assorted percussion, electric organ and Wurlitzer, to name a few. Costello's lyrics range from self-examination to social critique. His songs are often about self-sacrificing figures such as Hugh Thompson and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and he pulls inspiration from the Southern Gothic fiction of Flannery O'Conner and Carson McCullers. In the winter of 2006, Costello and Antolick decided to expand the band, with the purposes of live performance and adding more outside influences to their established sound. After some trial and error, the band solidified their roster to include keyboardist Tim Cocking, lead guitarist Greg Willson, backup vocalist Melissa Reyes, and bassist Jeremy Siegel. All of the members of The Oaks are multi-instrumentalists. During a typical Oaks show you are likely to see: Reyes playing percussion and keys; Antolick playing various percussion instruments and keys; Cocking playing accordion, trumpet and keys; Siegel playing trombone, percussion, bass and keys; Willson playing alto saxophone and guitar; and Costello alternating between acoustic and electric guitars as well as lead and harmony vocals. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Oaks (band)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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