Option 22
Princeton, West Virginia, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
more @ option22.net - option22.net
"...Their music is a delightfully eclectic blend of world music and folk music with elements of electronica and rock thrown in for good measure.
We recorded Option 22 on the stage in front of Taylor Books during the second Saturday of Festivall, and on this show we get to hear their song, “Soulsong.”
Option 22 has four CDs of original music, which you can order from their website. If you get the chance to hear these folks live, you should. It’s like taking a sonic bath in a musical lake..." - Charleston Gazette: PoCult
"...Their music is a delightfully eclectic blend of world music and folk music with elements of electronica and rock thrown in for good measure.
We recorded Option 22 on the stage in front of Taylor Books during the second Saturday of Festivall, and on this show we get to hear their song, “Soulsong.”
Option 22 has four CDs of original music, which you can order from their website. If you get the chance to hear these folks live, you should. It’s like taking a sonic bath in a musical lake..." - Charleston Gazette: PoCult
Princeton band Option 22 may have four core members, but up to five more musicians may join them onstage at any given gig. A banjo player or a fiddler who wants to improv is part of Option 22’s vision to encourage listeners to explore their own artistic talents and build a musical community. “We are a very free-flowing, improvisational band. People say our music inspires them to express their creativity. Every voice is important, and we really believe in the power of music and helping people find their voice,” says Lori McKinney, lead vocalist and drummer of Option 22... - WV Living, by Danielle Conoway
"The hottest worldbeat act right now is Option 22 ... To encapsulate their music in one phrase would be music that with no boundaries, with a blissful, relaxing ‘spread the love around’ vibe..." - Louisville Music News World Music Blog
"The hottest worldbeat act right now is Option 22 ... To encapsulate their music in one phrase would be music that with no boundaries, with a blissful, relaxing ‘spread the love around’ vibe..." - Louisville Music News World Music Blog
"A Local Option for Your World Music Needs..." - Tamar Alexia Fleishman, Graffitti Magazine (May 20, 2008) - - Tamar Alexia Fleishman, Graffitti Magazine (May 20, 2008)
"A Local Option for Your World Music Needs..." - Tamar Alexia Fleishman, Graffitti Magazine (May 20, 2008) - - Tamar Alexia Fleishman, Graffitti Magazine (May 20, 2008)
"sonically robust, post-modern folk music" -- J. Evan Wade, HomeGrown Music Network Product Reviews (Nov 23, 2010) - - J. Evan Wade, HomeGrown Music Network Product Reviews (Nov 23, 2010)
"sonically robust, post-modern folk music" -- J. Evan Wade, HomeGrown Music Network Product Reviews (Nov 23, 2010) - - J. Evan Wade, HomeGrown Music Network Product Reviews (Nov 23, 2010)
Discography
Connected (2005); the Flow (2005); Bits & Pieces (2006); Live at the Pub on Gatewood (2006); Live @ Firecreek Tavern (2007); Choose The Music (2010); The Change (2013).
Photos
Bio
Option 22 is an ecelctic Americana band based in Princeton, West Virginia. Their broad array of original music spans styles from newgrass to space-folk to roots-rock world funk and points in between. Lori McKinney (vocals, drums, djembe, spoken word) and Robert Blankenship (guitar, banjo, shamisen, didgeridoo) have been writing and playing music together since early 2004 and creating a steady stream of music since then. Now infusing the mix are the intense, driving bass lines of Brandon Dunn (bass) and the intuitive, free form guitar stylings and intricate rhythms and of Jordan Furrow (lead guitar, drums). The music they create together is tightly knit, dance inducing and nothing short of transcendent.
The four piece combination of musicians are gifted with the ability to flow in improvisational creation of music, and most of their songs are written through that process. Regular listeners of Option 22 are used to being treated to sessions of impromptu music making. Some have described the feeling of transcendence as the air is filled with sweet melodies that seem to flow effortlessly through the musicians. They record the sessions and take the ideas that are born structuring them into song form, infusing them with powerful lyrics about life, love, and the need for change on the planet.
The have been featured at Floydfest Music & Arts Festival, Blue Plum, FestivALL, Front Porch Fest, Appalachian Music & Arts Festival amoung other festivals, and radio programs such as Blue Plate Special on WDVX- Knoxville and Studio One on WETS-FM. Key venues include Isis Music Hall, Asheville, Carnegie Hall, Leiwsburg and The Down Home in Johnson City. Their music has been featured on NPR and WVPR, Little Buddy Radio, World One Radio and a host of other programs and their music is endorsed as part of the Leeway's Homegrown Music Network's roster.
Their work as healing artists and arts organizers is fueled by a strong desire to build and contribute to community; they use their music and art to shape the world around them. They founded and run Culturefest World Music & Arts Festival, a beautiful convergence of creative and soulful energy, and The RiffRaff Arts Collective, a multi-faceted creative zoned that is revitalizing a once depressed downtown with positive energy and life. Their music reflects that passion and they come together with an artistic mind-set and a vision for a better world.
Their latest release, "The Change," is now available. The next album, "Turnin' it Up," is due in winter 2015.
Band Members
Links
