Piece Description

Musician/Host Jason Wilber interviews Phil Cook of the group "Megafaun". Based in Durham, North Carolina, Megafaun was built by brothers Brad and Phil Cook and fellow Eau Claire, Wisconsin native Joe Westerlund. The trio, plus longtime friend Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver), made the cross country move together from WI to NC as the band DeYarmond Edison, ultimately splitting in 2006. Megafaun was born from those ashes and proceeded to record the remarkable album Bury the Square in 2007. The band found a home on the road, collaborating with friends (they also joined Akron/Family and Dreyblatt as backing band) and developing an American musical language that is exquisitely translated by 2009's Gather, Form & Fly.

Brad, Phil, and Joe have been playing in bands together since 1997, after meeting at jazz camp in Wisconsin as teenagers. With the end of DeYarmond Edison, a paradigm-shift was imminent." Brad and I left our primary instruments behind and picked up secondary ones. We booked a seven day tour without having written any songs," said Phil, revealing the seeds of the improvisational spirit that both Megafaun and their fans now cherish and exalt. "We've become song writers collectively and individually through the birth of this band," added Joe, "and Gather, Form & Fly marks a huge growth and change in our thinking about time and song form."

Topics discussed include: the music Phil and Brad Cook were introduced to by their father, their early bands as teenagers, forming Megafaun, writing Bonnie's Song, how they choose musical directions for their band, writing Kaufmann's Ballad, and an exciting new project working with Alan Lomax's field recordings

Musical selections include: Solid Ground, The Fade, Worried Mind, Bonnie's Song, Comprovisation (edited for time), Kaufman's Ballad

For more information visit: www.insearchofasong.com