Press release :
For us, ALO is more than just a band and were more than just a group of great friends making music together ALO is our lifestyle.

With this simple aphorism, keyboardist/vocalist Zach Gill sums up the unique dynamic that defines ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra). Born from a friendship nurtured during their days at the University of California Santa Barbara, the four-piece collective includes Steve Adams (bass/vocals), Dan Lebowitz (guitars/ percussion/vocals) and David Brogan (drums/vocals).

Part musical explorers, part pop songsmiths, all-around dynamic performers, ALO made waves in 2005 with their soulful California style and feel-good, danceable grooves, prompting influential Triple A radio station WXPN to call them an "Artist to Watch." Convinced that the band could be huge if they got in front of the right audience, college buddy Jack Johnson brought ALO on his successful summer tour and asked the band to sign to his own Brushfire Records so they could release a reworked version of Fly Between Falls, which the band put out independently last year. The CD will be out to all major retailers on April 18, 2006.

Zach, Dan and Steve have been playing together through various incarnations of different musical groups for years, forming the Animal Liberation Orchestra and the Free Range Horns with their college jazz band director on drums. Originally a nine-piece outfit, the band began drawing enormous attention in the Santa Barbara area with their rousing stage shows. When Zach, Dan and Steve returned to their hometown San Francisco, they stripped back down to a quartet, playing with a wide variety of different drummers. Finally, in 2002, the trio reunited with drummer David Brogan (with whom they had previously played in college) and the ultimate version of ALO was solidified.

ALO was quickly labeled the golden child of the West Coasts buzzing underground scene, never losing the garage band energy that makes every one of their shows an event rather than just a performance, laying soulful melodies and swirling improvisation over precision funk grooves night after night. The band skillfully weaves quirky California soul with shape-shifting explorations, introspective lyrics with sun-soaked funk, all infused with the uplifting vibe that ALOs ever growing legion of fans live for. Many genres have been thrown around to capture what the San Francisco Chronicle ultimately dubbed sex-music boogaloo. But in the end, ALOs sound is always changing. One thing that never changes, however, is the fact that this is a band composed of four top-notch musicians at the top of their game. Trained equally in the classics, jazz, pop and funk craftsmanship, ALOs music is a hybrid of the best of all worlds songs composed, refined and performed by multi-talented artists with a passion for quality musicianship and creativity in all they do.

Dan concurs, All four of us share a real interest in continually learning about music new styles, new ways of playing, new ways of engaging an audience and thats something that we never want to stop.

And, indeed, engaging the audience is what ALO is all about. Each of the band members can list many favorite live moments in which the group and their fans have bonded in concert. From their show at San Franciscos famed Independent club, where they broke the venues all-time sales record and then proceeded to whip the crowd into a climactic disco frenzy with their take on ABBAs Dancing Queen to their New Years Eve 2005 celebration, a three-night, sold-out run in Santa Barbara that culminated in the Divine Ball, an event co-created by the band and its community of fans.

At an ALO show, we want to create a happy, uplifting environment a safe place for the audience to feel free to be themselves, says Zach.

ALO has been able to bring those good vibes to huge audiences, thanks to constant touring and major festival runs, and will have an ever wider reach with the release of Fly Between Falls, which is being distributed through Universal. The album includes reworked versions of two of the most popular tracks, Girl, I Wanna Lay You Down and Barbeque and a brand new track, Walls of Jericho, with David on vocals.

The thing that is special about Fly Between Falls is that it is kind of an exercise in reinventing the band, using both old and new material as the building blocks, said David. Its a very forward-looking album its both a history of where ALO has been, as well as a launching pad to where the band is going from here. Steve echoes this sentiment: ALO is an ever-evolving group.

The album, which has also been resequenced, now leads in with the playful music and self-reflection of Spectrum followed by an irresistibly catchy tribute to their college town, Wasting Time (Isla Vista Song). Jack Johnson joins in on back up vocals on a smooth, sultry number, Girl, I Wanna Lay You Down, followed by the feel-good summer swagger of Barbeque. Other highlights include the Latin-tinged Pobrecito and Waiting for Jaden, the epic narrative of the birth of Zachs daughter and a crowd favorite. Fly Between Falls is a complete musical journey that combines the finest elements of this talented groups myriad of influences and fuses them into the unique blend that defines ALO.

All four members agree that Fly Between Falls is a new beginning an album about hopes and dreams. David is quick to note: Each song improves every time we play it as a result of the input all four of us bring to the musical table. Even though we all have our own music tastes, we are truly in synch with each other and support each others creative ideas.

Perhaps Dan sums up the collectives credo best: We care about each other as much as about what we are creating. If we werent making music together, Im sure wed all be doing something else together. Fortunately for the world, the four members of ALO are making music together and it continually promises to be like nothing youve ever heard before.