Poi Dog Pondering is the ever exploring & evolving musical collective lead by band founder, and principle visionary; Frank Orrall (who is also Percussionist / Vocalist with Thievery Corporation).
Raised in the Pacific Ocean, and in the rain forests of Hawai’i, Frank’s song writing is rooted in nature, and in the sensual world. Frank has guided Poi Dog Pondering through 40+ years of exploration in sound & prose. 2026 finds Frank in mid creation of a new PDP album.
Poi Dog Pondering keeps thriving because the ethic has always been about following the music heart. Frank’s steadfast dependence has allowed the music (and Band) to perpetually bloom. From post-punk bohemian street buskers to impossible to market major label sacrificial lambs, and on to hard won autonomy with Frank’s own record label; Platetonic Music. Poi dog pondering have ripened into a strongly independent musical voyagers. They have let every sound that inspires flow through the music and flood it with ever changing colors: Acoustic, Orchestral and Electronic textures. Rock Band Soul & Disco, & their unique acous-tronic ‘Soul Sonic Orchestra.’ Sound. (Threaded all along the way with ‘heart on the sleeve’ lyrics that embrace the beauty and pain of everyday life).
42 years down the line there is a bolstered sense of history within PDP now. A swagger that comes from having steadfastly carved its own path. It is quite apparent that PDP has always been, and ever will be, in-it-for-the-love-of-it; creating and performing. Line up changes are par for the course. PDP is an organic entity, it changes like life does. But there is a core with strong roots & a deep personal history, open to new ears and ready to experiment and collaborate. That’s what keeps it vibrant. It is quite apparent that PDP has always been, and ever will be, in-it-for-the-love-of-it, creating and performing. Line up changes are par for the course. PDP is an organic entity, it changes like life does. But there is a core with strong roots & a deep personal history, open to new ears and ready to experiment and collaborate. That’s what keeps it vibrant.
THE PROCEEDS from this show will go assist PDP family friend, Katy Morrow (daughter of Poi Dog Pondering Austin area bassist, Bruce Hughes). Katy recently experienced a life-threatening medical emergency that required hospitalization and extensive treatment. Thankfully, she is recovering well—but she and her family are facing significant medical expenses. Frank Orrall is bringing together an Austin/Chicago PDP lineup to help raise funds to help offset the medical and related expenses Katy and her family are facing. LINK
About Madam Sultan
Madam Sultan, a powerhouse lineup of Austin musical luminaries, brings the genre-bending rock of Adam Sultan to life. A fixture of the local music scene since the early 1990s with Poi Dog Pondering, Sultan's decades-long career spans a range of notable acts, from the “sado-vaudevillian” Mistress Stephanie & Her Melodic Cat, to the Queen and Bowie tribute bands Magnifico and Super Creeps. Now on the heels of a brand-new solo record, the (nearly) all-female Madam Sultan takes the stage to deliver a live show that reimagines Sultan’s diverse catalogue of indie pop.
