Photo courtesy of the Ken Oak Band

Rockin' the cello
Joe Nguyen, editor
April 25, 2007
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Rock music and cellos aren’t typically associated with each other. But for the Ken Oak Band, it’s the one thing that sets them apart from the rest of the music scene.

Cellist and lead singer Oak, 31, and guitarist Ed Gorski, 25, make up the two-man ensemble. Oak describes his band’s sound as a combination of Jack Johnson and Yo-Yo Ma.

“(It’s) like acoustic-based rock music, kind of laid back,” he said. “But then there’s the element of the cello that kind of sets it apart.”

Oak admits that he would love to collaborate with the famous cellist one day.

“It’d be cool to have Yo-Yo Ma on something or anything at some point,” he said, “just because he’s the standard in cello playing.”

Currently the band is embarking on its fourth national tour, which includes an April 26 date in Fort Collins. It’s a return to Colorado for Oak, who briefly lived in Arvada when he was four.

Oak first picked up the stringed instrument as a child in Houston. He said it wasn’t the decision of his parents, but rather he found himself pulled toward it.

“Our school orchestra was looking for a cellist,” he said, “and I was good at math and spelling and my teacher figured that qualified me to be a cello player.”

Coming into of college, he said his father thought that music was just a phase.

“He said, ‘just study music in college and go to law school afterward,’” Oak said. “I studied music in college and applied to law school, but I didn’t go.” continue >>