Isaac Koren and Mikael Jorgensen met through the routines of being dads with young children at school. Knowing that they were each talented musicians, it made sense they'd collaborate and see what comes of it. Mikael approached Isaac with this idea; "What if we took jazz standards and slowed them down? Way down?" After some modifying and improvising, they formed The Expandards and have played several live shows to great appreciation from their audiences. 

Listeners who stay tuned to the end will find a special surprise. As they both say, they are "trying to find that place where they become transmitters for some bigger energy and this song  does it for us."

Koren, the singer, with his brother Thorald, formed The Kin in 2001 and have played before millions of people, opening for Coldplay and Pink. Mikael joined Wilco just after their massive success with "Yankee, Hotel Foxtrot" and has been their keyboardist ever since. The duo were featured by Abigail Napp in the Fall issue of Ojai Quarterly.

We talked about the importance of supportive and available venues to the artistic ecology of a community (shoutout to Bernie and Cassidy Larsen of Underground Exchange), the usefulness of occasional mistakes to enhance the experience of live music, of finding that creative zone where time stands still, of bringing in the audience to write a song on the spot and much, much more in this fascinating talk with two creative standouts. Isaac and Thorald also work with organizations and individuals "to help nurture and foster their own voice to the forefront of their lives." Check them out at brotherskoren.com.

We also talked about why Wilco has been such a protean project, with the current record, "Cruel County" a throwback to their alt-country roots, with another album in the pipeline that leans psychedelic. The duo also shares their plans for an October 21st show in Ojai - check OjaiHub.com for details, and the joy that goes back and forth from the performers to an audience. We did not talk about Nazi Germany's use of amphetamines, the best rigs for ice fishing or the lost technologies of Japanese sword makers of the 2nd century B.C.