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| Joe Mailander, right, and Justin Lansing, the Okee Dokee Brothers. Credit: Courtesy Okee Dokee Brothers |
If you think the duo Okee Dokee Brothers are just for kids, think again.
American bluegrass artists Joe Mailander, 29, and Justin Lansing, 30, wrapped up two concerts Sunday at the Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge. The Grammy-winning songwriters and performers will move on to perform in Berkeley on Jan. 9 and Davis on Jan. 10.
The two (who are besties from childhood but not actual brothers) look to Mother Nature for their creative spark. And it's a chance to share their love of nature with young children who have more electronic than outdoors experiences.
So this is how their process works: They go out on long expeditions and come back with albums.
OK, it's a little more complicated than that.
Their popular song "Can You Canoe?" came from a 2011 trip (yes, it involved actual paddles) that began in Minnesota in the headwaters of the Mississippi River and took them all the way to the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Fifteen songs later, including "Rosita the Skeeta" and "Thousand Star Hotel," they released an album with the same title.
"We use the trip as the foundation of our creativity," Mailander says. "Not all of the songs are written in that 30-day trip ... a lot of the songs come from our dreams and expectations as we're planning the trip."
The album won a 2012 Grammy Award, and they followed it up with "Through the Woods" last year based on a trek down the Appalachian Trail.
And though their music has songs that are catchy for kids, there are also ones that resonate with adults. "Let It Roll" on the "Canoe" album is about the more philosophic side of the journey centering on life and acceptance.
Mostly though Mailander is OK with their kid rep. He sees the two as the "older brothers" of young kids to help stoke their curiosity in the outdoors, take risks and understand that nature isn't "somewhere out there" but all around you.
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| Credit: Courtesy the Okee Dokee Brothers. |
"We help get kids engaged in hiking and camping, unplugging," he says.
And their next album? It's about a horseback trip the two took while riding in the Rocky Mountains in areas of New Mexico, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. After that, who knows?
"Our goal is longevity and it isn't necessarily the fast steep climb to success or stardom," Mailander says. "It's just to keep plugging away. A nice slow build is a healthy build."
Find out more about the Okee Dokee Brothers at their website and check out this Sierra magazine story about the two.