PAK is an American,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

based, band. They are signed to

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

Tzadik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ...

label. PAK was originally formed by Ron Anderson in 2000, after he spent some time with The Molecules. The original line-up consisted of Anderson,

Jesse Krakow Jesse Krakow (born April 12, 1977) is an American musician, bassist, producer, and composer based in New York City. Career Krakow has toured with Shudder to Think, playing bass on their 2009 live album ''Live From Home''. He collaborated with ...

, Will Redmond, and Race Age. This line-up released the album ''100% Human Hair''. In 2003, Race Age was replaced by

Kim Abrams Kim Abrams is an electronic artist and rock drummer (formerly Keith Abrams), known mostly for her work with Time of Orchids and PAK. She was a frequent collaborator both with Ron Anderson and Jesse Krakow. Abrams was recruited, along with Jes ...

, Redmond left the group, and that version released

Motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...

, which was well received. This version of the group also performed at the Bowery Poetry Club with

Jac Berrocal Jacques "Jac" Berrocal (born 22 October 1946, Saint-Jean d'Angély) is a French trumpeter, singer and composer. He has been active since the 1970s in the independent and avant-garde music scene, and has released many albums. He also founded and p ...

. In 2007, Anderson reconfigured the group, switching from guitar to bass, and recruiting Tim Byrnes on various instruments. This version of the group toured Europe (as a duo, with Abrams and Anderson along with occasional guest musicians), and is currently working on their next release. The band played shows in 2012 with Nonoko Yoshida.

Reviews

Norwegian publication ''Tarkus Magazine'' described PAK as a combination of

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...

Gentle Giant Gentle Giant were a British progressive rock band active between 1970 and 1980. They were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of the members. All of the band members were multi-instrument ...

and

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

. Glenn Astaria of ''Jazz Review'' described ''Motel'' as a "tangled web of complexities complete with off-kilter ostinatos, driving bass lines and peppery horns". Alex Lozupone described a 2008 show at The Stone as "varying amounts of frantic, synchronized playing ... more ambient noise pieces ... some nice established grooves ... chess references, keyboard sounds that brought back memories of Mr Bungle's first album, some synchronized sax and trumpet playing, a nigh-hardcore song in Spanish, an amazing drum solo in a time signature that felt like it might be 29/16 or 31/16, and equipment emitting an interesting plastic smoky smell (that) made for a memorable night.".

Discography

* 2003 - ''100% Human Hair'' * 2005 - ''

'' * 2009 - '' The Ashfield Sessions'' * 2011 - ''

Secret Curve ''Secret Curve'' is a 2011 album by Ron Anderson's PAK. It was released on John Zorn's Tzadik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people ...

Line-ups

*Version 1 - Ron Anderson, Jesse Krakow, Will Redmond, Race Age (2000-2002) *Version 2 - Ron Anderson, Jesse Krakow, Race Age (2002) *Version 3 - Ron Anderson, Jesse Krakow, Kim Abrams (2003 to 2006) *Version 4 - Ron Anderson,

, Tim Byrnes (2007 to present)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2000 Musical groups from New York City