The Okee Dokee Brothers

As childhood friends, Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing, spent summers at their neighborhood creek building makeshift rafts, fishing for crawdads, and dreaming of great river adventures.

Now, as The Okee Dokee Brothers, they have realized these boyhood dreams on none other than the great Mississippi River. On June 1st, 2011, Joe and Justin began a canoe trip in Minneapolis, MN and continued down the river for the next 30 days until they arrived at the St. Louis Gateway Arch. During their month long journey on the Mississippi, they camped, canoed, filmed, and most importantly, composed the songs that make up their new album for kids and families.



Can You Canoe? is the first CD and DVD in what The Okee Dokee Brothers are calling their “Adventure Album Series.” Produced by Dean Jones in his Rosendale, NY hay-bale studio, the record highlights guest appearances from Garth Hudson (The Band), Elizabeth Mitchell (You Are My Flower), as well as Morgan Taylor and Rachel Loshak (Gustafer Yellowgold).

The songs on the album range from direct references of the river (Can you Canoe?, Mr. and Mrs. Sippy, Haul Away Joe) to more general topics in the outdoor motif (The Bullfrog Opera, Campin’ Tent, Thousand Star Hotel). The Okee Dokee Brothers also use the river as a metaphor to address deeper themes such as the struggles in a friendship (Brother, Along for the Ride) and life’s ever-changing phases (Roll on River).

The forty-minute supplemental film tells the story of The Okee Dokee Brothers’ trip while including educational segments, camping shenanigans, music videos, interviews, and pristine nature scenes. All the footage was filmed on location along the Mississippi River.

The basis for an adventure album is that the songwriters draw inspiration from their experiences while providing a creative framework for the audience to explore their own imaginations. A project like this can inspire kids to take an active role in their lives, get outside and make their dreams realities. All the songs and footage on this CD/DVD set are tied together by themes of rivers, friendship, and especially outdoor adventure.

Website: www.okeedokee.org
Music: Facebook Music Page
Videos: Okee Dokee Videos

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