Oracle Shack consists of Noah Beck (guitar), Cameron Bouiss (drums), Ryan Gibler (bass), and Eric Gilbert (keyboards). All four members sing, compose, conceptualize, and arrange the music--a formula that inevitably produces a sonic output that is greater than the sum of its parts...

"What is the essence of the Oracle Shack sound?" the man says from across the room. She pauses, and with a long deep breath unleashes a monologue that not even I could fully comprehend: "It's dancey, it's progressive, it's bold, raw, free, patient and complex, playful and dynamic, melodic, textural, atmospheric; it's the rolling hills-it's the clouds, it's adventurous and unassuming, ever-evolving, geometrical avant-emo-soulcountry, dancerockmaninov, the ridiculous and the sublime, conceptually-inspired post-jam electro-funk post-post-punk post-rock, and if nothing else, it's honest, it's real, and it's passionate."

This music is simply called Oracle Shack. People listen to it. People dance to it. People paint to it. People yell and scream, people feel it, drink to it, put it in their independent films, laugh to (at?) it. And hopefully, somewhere, people are making love to it. Oracle Shack is music to be alive to. Listen and call it what you want. And if you're still looking for an efficiently-worded label, get back to us in a few years. We may have it figured out by then."

Here are some artists and thoughtisticians who have influenced Oracle Shack in one way or another: Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Zongamin, Peteris Vasks, Billy Bragg, The Slip, Modest Mouse, Sonic Youth, !!!, Mt. Egypt, Groove Armada, The Rapture, Wilco, Radiohead, Built to Spill, Dire Straits, Halo Benders, The Who, Sun Ra, Dan Maher, The Album Leaf, Rusted Root, The Sweatshop Band, The Cure, Dan Bukvich, The Poets of Rhythm, Nightmares on Wax, Steptoe, The Transients, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Disco Biscuits, Two-Play Color, The Last Melting Man, Peter Gabriel, My Morning Jacket, Old Man Winter, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Fela Kuti, Lightning Bolt, John Cage, Miles Davis, The Orb, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Tortoise, Devo, Uncle Tupelo, Genesis, Lisa Simpson, Ween, Stranger Neighbor, Steeping Orion, Phish, GUNT, Milo Duke, Galactic, Parliament P-Funk, Sonny Rollins, Little Feat, The Motet, Dr. Vladamir Smirschitskd, BeeCraft, U2, The Lymbyc Systym, Laurel Brauns, REM, Ozric Tentacles, Max von Mandrill, Dub Narcotic Sound System, Paul Simon, Claude Debussy, Nathan Moore, Microphones, Tom Petty, Mad Professor, Ryan Adams, Lee Perry, LL Cool J, Capt. Vortex, Catpower, Ratatat, Tom Robbins, Brad 'the amuser' Watkins, talkdemonic, Charles Bukowski, Little Wings, Tosca, My Bloody Valentine, mum, Kevin Shields, Son Volt, breadgirl & eugene, Moments of Clarity, Pearl Jam, Animal Collective, Drums and Tuba, Ralph Nader, Brothers Johnson, The Grateful Dead, Joel Grabenstein, Smoking Bill, Counting Crows, Travis Silvers, Albert Einstein, Smashing Pumpkins, The Seldom Scene, Del McCoury Band, Bootsy Collins, They, Wugettes of Ewokia, James, Pythagorus, Widespread Panic, Rachmaninov, String Cheese Incident, Ben Harper, Ryan Mansfield Furniss, Frank Lloyd Wright, Alpha Blondy, John Larkin, The Moby Dix!, Joseph Melior, Evy, Nirvana, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Kraftwerk,INXS, Allison Krauss, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, House of Hoi Polloi, No Doubt, Max Gash, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Ravi Shankar, Bob Marley, Weezer, Madonna, DJ Food, Janet Jackson, Dear Nora, That One Guy, Bernie Worrell, Indigo Girls, Gary Larson, Howard Zinn, Hector Berlioz, Erik Satie, Ani Difranco, Blackalicious, Mirah, Bill Watterson, The Samples, Spiral Squid Squad, Salvador Dali, The Bad Plus, Missy Elliot, The Ventures, themselves, Bruce Springsteen, The Allman Brothers, Bill Laswell, Saul Williams, Bryon Bain, Hank Williams, Steve Earle, Professor Longhair, Jaka, Woody Guthrie, Ritmano, Indestructible Beat of Soweto, Hugh Masekela, Shadowbuilder, Ry Cooder, Poison, Bruce Hornsby, Hayden, Ghandhi, Beth Orton, Marvin Gaye, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Yoda, Bill Frisell, Modern Jazz Quartet, The Cars, Guns 'n' Roses, Fleetwood Mac, Tony Furtado, Del da Funkee Homosapien, Bjork, The Blue Rags, Aceyalone, Ala Zingara, The Streets, ThaMuseMeant, Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Pointer Sisters, Tears for Fears, DJ Shadow, Firesign Theatre, Cat Stevens, Jimmy Cliff, Jimmy Smith, Ernest Ranglin, David Grisman, Dan Bern, The Police, Willie Nelson, Yonder Mountain String Band, Marty Robbins, Bela Fleck, moe., Critters Buggin, Giant Ground Sloth, Coeurimba, Josh Ritter, The Be Good Tanyas, Calvin Johnson, Living Daylights, Ghazal, Jeremy 'tapeworm' Martin, Leftover Salmon, Johnny Cash, Minus the Bear, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, Sole, Thievery Corporation, Dr. Augustus Pueblos, Stever Miller, Justin Horn, The Doors, Lucas, Nick Drake, Fun Lovin Criminals, Del Cardo Bay, Brother Broseph, Broken Social Scene, Vibes Alive, New Order, Faith No More, Gillian Welch, Al Green, Sun Kil Moon, Roger Miller, Jerry Garcia Band, Santana, Chubbs Toga, Dave Brubeck, Michael Jackson, Turing Machine, Violent Femmes, The Flaming Lips, Cohen & Denton, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Toots and the Maytals, Lystra's Silence, Thich Nhat Hanh, Medeski Martin and Wood, Beck, The Beastie Boys, Metallica, Boston, Jurassic 5, Tribe Called Quest, Mod Laser, Oh My God Oh My God, The Rolling Stones, Cake, Tangerine Dream, The Pixies, Brian Eno, Severed Hand, The Church, Blondie, Peter Tosh, The New Deal, Oliver Mtkudzi, Rush, John Hartford, The Velvet Underground, The Faint, Thelonius Monk, David Bowie, Neil Young, Neutral Milk Hotel, Anticon, Trans Am, Outhud, Prince, The Clash, Frank Zappa or...