Pond Water Experiment about to run amok
BY CARL-JOHN X. VERAJA Florida Weekly correspondent

Miko Amore, Nathan Dyke and James Taylor check out the acoustics of a body of water.

Catch them soon. Pond Water Experiment, a homespun jam band, will be going on tour this fall and we couldn't have much more original ambassadors.

The band, which consists of Miko Amore, Nathan Dyke and James Taylor, is a trio of highly stylized songwriters and musicians who manage to chemically bond to produce a high-powered, involving sound that leaves adjectives in the dust and begs to be experienced firsthand. However, they describe their sound as "the word 'funky', on silly putty, stretched to resemble a bit of reggae, blues, jazz, bluegrass, folk and world fusion."

Besides that, Miko Amore doesn't mind being described as burly and shaggy. He is married, 32 and exudes a calm sense of comedic acceptance. In an interview, he also discussed his history and that of the band's.

"This conception of the band has been together for four months," Amore said. "…it started as Rhythm Culture…Ken Kaylor was the first one I played with in the stew from which this band emerged."

Kaylor, Amore and Dyke were all involved in the music scene that at one time found a center of sorts at the now defunct Liquid Café which once operated on the corner of First St. and Hendry St. in downtown Fort Myers.

Kaylor was on hand to offer a comment.

"I watched them the other night," Kaylor said. "…I would love to play with them but we have different ideas musically."

Different seems to work for Pond Water Experiment. Their influences would seem to clash or be mutually exclusive but at a show at the Manna Reading Center on Aug. 4, attendees got to experience how smoothly blended the Pond Water Experiment sound can be.

Chuck Myron, a young, long-locked fan, was at the show where an audience of about twenty-five people clapped and sometimes danced in appreciation.

"They formed a band that could call the 60's their home," Myron said. "…they are one of the most obscure but critical active bands of the area."

The band has been quite active since Pond became Pond Water Experiment about four months ago. The change came with the addition of James Taylor, guitarist and "occasional vocalist" and, also, the youngest of the trio at 21.

"I knew who they were when I used to go see Pond," said Taylor. "…I ran into Nathan at a coffee shop. Nathan didn't realize I played mandolin when I told him, he said maybe we can get together and you can sit in… at the first show I was supposed to play three songs and went on playing three hours."

Taylor's presence coincided with the departure of two of Pond's members and Pond Water Experiment was born.

The trio went on to produce a CD titled "Homemade Shenanigans."

Asked where the band's name came from, Amore had this to say…

"We came across Pond…it kind of reflected what we were," Amore said. "…in a microcosm/ macrocosm sense…a lot of activity in a concentrated area. We likened ourselves to a pond in our musical diversity and world influence."

Being the offspring of the artsy Liquid Café scene, it's not surprising one of their admirers is a local self-styled poet, Ryun Horne. Asked his opinion, he waxed rhapsodic.

"Pond Water Experiment is an earthy, funky, badass band that makes even me get up and dance. They're one of those groups whose name suits them perfectly," Horne said. "Their repertoire swings from rock to folk to blues and back again, riding a spine of soul-seducing drums, and the end result is music that tells you secrets about the universe that can't be put into words. And most important of all, they mean it."

Maybe part of their ability to encapsulate those secrets comes from Nathan Dyke's mastery of exotic instruments. He creates rhythms with djembes, tablas, Native American flutes and didgeridoos, among other items. Dyke explained.

"I was influenced by native music from around the world and got into the myths and the ancient musical formats," Dyke said. "…anything from the Australian aborigines to native flute playing to old Celtic jigs and reals, West African drumming - I've been playing and teaching that for 12 years. I spent a lot of time studying and learning techniques on the hand drums. The drum set is new to me. I've been playing it for one or two years. I took the feel and technique from the djembes and congas."

If you grow curious, check out the band's song samples at myspace.com/zornpond. Or go to the shows listed below and experience Pond Water Experiment live. ¦

Catch the act

>>Where: Orpheus Café, 1165 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach >>When: Aug. 11, from 9 p.m. to Midnight >>Admission: Free >>Info: (239) 463-1549

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>>Where: Jumpin' Java, 1341 SE 47th Terrace, Cape Coral >>When: Aug. 25, from 9 p.m. to Midnight >>Admission: Free