Oakley Hall

After departing Oneida in 2001, Pat Sullivan sought a stronger country direction and launched the short-lived Crazee & Heaven. Undeterred, he recruited drummer Will Dyar, bassist Jesse Barnes, and fiddle player Claudia Mogel from that project to start Oakley Hall. By 2002 the roster was rounded out by Podunks songwriter Steve Tesh, banjo player Fred Wallace, vocalist Leah Blessoff, and guitarist Ed Kurz. Following a string of East Coast tours and a self-released EP, the group delivered its self-titled debut full-length on Bulb in 2003. Kurz departed soon afterward and was succeeded by Ted Southern. During the same period Sullivan suffered a severe right-hand injury on a construction job, though he lost only one finger and retained his playing ability. Dyar, Tesh, and Southern left Oakley Hall by the end of 2003, and Blessoff exited the following year. Sullivan then assembled a revised lineup with Greg Anderson on drums, Wallace switching to electric guitar, Mogel, and vocalist Rachel Cox (formerly of the Podunks and the Ospreys). This configuration produced a more focused, electric countrified approach, resulting in Second Guessing, issued by Amish in early 2006, and Gypsum Strings, which followed that June. After touring with Bright Eyes and signing with Merge, the band released its fourth album, I'll Follow You, in 2007; Anderson subsequently stepped away to pursue other work and was replaced by drummer Pat Wood.