PODCAST: Meet The von Trapps; Captain and Maria's Great-Grandchildren Indie Rock Band

It may sound like a bit of hipster irony to call your indie rock band The von Trapps, but siblings Sofia, Melanie, Amanda and August are simply carrying on the family name.

The quartet of twentysomething musicians are, in fact, great-grandchildren of Captain Georg von Trapp and his second wife Maria. Their biological great-grandmother is the captain's first wife, Agathe. They've been performing together since 2001, when they were originally billed as The von Trapp Children.

In a podcast recorded for CBC Radio, host Shadrach Kabango chats with the von Trapps about balancing the public's knowledge of their family's story through Rodgers and Hammerstein's THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the actual story of their family history and a desire to express themselves artistically through their own original music.

Their creation as a singing group was a bit of a fluke. Raised in Montana, the children would enjoy annual summer visits from their grandfather, Werner von Trapp (portrayed as Kurt in THE SOUND OF MUSIC), who would teach them the Austrian folk songs he loved as a child.

When grandfather became too ill to travel, they mailed him an assortment of songs they recorded. This inspired a go at a professional career that so far has included performances in Beijing and Sydney and with symphony orchestras across the country. While the Portland-based group won't deny audiences a chance to hear them sing a familiar classic like "Edelweiss," their sound is more in step with the Pacific Northwest's alternate culture.

Listen to the podcast below, check out their video for "Dancing In Gold," and visit vontrapps.net