California Roots Insider Tips for Saturday

California Roots Insider Tips for Saturday:

Saturday for me is mostly about the headliners...and thats no disrespect to the other bands.  Ive listened to a lot of them, and I am super intrigued to check them out.  However, there are 2 bands on Saturday that are absolute DONT MISS bands for me...here they are.

Saturday:

True Press

Dewey and the People's

True Press:

With the burgeoning SoCal reggae scene blossoming, True Press is emerging from a plethora of talented bands.  With these new, hard working, regularly touring bands hitting the scene hard, standing out is a task in itself.  True Press makes me weak in the knees with their sounds. Full of talented creative musicians with conscious lyrics that focus on positive world change, love and self betterment.  Through songs such as  ‘Lovely Situation’, ‘Wake Up Cry’, ‘Anything is Possible’, ‘Soul Rebel’ and ‘Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies’ True Press gently reminds us that “Anything is Possible”, especially when its done with “love, sweet love”.

I love the horn section and the solid rhythm, backing Pedros soulful vocals.  My favorite song on the album is “Wake up Cry”, it has a great little guitar riff at the beginning and I love the melody.  It gets stuck in my head all day. “Consider this your wakeup call, to all, consider this your wake up cry, its time.”  ‘Lovely Situation’, ‘Anything is Possible’, ‘Soul Rebel’ and ‘Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies’ all are right behind in the favorites category.

Mellow and with just enough energy backing them up that you can't help but groove and want to get up and dance, True Press is music you can't get enough of.  True Press hits The Original Stage Saturday at 4:25.  Be there.  You can also find True Press in the following places:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TruePress

Website:  http://www.truepressmusic.com/

Dewey and the People’s

DATP is not to be missed.  I mean it.  Put their set time in your phone and set an alarm...these guys kill it!!!!  Dewey and the Peoples takes a unique spin on reggae with heavy blues and rock influences in their music.  Front man Darren Robinson writes lyrics from the heart and shreds on the guitar with the chops of a pro blues musician.  All of this, wrapped up in sweet cali style reggae rythms.  

I was shocked when I found out this band is comprised of members in their very early 20’s….lead singer Darren is freshly 21.  They carry themselves with the air of confidence and focus rarely found anymore.  They have fun onstage, and are a tightly knit unit, and their playing reflects that.  

One of my favorite songs is “Put Me Down”, its a great anthem for standing up for who you are and what you believe in

“You wanna push me out, you wanna turn me down, you wanna stop my sound, and you wont stop me now, and you wont break me down. So just think next time before you turn me out.”

I have seen DATP on more than one occasion, and am still excited to see them as though it was the first time.  The energy they bring to the stage and the punch that they pack gets you every time.  You can catch DATP at noon sharp on The Original Stage...dont forget...set those alarms!

You can also find Dewey and the Peoples in the following places:

Facebok:  https://www.facebook.com/DeweyandthePeoples

Website:  www.deweyandthepeoples.com

Fortunate Youth, Hirie, Animo and IrieFuse at The Reef

Saturday Feb 8th was a drizzley, rainy, gray day, and the energy was palpable in the air.  We headed up to Santa Cruz a little after 3 to meet up with all the bands for load in and help our friends Bert and Mo out at The Reef.  

The Reef filled up early that night with all the bands and all our industry friends who came in a little early to eat and drink before the show. The energy was high and the vibe was mellow.  People were smiling and laughing, eagerly anticipating the huge night of music that was about to get underway.  The venue started to get packed, and the energy was building.

First to hit the stage were our friends IrieFuse, who had just played in Monterey the night before.  As always, they pumped the crowd up and got the dance floor moving.  I worked the front door through IrieFuse and Animos sets, but could hear them loud and clear, and man were they good.  The crowd was steady and eager coming through the doors.  The press of people from the front of the stage was getting bigger and bigger and the room was getting packed.

After a brief intermission, work duty was over, I grabbed Aaron from the back gate where he was posted up on security and we headed into the fray to catch Hirie.  What a set that was.  Hirie sings with a joy and passion that is matched only by her contagious smile. The band was tight and full of energy, dancing and clapping to the songs on stage and keeping the energy high. Hirie sings reggae with a fun kick of pop.  Her songs are catchy and full of positive messages.  You can't help but want to sing along as loudly as possible.  The covers she chose to perform that night were some of my favorites, including Tanya Stephens “Its a Pity” and the Expendables “Bowl for Two”.  However Hiries originals are what keep me coming back for more.  This summer her single “Sensi Boy”  made regular appearances in my stereo, and my kids know it by heart.  Presently I've got “Smile” in my head almost daily.  In person, Miss Hirie is one of the sweetest people you could imagine.  Humble, and full of light, this woman is blowing up the music scene, and I see nothing but huge things in her future.

One more break, and it was time for Fortunate Youth...man were we excited.  We made our way through the crowd and found a sweet little spot front and center against the stage (always my favorite spot).  The band set up and sound checked...the crowd was growing restless...finally, Fortunate Youth was ready, and Dan Kelly’s voice poured out in sweet melody into the mic.  If you haven't heard Fortunate Youth yet, please stop reading now, and scroll briefly to the bottom of this page.  I have included one of my favorites of theirs below.  Press play and listen while we continue so you can understand what I am talking about.  Dan has a particularly beautiful and surprising voice.  In person, he is very gentle and kind, humble and full of gratitude to fans and fellow musicians.  We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Dan, and all the FY crew that night.  He is tall and thin, and I won't lie, has a Vince Vaughn resemblance going on.  His voice when he talks has a slight rasp to it, but when he starts to sing...oh my...nothing but sweet sweet music.  FY has a guitar, bass, drums, keys and bongos, and are one of the tightest bands I've heard. They kicked out so much energy when they started, the crowd was moving, grooving, singing the lyrics.  Being up close and personal with such a talented band is always so inspiring.  Connecting with the music, and the musicians is to me what music is really all about.  Im grateful that my first live experience with this band was at such an intimate venue as The Reef.  I can't wait to see them again.  FY is making their mark on the music scene.  Keep your ears open for them, because they are about to blow up big!

The Reef crew did an epic job that night putting on this show, and we cant thank them enough for taking such good care of not only us, but everyone who came through those doors.  The Stage Media crew was also in attendance that night, and credit is to them for all of the amazing shots I'm sharing with you.  For more from this show, and many others please following the link to their page….https://www.facebook.com/stagemedianetwork

Irie Fuse

Fortunate Youth

Animo

Hirie

831 Street Promotions • McWilliams Media • Stage Media