Hope all it good in the new year, hope everyone is enjoying the new year so far, with February fast approaching, here’s what we’ve been up to this year so far.
We started a Music Video project the end of last year with Andrew Bees and his rendition of Delroy Wilson’s Better Must Come. We just wrapped the finishing touches, make sure to check that out.
We have some live music from Project: Out of Bounds including 5 brand new songs slated for the new album they are writing.
Here is 20 minutes of Tommy Dubs from the same show at Boar’s Crossing.
We interviewed Beyond I Sight and their newest member, Ryan Gonzo when they came down to play the Belly Up Tavern.
Many San Diego reggae fans will know Jonny Tarr as the the sax player in that fabulous horn section from Shoreline Rootz, however there is another side to Jonny that is emerging in the scene: Jonny’s solo act. And when I say solo, I mean just him, by himself. Jonny has mastered the loop pedal and can show up at a moment’s notice, and deliver a full sound with drum beats, keyboards, guitar, and of course the sax.
Originally from Cardiff, Wales, Jonny Tarr picked up the saxophone at the age of 11 thinking it would get him girls. After cutting his teeth in the British Jazz scene, he studied music at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts and went on to play all over Europe, and as far Japan and the US over the next decade. Now a permanent resident of the United States, Jonny Tarr has been working on making Electro-Acoustic Soul music. Playing at San Diego’s clubs and music venues, Jonny has been refining his sound and is now ready to take it further. With debut album ‘Move Yourself’ available on i-tunes and all other quality digital platforms, it is now time to take his solo multi-instrumental act into the publc domain. Having played and recorded with the likes of The Nextmen, The Part Time Heroes, Backini and Flevans in the UK, Jonny’s pedigree and reputation as a musician of quality and dependence precedes him.
For more inofrmation on Jonny, you can go to his WEBSITE
The video for “The Army” has been a long time coming for POB. They started working on this video about 2-3 years ago. Let me rephrase that: WE started working on it about 2-3 years ago with them. To further explain, SoCal Reggae (Thomas Persichilli and Leucadia Bob) actually met right around the time that this video was being conceived. It began in Leucadia Bob’s garage after he went on eBay and ordered a green screen kit. At the time, Nate was not the bass player, and Jeff and Evan weren’t even in the band.
On far left and right, Socal Reggae Co-Founders Leucadia Bob and Thomas Persichilli. Tom Searcy and Paloma Isabel in the center.
Thomas worked tirelessly on editing this video, learning as he went; knowing nothing about video editing when he started. Using Vegas Video on a High Performance PC, a multitude of special effects started to materialize,bringing a level of professionalism that is seldom seen from something that started in a dingy Leucadia garage. Everything was shot in HD, and each individual was filmed separately in front of the green screen. Eventually Thomas moved in with Leucadia Bob and SoCal Reggae HQ was established. The living room was converted into a studio and the Green Screen Alcove was created.
Kris had a very rough idea of the content that he wanted in the video, plus a few sketches with story boards, but in the beginning we were all just getting a feel for what was to come. There were a lot of test shots and reshoots, and there was a bit of a learning curve. It seemed like we would be doing this forever. Indeed, one of the most challenging aspects of filming a video on a low budget is getting the band to show up. Let’s face it, POB is a great band, but everyone has a life and work schedules to keep up with.
Story board for “The Army”
The Army is essentially taking a stab at the music business in general. We all love music, but there are a lot of factors that go into putting on a show: the club, the employees, security, promotion, overhead costs, and most important: the band that entertains you. At the end of a show, everyone needs to get paid, otherwise there is no motivation to be in this business. This song and video illustrates the sleazy side of it all. Contrary to what you may be thinking, there are a lot of bands that do not get paid. A variety of reasons can serve to support this, such as “not enough of a crowd draw” or “liquor sales were low”, but in the end, stiffing the band is generally not a good practice. Ultimately, the only people the band can rely on are the fans: they are your ARMY in a sense, and they will support you in any way that they can, including a boycott of ANY Club that does not properly compensate.
So this coming Wednesday, September 12th, POB will be celebrating and premiering this new video at Winston’s in Ocean Beach, when they play DJ Carlos Culture’s CLUB KINGSTON show (Around 9PM). Please join us, as it is a video that has been anticipated for awhile. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it.
A few looks at some video screen caps:
Story board for “The Army”
The Band, as seen in the Army Video
Screen cap of the Live Action cut sequence
Silhouettes of the band with the Robot
Live footage shot at the Bar Leucadian
Kris with the ‘Sun and Wings’ graphics
Austin seen with the ‘Sun’ logo
On far left and right, Socal Reggae Co-Founders Leucadia Bob and Thomas Persichilli. Tom Searcy and Paloma Isabel in the center.
Unreleased New Music from P.O.B. filmed at Fratelli’s Italian Kitchen in Oceanside, CA.
This is not another song about how happy you will be drinking a cocktail on the beach or how you can’t get that girl you want, this song inspires more through provoking and critical ideas as it has similar undertones and themes as did “The Robot”.
We used to live off the land and survived day to day. Has technology made our lives better or numbed our brains and made our bodies soft? We have gone from foraging and hunting organic foods to mass producing genetically modified plants injected with preservatives and sprayed with pesticides. It appears technology is advancing faster than our bodies can evolve. It has become more and more that what defines you is your smartphone and your latest facebook status or your most followed tweet. Is this what it means to be human nowadays? With more and more technology, we can share more and more ideas, just as I share my ideas with you right now… but have we become “slaves to our own creation?”. Comfortable lives help us forget where we come from and all the trials and hardships it took us to go from primitive beings, living off the land into these drones that turn off our brains for 8 hours a day 5 days a weeks and endure the pain just so we have more virtual credits we call money. These are the questions that ‘Primitive’ brings to my mind, what questions does it bring to yours?
