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Reggae Rockers Rejoice: John Brown’s Body Re-Amplifies The Roxy On 4/20
Sinning In LA
04.27.10
There are many reasons to love living in Los Angeles. Getting the chance to see John Brown’s Body, one of the best live reggae groups around three times in one year certainly ranks high on my personal list. After most recently seeing them take over the Key Club back in September, this time we were treated to a special show at The Roxy on 4/20, where the band teamed with the experimental world music of co-headliners Toubab Krewe and former frontman Kevin Kinsella to deliver a stellar night of progressive music for reggae aficionados and open-minded Angelenos alike.
“The last six months have been pretty epic,” said drummer Tommy Benedetti when we spoke with him and the band backstage after their set. “We started in September with The Black Seeds and then we did New Zealand and now we’re here with Toubab and it’s been awesome.”
“Seth (Herman), our manager, goes out of his way to find all these really great bands to tour with,” said guitarist Mike Keenan. “Most of the time people don’t know who they are but he finds bands that are in a similar situation to us. We really want to raise that level of trust with our fan base so that it doesn’t matter who we’re playing with, you know they’re gonna be good."
JBB were better than good on this night. Having had the privilege of seeing them perform live, I can safely say that the band has never sounded better or more in unison than they did for this show.
Benedetti then added, “Nights like these are really amazing though because we just drove from San Francisco, so we didn’t get a soundcheck tonight. Nobody got to play their instruments at all before we hit the stage, so to get up there and know stuff is going to sound on point because you’ve got a guy like (sound engineer) Jocko makes our jobs so much easier.”
Jocko channeled the spirit of the legendary dub mixologist King Tubby as he had the band sounding pristine and immersed in an echo-heavy soundscape for most of the night, much to the delight of the packed house. Running through a set that saw them incorporate the best bits from all their albums, along with a special cover of The Clash’s classic, “Bankrobber,” the guys were in fine form and had the crowd dancing from start to finish. They even reworked and dubbed out songs on the spot, such as on recent hits like “The Gold,” "Push Some Air,” and even a brand new untitled dub-heavy cut that was the personal highlight of the set for me and perhaps a promise of things to come.
“Elliot just had his mind blown by all the dubstep stuff going on, so what we’re sort of trying to do now is incorporate that in an organic way into our sound,” said Keenan. Tommy then added, “But it will definitely be our own take on it. JBB always sounds like JBB through the years I think. It’s just a natural progression of the music. We don’t consciously try to do it, whatever we’re inspired by, it’s going to make its way in there somehow.”
With the band’s first ever European tour on tap, the influences are almost certain to continue to build towards the band’s new album which will begin to be recorded this summer with Jocko behind the boards and perhaps a return by Canadian dubmaster, Dubmatix as well.
“So many people just don’t get what we do in this business so that makes it really hard to pick a producer but if we were to pick one I can’t think of someone better really,” said Keenan.
“We actually did some stuff on his new album and then he went into Jocko’s recording studio,” added Benedetti. “I have a feeling he’s going to play a part in the next record in someway just because he really understands what we’re trying to do musically.”
With the ensuing European tour about to hit and the new album happening after that, JBB have never been busier or more energized. They’ve also just launched a brand-new website where you can download (for free) a full live album culled from their exceptional 2010 tour along with a brand new EP too. Be sure to check out both of those outstanding releases and stick with us as we’ll be bringing you all of the latest sinful scoops from this ground-breaking band.
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