BreakThru
Radio
Artist Of The Week
3-24-08
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad is in heavy rotation here on BreakThru Radio.
They just completed a six week national tour in November (including ten west
coast dates), and are set to play festivals like Bonnaroo, Mountain Jam, and
Wakarusa.
G.P.G.D.S. formed in Rochester, New York in 2001 and have been touring
relentlessly ever since. They combine every body-moving rhythm they can get
their hands on including reggae, dub, and afrobeat. The group can get both
introspective and let loose and just jam out. They have a feel that has “just
the right mix of dark and light to keep you on your toes,” according to their
press release. The band has opened for Toots And The Maytals, The Wailers, Lee
Scratch Perry, Morgan Heritage, Yellowman, The Meditations, Mad Professor, and
Edi Fitzroy. They've played with Brazilian Girls, Thievery Corporation,
Umphrey's McGee, John Brown's Body, and String Cheese Incident.
The band is comprised of seven members: Matthew O'Brian (Guitar, Vocals),
Christopher O'Brian (Drums), James Searl (Bass, Vocals), Dylan Savage (Guitar,
Vocals), Rachel Orke (Rhodes Piano, Melodica), Buddy Honeycutt (Percussion,
Voc), Aaron Lipp (Hammond B3 Organ).
BTR had a chat with Bass player James Searl and he filled us in on the band.
BTR: For our listeners that don't know about you, introduce yourself and
the band.
James: I play bass and sing with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad. We
play all original music inspired by roots reggae and dub music. We strive to let
the music make the music and try to keep up. It is influenced as well by the
present day, the people around us, and our wish to provide health through music.
BTR: How did you all get started in music?
James: We all seemed to spring out of the earth wanting to have nothing
to do with anything else. We have all been singers for our whole lives and have
been influenced by each other for over a decade now.
BTR: Where did your name come from?
James: The name was inspired by a few factors. Being music makers, we
deal with sounds. We hold no claim to being experts in naming and felt a bit
pressured to have to come up with a name that properly suited our sound. We are
all big fans of the novelist Tom Robbins. His first novel is titled "Another
Roadside Attraction". In this book there is a band described as a family unit
that is traversing the California highways dosing people with the best sounds in
the land. They were called Giant Panda Gypsy Blues Band. We enjoyed telling
people that we were the Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, in the spirit of the
famed but fictitious band in the novel. It seemed to take up a whole marquee and
was the biggest name in any of the papers. As the years have gone by, it has
grown on us to offer a fourth dimension of perspective to who we are. Each word
individually seems to conjure up different thoughts. It reflects
internationalism, endangerment, animal ancestry, anti establishment, the art of
Dub, grassroots pushing and unity among others. It is a name for the ADD
generation to latch onto and play with. We encourage different versions of the
name in some what of a five word matrix of assorted possibilities. Dub Panda
Guerilla Giant Squad is fine by us.
BTR: Does Rochester, NY have a supportive music scene?
James: Huge! We would be nowhere without it. People in Rochester won't
support just any thrown together music. They have to really like it. When they
do, they show it and are some of the most supportive people we have met
anywhere. It makes us very proud to be from where we are from. Not to mention,
there are generations of bands in Rochester that have been influencing each
other for years and years. The longer you stick around, the more you get to be a
part of. The city has a strong reggae history since the seventies. Friends and
mentors of ours used to play in a band with Lee Scratch Perry in 1981 called
Bahama Mama. We grew up hearing stories about Scratch throwing fits on Monroe
Ave and living through the coldest winter of the century. Bands like the
Buddahood, the Rype Band, Brothers Green, and any project singer Frank Bohm has
been a part of have been huge influences in our community and we give thanks for
that. Tony Cavagnero of the Buddahood is a guitar player who recently passed
away. He taught most of us a lot about music and being in a band and why its
worth it to work very very hard sometimes for little gain other than what your
spirit feels. He was in just about every band we ever listened to locally and we
miss him very much.
BTR: What is Slow Down like as an album? And what was the
process of creating it like?
James: Slow Down is an album that was recorded in what now
feels like a different decade. We recorded most of it through 2005 and released
it in 2006. We had never made a record before. We decided that we wanted to
record simple songs with strong instrument signals. We wanted the sounds to be
captured as purely and clearly as possible. We feel very strongly about the
ability of the instruments we play and their power to have physiological effects
on the listener. We use no digital signals from our instruments. Each one of
them vibrates. We took the project to Alex Perialas of Pyramid Studio's in
Ithaca, NY. This place seemed way to high end to do our simple album at first,
but we all realized why we had come there and Alex understood our mission after
a while. It wasn't until after it was all done and released that we realized
that we had in fact accomplished our mission, and that the sounds were as
scientifically accurate and effectual as they could be with out being overly
produced. As an album, the songs and vibrations are supposed to physiologically
work the body and induce the listener to sing along. Singing is good. Singing is
healthy. We feel that it is an easy experience for people to go through and it
is beneficial for everyone involved.
It is a good reflection on a certain time period of our career. It is music made
during the Iraqi War period and the Bush Regime. We were very inspired by the
bleakness around us to shine some light for ourselves and others. Now, it is
dated. We have a new sound and many in the band are not on the album.
BTR: What is the atmosphere like at one of your shows?
James: The atmosphere is current. It is vibrating at every level and
there is a shared energy between the band, the crowd, and the walls of the room
and whatever spirits are lurking. Live music is a community experience. We leave
anything open to happen. We use our songs as platforms to get to new a fresh
musical experiences. Each show is different and that keeps the vitality.
BTR: What can we expect from you guys in the future?
James: Never forget, we are multi sexed. You can expect lots and lots
of music from us in the future. We are brimming with it. We have been touring so
hard that it has been very hard to get structured time in a studio, but that has
not stopped the flow of ideas and new songs. We are putting together a live
record to put out right now to capture the time period of 2007, and the sound
that the group has gained. After that, we will concentrate on some new studio
efforts. We will continue to play lots and lots of shows all over the nation and
hopefully soon the world.
BTR: Would you like to add anything?
James: Music is medicine. All this talk of health care should inspire
people to make more music and go see more music. It is no wonder why it is all
around us and fuels our lives the way it does. Give thanks for it and it will
thank you back.
- Ike Stonberg
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