Tribal Seeds puts SoCal imprint on reggae
It might seem a bit odd, a group of kids who grew up in SanDiego and Imperial counties forming a reggae band. And when TribalSeeds lead singer Steve Jacobo starts singing “Youth Rebellion” ina strong West Indian patois, it might seem even odder.
But for the men of Tribal Seeds (playing Jan. 4 night at theWorldBeat Center in San Diego), what might seem weird to theuninitiated simply adds up to having fun while making goodmusic.
Tony-Ray Jacobo, co-founder and keyboard player (and brother ofSteve), said that the band sings in a Caribbean lilt because itseems natural given the Jamaican roots of the music.
“Performing reggae music has its own energy,” Jacobo wrote in ane-mail last week. “Singing our songs in an accented style justfeels right and translates well to our fans.”
The six-piece band has been around for about three years, Jacobowrote. (Marc Munoz is guitarist, John Wegener plays bass, CarlosVerdugo is drummer and Tony Navarro plays percussion.) It’s theonly band he and his brother have been in, and he said they came toreggae under the influence of their parents.
“My mom and dad used to blast it in the house for as long as Ican remember,” he wrote of his and his brother’s introduction toreggae. “The strong message in the music was inspiring to me.”
But despite the complex Afro-Caribbean polyrhythms at the baseof reggae, Jacobo said it wasn’t particularly hard for a couple ofSouthern California kids to pick up.
“Reggae rhythms have a feel and a melody. Learning to playreggae music was more letting the music inside of me as opposed tojust focusing on the technical side.”
The band is looking to follow up its recently released andeponymously titled second CD, with a tour. Being young (the band’smembers range in age from 20 to 26), Jacobo said the men of TribalSeeds have flexible work situations that allow them to go onextended tours -- perhaps internationally, if early nibbles bearfruit.
While Tribal Seeds is the only band the Jacobo brothers havebeen in, the other four members had been in numerous bands beforeTribal Seeds, Jacobo wrote, and they bring a variety of influencesto the reggae the band plays.
“Rock, blues, funk, punk, Latin, fusion: These are all stylesfrom some of our band members’ pasts. Our drummer, Carlos, oncejammed out with George Clinton from Parliament. We will continue tocreate positive music and not be worried about the style. Just letit flow naturally into songs that move our spirit.”
And, of course, like every music style in history, reggae itselfcontinues to change and adapt with each new generation thatdiscovers it -- a point Jacobo made: “Reggae has changed without adoubt. Most of our band members come from different genres ofmusic, so the fusion of styles is always new and different in ourcreative sessions.
“We hope that music fans in general will enjoy our range ofroots, rock and reggae.”
Tribal Seeds
When: 8:30 p.m. Jan. 4
Where: WorldBeat Center, Balboa Park, 2100 Park Blvd., SanDiego
Tickets: $10
Info: (619) 230-1190 orworldbeatcenter.org
Web:tribalseeds.net