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John Grizzly: Rasta Survival

The former John Grizzly Band will play under its new band John Grizzly: Rasta Survival Saturday at Humboldt Brews.

John Grizzly: Rasta Survival reherse at Ijal�s Jamaican Kitchen


Grizzly�s latest spin on reggae to play Humboldt Brews

The band plays music known as dancehall reggae, which John Grizzly, the bassist, describes as more about drums/bass and a rappin� DJ style with a fresh approach to reggae.

Before the original members went their separate ways, Grizzly was John Grizzly�s lead singer and bass player for the past year and a half. Songs Grizzly had followed were from his former Los Angeles group Better Chemistry.

Enthusiasm faded as the drummer and guitar player lost interest in reggae, and focused instead on getting a college education at HSU. In effort to keep his band alive Grizzly turned to African American Drum shop owner Calvin Hall to see if he could be referred to a dedicated Caribbean reggae musician.

In February, Hall directed Grizzly to the lead Jamaican-born singer Melbourne Morgan, co-owner of Ijal�s Jamaican Kitchen restaurant in Eureka. It turned out Morgan was also searching for a reggae band.

�That�s why I ventured out to Melbourne because he�s from Jamaica,� Grizzly said. �It�s more authentic to have somebody from Jamaica, for me, when singing reggae.�

Grizzly also said Morgan�s approach to singing is very energetic, happy and determined. He interacts with the crowd through hand gestures and body language.���

�The people I am in the band with are dedicated, so it lifts me up and they give me the vibes every time,� Morgan said.

�I was looking to play more reggae, and he�s into the same reggae style that I am into so it worked out really well,� Grizzly said.

Other new band members include drummer Danny Hall, who�s a long-time friend of Grizzly�s from Southern California. Hall brought in his guitar friend Jesse Norman, and the keyboardist Sunny Andrews is Morgan�s friend.���

Norman said the guys he composes music with are friendly mellow people who want to create good music and enjoy themselves. �They are positive folks trying to make something happen,� said Norman, an engineering sophomore at College of the Redwoods.���

�I like the challenge of playing reggae whereas I never played reggae before,� Hall said about why he chose to join the band.

Unfortunately, playing any boisterous instrument isn�t without its possible consequences. Hall has suffered hearing lost in his inner right ear from tapping drums for 10 years, and one month ago he got himself fitted earplugs from an audiologist. He doesn�t have regrets though, �it�s one of those hazards of the job.�

�When we go over different songs we keep adding different pieces to the songs,� Hall said. �Overall I�d say the rehearsals are pretty productive and absolutely necessary.�

�We make progress every time we practice,� Norman said. �We get more tunes all the time and the set gets bigger and tighter.�

Though it�s been three months since the band was formed, Norman sees a promising future for the band.

�I�m sure we�ll keep jamming through the summer,� he said.

Grizzly said, Andrews sometimes finds it difficult to slow the pace since he has more experience than other members.

�It�s kind of hard for him to be with us because we are kind of new at playing the reggae we are playing,� Grizzly said. �So he gets a little frustrated with us.�

Andrews becomes frustrated when wanting to play reggae music at its highest level because it�s competitive business.

�If you�re going to go out and play reggae music, it�s better to learn from somebody who knows the music,� he said, referring to his music knowledge. �Then when you get it down pat then you can add on influences from other music and styles into reggae music.�

The bass has always been Grizzly�s favorite instrument to hear when he first got started playing music. Lack of bass players, however, convinced him that his chances to be in a band were greater if he chose that instrument.

One of Grizzly�s early music influences was The Grateful Dead because of the band�s approach to music and how the members jammed together. Some of his other influences are Bob Marley, bass player Stewart Zender of Jamiroquai and recently Tippa Irie�s dancehall reggae that Grizzly incorporates into the group.

�It isn�t really new, but it�s dancehall and we are trying to be on the newer edge of reggae,� Grizzly said about implementing Irie�s music into the band.

When putting on live shows, it�s not only about getting people to hear the music, it�s also about developing a better band, Grizzly said.

But don�t expect them to promptly uncover tunes in high fusion � it takes a while to warm up.

�It takes a while to get used to a new place,� Grizzly said. �Eventually with a crowd you feel more comfortable playing with that kind of energy.����