Primitive Don (Don Baker), skank guitar and lead vocals; Jah James (Seamus Roche), keyboards and guitar; Mikey Stepper (Mike Andersen), bass; Binghy Ben (Benjamin Stokes), drums.
Influences
Roots reggae, DJ cuts, rub-a-dub, and dub. Horace Andy, Jacob Miller, Barry Brown, Ini Kamoze, Eek-a-Mouse, Yellowman, Sly and Robbie, Roots Radics, and Sound Dimension. Reggae labels such as Volcano, Studio One, Trojan, Greensleeves, Joe Gibbs, Wackies, and Channel One.
Sounds Like
Roots reggae from the 70s and early 80s, heavy tracks in minor keys, heavy bass and drums, crisp guitar skanking, bubbling organ, smooth vocals, jazz tenor saxophone.
'One by one the competition fall, Hostile Roots gwan conquer them ALL!'
Formed in 2005, Chicago reggae group Hostile Roots Takeover brings the heavy sounds of 70s/80s roots reggae into the present.
Frontman Don and bassist Janet played for years in their rock group Indoor Boy, which folded in late 2003. Don, who also spins records and makes beats under the moniker DJ EasyGo, had been collecting reggae albums for some time. As his interest in reggae grew, he formed a reggae group for fun, bringing in Janet on bass. Janet, who walks dogs by day, brought in her client's owner Seamus Roche ..boards. Don called upon his friend Mark Freitas, whom he met reading Tape Op on the Blue Line, to play trombone and melodica. The lineup solidified with the addition of UIC grad student Benjamin Stokes on drums, who had answered Don's ad in the Chicago Reader. In early 2007, the group joined forces with tenor sax and flute player Matt Thompson, a Depaul saxophone student with a strong background in jazz. In summer 2008 bassist Mike Andersen joined the Roots on bass, bringing the Hostile Roots one step closer to the Kingdom of Zion.
Judged on appearance, Hostile Roots Takeover is probably the least likely band ever to play reggae. But when the band kicks into one its heavy reggae chunes, listeners find out quickly the band is serious about its riddim.
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