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The Mangrove Syndicate

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Album: Sweetbone
Released: Jan 1, 2009
Label:

General Info

  • Genre: Other

    Location HOLLYWOOD, Florida, Un

    Profile Views: 11937

    Last Login: 6/25/2012

    Member Since 1/8/2009

    Record Label Mangrove Records

    Type of Label Unsigned

  • Bio

    The Mangrove Syndicate is rooted in South Florida and features a diverse array of bands that provide an eclectic collection of genres suitable for most popular and private venues. Genres span rock, funk, blues, jazz, R&B, reggae, latin and more. The core of the syndicate currently consists of Sweetbone, The Southwood Project, Eyenity, Majesty and The Moonshyne Players.

  • Members

    David "Big Smood" (Vocals/Guitar/Bass), Martin "Tasty Licks" Diaz (Vocals/Guitar/Bass), Carlos Hernandez (guitar), Jah Marcus (Vocals/Guitar/Bass), Jah Minister (Vocals), Jahida Jorganes (Vocals), Oscar Saavedra (Vocals), Southwood (Vocals/Bass/Bass Trombone), Austin "Big Sauce" Vernon (Vocals/Saxophone), Matt DiLeonardo (Bass Trombone), Rocky Guido (sax), Courtlon Cochran (trumpet), Pablo "Señor Bubble" Capote (Keyboard/Guitar/Bass/Sitar/Banjo), Ras Kimbu (Drums), Omar Khan (Drums), Jeff Dean (Drums), Joe Carrion (Drums), Julian "El Loco" MacFarlane (Drums), Anthony Navas (Drums), Guillermo Sanchez (congas), Roly Bazan (percussion), Alberto Murua (Percussion) and more!

  • Influences

    Rock, Reggae, Funk, Latin Jazz, Swing, Blues, R&B, and traditional whaling songs.

  • Sounds Like

    The Mangrove Syndicate is a unified congregation of sound that fuses reggae, rock, funk, blues, swing and jazz through the music of Sweetbone, The Southwood Project, Eyenity, Majesty and The Moonshyne Players.

Individual Band Bios

****SWEETBONE: (rock/funk/reggae)

Having racked up eight years of live performances, Sweetbone takes on a fierce schedule of gigs that keeps them shaking up clubs around South Florida with their original brand of “Pimp Reggae Funk Rock”.

"We keep playing and playing," said Martin "Tasty Licks" Diaz, who formed the band in 2000 with fellow frontman David "Big Smood" Southwood-Smith. "We're not doing it for the money. If we were doing it for that, we'd be broke."

Sweetbone offers thought-provoking lyrics melded with diverse and dangerously addictive melodies. In recent years, mainstream rock has acquired an overly serious persona and Sweetbone is here to shatter that self-image by introducing their light-hearted brand of enthusiasm and witty repartee that always rocks hard but never takes itself too seriously.

Aside from original music, Sweetbone applies their signature style to songs by artists such as Bob Marley, Sublime, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors and others. Each song is meticulously chosen and re-arranged in a manner that always presents audiences with new and unprecedented renditions of otherwise familiar songs. This approach combines the appeal of well-known music with the novelty of new arrangements that incorporate the seemingly effortless switching of genres throughout any given song. The result is an eye-opening experience that draws in audiences with a sense of familiarity toward something like a Led Zeppelin or Doors song and suddenly switches genres to incorporate a reggae bridge or funk interlude. Sweetbone audiences bang their heads to a hard rocking beat, shake their hips to a highly funk induced groove, and then suddenly find themselves swaying to an inviting reggae rhythm all within the same song!

Their high-energy stage presence has gained them a multi-generational following by producing performances that rock hard while systematically breaking out of the rock genre in order to provide something for everyone and thereby engaging in an exponentially widening and diverse fan base.

Sweetbone consists of: Martin “Tasty Licks” Diaz and David “Big Smood” Southwood-Smith trading off on vocals, guitar, and bass while backed by a horn section featuring David’s brother, “Southwood”, on Trombone, Austin "Big Sauce" Vernon on Saxophone, Pablo "PacMan" Capote on keyboards, and Joe "Sapo" Carrion on drums.

For more information visit: www.Sweetbone.com

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****THE SOUTHWOOD PROJECT: (reggae/jazz)

Performing on the South Florida music scene since 1997 and having backed such artists as Tinga Stewart, Mother B (Cedella Marley-Booker), Calton Coffee, Sanchez, and Bob Andy; Ras Southwood formed The Southwood Project to deliver a groove soaked in Roots Reggae, sautéed with live horns, and glazed with a vocal style reminiscent of a Jazz night club.

Born in Jamaica, raised in America, and having studied abroad in Southeast Asia and Western Europe, Southwood came to the realization that people all over the world are facing the same socio-economic struggles and that the most effective way to bring the message of peace to the masses, is through music.

With this goal, The Southwood Project delivers solely original reggae music that elicits hypnotic cadences and alluring rhythms, taking reggae music to a higher level of sophistication and purpose.

The Southwood Project consists of: Southwood on Lead Vocals and Bass, Ras Kimbu & Omar Kahn on Drums, David Southwood-Smith on Guitars, Pablo Capote on keyboards, Austin Vernon on Saxophone, and Matt Dileonardo on Trombone.

For more information visit: www.SouthwoodProject.com

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****EYENITY: (reggae)

Eyenity is an authentic roots, rock, reggae band in its truest form. Featuring powerful and upbeat song choices, Eyenity combines original reggae music with popular and well loved reggae tunes. The result of this combination is an invigorating groove that compels audiences to dance and sing along in the excitement as they experience new and original reggae tunes along with the familiarity of well known songs from artists like Bob Marley, Steel Pulse, Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown and more!

Eyenity consists of: Jah Marcus on Lead Vocals & Riddim Guitar, Empress Gina on vocals, Messiah on Drums, Pablo Capote on keyboards, King David on Lead Guitar & Vocals, and Southwood on Bass & Vocals.

For more information visit: www.myspace.com/Eyenity

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****MOONSHYNE PLAYERS: (jazz/swing/blues/funk)

The classic Moonshyne Players sound is home grown and organically distilled making it a unique and refreshing blend of jazz standards (by artists such as: Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk - to name a few) along with other popular song choices that have been revamped with more updated rhythms and sounds; thus allowing audiences a glimpse into the past that is filtered with a more modern and pertinent link to the present.

A live Moonshyne Players performance elicits the feeling of sitting in a prohibition-era speakeasy or perhaps an intimate nightclub during the 1940’s or 50’s. They walk on stage wearing smoking jackets and fedoras, immediately invoking a call to a simpler time when jazz filled the mainstream music scene and America was young, vibrant, and carefree.

The Moonshyne Players consist of: Jahida Jorganes on lead vocals, Austin Vernon on Saxophone, David Southwood-Smith on Bass & Guitar, Martin Diaz on Bass & Guitar, Pablo Capote on keyboards, and Joe Carrion on Drums.

For more information visit: www.MoonshynePlayers.com

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****MAJESTY: (rock/funk/latin/reggae)

Imagine yourself in a simpler time back in the glory days of the 1970’s. Life was filled with solid grooves and simple pleasures like a night of dancing with friends at a local “Open House” without the watchful eye of a chaperon.

It was around this time during the 1970’s that Majesty was founded by a group of friends from Hialeah’s Walker Park neighborhood. The band eventually grew to include members from Hialeah High, Miami Springs Sr. High, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Sr. High, and Norland Sr. High. Childhood friends, Carlos Hernandez and Ramon Mejido, originally set out to have a little fun and founded a garage band (actually, more like a “car-port” band) called “Earth”. Despite fun times, their success was limited to mostly playing family parties and just about anywhere else that people would let them play. The band began to grow when they met a drummer named Tony “Cuco” Perez, a percussionist known as Guillermito “Mac” Sanchez, a lighting and sound wizard by the name of Jose “Pepito” Serra, and Vocalist, Joe Granda. All of these local talents joined forces with Carlos on guitar and Ramon on bass to form the first incarnation of the original “Majesty” line-up. As time went on, Doug Williams was added on keyboards, “Las Jimaguas” contributed to vocals and a full horn section joined the crew, thus creating the sound that would be the Majesty which many remember from those whimsical Open Houses back in the seventies. Through the years, the members of Majesty shared great success as musicians and friends, playing several Open Houses among other events with many of the other great local bands of that era.

After nearly a thirty year hiatus, Majesty reunited to honor a personal request that became the catalyst which reunited some of the most talented and fun-loving musicians and friends in South Florida. Majesty’s reunion began after several of the founding members were informed that their drummer and friend, Tony “Cuco” Perez, was fighting a terminal illness. Ramon, Carlos, Guillermito, Roly Bazan (Cuco’s nephew) and Aldo Gonzalez got together for what they suspected would be a nostalgic but brief reunion in order to partake in one final super jam “descarga” for Tony “Cuco” Perez (R.I.P.), their friend and brother in music.

MAJESTY TODAY: Despite the loss of Cuco’s physical presence, the band played on. Oscar Saavedra was inducted as the new lead vocalist, Pablo Capote (from The Moonshyne Players) showed up to play keyboards and through him came Paul Southwood-Smith (of The Southwood Project) on trombone, flugel horn and backing vocals in addition to Martin Diaz (from Sweetbone) on bass and Chris O’Farrill (R.I.P.) on trumpet. Roly Bazan was grandfathered in as the living legacy to his late uncle's drum throne. It was through Roly that Majesty was fortune enough to recruit Rocky Guido on saxophone and Courtlon Cochran on trumpet. Yes, the new crew was soon fully assembled and ready to bring the party to a full tilt, along with founding members Carlos Hernandez on electric guitar and Big Willie Mac on the thundering LP congas of sheer goodness.

Today Majesty is once again a force to be reckoned with… accept no imitations or limitations because Majesty is now totally comprised of professional musicians, hell-bent on putting on a great show by ensuring that everyone on stage and in the audience has the best possible experience. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of extinguished flames that were taken far too soon from us, Majesty has evolved, become stronger and soared to newer and greater heights. Majesty's creed is to continue the legacy that Tony “Cuco” Perez inspired by spreading the joy and love of music that everyone deserves to experience.

As a band that found its start by playing disco music at Miami “Open House” parties, Majesty has now evolved into a group of musicians that you cannot pin to a specific genre. The new Majesty isn’t bound by the rotating glimmer of a disco ball because it goes far beyond a specific generation. Ultimately, good music transcends any label or expectation which is precisely why any recent Majesty performance will guarantee an eclectic mix of songs that span the past fifty years. From The Temptations to Santana, James Brown to Rick James, The Commodores to War and Bob Marley to Bon Jovi, these are just a few examples of how Majesty is proud to deliver your favorites with an updated flavor and majestical zest.

While constantly evolving and traversing through the new millennium, it’s important to remember that we are Majesty; we are here to stay and WE ARE READY TO PARTY!

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