Billy McKelvie - Vocals/Guitar Danny Leyland - Guitar/Keys Anna Jay Dickens - Saxophone Jimmy Moult - Trombone Alec Davis - Trumpet Tom Roberts - Bass Matty Ball - Drums
BOOKING: rasta4eyes@live.com
Influences
The Clash, Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Levellers, Sublime, Toots & the Maytals, NOFX, Madness, The Specials, Desmond Dekker, Sizzla, Culture, Alborosie, Capdown, Nirvana, Rancid, Crass, The King Blues, Less Than Jake, Suicide Bid, Max Romeo, Stiff Little Fingers, Operation Ivy, Natty.
We are Rasta4Eyes, we're a 6 piece ska band with hints of reggae and punk. We sing about the current economic climate, life on the dole, drink, drugs,
parties, being skint and in debt... anything that relates to the youth of our troubled generation. We're influenced by punk, ska, reggae, folk, the blues,
dub, skacore... as well as life experiences, mistakes, good times and bad times.
We began in the summer of 2008, at first we were aiming for a folky-reggae sound, but after tampering with a few songs we dropped the acoustics and got a brass section in. We practised and practised for a good few months before playing our first pub gigs in November 2008. In the following months, we put on some of our own gigs with the John Player Specials to raise funds to record our first EP with TimG from BigTone Studios. What was initially planned as an EP, the 4 songs 'Oscar and Arthur', 'Good Old Rock n Roll', 'The Herb' and 'Never Will I Pay' caught the attention of the UK's leading underground DIY ska record label - Do The Dog Music.
The result - 'Boss Sounds of the Boom & Bust' - A split album with Norfolk's 'Captain Black No Stars' came out in March 2009 courtesy of Do the Dog. It is an 8 track split which has received excellent reviews from the likes of Punktastic.com and Fungalpunknature.com
You can buy the split from our online store rasta4eyes.bigcartel.com for just £4!
After a few line up changes, a shit load of gigs from town to town (including Strummercamp Festival & Kippertronix Festival) we're currently writing new material and saving up for our album, hoping to start recording early next year with a view to a spring/summer release.
Do the Dog Press Release... "Rasta4Eyes are a fast rising young 7 piece crew who have been building a strong local following gigging in the Wigan area over the last few months. Bursting with energy & highly infectious rhythms, their storming sound combines smooth reggae grooves with fast paced in-yer-face brassy 2 tone ska. Rasta4Eyes boast a strong DIY ethic & anti-establishment attitude."
Strummercamp.co.uk... "Fighting out of the St Helen's corner, singer Billy McKelvie delivers food for thought lyrics on how the current economic climate is affecting today's youth just as much as everybody else and how the constant attitude of "we have been here before" from his generations elders just adds to the frustration and fears of himself and his peers.
With a split album (Boss Sounds of the Boom & Bust) now available on Do The Dog records, and a host of nationwide gigs in the pipeline, 2009 looks like being a pivotal time for what we at Strummercamp consider to be one of the most promising young acts playing at this years festival."
FungalPunkNature.com... "...the response is immediate and in truth, fuckin' magical - ‘Good Old Rock n Roll’ gushes talent and is one of those more slipstream numbers that is
happy to go with its own flow and rely on its own self-borne talent found therein."
Punktastic.com... "It’s a solid four songs that prove both playful and clever. Focus on growing weed and drug dealers sits alongside the ongoing problems with unemployment."
SkaMonkey.com... "Rasta4eyes bounce in for the first round with ‘Oscar & Arthur’, I love this bouncy skanking feel that they capture with this track with excellent vocals and solid brass section."
Big love to all the bands and promoters we've been priviliged to play alongside/work with... Harijan, The Fractions, Stand Out Riot, Kickback UK, AWarAgainstSound, Resolution242, The Hijacks, Pressure Drop, Captain Black No Stars, Cartoon Violence, Jimmy The Squirrel, China Shop Bull, Catch-It-Kebabs, 3 Minute Warning, Rebelation, Smoke Like A Fish, Liberation, Do The Dog Music, Bomb Ibiza Promotions, Slit Promotions, Positive Junk, Gamberro, Vinne @ Southport, TNS Records, and of course our best mates The John Player Specials.
hello! good news - our brand new 3-way split EP on TNSrecords is out now. and even better news, you can buy it online NOW! 10 tracks, £4, fantastic! thanks!
TNS Records' next release is a three-way, ska-core split EP from the North-West's Sense of Urgency, Stand Out Riot and A WarAgainstSound. Out at the start of December, it's now available on the TNSrecords webstore for just £5. The first 25 orders also receive a FREE poster. Or for an extra £1 pick up either Revenge of the Psychotronic Man vs The Fractions EP, or Harijan vs John Player Specials EP.
HEY ID LOVE TO OFFER YOU A GIG UP HERE..........BEEN TRYING TO GET ROUGHNECK RIOT GIGS UP IN EDINBURGH.........BUT CO ORDINATING MORE THAN ONE GIG OVER A WEEKEND.......HAS BEEN A PROBLEM.......I COULD GET YOU A GIG BUT IT WOULD BE A ONE OFF NO PROBS.....FOR NEXT YEAR......BUT IM JUST A MEMBER OF A BAND MYSELF..........AND I GOT NO CASH TO PAY FOR A BAND TO COME UP............WHAT WOULD BE MORE APPEALING IS IF YOU COULD BRING A COUPLE OF BANDS UP UNDER THE BANNER OF STRUMMERCAMP.......BRING IT TO SCOTLAND!
hi! i love your music and just wanted to order a copy of the split cd with captain black no stars, but i had to realize that you dont ship to germany...... pls tell me that there is any way to get that cd!! greets !
Hey Billy! I've just added a brand new Jimmy The Squirrel track "Carnival" to the Do The Dog Music Myspace page, so please check it out & let me know what you think! The tune will feature on the band's soon to be released debut full length album, "Business As Usual" on Do The Dog Music!
Online Now!
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