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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Wyden's support is vital ... Guest Opinion: City of Ashland space needs ... Haines & Friends Fund grants help local artists ... Wyden's support is vital ... Guest Opinion: City of Ashland space needs ... Haines & Friends Fund grants help local artists ... MUSIC Rebelution takes reggae to new heights The band brings its five-star mixed bag to Britt in Jacksonville Comment By Alan Sculley Last Word Features DailyTidings.com By Alan Sculley Last Word Features Posted Aug. 27, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Aug 27, 2015 at 5:03 PM By Alan Sculley Last Word Features Posted Aug. 27, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Aug 27, 2015 at 5:03 PM » Social News Eric Rachmany, singer and guitarist of reggae-rooted Rebelution, is hardly old by calendar standards. Yet, he’s been around long enough to recognize that Rebelution’s approach to music may make him feel a bit dated. Fortunately, he thinks his group has found an audience that shares some old-fashioned ideas when it comes to how music is recorded and played on stage. “I’m 29 and I feel young," Rachmany says during a telephone interview. "But in regards to kind of the music scene out there today, I feel really old-school because we are still playing most of our instruments, whereas most mainstream music is a lot more synthetic. “I do see a lot of young kids at our shows that I imagine listen to a wide variety of music, but it’s still refreshing to see they’re into live bands. That’s what Rebelution definitely brings at our live shows.” The authenticity of the Rebelution experience — as well as the sheer likeability of the group’s music — probably are big reasons why Rebelution has become one of the leading acts in what has become a crowded genre of reggae-rooted acts. Along with acts like Michael Franti, Slightly Stoopid, Pepper and Sublime With Rome, Rebelution has reached a place where it headlines amphitheaters in many markets and the largest of theaters and clubs in others. The band has done it the hard way, Rachmany says, by grinding out tour after tour and building a word-of-mouth following. “We’ve been a band for about 10 years now,” he says. “We went from building our own stages and buying our own equipment and renting PA systems to really just kind of growing. So fast forward to 10 years later, our production is just increasing every tour. Between just our stage sounds, the actual touring, the people, the crew that we bring on the road, this is going to be the biggest tour we’ve ever encountered.” The gradual path to bigger shows and greater popularity began in 2004 when Rachmany met his future bandmates — keyboard player Rory Carey, drummer Wesley Finley and bassist Marley D. Williams — while attending college in Santa Barbara, Calif. Sax player Chris Royal has been a touring member of the band for much of its history. The group took a DIY approach to building its career, self-producing an eponymous EP in 2006, followed by a full-length album, "Courage to Grow," in 2007 and "Bright Side of Life" in 2009. Rebelution’s growing musical ambition shined on its third album, “Peace Of Mind.” In addition, the group recorded acoustic and dub versions of the entire recording, creating a three-CD set for those who wanted to explore the different versions of “Peace Of Mind.” Stylistically, the group branched beyond its reggae foundation, adding a rock edge to “Comfort Zone,” “Lady In White” and “Day By Day,” doing a gentle acoustic ballad, “Route Around,” and mixing a bit of a lilting hip-hop flavor into the ballad “Closer I Get.” Rebelution continues to push forward musically on its newest CD, “Count Me In.” The group’s ambition is apparent as the album opens with  two songs that depart from its signature reggae-rooted sound. The title track and “De-Stress” bring strong elements of soul into these buoyant tunes before the group dials back in to its familiar reggae-centered sound on songs like “More Love,” “Hate To Be The One” and “Roots Reggae Music.” Rachmany says deciding whether to open the album with those two songs was a big source of debate among the band members. “That was definitely kind of a concern for us,” he says. “Do we want to start with something that’s totally different? Are people going to think the whole album is like this? I think when people listen to the whole album, they’ll kind of see there’s a different track for everybody, similar to ‘Peace of Mind.’ I don’t think there was just one kind of style for that whole album. So we just went for it.” The process of making “Count Me In” was similar to “Peace of Mind." Like that album, it was recorded over a series of brief recording sessions rather than single, longer sessions. Rachmany sees a distinct advantage to this more piecemeal approach to recording. “My favorite way to record is really just to record (a song) when it’s fresh and in your mind and you’re really feeling it,” he says. “If I had 13 songs ready to go and we recorded them in one session, things could get a little stale. And once you’re in the studio for that long, you don’t really see the light of day. Sometimes people start to go a little crazy. So I think the best way to do it is kind of in these little clumps, record while it’s fresh. That was kind of our mindset.” By Alan Sculley Last Word Features DailyTidings.com By Alan Sculley Last Word Features Posted Aug. 27, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Aug 27, 2015 at 5:03 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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