Keeping The Rebelution Beat

But you can’t blame Finley for sounding somewhat amazed about the success of his chosen career path.  Having formed Rebelution when he and his bandmates were still in college, Finley as well as the group’s other members are pursuing careers that they probably weren’t considering when they attended freshman orientation day.

Rebelution’s fourth full-length release – Count Me In – arrives June 10, distributed by EasyStar Records.  The band launched its summer tour plans earlier this week with three-city run in Hawaii that wraps in Honolulu June 8. The group’s North American adventure continues with a June 11 gig in New York City.

Part of the promotion for Count Me In includes band members randomly calling fans to thank them for their support.  Has the band always made an extra effort to reach out to fans?

I can probably claim that it’s been [like this] since the beginning.  When the band was first forming, when we all were still attending University Of California, Santa Barbara …  I was kind of the guy in charge of monitoring MySpace and setting it up and all the new music websites that were popping up, like Last.fm.  When we released our first album, Courage To Grow, we already had a decent amount of MySpace followers. … I had to send out bulletins [asking fans] if they wanted to help, to come get fliers and pass them out.  I created a digital image of fliers to help promote it, for people to post on their MySpace walls.  From its inception the band has always used online contests and the online community to help bolster our appearances.

What was your major at UCSB?

Cultural anthropology. … It’s kind of funny because we all had really different majors.  One of our guys was film-based, another was religious-based and another was an accountant.  It was actually the accountant who uses his [education] most in the band.

When did you begin drumming?

I started playing percussion in middle school and high school. It was really high school that it took off. … My mom bought me a drum set in high school.  I was really good at marching snare drum and wind ensemble, classical music … I loved drum camp.  I kind of jammed here and there with friends and once I got to college, I brought the drum set, and then the band kind of formed.

During Rebelution’s early days did you ever think the band would last as long as it has?

Not at all.  When you’re in college … you’re not quite sure where you’re going to end up in life.  So you’re just playing music for the fun of it.  It just kept growing and growing and we [were like], “Wow.  I think we’re going to have to do something with this.” We all graduated a year apart so we waited for the last guy to finish [college] so we could tour more, play more places.

As a percussionist do you hear rhythm in just about everything, such as traffic sounds or incidental noise?

Definitely. I notice blinkers a lot when I’m driving.  Like my own blinker, then the car in front of me … it will be a slightly different tempo than my own blinker. … Sirens … you name it.

What goes through your mind during a Rebelution show?

I’m trying to zone out a little bit.  The more you really break down what you’re doing at that time, the less flow you’re going to have.  So I try to zone out and be thankful of where I’m at.  I’m like, “Wow!  I can’t believe I’m in this situation where I am right now and I’m getting paid to do this.  The people in the front row are going absolutely nuts and they paid good money to see this.”

With meet-and-greets and other activities are you seeing fans return year after year?

We definitely recognize faces.  The meet-and-greets are the biggest ways for us to meet [with fans]. … They start bringing in stuff like handmade shirts that they made. … You start recognizing faces over time.  That helps with Instagram and Facebook [where] fans will tag you on pictures.  “Oh, yeah, I remember taking this picture with this person.” And soon enough they have a collage of all the pictures they’ve taken with you.

You and the band really dive into these activities.  I mean, it’s not like a five-minute hi-and-bye.

We try. … We’ll come through, sign the posters, talk [to fans], answer questions, take pictures.  We try to make it a true meet-and-greet experience. We’re actually hanging out and getting to know people, and not shifting them through an assembly line.

Regarding the band’s use of social media – It seems as if you and your bandmates have an advantage over some of the older bands in that you’re all children of the digital age and everyone in the group grew up using computers.

That’s correct.  When we were forming, MySpace was in its heyday so we used that to its full advantage.  [Now], of course, there’s Facebook.  We’ve always been involved in using social media.  It’s obviously the best and cheapest way to reach out to people.  As college students we didn’t have any other option at that point.  You can only make so many fliers or bumper stickers before you realize the value of social media. It also helps that our manager [Dean Raise of C3] is our age as well.  He’s 25, so he’s even more adept at keeping up with social media.

Musically, were you always into reggae?

It wasn’t for me at all. I was more into heavy rock and progressive hip hop, underground hip hop.  That was my gig at the time.  I met these guys … and they all had a deep history with reggae and I was like, “OK, I’ll give it a try.” And I grew to love it because it’s so groove-based.  It was a happy music for me to play. I appreciate rock, I love rock, but as far as playing it, it’s a little more intense and angry.

Was Rebelution your first paying gig?

Yes it was. … The very first time we got paid, we were so ecstatic. I think it was like, $300 or less. … We actually got paid in cash and we were like, “OK, what are we going to do with this?”  So any earnings we made as a band went [into] drum sticks, speakers and stuff.  I think that’s what [enabled] us to grow, to maintain our equipment.

When the band isn’t working, do members still hang out like back in your college days?

We all live in different cities so it’s a little tough but we definitely hang out whenever we’re in each other’s cities.  Whenever I’m in San Diego I’ll hang out with our keyboardist [Rory Carey].  We’re craft beer geeks and we geek out on beer stuff. He’ll come to Santa Barbara for a beer event. I have friends where our lead singer [Eric Rachmany] lives so I’ll make sure I’ll catch dinner with him, too.  It’s kind of weird when you go too long without seeing [each other] because you feel like you should be seeing them sooner.

The Green, Stick Figure, DJ Mackle and Iration support Rebelution on the summer tour.  How do you choose support acts?

Well, funny enough, Iration was a reggae band that was forming at the same time we were in the same college town. So we knew them from the very beginning, we would borrow each other’s equipment.  We have a very long history with that band, they’re like brothers to us.  Iration was an obvious choice.

The Green, we’re a huge fan of … they’re an all-star group from Hawaii.  The members were in different bands in Hawaii and they formed a band together, they’re all incredible musicians.

Stick Figure is kind of a funny story. Our first touring vehicle was an airport shuttle bus that we adapted to store our equipment in.  When it started going downhill on us we donated it to charity [which] fixed it up and auctioned it off.  Then this band got it.  They looked into the glove compartment and saw one of our names on the registration.  They were like, “Oh, my gosh. We coincidently bought Rebelution’s van.”

And DJ Mackle is a friend of ours and he’ll fill in the times between bands and before and after the show.

Rebelution supported a lot of other band while coming up through the ranks.  Do you make it an effort to treat your support bands as well or better than the way you were treated?

For the most part we’ve been treated well.  I think most of the bands in the genre are pretty close knit and appreciative people.  We’ve been lucky enough to not have been treated too bad. There was only one touring situation where it was, “Are you really going to pull this on us?” But we’ve always maintained a family vibe.  During these summer tours we hold BBQs every night after the show for the bands.  What’s ours is theirs at all times, the equipment we bring and all the fun little games we bring. … We try to share everything.   You’re seeing the same people every  day … so why not make it a positive situation, be friends and share what you have?

What moves Rebelution from town to town?

We rent tour buses.  It would be nice to own one but they’re very expensive. … Usually it’s just one bus.  In the summertime we have a lot more to do and we need more people to help us out so we use two buses.  Typically, the crew is on one bus, the band is on the other.

When arriving at the show’s location, does the band size up the room as to how it will sound?

We soundcheck so that’s when we get an understanding of what it will be like that night.  We have a great sound engineer that’s pretty much has been [everywhere].  He’s Bob Marley’s last sound engineer, Errol Brown.  He’s a veteran of the game and I’d be hard pressed to find a venue that he hasn’t been in or can’t figure out right away.

He must have some stories to tell.

Plenty of stories.  You’ve got to feed him wine to get the stories out of him.  He’s kind of quiet.  “Hey, Errol, what was it like back then?” What did Bob Marley say to you at that point in time?  Here, have a glass of wine.”

What kind of venue works best for Rebelution?

I’d just say one that’s acoustically similar to something we’ve played in already.  When it’s a new environment, it’s hard to get the sound right and be truly comfortable, as far as acoustics go.  We’re happy playing festival stages, sort of big and open, an environment where everyone is having a good time.  I like playing smaller clubs just because it’s loud and I can hear my drums better.  I personally like small clubs just because I love playing little dark venues every once in a while after playing big stages.

From a drummer’s standpoint, what do you hear during a Rebelution show?

We use in-ear monitors. They really allow you to individual turn up or lower each individual mic across the stage.  I could actually turn off all my drums if I wanted to [and] hardly hear myself and hear everyone else. I get a healthy balance of everybody.  I keep my drums low so I don’t blow my ears out.

In finding that balance, are you trying to hear what the audience is hearing?

Possibly.  I’d be hard-pressed to totally agree with that.  The sound engineer checks on things as well.  I know that makes a huge difference on what the audience hears versus what we hear.  In terms of time keeping and following the structures of the songs, I depend highly on the lead singer’s vocals, because the vocals are what are constantly changing and helping me with where we are in the song.  Vocals and lead guitar are some of the main things.  Then there’s the bass because that’s almost an extension of the drums.

With the in-ear monitors or other devices, are you also hearing instructions from backstage or comments from other band members?

Some bands do that.  I know Umphrey’s McGee is a big purveyor of that.  When you see a jam band you’re like, “Wow!  How do they know to go to this spot in this random place in a song? They’re constantly going through different structure and timing changes.  How do they figure out how to do that on a moment’s notice?”  Some of these bands will have, in addition to a vocal mic, a secondary mic that they can talk into, that only the band can hear amongst themselves.  “OK.  We’re going to start clapping here on four.” Or, “Let’s break after this song and talk about the new album” or whatever.  That’s something we’re going to try to implement more.  I’ve seen other bands use it to great advantages.

What’s different about the new album, Count Me In, compared to past releases?

This one is different for us, first of all, in a sense that we’re no longer with our old management.  This is the first one under new management so we felt there was a lot of weight lifted off of our shoulders. … We were able to take our time with it.  We didn’t feel that we were in any crunch or had to meet any contractual obligations with the album.  We already had a relaxed sense going into it.

Besides that, I’d say this is one of the few times we’ve had guest vocalists on our album.  That was new for us. With the first few albums we just wanted to make our own statement and not rely on guest vocals because that can be seen as a crutch if you’re a newer band. … Now that we’ve had our few albums do successfully, we’ve decided it was a good time to bring in some guest vocalists.  So we brought in Collie Buddz, who is a great vocalist we’ve toured with in the past.  He has a real distinct vocal character.  Then a reggae legend, Don Carlos, who is our lead singer’s greatest vocal influence. He always wanted to write a song with him.  That’s new with us.

We had one of my favorite hip hop engineers do one of the beats on the song.  That was cool and interesting.  We recorded in a couple of a different recording studios, which was new for us [and] we recorded while on the road, which was kind of hectic.

How did that work out?  Were you using mobile recording equipment?

Inner Circle – the band that wrote “Bad Boys,” the “Cops” theme – has their own recording studio, Circle House, in Florida.  [We decided] to end the tour in Florida.  It was a good opportunity to stay an extra few days and knock out some songs while we’re all together and have the equipment there.  It seemed like a no-brainer and they were happy to have us in their studio.  We recorded our first three or four songs there that we already had down at the moment. It worked out pretty well.

Does the band prefer to record live in the studio or is it a track-by-track process where you record each instrument separately?

It’s a little of both.  What we’ll do is one take with everybody.  That’s when my drums are captured.  That’s really just for me.  Then whatever we feel is good enough to keep, we’ll keep from everybody else. You’ll get that live sense, especially from my drum track, on that first take.  After that everybody will take turns playing with their parts, getting them down and layering them.

Were the guest vocalists singing live with the band in the studio?

We recorded with them in mind and left the spot and music open for them.  We sent them the track and they went into whatever studio they felt comfortable with and sent us the vocal track. That’s kind of a crazy thing with the new age that we can do that. … To be able to send an artist an MP3 and get it back in a few days.

With the new album release coming up soon – do you and your bandmates feel like kids anticipating Christmas or  is the experience more like being college students just before final exam week?

It’s more like Christmas but we’re in the role of Santa.  We already know what the kids are going to get, we just want to see the smiles on the kids when they receive it.  We’ve had it completed for so long now that we want people to hear it, have it in their homes, and be able to talk about it.  We’ve heard it a million times already.  We just want other people to hear it.

What’s new about the tour compared to past outings?

This is only our second summer amphitheatre tour. It’s a big deal for us that we’re finally able, at this point in our career, to play these huge venues and start filling them.  Up until now we were stuck in clubs so this is a big step forward for us, to play outdoors and have these huge audiences come out.  Now we’re at the point where, the rest of the year, when we’re doing our regular club dates, we’re playing secondary and tertiary markets solely in anticipation for the summer tour. 

If you could send a message back in time to yourself in college, right when you were beginning to play drums with your friends, what would you say?

I would tell myself to take it more seriously, to play with more conviction and … to save your money (laughs).

It sounds as if life is pretty good.

I’m in sunny Santa Barbara right now with a big album and a big tour in front of me. So I can’t complain.

Upcoming shows for Rebelution:

June 7 – Lihue, Hawaii, Kaua’i Community College
June 8 – Honolulu, Hawaii, Kakaako Waterfront Park
June 11 – New York, N.Y., The Gramercy Theatre
June 12 – Boston, Mass., House Of Blues Boston
June 13 – Asbury Park, N.J., Stone Pony Summerstage
June 14 – Philadelphia, Pa., Penn’s Landing
June 15 – Baltimore, Md., Pier Six Pavilion
June 18 – Glen Allen, Va., Innsbrook Pavilion
June 19 – North Myrtle Beach, S.C., House Of Blues
June 20 – Charlotte, N.C., Fillmore Charlotte
June 21 – Portsmouth, Va., Ntelos Wireless Pavilion
June 22 – Boonville, Calif., Mendocino County Fairgrounds (Sierra Nevada World Music Festival)
June 25 – Saint Petersburg, Fla., Jannus Live
June 26 – Saint Petersburg, Fla., Jannus Live
June 27 – Saint Augustine, Fla., St. Augustine Amphitheatre
June 28 – Cocoa, Fla., Riverfront Park
June 29 – Atlanta, Ga., The Tabernacle
Aug. 2 – Chicago, Ill., Bottom Lounge (Lollapalooza Aftershows)
Aug. 3 – Chicago, Ill.,  Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
Aug. 6 – Mesa, Ariz., Mesa Amphitheatre
Aug. 7 – San Diego, Calif., Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Aug. 8 – San Diego, Calif., Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Aug. 9 – Costa Mesa, Calif., Pacific Amphitheatre (OC Fair)
Aug. 10 – Costa Mesa, Calif., Pacific Amphitheatre
Aug. 13 – Tahoe Vista, Calif., North Tahoe Regional Park
Aug. 14 – Las Vegas, Nev., The Pool At The Cosmopolitan
Aug. 15 – Santa Barbara, Calif., Santa Barbara Bowl
Aug. 16 – Berkeley, Calif., Greek Theatre
Aug. 17 – Eugene, Ore., Cuthbert Amphitheater
Aug. 19 – Redmond, Wash., King County’s Marymoor Park
Aug. 21 – Missoula, Mont., Big Sky Brewing Amphitheater
Aug. 22 – Magna, Utah, The Great Saltair
Aug. 23 – Morrison, Colo., Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Rebelution will appear at several multi-day festivals that haven’t yet announced daily lineups, including The Hudson Project in Saugerties, N.Y., July 11-13, Carolina Sessions in Wilmington, N.C., Sept. 12-14 and Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin Texas, Oct. 3-5 & 10-12.

For more information, please visit RebelutionMusic.com and be sure to visit the band’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, YouTube channel, home on Instagram and iTunes store.