Octet Makes UK & New Zealand Live Debuts, Announces International Release of Amplify



New York, NY - Progressive reggae band John Brown’s Body will make its UK and New Zealand live debuts this fall, first with a 16-show run supporting label mates Easy Star All-Stars in the UK in October, then with a lengthy NZ tour in November. The New Zealand tour is part of an exciting foreign exchange: from September 10 - 25th, new Easy Star label mates The Black Seeds, one of New Zealand’s top acts, will make their North American debut opening for JBB at 11 shows across the U.S. Then, The Black Seeds return the favor in November by bringing JBB to their home country to open for them. www.johnbrownsbody.com

Coinciding with these tours will be the release of John Brown’s Body’s most recent studio album Amplify, in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Amplify, debuted at number one on Billboard’s Reggae Chart in the U.S., and made iTunes’ “Best of 2008″ list. Amplify will be released in late September/early October in those territories. As a bonus, buyers of Amplify in all formats will get most of the tracks from the remix EP JBB released earlier in 2009, Re-Amplify, including tracks produced by Australian urban roots powerhouse Blue King Brown, UK remixer Wrongtom, UK artist/producer GoldieLocks and Juno Award-nominated Canadian producer Dubmatix.

John Brown’s Body is very excited to introduce The Black Seeds to American audiences on this tour. This Wellington, NZ-based band fuses funk and soul with classic reggae. The Black Seeds have two double-platinum selling albums and one gold album, in their home country, and they have been a hit on the European festival circuit in recent years. In many ways, JBB and The Black Seeds are kindred spirits, working from a reggae base but pushing the genre in new directions, while also both having explosive live shows.

John Brown’s Body has gone through significant changes since the release of 2005’s Pressure Points. Lead singer Elliot Martin underwent throat surgery, several longtime band members departed and the band dealt with the death of bassist Scott Palmer. Palmer lost his battle with cancer in 2006, only six months after his diagnosis. Emerging from these changes, the band’s current line-up is a focused, more experimental outfit than ever before, challenging the usual notions of contemporary reggae.

“JBB is an eight-piece outfit that delivers some of the most forward-thinking reggae music in the world today.” - LA2DAY

“…the band’s energy is soaked up and spread out in all the right places, never allowing Amplify to slow down and catch its breath. A heck of an achievement…” - Glide

US Tour Dates

Sept 09 @ Unity Center for the Performing Arts: Unity, ME
Sept 10 @ Higher Ground: Burlington, VT
Sept 11 @ Bowery Ballroom: New York, NY
Sept 12 @ Castaways: Ithaca, NY
Sept 15 @ The Industry: Iowa City, IA
Sept 17 @ Fox Theatre: Boulder, CO
Sept 18 @ Gothic Theatre: Englewood, CO
Sept 19 @ Mishawaka Amphitheatre: Bellvue, CO
Sept 21 @ Downstairs Park City: Park City, UT
Sept 23 @ Crystal Bay Club: Crystal Bay, NV
Sept 24 @ Rickshaw Stop: San Francisco, CA
Sept 25 @ Belly Up: Solana Beach, CA
Sept 26 @ Key Club: West Hollywood, CA

UK Tour Dates

Oct 01 @ The Assembly: Leamington Spa, UK
Oct 02 @ Brewery Arts Centre: Kendal, UK
Oct 03 @ Corporation: Sheffield, UK
Oct 04 @ Civic Hall: Whitehaven, UK
Oct 06 @ Thekia: Bristol, UK
Oct 07 @ Waterfront: Norwich, UK
Oct 08 @ The Brook: Southampton, UK
Oct 09 @ @ Mr. Kyps: Poole, UK
Oct 10 @ Quarterhouse: Folkestone, UK
Oct 11 @ Oxford Academy: Oxford, UK
Oct 13 @ Scala: London, UK
Oct 14 @ Komedia: Bath, UK
Oct 15 @ The Hippo: Plymouth, UK
Oct 16 @ Princess Pavillion: Falmouth, UK
Oct 17 @ Phoenix Arts Center: Exeter, UK
Oct 18 @ The Globe: Cardiff, UK

NZ Tour
Dates TBA

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
New Album & Summer/Fall Tour

An unreleased GPGDS track is featured on The Pier Comp Vol 1 CD which comes out August 18! Read an interview here.

UPCOMING SHOWS
8/18 - 8/22: supporting Rebelution
Aug 18 @ Schubas Tavern: Chicago, IL (18+)
Aug 19 @ Cambridge Room at House Of Blues: Cleveland, OH (All ages)
Aug 20 @ The Note: West Chester, PA (18+)
Aug 21 @ Paradise Rock Club: Boston, MA (18+)
Aug 22 @ Gramercy Theatre: New York, NY (16+)
Aug 29 @ Reggae On The Rocks @ Red Rocks Amph: Morrison, CO (All ages)
8/30 - 9/07: supporting Israel Vibration
Aug 30 @ KTAOS Solar Center: Taos, NM (All ages)
Sept 01 @ Belly Up: Solana Beach, CA
Sept 02 @ Belly Up: Solana Beach, CA
Sept 03 @ Key Club: West Hollywood, CA (15+)
Sept 05 @ Mystic Theatre: Petaluma, CA
Sept 06 @ Truckee Park Amphitheatre: Truckee, CA (All ages)
Sept 07 @ The Independent: San Francisco, CA
9/23 - 10/11: with Rebelution + Passafire
Sept 23 @ The Catalyst: Santa Cruz, CA
Sept 24 @ New Oasis: Sparks, NV
Sept 25 @ Senator Theatre: Chico, CA
Sept 26 @ Pozo Saloon: Santa Margarita, CA
Sept 30 @ Aggie Theatre: Fort Collins, CO
Oct 01 @ Belly Up: Aspen, CO
Oct 02 @ Black Sheep: Colorado Springs, CO
Oct 03 @ Bluebird Theater: Denver, CO
Oct 04 @ The Bottleneck: Lawrence, KS
Oct 07 @ The Annex: Madison, WI
Oct 08 @ Blind Pig: Ann Arbor, MI
Oct 09 @ The Basement: Columbus, OH
Oct 11 @ Higher Ground: Burlington, VT

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2009) – Washington D.C. based reggae band SOJA announced today that their highly anticipated, third full-length album “Born in Babylon” will be released digitally worldwide, exclusively on iTunes on August 25, 2009. The album follows up their successful 2006 release “Get Wiser” which debuted in the Top 10 Reggae albums on iTunes, and has remained in the top 100 since its release.  Since 2000, the quintet has issued two full-length albums and two EPs on their label DMV Records.

Now, SOJA is ready to release 14 new tracks on “Born in Babylon.” SOJA shares about their new album, “This is the album we’ve been wanting to make for ten years.  At first we were hard-core old school, then we got new school and inventive.  This is what we’ve learned from all that.  ‘Born in Babylon’ is hard roots drum and bass, big wide guitar and vocal melodies, and two and three sided lyrics, with two and three sided messages.”

In July 2009, SOJA released the first single and music video for “I Don’t Wanna Wait” off the “Born in Babylon” album.  Based on the pre-order numbers alone for the new album, SOJA currently stands at #3 on the iTunes Reggae charts, foreshadowing a big success for their new release.

Originally formed in 1997, SOJA consists of lead singers, Jacob Hemphill (guitar) and Bob Jefferson (bass), as well as Patrick O’Shea on keyboard, percussionist Ken Brownell and drummer Ryan Berty. The band has become renowned for using a unique blend of reggae, hip-hop, and rock to influence their sound, while staying dedicated to creating music with a real message and promoting a revolution.  They have also dominated touring, averaging 150 shows a year visiting every major city in the United States and traveling internationally playing to crowds of up to 16,000 people. The band has also shared the stage with notable artists such as Citizen Cope, Matisyahu, Ben Harper, Slightly Stoopid, Damian Marley, Govt Mule, Umphrees McGee, and Steel Pulse to name a few.

For the rest of 2009 moving into 2010 SOJA plans on touring the United States extensively while promoting “Born in Babylon.”  They also plan on further expanding internationally- with tours in new markets such as St. Maarten, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Tahiti, Poland, Spain and Germany.

For more information on the upcoming album, plus national, and international tour dates, please visit SOJA’s website at www.sojamusic.com or MySpace at www.myspace.com/soja.

“Bright Side of Life” couldn’t have released at a better time, our economy is crashing, our people are really fighting to keep their heads above water, but don’t be afraid you won’t drown cause Santa Barbara, CA based band, “Rebelution” has the floatation device to keep your mind open and to have you feeling positive again.