Welcome to the Pacific Island themed Artist Radar. Our weekly Artist Radar articles will be dedicated to each of the groups featured on the FREE Pacific Island Sampler. This week, we put our spotlight on the Maui, HI based group, The Alliez.
The Pier was excited to have Maui, Hawaii’s The Alliez, featured on our Pacific Island Sampler contributing 2 songs for FREE download with The Right Time an d“Linger (Baby C’mon)”. Asking a group to give away any of their songs for a free online sampler is never an easy thing considering the costs & time that go into making music. The Alliez were kind enough in contributing to a line up rich with Pacific Island talent and we’re hoping the release of this Pacific Island Sampler brings more attention to the wonderful music sprouting out of the Pacific Islands.
The Alliez Free MP3s:
FREE Songs: “Linger (Baby C’mon)” and “Right Time”
>>FREE DOWNLOAD HERE<<
The Alliez Background & Interview:
The Alliez, a reggae rock band of Maui with a little surf vibe thrown in the mix, are made up of four members, Jacob Abeytia, Ben Cerda, Brian Sykes and Glen Pfaff. Formed in 2006, They have played shows across the state of Hawaii with bands like The English Beat, Pepper, Matisyahu, Groundation, Agent Orange, Ooklah the Moc, Mike Pinto among others. In January 2011, The Alliez released their debut full-length album titled “Right Time”. that’s available on iTunes.
The Alliez stopped by The Pier for a brief Q&A on their music. Check out what they had to say and be sure to follow them on their website at www.TheAlliez.com
The Pier: Being from Maui, HI, tell us what the culture of the music is on the islands right now and how it may differ from the rest of the world.
The Alliez: Mostly Hawai’in Rootz Reggae, and of course traditional. The music vibes have always been strong in Hawai’i; it is not uncommon for little kids to be walking around with ukuleles and guitars where ever they go. Whether it be on the school bus, the back of a truck, or on the beach, these kids are jamm’in from an early age . It’s the island way, music, music, and yes more music! Also it is very inspiring to have so many good musicians in such close proximity to each other because Maui and the other islands are so isolated it has it’s own vibe and culture.
The Pier: With this FREE Pacific Island Sampler, you guys gave us 2 songs with “Linger (Baby C’mon)” and “Right Time”. For a lot of fans, this is their first impression to your music. How do these songs represent your group, and what do you want fans to take away from your music?
The Alliez: “Linger (Baby C’mon)” is basically a love song about taking a chance on something real, because anything is possible, especially love. The message of “Right Time” is that it is the right time to fulfill your goals and dreams and believe that anything is possible, whether it is surfing or music, whatever it is for you. We are all about Positive Mental Attitude and Positive Vibes, always.
The Pier: Are there any plans to take your music outside of the Pacific Islands? Are there any tour plans?
The Alliez: Oh yeah we just did four gigs in a week in NorCal ending with Reggae on the River Music Festival in Humboldt County. We are planning on dropping in on the West Coast for an extended tour this October, so look for us.
The Pier: With so much talent sprouting out of the Pacific Islands, What insight would you give us on groups coming out of Hawaii? Which groups are making a lot of noise on the rock?
The Alliez: At this point The Alliez are pretty much the only reggae rock band from Maui, but Anuhea. The Green, Inna Vision, Marty Dread and The Throwdowns have created a buzz and we also want to Big Up Kimmie Miner! Check out her song “Ocean”
The Pier: Nice! We’ll absolutely check her out! It seems Reggae music & the culture is more widely accepted on the islands. 
There’s more radio stations catering to the genre and it appears the shows in Hawaii are also rich with roots reggae music. How difficult is it to be an upcoming band from the islands looking to be recognized among other talent being pushed?
The Alliez: True, we have been presented with a challenge since we started mixing rock with reggae, the local station’s policy is to play only roots reggae, it almost seems like Brian’s heavy guitar scares ‘em a little bit, but we love it and maybe they’ll catch on.
The Pier: Ya I think it’s only a matter of time. Especially if the demand allows it. Tell us what music or albums you have out right now and where fans can pick them up. Any plans in the future for new releases?
The Alliez: Our discography includes our full-length album “Right Time” along with a five-song EP, both are available on iTunes, CDBabay, Amazon etc. We have another full-length album ready to record. We have a couple projects that we’re working on and hopefully everything works out the way we want it to. But yeah, we are super excited and ready to go. Chee!
Thanks again fellas for giving us your music away for FREE Download! Once again, you can go FREELY download The Alliez on the Pacific Island Sampler by clicking HERE and stay tuned for future updates on The Alliez! Cheers!
Article & Interview by: Mike Patti