Tribal Seeds has been touring all year long and spreading their reggae like the mystical roots they are. Promoting the release of their Soundwaves EP, Tribal Seeds is known for their unique reggae sound from deep in Southern California. The Pier caught up with T-Ray, Joe, and Steve at their recent performance in their hometown of San Diego to find out what’s in store for the Fall.
The Pier: You guys just completed a round of tours. Tell us about them.
Tribal Seeds: We just completed three tours- Winter, Spring, and Summer. We are preparing for our Fall Tour with E.N Young. Last tour was with Seedless, Spring was with Through The Roots, and Winter was with Fortunate Youth. We totally saw the growth in our audiences. The shows have been raging and fun. We’re from San Diego, so you know, we’re also not used to the snow. The shows were a little hot at times too, but it’s cool. It was really good for us. We were presently surprised with random sold-out shows, like in New Mexico and Boston. Each tour, it got better and better.
The Pier: For those who don’t know, tell us when you originally formed and how you started playing music.
Tribal Seeds: Myself and my brother Steve started playing music in high school. I was a Senior and he was a Sophomore. We just started jamming, and then things got serious. We set out to find serious band members and found the current members. Tribal Seeds originally formed in 2003. We have a new bass member now, but before that, it was a solid few years when all original members formed the band.
The Pier: You guys also have a few accomplishments, winning “Best World Music” for the San Diego Music Awards, and having two of your CDs at the top of the Billboard Reggae Music Chart. Tell us about that
Tribal Seeds: It’s cool to be recognized for our work. We just continue to learn and grow every day. We weren’t there when we won, but our guitarist was there at the SDMA. We got a text that we won. The all-ages crowd is our greatest support. Management also really helped with that. We are so thankful for the accomplishment and recognition. It is one reason we are out touring.
The Pier: The Pier: What is the message of your music?
Tribal Seeds: I don’t want to get too crazy about it because sometimes I talk about a lot of stuff. But, I believe in the Bible, and so I pretty much repeat that stuff. It is spiritually-driven. Some of the stuff we talk about isn’t to promote a certain thing, for instance; it is because it is affiliated with a spiritual thing. We’re young, too, so we like to incorporate stuff for the youth.
The Pier: What do you think of the current reggae scene?
Tribal Seeds: It’s been growing a lot and it’s great. In fact, thank you to those who support because a lot of the bands touring in reggae are independent. We grew up with reggae, which is why we play it. You don’t get too much love from corporate or mainstream, so it’s all support from the people.
The Pier: Any international tours planned?
Tribal Seeds: Aruba is the only other place we have played in 2009, and Guam, which is a U.S. territory. But, we have had other places hit us up, such as Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, and the Phillipines. We would love to go to Europe or South America. It’s definitely in the plans; it’s just a matter of getting the work done. We’re ready to go, though! Promoters, hit us up! (laughs.)
The Pier: Lastly, tell us about your recently released EP, Soundwaves and any plans for upcoming tracks.
Tribal Seeds: It’s been doing good, just released in July. People have been responding good to it. The singer from Rebelution is on one of the tracks. In our Fall tour, we might incorporate some new music in our shows. We also hope to come out with a new single before the Fall tour. Hopefully, we will also release a new album in Spring. That is our goal.
Tribal Seeds Links:
Tribal Seeds Website
Tribal Seeds Facebook
Tribal Seeds Twitter
Interview by: Liz sandieganliz Pimentel
Photos by: David Norris