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Guestlist recommends: Jr. Thomas & The Volcanos - Rockstone
Originally from Minneapolis, JR Thomas, aka Tom McDowall grew up on a diet of classic reggae, becoming obsessed from a young age with artists like Dave Barker, The Bleechers, The Wailers, Phyllis Dillon and Alton Ellis.
Having moved to South California as an adult, he hooked up with respected reggae producer Brian Dixon and quickly struck up a rapport. The pair then put together a 10 piece band, The Volcanos, and recorded their debut album at Dixon's Volcano Lounge studio in LA, with the aim of capturing the essence of Jamaica's golden era reggae sound.
Now onto their second album, which releases this Friday, October 19 via Colemine Records, Thomas says the project is a "love letter" to the reggae music he grew up on.
“I could write a musical love letter to all things I loved: my wife, my family, my friends, my band mates," Thomas explains. "I could write a song to tell me to Chin Up when times got tough. I could give gratitude to the Jamaican artists that paved the way for the beautiful music we now call reggae. I could write a song about what it’s like to lose someone important to you. Or write a song to invigorate me spiritually. Music is healing and that’s the best therapy there is for me.”
“I called the album Rockstone because true love cannot be defeated. It lives forever. We write tributes on our tombstones because they live on beyond our lives as a remembrance of something special and important to us.”
Preview some of the album tracks and pre-order Rockstone over at Colemine Records
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Colemine Records - Youtube
