2004 03 MARCH RAG - RAG Magazine

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The music is a platform for creativity, empowerment and reflection. Labeling Sound Tribe Sector Nine as a “jam band” would neglect the transcendent quality of the songs and forego the hypnotic, introspective ambiance the band creates. This isn’t a keg party, 4:20 background soundtrack – it’s a musical connection and soulful embrace with sound – and that’s putting it lightly. In layman’s terms, it’s a seaside meditation yoga class for the ears. The music takes you on a path – it’s your course – a personal journey. Formed in 1997, within the Atlanta suburbs, these five musicians sparked what became a great universal community of followers. The band packed every venue they played with smiling faces and positive energy. Incense swirled and candles glimmered as the instruments warmed and awakened the air. Among audiences of bobbing heads and flowing forms, their songs spoke – though they are without words. The five members always stand as one, without a frontman entertainer to distract and control the scene. They are, according to the members, like the five Chinese elements – balanced, equal and essential. This was the tone. This was the attraction. The band happily transplanted to the brisk coast and airy mountains of San Francisco – a necessary change for creative flow. Eight years later the message is worldwide, with tours to Japan and abroad. The feeling is the same, the purpose unchanged. Percussionist Jeffree Lerner offers Rag some insights into the forms behind these interplanetary sounds and ideas that inspire them. RAG: How would you describe yourself, and how is your personality reflected through your music? I’m going to speak for the group, not personally. But I think we represent a lot different backgrounds and musical tastes. I think that’s really reflected in the diversity of the music. We’re all so different, but when we work together we create something that’s larger than any individual. Most of the kids [in the band] grew up in suburbia. I grew up in the country. Our keyboard player grew up in Japan. So there are a lot of resources to draw from within the personalities of the group, which all translate to the music. RAG: What attracted you to music initially? I’ve always been attracted to music as long as I can remember. First thing I’d do when I’d get to my grandparents’ house is pull out the pots and pans and start drumming away. It’s always been a part of me. And I can speak for everyone else. It’s just part of who we are. Culturally, and in this world at the time, it’s the way we can get our creative voice out. It’s the best medium for our voices. RAG: How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before? That’s a tough one isn’t it? RAG: Yes, definitely. I would tell them a little bit about what we do. It’s an experiential kind of thing. Interview: Monica Cady You really need to experience it to see what we do. Words are really hard. I can speak of what we try to do. I think a lot of what we do is try to balance technology and the organic-ness of playing live instruments – and using those tools appropriately on stage. There is so much diversity in what we do. There’s some stuff where we just play all live instruments. There’s some stuff that’s very technology based. But, it’s rooted in jazz and funk. I can’t say what it really is. Take any famous painter, and what that painting meant to all the people who saw it could be very different from what he intended to paint. So, I don’t want to steal that experience from anyone by telling them what it is or isn’t. It could be a million different things for every person. RAG: It becomes very personal because the sound is through each person’s point of view. That’s part of our intention. Music that has lyrics kinda guides you through thoughts and ideas. You know, the person is introducing ideas through words. Whereas, what we try to do is just offer a space. The space is for you to discover whatever it is you need to discover that night. We are not necessarily directing you in that respect. So, I think that is how it becomes personal because people are allowed a space to really go within themselves without being guided by words. RAG: Do you feel more of a sense of freedom performing live versus in the studio recording? They allow different freedoms. In the studio, you are allowed to go for things that you think would never make sense – and maybe get them to work. When you perform live, you are trying to be cohesive … I don’t want to say it like that though, because we do a lot of experimenting live. I think they each lend a lot to each other. I think they are all connected. They definitely allow different experiences within
that. It’s a real good balance. RAG: Do you see a huge change from your first work to now? Oh, absolutely. Even from tour to tour. I think it’s just growth and learning new techniques, tools and it’s a constant evolution. We’re growing up and coming into our own. It’s always going to be changing. I don’t think it would be good for our fans for it to always be the same. I think that’s kind of why they are attracted to us. If we do a show in Miami this time – in six months it’s gonna be a whole different show. We push ourselves for that. We always want to keep it fresh. Hopefully that will never change. And if it does, it probably means we aren’t working as hard as we should (laughs). RAG: What inspires you most? Nature and culture are right up there. They are the big two. We live in the Bay area and all the art and culture around us, friends and family … the artists and community that surround this band are just a huge part of our inspiration. All the painters and sculptors … everybody that does their thing, even the climate of the world – the election year is a big thing. We are just trying to get kids involved and informed about the world around them. We are really trying to make some changes – get kids to vote – spreading a message of empowerment. RAG: Your music has been said to be a ‘message without words’ – what is the message? Well, the message is one of inspiration. And I think our biggest hope as artists is to inspire others to create. You are just seeing five kids onstage who could be any five kids. And I want everyone to know that they have that power to create as well. We are really nobody special up there. Everyone has this potential. Time is art, and we can really create beauty within all this madness that’s going on. RAG: What do you do right before a performance to prepare? We have a little ritual. We circle up with whomever our best friends are backstage at the time. And we let our intentions be known. We kinda ‘om’ together and tone and move up the chakra, just bringing that focus and intention and putting our day behind us, love on each other, and go on stage. Other than that, we talk about music all day long. We get up on the bus and we talk about what we’re going to play tonight. We write our set list out before sound check. It’s a pretty serious thing – not your everyday rock’n’roll band – traveling, partying, wild women kind of thing. We’re just kind of serious about it, not that other people aren’t, but we’re just not like that. RAG: What are you thinking about when you’re performing on stage? (Laughs) Well, if everything is going well, I’m not thinking about anything, just enjoying the moment. I know all of us really feed off our fans – the bright smiling faces and people moving their bodies. I think about that a lot. I love watching
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2004 03 MARCH RAG - RAG Magazine

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