Indy In-Tune #169: Indyca

I long ago came to the realization that there is no form of music that I don't like. There are artists (Rhianna) and songs (Brown-Eyed Girl) that, I quite frankly can't stand and would love to rid the world of. There are genres of music (Turkish chant, Yiddish folk, American Country) that I just don't "get" because they really don't speak to me and probably weren't meant to. It's not that I hate this music, it may annoy me at times, particularly when I'm in the mood for something else, but otherwise I have no real strong feelings about it whatsoever ... as a genre of music. I think my goal for the next few years is going to be to learn to love those few remaining genres of music. I've found all it takes is a little education. For example, being a middle-aged, middle-American, suburban dweller, until recently I had never been a really big fan of reggae. I was thoroughly convinced that there were only one recycled reggae song called "I Shot the Buffalo Soldier and Stood Up for My Rights." Surprisingly, it only took one hour listening to a Reggae show on a community radio station out of North Yorkshire, UK where a very knowledgeable and passionate disc jockey (Clearchannel take note) opened my eyes to the fact that reggae as a genre is as widespread and diverse as rock and roll, and some of it was absolutely killer. This led to a three week immersion through every list of reggae songs and artists I could find, discovering the likes of The Skatalites, Ijahman Levi, Buju Banton, U-Roy, Mutabaruka and a slew of others. If you have never immersed yourself in an unfamiliar musical genre with the help of a an expert guide in this manner, I highly recommed it. This week's guests, Indyca, are one of our few local "reggae-ish" groups. As with many great Indiana artists, their particular flavor of the genre is a musical crossroads, combining the loose backbeat of reggae and infuse it with elements of jam band, rock, dubstep, and even heavy metal at times. This diverse musical background, while seeming somewhat incongruous at first is brought together by a group of musicians who are equally versed in the technical side of their craft, but still have an excellent ear and open mind for what what works, what doesn't work, and how to push the edges of experimentation just a little in order to create something new and distinctly their own. Definitely looking forward to hearing how this translates in a studio environment. Indyca can be found here: Facebook | ReverbNation | Tumblr All of this evening's tracks were recorded live at The Mousetrap by Malcolm Johnson and can be obtained on their Bandcamp page. Bassist Bryan Dougherty also plays in Those Lazy Cabineers ... which is completely different. For people who aspire to be know-it-alls when it comes to music, I found this article which goes in to depth on "The Differences Between Ska and Reggae." It also turned me on to a lot of artists I didn't know. Indyca is proudly sponsored by Magic Bus Smoke Shop and Coldcock Whiskey ... and loosely associated with Skydive Indianapolis ... not that we in any way condone mixing those three things. For those not overly knowledgeable about "the culture" ... I found this article which discuses "The Differences Between Indica and Sativa." Who says my show isn't educational?