THE AGGROLITES
by Christer Davidsson, June 2006
Hey! How are you? Brian Dixon: We're great! We are on tour on our way to our next show in Lincoln, NE.
What have you been up to since the release of your latest album "The Aggrolites"?
We've been on a month long tour. We will be touring for most of the year.
How has the record been received?
We've gotten a GREAT response from the new album. People are still finding out about us, but we've been very happy with how much people like the new CD.
Good reviews?
Yes! It's been very nice to see that even mainstream publications are getting what we do. Reggae music is for everybody.
In what way is it different from your first record Dirty Reggae?
Jesse had a little more time to write the lyrics, but the overall writting, recording and mixing process was the exact same.
What do you think of it yourselves?
We love it. Of course, I wish we had more time to work on it in the studio, but there comes a point where you have to let go. It's a very unique sounding album. I recorded it the same way as the first album, but the two still sound completly different.
I like the way you manage to sound both new and traditional. Whats the key?
We play like the musicians did in the 60's, we just aren't using the same recording gear.
What bands have influenced you?
Upsetters, Sound Deminsion, Crystalites, Dynamites, Hot Rod Allstars, Simaryp, etc. All that Jamaican (and some British) stuff. Also, Motown, Stax and 60's funk bands like The Meters, JB's.
There are 19 songs on the new album. Thats a lot of songs. How long did it take to record, and how was the recording session?
We actually recorded 25 songs. We recorded it all in 2 days, except for the vocals, which were done a few days later. We record everything live. Everyone is in the same room together, so it goes pretty fast. Most of the song are first take. Some of the songs were improvised in the studio, literaly someone would yell out a chord and we would all just start jamming on it and as soon as we locked into a groove, we would stop and record it. I think there are 4 or 5 of those on the album. Some of them we have never played live, so the recordings on the album are the only time those songs have EVER been played. One take.
Reggae legend Desmond Dekker recently passed away. In what way do you think that he has effected reggae music? Well, he had some really great songs. He never really stopped touring and it's important that people witness music live. He's really one of the few singers from the Ska era to do so. Also, in the early 90's, he had a "best of" album that came out with really wide distrobution. This is when Ska was starting to take off in the U.S. and a lot of people bought that disc. Another thing was having him mentioned in a Rancid song. That may sound funny, but kids look up that stuff.
How did you get in touch with the people at Hellcat?
A few members of the Aggrolites used to play in a band called The Rhythm Doctors. We had a similar sound as the Aggrolites. Tim Armstrong from Rancid wanted to sign us to Hellcat, because he was a big fan. The band ended up breaking up. After The Aggrolites released our first album and a year had gone by, we were ready to record a new one. I took the first CD down to Hellcat and gave it to Tim. He loved it and wanted to sign us.
For how long have The Aggrolites been playing together and how did you guys meet?
We've been together for about 4 years. We've all been playing together in different bands and recording sessions around Los Angeles for many years. Basically what happened, was that in 2001 there wasn't much going on in the L.A. scene. I got a call from a promoter friend of mine who said he was flying out Jamaican Ska/Reggae legend Derrick Morgan out for a show, but he needed to find a backing band. I said, "let me put together a backing band!" He agreed, so I called some of the top Ska/Reggae musicians in Los Angeles to back Derrick Morgan at this show. The band was AMAZING and Derrick was blown away.
About 4 months later, I got a call from Derrick. He wanted me to get the same group of guys to write and record an album for him. I called all of the best songwritters and musicians in town and we did the album (which never got released). We all had such a great time playing together, that I asked some of the guys if they would like to do a show, just for fun. The guys were into it, so we played a show. The gig was off the hook! The next day, I get a call from another promoter who heard about the performance and wanted us to play a show he was putting on. Word got out and I started getting calls every week! We were not even a band!!! After about 6 months of this, we decided that we had something special, so we agreed to offiicaly become a band. A week later, we went into the studio and recorded our first album.
Scott Ables used to be in Hepcat, right? Are they still around?
Yeah, Scott was our original drummer, then he left for a few years to tour with Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards. He's back with us now. Hepcat plays shows a few times a year with their first drummer, Greg Narvas.
How come you call yourselves The Aggrolites?
"Aggro" is a '60s slang term, short for aggrovation or aggrovating. It means "tough" or "cool" or maybe "dope". Like "Don't mess with that guy, he's aggro!" The term has connotations with late 60's Reggae. Skinheads in England at that time would use that term and record labels and producers at that time would use that term to describe the sound of their records.
"-lites" is just a Soul music thing. The name is really for people that are Reggae fanatics. They hear the name of our band and they automaticaly know what kind of music we play.
Whats your goal with this band?
To change people perception of what Reggae music is. It's not just some pot-smoking, Hippy music. It's a tough sound, worthy of respect!
You've been touring with bands such as Madness, Flogging Molly, Rancid and The Selecter. How has that been?
It's been cool. We've made a lot of good friends with the people in these bands.
Any favorite bands to share the stage with? We aren't that interested in playing with other bands as we are with backing old Jamaican singers on occasion. We've backed Derrick Morgan, Prince Buster, Dave Barker, Phyllis Dillon, etc We'd like to back some more.
How would you describe an Aggrolites show?
Very energetic! We like to have the crowd involved as much as possible.
Whats the craziest thing that has ever happened on one of your shows?
Some drunk, fratboy, USC jock guy, attacked me onstage at a show WHILE we were playing. I hit him over the head with my guitar. A riot almost insued. It was crazy!!! The whole time this was going on, the band kept playing. It was awesome!
Whats the plan for the next couple of months?
Touring!!!
Anything else youd like to add?
Tim Armstrong from Rancid hired us to back him on his new solo record. It sounds just like our first record, but with Tim singing on it. I think he might be releasing it later this year.
Thanks a lot and good luck with the new album and everything!
THANKS!!!
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