May
IRIE. Does anyone try to bring their pets?
Dan Sheehan: If it’s a certified service animal, they’re more than welcome to bring it, but we get people asking if they can bring their parrot, or if they can bring their snake. At most music festivals, animals aren’t allowed. It’s not fair to the animal either.
I’m a dog lover but I wouldn’t want my dog running around the festival grounds freaking out because of the noise, the sound, the people.
IRIE. I’m really impressed with Cali Root’s commitment to a cleaner environment and your zero-waste policy. With California’s water issue so prominent in the news, is the shortage having an effect on the Festival?
Dan Sheehan: Obviously the entire western region of this country is in dire need of rain and snow. We try to do our part, for example all of our vendors have to sell compostable goods. They don’t sell any plastic water bottles on site. As far as the water shortage goes, some of the grass might be a little more brown; there are water restrictions we have to look at as far as watering the grounds but other than that, it’s business as usual.
IRIE. The California Roots Festival is 6 years old now; how did it actually get started?
Dan Sheehan: My partner, Jeff Monser, started it in 2010. It kind of started as a backyard party. He was vending (his clothing line) at a bunch of different shows and festivals. He got the idea of doing something with the bands he liked, like Dirty Heads, Tribal Seeds and Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds. He really wanted an event he could do for his friends.
Year one there were 1,700 people attending and year two it jumped to about 3,500 people. Year three was the year where I partnered with Jeff on the festival. I had been doing shows for over 10 years; I have a lot of experience with booking, production and overall event logistics. It just kind of escalated from there and both Jeff and I are trying to run alongside of it and keep up with the growth.
We have such an incredible team around us and that really helps us keep everything strong. I don’t think anyone expected it to get to the level it is now, but we love what we do! We’re doing another festival in the Carolina’s in October.
We really feel that right now there’s definitely a movement going on with the American reggae scene, and we are fortunate that we’re on the cutting edge of that.
IRIE. Aside from great music, one of the reggae movement’s main themes is about social consciousness and responsibility for the world we live in. I think California Roots highlights that in a really good way.
Dan Sheehan: Yes, It’s a gathering of like-minded people; it’s not just a big party, people definitely have the mindset of living a conscious lifestyle.
IRIE. You were just talking about ‘The Carolinas’; are you referring to the Carolina Sessions Festival?
Dan Sheehan: Yes, we have actually moved it to Myrtle Beach, SC, now from Wilmington, NC where it was held for 2 years before that.
IRIE. Ok, a personal question for you. How did you become involved in the world of reggae music?
Dan Sheehan: I grew up in Hawaii and reggae is probably the most popular music in Hawaii. I grew up listening to Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs, Jacob Miller, Dennis Brown, The Wailing Souls, so it’s always kind of been in my blood, you know? You grow up on an island where you hear reggae everywhere; that’s what your friends and family listen to, so that’s how it started. I hadn’t seen too much live reggae in Hawaii though so when I went to Reggae On The River in 1998 I really got inspired by the live music side of it and the festival energy.
I really wanted to get a band from Hawaii that I liked, Natural Vibrations, and I just kept calling the Reggae On The River office trying to pitch the band and finally Carol Bruno at People Productions said alright, we’ll put them on. They were the first band on Saturday morning. That was kind of the start of it. I did a little tour for them in 1999 and that was my evolution into the music industry.
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