The Fyah Squad

On The Road

For most up and coming bands, touring is a major milestone to look forward to. What else could be better than traveling around the world, playing your music to audiences that came out to enjoy your band grace the stage all night long? ‘Going on tour’ has also been glamorized all throughout popular culture, specifically in the United States. With the rise of the touring jambands in the 60’s, the rock bands of the 80’s & 90’s, and the recent boom of the festival circuit in the 2000’s enabling fans to now “go on tour” – the music scene is ripe for musicians to promote themselves, build a fanbase and develop a successful musical career.

Despite what we see being portrayed through music documentary’s like Almost Famous, behind the scenes TV expose’s of pop-stars, and the edited lives of musicians on our instagram feeds – sometimes we forget that touring is a lot of hard work and isn’t always as glamorous as it seems.

Touring isn’t new to Raging Fyah. Having performed throughout Europe multiple times after releasing two successful albums; they’re pretty experienced with life on the road. On this tour they fyahsquad hit some major milestones together.

IRIE’s own Splash had the pleasure to talk to bassist Pele and Road Manager Jaszol of Raging Fyah about their most recent tour supporting Stick Figure & Fortunate Youth. We’re talking about 34 live performances in 34 different cities throughout 20 states over the course of 7 weeks! That’s a lot of road!

The Interview

IRIE. Thanks Jaz & Pele for taking the time to talk to us about #tourlife – especially after just coming off the road! What was it like to be on the road in the USA touring the whole country for two months?

Jas: It was awesome! Being in new places and new spaces is always exciting. We have done similar lengths of time throughout Europe prior to this tour. But as far as the amount of shows we did in this length of time; this tour far exceeded what we were used to in Europe. We played 5-6 shows per week unlike the strictly weekend to weekend gigs that Europe is used to in the Reggae Scene.

IRIE. This was Raging Fyah’s first time being on the road with other bands, Stick Figure & Fortnate Youth, what was that like?

Pele: Being musicians it was easy to get along with other musicians, we speak a similar language by default. Also we are all band members, this was a strong foundation for everyone to mutually understand and work well with one another. We also found we had many things in common despite being from different backgrounds. As far as vibes and energy , everything was upful and awesome right throughout the tour.

IRIE. Yes I – music does unite people worldwide! So, wow 5-6 shows per week, 34 cities across the country – when you finally got a day off what does RF like to do for fun?

Pele: We always have a futbol touring with us. So even if its a quick truck stop or a field on the side of the road we like to run it out, kick around the ball and keep active!

Jas: We also like to cook-up a storm when we get a chance too. Nothing like sharing a ‘home’-cooked meal when being on the road. This tour didn’t allow for much sight-seeing but just by driving through America you see some pretty incredible sites.

IRIE. Jas, you specifically mentioned a big difference between the US Reggae scene and Europe regarding the frequency of the shows – how else does the reggae scene differ from the USA to Europe?

Jas: Well interestingly enough, I found that Europe has a much stronger foundation/musical background in reggae music. In the EU we find that our audiences are very familiar with Jamaican-based reggae and follow it quite actively. For example if we jam out to a mix of a Dennis Brown cover – whereas everyone in EU would know it – we found we re playing to less “hardcore reggae fans” but they felt it just the same whether they knew the lyrics. Which is a great thing you know – we really grew performing for a different set of fans. The US is huge and the music scene is enormous – it was great to see that reggae music can reach fans from other genres – the US loves music.

IRIE. Very cool – sounds like you had the opportunity to learn  alot from this tour. Likewise, Stick Figure & Fortunate Youth have done this a few times prior in the USA – were you able to take some things away from their experience?

Pele: Everyday you live and you learn, especially when you are doing what you love and want to do for your career.  For example; both bands had an extremely professional production – from the lighting to the engineering and the interaction with the audience – the show gets taken to another level for the fans. We aspire to have our production reach those heights as we continue on this journey. Which no doubt it will.

Jas: From the minute we arrived on tour the other bands were helpful and supportive. This was SF’s first independent headline tour, so they’ve been in our position before. You have to learn from experience –  we definitely will take a page or two from their ‘operating manual’. They have a killer production, the merchandise is top of the line, and they are still learning and growing as a team. It’s great to see what the future can hold for Raging Fyah.

IRIE. We’re excited too! Tell us, what’s the most difficult thing about being on the road?

Pele: I think we can all agree on this one. Being away from family for so long. We’ve gotten used to it over the years – you adapt. But it doesn’t make it easy not to see your loved ones regularly.

Jas: Tour life isn’t easy – Long days of driving – Long nights – Little sleep – Maybe not the best food. But you have to love it to do this.

IRIE. Nothing like being with family—so what’s the best part?

Pele: Being with the family! Raging Fyah is family too – our fans become family. Every night that we get to be on stage we get to do what we love. Also there is nothing like getting back good reviews and connecting with your fans. When someone tells you “your music makes me feel great” I’m not sure I know what makes me feel better than that. You know we get to start every tour with those that have been with us and to see feel the love from the new fyahsquad fans we pick up along the way is part of the journey.

Jas: Tour life! I mean everyday we wake up, drive to the next venue, set up, soundcheck, perform, meet the fans, sell merchandise, watch other musicians perform, share memories, build an amazing fan base, pack up and do it all over again! There is nothing like it!

IRIE. We love how both of you had the same answers for the best part and the hardest part. Sound like everything is in harmony and balance! Tell us, were there any standout performances or any standout cities?

Pele: I would say our tour legs in California & Florida were excellent – we also had an amazing time in Chicago.

Jas: It’s really hard to choose – I mean in California we performed in a super old historic venue where Led Zepplin, Elvis & Carlos Santana have jammed before. Its amazing to be on the same stage spreading the same mission of love and music.

IRIE. Yeah – We were there at the Fillmore – it was pretty incredible for us too! So what was it like to spend time and get to know your American fan base?

Jas: It was cool you know, we saw a lot of the same faces at surrounding cities – which shows us that people travel for good live music. Almost 1/2 the shows were sold out and often we were saying “hey its great to see you again” to some of the same fans a few days in a row! Also in a time where technology is at great heights and you can live stream, broadcast, check-in virtually or whatever— there is nothing like attending a live show, it seems the US fans know this well!

IRIE. We know this is most certainly not your last time in the states – if anything it’s just the beginning—we’re going to have you back in California in just a few weeks! What do you look forward to most regarding makings waves in the U.S. Reggae market?

Jas: It would be great to have 2-3 US based tours every year. We look forward to growing the US fyahsquad and headline our own tour one day – this is the mission. We cant forget the rest of the world – we plan to hit all the continents….Antarctica maybe (hehe).

IRIE. What do you most look forward to when you reach back a yaad?

Pele: Well you dun know, family of course. But Jamaica in general is always nice to come home to. Me personally I’m always looking forward to cooling out by the river, unwinding, taking some quiet time as the adrenaline from the road starts to ease. And yeah my favorite is getting back to yaad food. There is nothing like getting back to your spices, flavors and taste of home.

IRIE. We’d like some yaad food and river vibes too! We’re coming with ya! Any parting message for the fans before we let you get back to chilling by the river?

Pele: Yes I! The fans ignite the fyah. Thank you for letting us know we are on the right path and fulfilling our mission. Every time we meet fans and you tell us that you full-joyed the performance we feel the love and gratitude. So thank you for always for speaking up – its the fans that keep us motivated and fueled to keep doing what we are doing.

Jas: Lets see each other again! When the fans roll out to the shows, there is no better way to support the band. By attending you are directly supporting them in their mission. When you buy merch, when you share photos and videos of the performance – you are an active supportive part of the team—keep doing your part and we will do ours. More music!

IRIE. We couldn’t agree more! Blessed Love Fyah Squad and we can’t wait to see you at the Cali Roots Festival.

Jas: For sure! Be sure to check us out at the Dub Rockers tent all day Saturday promoting the new album and the performance on Sunday night. . There is nothing like getting back to your spices, flavors and taste of home.

Pele: Blessed Love IRIE family – give thanks for the strength every time.