JOHN BROWN’S BODY SIGNS TO EASY STAR FOR MARCH 2005 ALBUM RELEASE

September 13, 2004, New York City

Easy Star Records is pleased to announce the signing of John Brown’s Body to its roster. John Brown’s Body—one of the most exciting and innovative groups in modern reggae—will release their first recording on Easy Star in March 2005. The collaboration unites two of the brightest lights in independent music for the first time and both sides expect the results to be outstanding. “JBB is going into the studio with what we think is their strongest material ever,” says Easy Star Vice President Lem Oppenheimer. “The spirit of cooperation has been exciting, with ideas bouncing back and forth between the band and our organization.”

This will be the first release for John Brown’s Body since Spirits All Around Us (Shanachie/I-Town, 2003), which was JBB’s most experimental album to date, exploring new sonic directions with drum-and-bass heavy riddims, while still delivering the inspired roots reggae that the band has built its loyal following upon. The new record will continue JBB’s musical evolution even further on studio versions of recent concert favorites such as “Bread,” “Shadow,” and “Full Control.”

The two-time Boston Music Award-winning band will also hit the road to resume their ambitious touring schedule—a mainstay of the band’s first 8 years together. The focus of this past year was writing and recording, which allowed for more time to refine the new material and sonic direction, especially for singer Elliott Martin. Elliot continues to show he has an abundance of original, unique songs, as first demonstrated on Spirits and his own solo release in 2003, Black Castle. Despite the lighter tour schedule, the band still had time to play high profile gigs such as opening slots for Dave Matthews Band, the Grassroots Festival, moedown, and a free concert with Sound Tribe Sector Nine. The band continues to command large crowds nationwide, packing clubs and theaters from New York to Colorado to San Diego. Upcoming dates include the Fleet Pavilion in Boston and a West Coast outing (with stops in Los Angeles; San Francisco’s Reggae In The Park Festival; Santa Monica; Santa Barbara; Eugene; Portland; and Seattle). Regarding the signing, trombonist Alex Beram says, “JBB couldn’t feel more at home and comfortable working with Easy Star. We know their work ethic and sincerity with music, and their success speaks for itself. It’s really a perfect union for both of our careers.”

Easy Star Records is an independent success story. The label’s latest release, Dub Side of the Moon, by the Easy Star All-Stars, a complete reggae version of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, was the 8th best selling reggae release of 2003 according to Billboard, and has been lodged in the Reggae Top 40 for 81 weeks and counting. The disc--which Mojo just named the 2nd best cover album of all time--has sold over 55,000 copies worldwide to date and shows few signs of slowing down. Easy Star built its reputation for creating new classics in reggae through releasing new roots from artists like the Meditations and Luciano and reissuing classic hard-to-find tracks from artists like Sugar Minott and Linval Thompson. It is with their original, in-house productions and live performances, like the recent Dub Side tour in the U.S. and England, that Easy Star has begun to achieve its goal of bringing reggae to a wider audience.

“The creation of innovative and inspired music is at the core of what Easy Star has been about since day one,” says Eric Smith, CEO of Easy Star Records. “Which is why we are so excited about working with John Brown’s Body, who has been taking the same approach throughout their career. Together, we are poised to take the music to a completely new level.”