When: 05/16/11 @ 8:00pm Cost: $7 (18+) Call: 268-1122 Web: www.spiritualrez.com

More Information: Spiritual Rez Monday, May 16, 2011 High Noon Saloon 701A E Washington Ave. Madison, WI, 53703 607-268-1122 8 p.m., $7, 18+

http://high-noon.com/

Artist on the web: www.spiritualrez.com www.myspace.com/spiritualrez

SPIRITUAL REZ TO PERFORM AT HIGH NOON SALOON

There is nothing more mind bending than diverse sounds and omni-present textures…the music that changes your mind and your soul. Experience the feeling with Spiritual Rez as they perform at High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI, on May 16.

The Spiritual Rez reggae funk dance experience is an unabashed display of musical virtuosity. When paired with a deep, sub-sonic groove and powerful heart felt vocalization; crowds are left dancing and screaming for more.

Over the past 8 years, these six men have relentlessly toured the country to share their music and appreciation of the arts. Rooted in rock, reggae, and funk; their diversity exemplifies their love and desire to put on a live experience that will not only cut to your core, but also ignite the inner flame that exists in us all.

A constant festival favorite, The Rez can shake a stage like a psychedelic dance earthquake. Evoking their personal power animals, they fearlessly forge into the musically unknown, creating a masterpiece every performance. It’s this power, this creative desire, that has fans traveling across the nation to experience this raw and intoxicating display of musical bliss.

“Start with a dose of old-school, Marley-Toots-Tosh reggae and infuse it with everything from Sun Ra Arkestra freak jazz to Steve Vai guitar pyrotechnics. Inventive intersections like these define Spiritual Rez” -Michael Witthaus, Hippo Press

Their latest album, The Nexus (2010), is a perfect example how the band has developed a sound all of their own. After two independent releases with strong foundations in the positive ideals of reggae; The Nexus was created by combining elements from a multitude of influences gained from years on the road. The result is an album that showcases how they have grown into a primed party machine; ready to churn out hard-driven guitar solo’s, inspiring vocals and powerful, funkified dance grooves.

While creating a style of their own, The Rez has been lucky enough to share the stage with many of the originators of the reggae music culture. Artists such as Gregory Issacs, Toots and The Maytals, Steel Pulse, and Barrington Levy have given their time and knowledge to share the one love that we all hold. Showing their diversity as artists, The Rez has also rocked with George Clinton and The Parliament Funkadelic, Golgol Bordello and Jah Wobble.

2011 will hold great things as “The Nexus” spreads its wings.

“Start with a dose of old-school, Marley-Toots-Tosh reggae and infuse it with everything from Sun Ra Arkestra freak jazz to Steve Vai guitar pyrotechnics. Inventive intersections like these define Spiritual Rez” – Michael Witthaus, Hippo Press

Their latest album, The Nexus, is a perfect example of how the group keeps a fine balance of their influences from Steel Pulse, Toots and The Maytals and the masters of Funk, Parliament Funkadelic. With backing horns, stinging guitars and soulful vocals, Spiritual Rez is an act not to miss.

Check out spiritualrez.com for streaming music, including tracks from The Nexus.

Article published on Monday, Feb. 21, 2011

“A lot of people ask what the name of the band means, but to tell you the truth I like to leave it up to them,” lead singer Toft Willingham said during a recent telephone call from his hometown of Brighton, Mass., before the band began its most recent Southern tour. The band plays Saturday at the Emerald Lounge.

“Just yesterday a girl came up and said to me, ‘I know what Southern Rez means … it means Spiritual Reservoir,’ but I’ve heard everything from Spiritual Reservation to Spiritual Resolution, so why not?”

Whatever meaning assigned to the name, anyone who has heard the band’s unique blend of uplifting music understands that the musicians have fun playing it.

“We’re a high-energy, positive hybrid reggae experience,” Willingham explained.

“Everything we play has its roots in reggae and Jamaican music because we listen to everything from classical music to heavy metal. We hope that comes across in our sound. We want the audience to have as much fun as we do at our shows, and I think that happens because we infuse solid songwriting with the performance skills from eight years of touring.”

The band has been to WNC several times before, including shows as part of Downtown after Five and the Lake Eden Arts Festival, and is currently on the road in support of its third full-length studio album.

“With the live shows, we usually play more funk than what’s on the record, and that leads to some interesting arrangements where we take a four-minute track and jam it out to maybe 10 minutes on stage,” he said. “That’s fun for us and the crowd because as they see how much we care about the music, they start to love it, too.”

While Spiritual Rez largely plays original material on stage, the band has jammed with acts ranging from George Clinton (founding Parliament Funkadelic member Bernie Worrell routinely sits in) to Jimmy Buffett, and that has led to an occasional interesting cover song finding its way into the mix.

“You might hear some Talking Heads or P-Funk riffs, and maybe one Bob Marley song, if requested,” Willingham said. “No matter what we play, we want the crowd to escape their lives for just a little while and dance, watch other people have fun and have a good time while there. We love playing Asheville.”

Jonathan Rich writes about entertainment for take5. E-mail him atjonathanwlrich@gmail.com.

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Album Review by John Powell Spiritual Rez is a heavy hitting reggae band, and they make this known immediately on Nexus with “One Light”, a firecracker of an opener, a horn riff that lands into a rock steady groove and the line, “We build a fire and we plant the herb.” Jesse Shaternick’s bass and Ian Miller’s drums drive the track, accentuated by dual guitars splintering in and out behind one of the best-used horn sections (Kory Stanbury and Bryan House) that have ever graced a contemporary reggae album.

The Boston-based sextet delivers twelve songs about positivity, fighting the Man, and smoking herb. They incorporate every sister of reggae, from ska to dub. They break into their teenage years with variations on a pop/rock theme, and they successfully attempt complex melodies and a progressive reggae sound. Nexus stuffs in a bit of every genre and is bound to make you sing along to the catchy choruses. You will find yourself turning it up over and over.

But to peg Rez as solely reggae is to deny them their influences and their guilty pleasures. They’re more than capable of splicing utter roots with Van Gordon Martin’s metal-sized guitar solos, acoustic pining as on “I Know”, and funk in the spirit of 70s soul.

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