FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                        Contact: Jon Meyers

                                                                                    Phone: (512) 296-6793

                                                                                    Email: rokkatone@gmail.com

 

Austin Musicians “Strip Down” Jamaican-Style:

Acoustic Band RokkaTone Features Street-Band Sound on New CD

 

Austin, TX – November 8, 2006 – RokkaTone’s eclectic mix of instruments catches the ear (and eye) first: steel drum, acoustic bass and guitar, trombone, melodica (a hand-held acoustic keyboard that sounds like a harmonica), and hand drums. The small drum kit includes three empty soup cans strapped to a piccolo snare drum and a plastic snare drum case that doubles as a kick drum. The Austin acoustic five-piece showcases their bare instrumental essentials on their first CD “In This Life”, due for street release in the U.S. on November 23.  The official CD release party will take place on December 7 at Flipnotics, in Austin, Texas.

 

About RokkaTone:

The group started in 2003 as an offspring of Austin’s traditional-ska group The Stingers, of which guitarist/singer/songwriter Jon Meyers and melodica/trombonist Wayne Myers are members. Says Meyers: “About three years ago, Wayne and I had the idea to take some of the original ska and rocksteady music we were doing with the Stingers and put it into an acoustic setting; something that would bring out the songwriting. Something raw.

 

“It’s meant to emulate a Jamaican street band,” says Meyers. “The song styles are all over the map – Jamaican ska and rocksteady, American blues and rag, doo-wop with three-part vocal harmonies. Even a couple of calypso tunes. But the raw sound of the instruments consistently brings out the essence of the songwriting.”

 

Meyers and Myers filled out the group with musicians from a wide range of musical styles: percussionist and singer Laura Phelan (from the Tom Waits cover band Box Spring Hogs), steel drum and drum kit player Aaron Lack (from the modern jazz group Asteroid), and bassist Lindsay Greene (from Seth Walker Band).

 

About the CD “In This Life”:

The songs were recorded in May 2005 in Phelan’s living room and mixed in Brazil by ska veteran producer Victor Rice, whose work includes The Slackers, The Skatalites, and The Stingers. “The Stingers had great success with Victor on our last two records, so it seemed natural for RokkaTone to follow suit,” says Meyers. “Victor has become a widely-recognized authority on traditional ska and rocksteady, so it was really important for RokkaTone to carry his distinct sound.”

 

“In This Life” has been released on September 8 in Japan (Ska in the World Records), on October 8 in Europe (Grover Records).  The U.S. release (independent) is November 23.  CDs will be available at www.rokkatone.com, www.amazon.com, and Waterloo Records.

A promotional copy of the CD is available on request. For more information, including sample interview questions, visit http://www.rokkatone.com/presskit.htm. For an interview, contact Jon Meyers at (512) 296-6793 or rokkatone@gmail.com.

 

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