Common Sense is an American

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

band from

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

. They are known for being one of the first artists to influence the California "surf reggae" movement and using sponsors instead of traditional music industry methods to make albums and gain promotion as featured in the Mercury Mariner commercial. Since their formation in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, they have released five albums under their own label, Common Sense Records. They have also released an album under the Virgin label, ''Psychedelic Surf Groove''. Their song "Never Give Up" was used in the movie '' Speed 2: Cruise Control'' and "In Your Eyes" was in the movie '' Kingpin''. They have toured the US and Mexico and perform periodically at the Belly Up Tavern in

Solana Beach, California Solana Beach (''Solana'', Spanish for "warm wind") is a coastal city in San Diego County, California. Its population was at 12,941 at the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 Census. History The area was first settled by the San Dieg ...

, and at various music halls around California including the Coach House Concert Hall in San Juan Capistrano. They have, in the past, been members of the summer music and sports festival,

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

and Willie Nelson's Farm Aid. The band is also known for making the Chicago hip hop emcee Common Sense condense his name to simply

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

because of legal issues.

Band members

* Nick Hernandez – vocals and ukulele * Mikey Ortiz - bass guitar * Billy Sherman – guitar/keyboard *

Phil Gough Philip Gough is a guitarist, singer-songwriter, film score composer, music producer and engineer. Phil has played in the bands, Novacaine (1996–1997), Bow Wow Wow (1999–2009), English Beat (2014), Common Sense (2001–present). As a compo ...

- guitar * Tracy Sledge – drums, percussion

Former members

* Jai Vatuk – guitar/keyboard * Steve Dillard – trumpet/flugelhorn/and Nick's Daddy *

Drew Hester Drew Hester (born August 26, 1969) is a drummer, percussionist, and record producer, winning two Grammy Awards with Foo Fighters. He has played drums with Joe Walsh (1999—2016) on drums, Stevie Nicks (2017–present) on drums, Beck (2014) on dr ...

- drums * Larry Young - Bass Guitar

Discography

Full-length albums: * ''Live! At the Belly Up Tavern'' (1994) * ''Psychedelic Surf Groove'' (1996) * ''State of the Nation'' (1999) * ''Common Sense'' (2002) * ''Don't Look Back'' (2005)

References

External links

Common Sense Band – Official website

Common Sense – MySpace page
Alternative rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1987 American reggae musical groups {{US-alternative-rock-band-stub