Through The Roots is an American reggae rock and pop band based out of

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. They are described as "easy-listening music with positive Cali-vibes and inspiring messages".

History

Formation (2007–2008)

Through The Roots (or TTR) started out in

in 2007 when frontman/guitarist Evan Hawkins and drummer Taylor Boatwright met one day at a local

Guitar Center Guitar Center is an American musical instrument retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 294 locations. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California. Guitar Center oversees various subsidiaries in ...

with an idea to start a reggae/rock band. Next, bassist Bryan Jackson and guitarist Chris Cruz met the two through mutual friends and joined the band, naming it Through The Roots. In 2008, keyboardist Brady O'Rear who was from

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. It is the fourth-largest settlement i ...

was found through an ad on

Craigslist Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. Craig Newmark ...

. The quartet became friends in college and officially came together as a band in 2008 by playing backyard house parties, college parties, and eventually local festivals. They blended their unique sounds of reggae, rock and pop music and created their first raw album with the singles "Best Friend", "Stay Positive", and "Man Down" which all received solid airplay on San Diego and Santa Barbara radio stations in 2008. They opened up for

Pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

in 2009 and Rebelution the same year.

Touring and Self-titled EP (2010–2011)

TTR then joined

Iration Iration is a reggae/ pop group from Santa Barbara, California. All members originally hail from Hawaii. They play a mix of reggae, dub, pop, and rock. The group is one of the leading bands in the genre of sunshine reggae. History Formation and ...

for their Time Bomb Tour in spring 2010, performing 20 shows in 25 days, which added to their fan base. The added guitarist Corrick Watson and bassist Budda Foster who both played on tour after the departure of original member Chris Cruz. TTR started off 2011 by being named The Pier Magazine's "2011 Newcomer of the Year". The online website which covers the reggae/rock genre based its selection on fan voting across country. After officially releasing their self-titled 6-song EP (which included their three singles) on February 16, 2011, TTR quickly captured music fans' attention all over the West Coast as the band rose in popularity and became a must-see show.

''Here To Stay EP'' (2011)

After adding Scott Goldberg on lead guitar, the band released their second EP titled, ''Here To Stay'' on March 10, 2011 which featured four more tracks. They quickly went on tour performing three-shows in

Oahu, Hawaii Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...

with The Green and

Pressure Drop Pressure drop is defined as the difference in total pressure between two points of a fluid carrying network. A pressure drop occurs when frictional forces, caused by the resistance to flow, act on a fluid as it flows through the tube. The main det ...

. Then one show in

Hilo Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...

with SOJA. ''Here To Stay EP'' quickly rose on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Reggae Top 200 chart to #2 in the first week and remained amongst the best selling albums. It also garnered air time on the West Coast and in Hawaii, adding to their self-titled six-song EP, with both EPs remaining in iTunes Top 50 selling reggae CDs for the year. They released a Remix EP called ''Zombies'' that featured the title track plus its seven remixes by DJ's and Dub artists.

''Take You There'' (2013)

Through The Roots released their debut full-length album, ''Take You There'' on July 30, 2013. They added Ross Garcia who took over for Bryan Jackson on bass. Their first single off the 9-song album was "Dancing in the Rain". ''Take You There'' debuted at #3 on the iTunes Reggae Top 20 chart in late July and reached #5 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top Reggae Albums chart. They closed 2013 with ''Take You There'' being nominated for the Reggaeville 2013 Album of the Year, with fans voting online to announce the winner. It was a prestigious honor for TTR to be on the nominees' list that included some of the biggest names in reggae.

''Stripped and Exposed EP'' (2015)

After another lineup change that included bassist Ekona Ravey, TTR's third EP, ''Stripped and Exposed'' was released on April 28, 2015 which included acoustic versions of their previous songs, as well as a new single, "Bear With Me" featuring Eric Rachmany of Rebelution. The EP reached #5 on the

Reggae Albums chart.

''Arrival'' (2019)

The band signed to Pepper's label LAW Records for their second LP album, ''Arrival'' which released on June 7, 2019. Evan Hawkins described the album as "finding their sound as a band. We didn't have any features on that album, because we wanted that to be our thing and showcase us as a band." It reached #4 on the

Reggae Albums chart.

''Departure'' (2020)

TTR decided to sign with Ineffable Records for their third album, ''Departure'', which released on November 20, 2020. It featured Duddy B of

Dirty Heads Dirty Heads is an American reggae rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Their debut album, ''Any Port in a Storm'', was released on September 23, 2008, by Executive Music Group (Fontana/Universal). Their newest album, ''Midnight Control' ...

Lutan Fyah Anthony Martin (born 4 December 1975), better known as Lutan Fyah, is a Jamaican musician, singer, and member of the Rastafari movement Bobo Shanti. Background Born in Spanish Town, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica, Martin studied Architectur ...

Eli Mac Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

, Katastro and other reggae artists. Evan Hawkins explained, "We wanted to showcase some of the best artists that could help us shine a light on different genres in the right way. In January 2021, Through The Roots was one of several reggae and punk bands on ''The House That Bradley Built'', a charity compilation honoring Sublime's lead singer

Bradley Nowell Bradley James Nowell (February 22, 1968 – May 25, 1996) was an American musician and the lead singer and guitarist of the ska punk band Sublime. Born and raised in Belmont Shore, Long Beach, California, Nowell developed an interest in mu ...

, helping musicians with substance abuse. They covered Sublime's song "Real Situation" on the Deluxe Edition. Through The Roots was featured as one of many reggae bands on

Collie Buddz Colin Patrick Harper (born August 21, 1981), better known by his stage name Collie Buddz, is a Bermudian reggae artist best known for his single "Come Around". Career Although Harper was born in New Dadyal Hospital, AJK. He studied audio enginee ...

riddim album, ''Cali Roots Riddim 2021'' with their single, "Everywhere I Go", which was produced by Buddz and mixed by

Stick Figure A stick figure, also known as a stickman, is a very simple drawing of a person or an animal, composed of a few lines, curves, and dots. On a stick figure, the head is most often represented by a circle, which can be either a solid color or som ...

's touring guitarist, producer Johnny Cosmic. On October 8, 2021, TTR digitally released ''Departure Remix EP'' on Ineffable Records. It features six remixed versions of songs from their 2020 ''Departure'' album by top producers,

Amp Live Amp Live is an American alternative hip hop producer and DJ from California. He was one half of the duo Zion I, but left the group in 2015 amicably. He has remixed works by Radiohead, Tokyo Police Club and Jamie Lidell. Life and career Born and ...

, Iotosh, Green Lion Crew, Calvin Valentine, Squeeda, and Coast Club.

''TTR'' (2022)

Through The Roots recorded their fourth full-length studio album, simply titled ''TTR'' which was released on August 26, 2022. The band wanted to "take things in a different direction" for this project. Everything from the "vibe, songwriting, production, studio they recorded these songs in, and the visual aspect". In December 2021, they decided to head to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

on a "new adventure" and to start recording for seven days. The 8-track album features appearances from

Walshy Fire Leighton Paul Walsh, better known by his stage name Walshy Fire, is a Jamaican American DJ, MC and record producer. He is part of the dancehall reggae-influenced group Major Lazer alongside fellow DJs Diplo and Ape Drums. Walshy Fire toured wi ...

and Just Liv and Zac Jone$.

Lineup

Current band members

*Evan Hawkins – Lead Vocals, Guitar (2007–Present) *Brady O'Rear – Keyboard (2008–Present) *Corrick Watson – Lead Guitar, Vocals (2010–Present) *Ekona Ravey – Bass, Playback (2015–Present)

Past band members

*Bryan Jackson – Bass (2007–2011) (featured on TTR's three EPs) *Chris Cruz – Guitar, Keyboard (2007–2013) (featured on TTR's three EPs) *Taylor Boatwright – Drums, Vocals (2007–2017) (featured on TTR's three EPs) *Budda Foster – Bass, Keyboard (2010–2019) (featured on ''Take You There'' and ''Arrival'' album) *Scott Goldberg – Lead Guitar, Vocals (2011–2013) (featured on ''Take You There'' album) *Ross Garcia – Bass (2013–2014) (featured on ''Take You There'' album)

Discography

Studio albums

Extended Plays (EPs)

Compilations

*''Primavolta & Protohype Feat. Through The Roots – Bigger Than You & Me'' (2013) Vicious Bitch Records (Single/Remix EP)

Singles

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.throughtheroots.com/ Musical groups from San Diego American reggae musical groups American pop rock music groups