Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad 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 ...

and

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and ente ...

band from

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

, founded in 2001 and known for their live performances and authentic

roots reggae Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honoring of God, called Jah ...

and dub sound.

History

Formation (2001)

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad was formed in 2001 when brothers Chris O'Brian on drums and Matt O'Brian on guitar teamed up with their childhood friend, James Searl on vocals and bass. They started playing shows in their hometown of

and then moved to

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

. The band based their name on the fictional "Giant Panda Gypsy Blues Band" from ''

Another Roadside Attraction ''Another Roadside Attraction'' is the first novel by Tom Robbins, published in 1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The worl ...

'' by Tom Robbins. GPGDS' electric mix of roots, reggae, and dub music that combines world beats and reggae rhythm with jam band aesthetics. They are committed to "connecting people with the great music; roots and dub for your mediation." The band have been noted for their live shows, which are often recorded by concert tapers and posted on

Etree etree, or electronic tree, is a music community created in the summer of 1998 for the online trading of live concert recordings. etree pioneered the standards for distributing lossless audio on the net and only permits its users to distribute the ...

and the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

''Slow Down'' (2006)

In 2006, GPGDS solidified their sound by adding local Rochester guitarist Dylan Savage, Aaron Lipp on vocals/percussion/keys and Rachel Orke on keyboard. The band's debut album ''Slow Down'' was released in 2006 and received regular airplay on

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...

and

XM Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...

. The album was recorded at Pyramid Sound Studios in

, and produced by the band and Alex Perialas. Soon after, they recorded a live acoustic session at Moboogie Loft in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Touring and ''Live Up!'' albums (2008–2011)

On May 30, 2008, the band played at

Warren Haynes Warren Haynes (born April 6, 1960) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his work as longtime guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band and as founding member of the jam band Gov't Mule. Early in his career he was ...

' Mountain Jam Festival at Hunter Mountain Ski Resort in upstate New York. In 2009, the band released a live recordings album titled, ''Live Up!''. The album features 11 tracks that were recorded during their 2008 and 2009 national tours. Founding member Matt O'Brian and keyboard player Rachel Orke left the band in 2010. The band also released ''Live Up!! Volume II'' on September 2, 2010, featuring 10 live recordings from the band's Southeast USA tour. They also played at the 2010 All Good Music Festival gaining further notoriety in the

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

circuit. In 2011, the band added guitarist Dan Keller from

North Tonawanda, New York North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek, its south b ...

on lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals, and harmony. On July 23, 2011 the band played the Gathering of The Vibes music festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They also returned to the All Good Music Festival for the second consecutive year.

''Country'' and ''In These Times'' (2012)

The band released their second studio album, ''Country'' on January 31, 2012, on the California-based

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Controlled Substance Sound Labs. With this release, the quintet has charted new territory and put together a lyrically driven roots Americana-music and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

album. On April 10, 2012, the band released their third studio album, (a full electric album), ''In These Times'', also on the Controlled Substance Sound Labs label. The ' psychedelic

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

' sound is more familiar to fans who were familiar with the band through concerts and live recordings. The album peaked at #5 on the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart. The band's music was featured on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's radio program ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' on January 28, 2012.

''Steady'' (2013)

Keyboardist Tony Gallicchio, another Rochester local, joined the band in place of departing keyboard player Aaron Lipp. In 2013, the band recorded their fourth album, ''Steady'' which was co-produced by Craig Welsch of

10 Foot Ganja Plant 10 Ft. Ganja Plant is a roots/dub Reggae group primarily based in Boston, Massachusetts. 10 Ft. Ganja Plant often places no personnel credits on any of their albums. Most of their music has a traditional reggae sound, but their musical styles ...

. ''Steady'' hit #1 on the ''Billboard'' Reggae Album chart on October 9, 2014.

''Bright Days'' (2015)

In 2015, the band released their fifth album (and second 'Americana' album), ''Bright Days'' on

Easy Star Records Easy Star Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996. Based in New York City, the label primarily produces and releases albums in the genres of reggae and dub. The label has had multiple albums chart at No. 1 on the '' Bil ...

. It features nine original songs recorded at the Rear Window Studio in Brookline, Massachusetts.

''Make It Better'' (2016)

On September 16, 2016, the band released their sixth album called, ''Make It Better'' on Rootfire Cooperative, featuring ten new tracks. The album was recorded in their hometown of Rochester, New York at Blackdog Studios owned by former band member Matt Goodwin. The band also prepared some tracks at Scanhope Sound in

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

. This album was mixed by Danny Kalb who also co-produced. ''Make it Better'' debuted at the #1 spot on ''Billboard'' and the iTunes reggae charts.

Singles and dub version songs (2019–present)

The band released the singles, "Good Love", "Cool It", "Stop Fighting" in 2019. The same year, in February, guitarist Dan Keller played his last show with the band. GPGDS then added guitarist Eli Flynn from upstate New York band Upward Groove that spring. GPGDS then released dub versions of their previous songs in 2020, featuring

Victor Rice Victor Rice (born April 17, 1967) is an American musician, record producer and mix engineer from New York City. Raised in Huntington, New York, Rice attended the Manhattan School of Music and began his professional career in the late 1980s duri ...

, Pachyman, and Agent Jay. In 2021, the band released more singles during the spring and summer titled, "Solidarity" with

Kevin Kinsella Kevin Kinsella is a reggae and roots rock musician who has participated in 28 studio albums since 1987. He is a founding member of John Brown's Body and 10 Foot Ganja Plant. He lives in Ithaca, New York. He has been noted as one of the pioneers o ...

(on April 2), "Really True (The Scientist Dub)", (on May 21) "Hold You Tonight" (on July 2) and "Narita" (on August 20). They also continued touring in the U.S. in the summer and fall on the east coast.

Musical style and influences

The band has many different musical influences. Some of them include: Phish, Sublime,

John Brown's Body "John Brown's Body" (originally known as "John Brown's Song") is a United States marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The tune arose out of the folk hymn tradition o ...

The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

Burning Spear Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ...

Lee Scratch Perry Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

, and

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

Musical collaborations

Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad has collaborated with many different artists on stage and in the studio. Their album ''Bright Days'' includes "Humboldt County Gold" featuring

G. Love Garrett Dutton (born October 3, 1972), better known as G. Love, is an American singer, rapper and musician best known as the frontman for the band G. Love & Special Sauce. Biography Dutton, the son of a banking lawyer, was born in the Soci ...

on harmonic. On the 2014 release ''Steady'', the band collaborated with reggae legend

Ranking Joe Ranking Joe Little Joe (born Joseph Jackson, 1 July 1959, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay who rose to prominence in the 1970s and had continuing success in the 1980s. Biography Jackson was initially inspired towards a musical career by ...

on the track "Take Your Place." Elliot Martin from

contributed vocals on the track "Really True" on the band's 2017 release ''Make It Better''. Italian-American musicologist Dougie "Roast Beef" Ducker, best known as "the man who brought Reggae to Biloxi", has covered several of the band's songs live, and dedicated a reggae-tinged cover of P.O.D's "Alive" to his so-called "Panda Bros".

Lineup

Current members

*Chris O'Brian – Drums, Vocals (2001–Present) *James Searl – Bass, Vocals (2001–Present) *Dylan Savage – Guitar, Vocals (2006–Present) *Tony Gallicchio – Keyboard (2013–Present) *Eli Flynn – Guitar, Vocals (2019–Present)

Past members

*Matthew O'Brian – Guitar, Vocals (2001–2010) *Aaron Lipp – Keyboard, Percussion, Vocals (2006–2013) *Rachel Orke – Keyboard (2006–2010) *Dan Keller – Lead Guitar, Piano, Vocals (2011–2019) *Matt Goodwin – Keyboard, Organ, Production (2013–2014)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

References

External links

* , the band's official website *
Live Recordings from

{{Authority control 2004 establishments in New York (state) 21st-century American musicians American reggae musical groups Americana music groups Jam bands Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups from Rochester, New York Musical quintets Organizations based in Rochester, New York