Tribal Seeds at Verizon Amphitheater July 12

Chart-topping reggae group the Tribal Seeds will be performing at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on July 12.

The show is part of the “Kickin’ Up Dust Tour” where the Tribal Seeds will open up for headliners Slightly Stoopid and Atmosphere.

“We have performed in Orange County several times. OC has always given us a lot of love,” the Tribal Seeds say. “The Southern Cali crowd rages. We just look forward to being on that stage in front of thousands jamming roots, rock, reggae music.”

Based in San Diego, the Tribal Seeds’ music comes from an influence of Roots Reggae with a unique energetic feel and is known among the reggae genre. Both their 2008 self titled debut album, “Tribal Seeds” and their 2009 album, “The Harvest,” was named “Best Of” in the iTunes Reggae genre and their new EP, “Soundwaves,” peaked at number two on the Billboard Reggae Charts.

The group was originally started by brothers Steven Rene Jacobo (Lead vocals) and Tony-Ray Jacobo (Keyboard), but has expanded to six members: Tony Navarro (Lead guitar), Carlos Verdugo (drums), Jose Rodriguez (Keys, percussion), and Victor Navarro (bass).

“Our influences come from the Roots Reggae musicians that started this genre and the spiritual positive messages they promoted as well. We make music that we love and promote a positive message,” the Tribal Seeds say. “Each member brings their musical background and influence to our sound.”

The Tribal Seeds have toured with various artists such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Wailers, and Jane’s Addiction, but say that they look forward to their summer tour with Slightly Stoopid and Atmosphere where fans can expect to hear hard hitting roots reggae music and a big sound with all six members giving off lots of energy.

“We work hard at what we do and we feel it pays off. We stay true to the reggae sound and have thought provoking lyrics that intrigue listeners,” the Tribal Seeds say. “We appreciate all the love and support from our fans. We’ll continue to work hard for all of you.”

The Tribal Seeds are currently working on a new album this year and will continue to tour in hopes to expand their tour worldwide.

Tickets to the “Kickin’ Up Dust Summer Tour” can be found at the Live Nation website. Show starts at 7 p.m.

Miami Horror fills the Observatory June 20

Electro-pop group Miami Horror will be performing live at the Observatory in Santa Ana on Thursday, June 20.

Featuring a disco-house style of electronic music with psychedelic visions, this show will kick off their live return to the United States. Fans can expect a fun filled dance party with band member Josh Moriarty rocking out on the guitar.

“We love California. I can’t quite put a finger on it, but the crowd is definitely different,” Miami Horror says about performing, specifically in Orange County. “They like to party.”

Miami Horror, now based in Los Angeles, but formerly from Melbourne, Australia is comprised of producer and DJ Benjamin Plant, Vocalist and Guitarist Josh Moriarty, Drummer Aaron Shanahan and Keyboardist Daniel Whitechurch.

The group says their influences include film, photography, music and basically everything. Recently 70s music has been their greatest influence.

“It’s hard to know these things from inside, but I guess you could say we attempt to make it (our music) different by keeping things colorful and visual, lyrically and with sounds,” Miami Horror says. “There’s lots of variety between tracks also.”

According to the group, the name Miami Horror represents the two different styles of Miami Horror’s music; the two words each having a strong visual side.

“It represents the two sides we like to explore in our music,” the group says. “The upbeat summer side and the darker epic side.”

Their debut album “Illumination” was released in 2010 and they are currently working on their second album.

“We’re halfway through the next album and it’s going well. We plan to have it out later in the year and will tour after that,” Miami Horror says.

Miami Horror will go on at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and the show is open to all ages.

Reggae band Katchafire will be performing at the House of Blues in Anaheim Saturday, May 25.

Katchafire at House of Blues May 25

The group is ending their 30-city Spring 2013 tour with four shows in California, accompanying their greatest hits album “Best So Far,” which came out digitally last month and will be in stores on May 21.

Katchafire first started off as a Bob Marley tribute band, but decided to pursue their own music later on.

“We played a lot of bars and night clubs in our hometown and saw right away that there was a huge hole in the market for reggae music,” Logan Bell, the front man and rhythm guitar, brother of drummer Jordan Bell and son of founder and lead guitarist Grenville Bell, says. “We were always making our own music, studying the greats only gave us more confidence.”

The group is based in Hamilton, New Zealand, but has played shows in Orange County before.

“We have a lot of musician friends from the area. The crowds are different here, they want to be wowed here more so you have to bring your ‘A’ game,” Bell says.

Their music style comes from Aotearoa roots, a strain of reggae from the South Pacific.

“We influence the rhythms with sweet melodies which comes from our cultures love of harmony,” says Bell. “Lyrically it comes from whatever is on the conscience at the time of writing or whatever the mood or vibe of the tune is and it’s totally original.”

According to Bell, the groups influences come from male harmony groups such as Little River Band, the Bee Gees, the Wailers, the Eagles, Aswad and the list goes on.

Their biggest struggle comes from leaving their families behind, but the gratification comes from playing shows.

“Family is very important to us and our culture and being away from them is hard. Show time is the high,” says Bell. “My favorite part is interacting with the crowd, seeing their passion and watching them sing the songs back. It’s one of the most fulfilling things as an artist.”

Katchafire tours the world every two years and produces an album every two years. They are currently working on their fifth studio album, which they hope to release by the end of the year.

“People want to listen to reggae and drink and that was the formula at the start. We just want to play reggae.”

Island reggae group Maoli will be opening the stage for Katchafire. General Admission tickets are $25 advanced and $27.50 the day of the show. Doors open at 8 p.m. Show starts at 9 p.m. and is open to all ages.

Kisses will perform May 17 in the Constellation Room

Pop project Kisses will be performing live at Orange County’s Observatory Friday, May 17.

During their spring and summer tour, Los Angeles-based Kisses will be promoting their new LP, “Kids in LA,” due out May 14. The duo features vocalist/multiinstrumentalist, Jesse Kivel, and keyboardist, Zinzi Edmundson.

“Kids In LA” was recorded over a year and a half and produced by Saint Etienne’s Pete Wiggs and Tim Laracombe. Lyrically, the album’s theme has not departed from the playful and frothy frivolity of the first record.

“Kids in LA” consists of a loose narrative, which follows teenage friends and classmates in Bel Air, exploring the overblown emotions and distinct chiasmic boredom of privileged high schoolers. Their lavish parties and a general disregard for others ultimately leave our cast of misanthropes in a wash of insular social interactions and hazy banality.

“Kids in LA” deviates slightly from their first full-length album, “The Heart of the Nightlife,” featuring booming drum machines with a late 80s style rhythm.

“Paired with lightly-effected guitars and warm analog keyboards, the mood is distinct: cold and anxious, yet rich, inviting, and melodic,” said Gloria Lee at Force Field PR.

The show will take place in the Constellation Room of the Observatory. Tickets are $10 and open to all ages. Doors open at 8 p.m.

For more information on Kisses and their upcoming tour dates visit http://kisses.bandcamp.com/releases

CSS grooves the Observatory June 14
Photo by Mariana Juliano

Brazilian dance-rock girl group CSS will be performing live at the Observatory on Friday, June 14.

The group is especially known for their single “Music Is My Hot, Hot Sex,” which was used in an Apple iPod commercial. The song made it the highest-charting single by a Brazillian band in Billboard history.

The girls of CSS are currently on their Summer Tour of North America that features MS MR and IO Echo. OC Concert Guide spoke to CSS about their upcoming tour, their music and their influences that have brought them to where they are now.

OCCG: CSS is based in Brazil. What are you looking forward to when playing in Orange County? If you have played in the OC before, how is it different than the other places you have toured?
CSS: Some of us actually live in the west coast, and the west coast is absolutely our favorite place to tour in America. In California there is a warmth in the people that is similar to what we experience in Brazil, so we basically feel at home. We played the Observatory once and it was amazing.

OCCG: How would you guys personally describe your music? How is it different than other artists in your genre?
CSS: We don’t have a particular style. We like to mix everything we like to listen to. Rock, reggae, pop… I think a lot of bands have this kind of approach, but I think what makes us a bit different is that everything goes through our Brazilian filter.

OCCG: What can fans expect when attending a CSS live show? What does your set list consist of?
CSS: It will be the first show of the new tour of the new album, so it’s very exciting! We want to play a lot of songs from the new record, but obviously we will play all the old singles. Or almost all of them! Our goal is to make the crowd have a great time, and that’s how we construct the set list.

CSS’s latest album cover

OCCG: What are the bands biggest influences in music? Where do your influences come from lyrically?
CSS: Our friendship, our sense of humor and our experiences are the most important thing when it comes to writing lyrics or music. We all grew up listening to alternative music – Sonic Youth, Pixies, Breeders, L7 etc. Once we grew up we started to open our horizons to pop music. We love Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child and also love older pop music. We’ve been listening to a lot of reggae too.

OCCG: How has your music changed since CSS started as a group?
CSS: I think we became a lot more familiar with making music and playing instruments. Also the interaction and synergy between us grew a lot, so I think as a result, writing songs and playing together has become very natural and organic, which makes our record very chilled.

OCCG: Are you guys collaborating with any artists or producers?
CSS: Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio produced this record and became a very close friend. We feel very lucky to be able to record with him, because he is just one of the best producers out there. Hanna Billie from the Gossip played drums in Dynamite, which was also a sort of dream come true. Tim Armstrong from Rancid also wrote Hangover with us. It was very productive to make this album on that aspect.

OCCG: What are the bands biggest struggles and biggest highs?
CSS: We have the band for almost 10 years, which makes it so much easier. You learn how to deal with struggles. We’ve been through it all. All the cliché band stories you can think of, and the best thing is that it always makes us more united. Our biggest high is our friendship that has become the best thing in our personal lives and also professionally. It’s the best thing to be able to travel the world and work with your best friends.

OCCG: What are CSS’ plans for 2013?
CSS: Our record comes out June 11 and we are very happy with it!
We start a US tour on the 14th of June with the OC show and will go to all US major cities.

For more of their North American tour check out CSS’ tour dates at csssuxxx.com/tour.