Reggae band's set showcases style, talent

By Alex Roman
Daily Forty-Niner

The calming influence that swept through the University Student Union on Wenesday was the roots-influenced reggae music of the Isouljahs.

The Orange County based band took over the Student Union, blessing it with soothing sounds and simple riffs that flowed through the mostly apathetic crowd, smack-dab in the middle of Week of Welcome.

The crowd seemed swept up in its own business, barely even noticing the band started late. The band, because of a late arriving guitar player, only played for 30 minutes.

However, they did not waste a minute of time, launching into a montage of legendary reggae grooves, mixed with Mikey Gamboa's vocal scats.

The band, which is heavily influenced by roots-style reggae, is lead by Gamboa on vocals. He is joined by Tony "Jah-T" Nguyen (keyboards and melodica), Chris Bibler (bass), Edgar Gonzalez (drums) and the tardy guitarist Chuy Gallegos.

Despite relying on some of reggae's more classic grooves, the band was able to avoid being sucked into the abyss of repetitive sounds.

Instead the Isouljahs, were able to liven the grooves up with the great lyrical and a solid musicianship rivaling many more mainstream reggae bands.

"I thought they were great," said Billy Farah, a non-CSULB student in the crowd. "I drove all the way from Westlake just to see them."

The band played music from its forthcoming compact disc "King's Music," which is scheduled to be released early next year on their own Ras Youths International Recordings label.

"It was originally released as a demo," Gamboa said. "But we've re-recorded it, added some things here and there, then we'll re-released it."

While waiting to start the show, Gamboa laughed when asked if other more traditional reggae bands from Jamaica see a bunch of non-Jamaican musicians playing their music insulting.

"No man, not at all," Gamboa said. "They give us a lot of respect because we give back a lot of respect to their music and culture."

While many around the third floor terrace chose to ignore the Isouljahs, some seemed to enjoy their respectful ode to reggae's roots.

The band plays frequently in the Long Beach area and has two upcoming shows in the area.   They are scheduled to perform at the Pelt Club, inside the Golden Sails Hotel on Sept. 15 and at the Lava Lounge with Chapter 11 on Oct. 21.