Reggae with River Bottom Rockers

Kind of funny how the universe works.

I was hoping to do an article featuring Imperial Beach reggae band River Bottom Rockers this week but couldn't get a hold of them. Then last night I stumbled upon a show flier on Facebook right at the last minute for "Reggae Thursdays" at Lydia's Cafe and Nightclub.

Cool. It's on.

In all the years I've lived in IB, I've never been to Lydia's at 1628 Palm Ave. The bar and pool table were sectioned off from the stage/floor area. I walked in to the sounds of DJ Rudy Roots, who played a nice mix of reggae with a bit of hip-hop flavor.

The beats kept me bobbing my head and occasionally drumming along, feeling pretty geeky about what I was doing at points in the night.

River Bottom Rockers then took the stage. Currently, their lineup features Bob Martinez on rhythm guitar/vocals, Nico Loera on alto sax/vocals, Brandon Jauregui on trumpet, Diego Lugo on tenor sax (not present Thursday evening), Angel Diaz on keys/synths, Jordan Hardin on lead guitar/vocals, Bubba Abril on bass/vocals, and Frank Diaz on drums.

Their most recent album, Dedication, recorded at AK Studios and released via iTunes, is a 10 song homage to their former lead singer Kenny "KARV" Diaz who died last year. Browsing their Myspace page (myspace.com/riverbottomrockers), it's easy to see how much they miss their fallen brother. The phrase "Always remembering Kenny" adorns the bottom of the Dedication album artwork.

They opened up with a pretty easy-going jam, which appeared to highlight all of the different vocalists in the band. RBR has developed their own niche within the local reggae community, incorporating a wide variety of reggae styles including horn-driven dub, ska, more rootsy sounds, a healthy dose of good old fashioned atmospheric piano delay, and of course some rock. Their tunes are well thought out, and arranged tastefully to feature all of the different instruments and vocals.

The sound quality wasn't so great in the bar area, so I quickly downed my beer and headed toward the stage to get a closer look and listen. Ah, no overhead drum mics, that explains the lack of oomph in the back of the room.

No sound guy or monitors either for that matter, but the Rockers made it work. Up close, everything sounded pretty balanced and defined and you can tell the band's been at it for a while.

Their next tune started off with a pretty cool horn part that got the 30 or so heads in the room nodding. Eventually the band got to an anthem like chorus of "We rock the night away," followed by a pretty great breakdown which led out to a rocking ending, which was in turn greeted by a hearty applause.

Apart from the music, the band had a good vibe going up on stage. Bob and Nico sort of played the part of frontmen inbetween tunes, joking around and interacting with the audience.

As the night went on, the set seemed to get better and better, and left me wanting more by the end. With the continued hard work and "dedication" that I've seen from this talented group of individuals, I think their music has the potential to go places. Be on the lookout for more sounds around town from River Bottom Rockers.