The Big Sound :: California Rocksteady, Reggae and Ska-> Jake

Jake - bass
Jake never thought he would be playing the bass. Jake recalls the story, "when I first met Jimp, I knew he was 48% ape-shit, and worthy of that name. But what I didn't know was that tree-dwelling quadruped had an aptitude for picking up sticks with his feet and beating on things like some kind of caged animal with all this pent up anger. I guess at that time I realized we could form a band with Colin who was returning from Australia in a few months as our singer. The only problem though was the instrumentation- at the time I had been practicing rhythm guitar but decided to start playing bass because that's what we were missing. Jimp and I practiced by laying down rhythm tracks and playing over top of them. I played my guitar like the bass because I didn't have one. When Colin returned home, he helped me buy a bass and we began practicing right away."

About a week later, The Big Sound played their first show. It was a Wednesday night at the Surf 'n Saddle to 5 professionals and a bartender. "It was awesome," remebers Jake.

MUSICAL INFLUENCES
Jake's influences come from all kinds of music; Jazz to Soul to Funk, Hip-hop, Rock 'n Roll, drum 'n bass, Latin rhythm, Calypso and of course Ska and Reggae. Jake says that he "started listening to Reggae early on, and it's the one music that has stuck with me the most over the years." His interest began with Rockers, Roots Reggae, and Dubs from artists such as Peter Tosh, Toots, Bob, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Gregory, Burning Spear, Israel Vibration, King Tubby, and Dub Specialist."

"Then I started getting into second wave - The Specials, English Beat, Bad Manners, and the Boilers. Then traditional Jamaican Ska, Rock Steady and Skinhead Reggae- basically every thing from '62 to '75 - The Wailers, Desmond Dekker, Mr. Rock Steady, Prince Buster, Delroy Wilson, Horace Andy, John Holt, Derrick Harriott and The Chosen Few, Phyllis Dylan, Ethiopians, Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths, Phillip and Lloyd, U-Roy, Augustus Pablo, Pat Kelly, Alton Ellis, Melodians, Heptones, Byron Lee, Jackie Mittoo and the Invaders, Lee Perry and the Upsetters, The Skatalites, The Maytals, The Sound Dimension, Aggravators, The Soul Vendors, The Soul Brothers, and on and on for days..."

"If you listen to all this old stuff, you can hear its influence everywhere today."

FUNNIEST BIG SOUND EXPERIENCE:
Jake can't decide between two. The first is "KUSI and those ridiculous sweaters I made everyone buy. We all wore them the whole time except for the orangutan (he wore his 52% of the time). "

"Or was it the 10th annual Big Sound Dance Contest featuring Many Beeisk - the first place winner was the recipient of a Chocolate 'Ole Fayo-shunn. Who can say???"

WHAT JAKE LIKES TO DO BESIDES MAKING BIG SOUND:
Nerding out with a tape measurer and calipers, shaping boards, volunteering, cooking, eating, drinking coffee, Tee -cates, yard work, surfing, traveling, researching, learning, and sleeping."

For more information about Jake's boards visit his website, Moss Research Surfboards.