Courtesy of Mike Davids
Wednesday marks the sixth week of fall’s weekly concerts put on by the Associated Students Inc. at the Becker Amphitheater.
This week students can let loose and relax at the free show that runs from noon to 1 p.m. with the six-piece reggae band Fortunate Youth.
Fortunate Youth is a reggae collaboration born out of the South Bay of Los Angeles. The band is made up of Dan Kelly (lead vocals), Travis Walpole (percussion), Jered Draskovich (keys/bass), Corey Draskovich (guitar/bass/keys), Greg Gelb (bass/guitar) and Jordan Rosenthal (drums).
Titans that attend the concert at Becker can expect a fun, friendly and high-energy show from Fortunate Youth.
The band’s stage presence is a blend of a backyard jam session mixed with traditional reggae sounds.
They are known for passing around instruments on stage, dancing and always having fun.
“We are known to have a pretty good time on stage and we feel it resonates well with the crowd’s state of mind and energy,” said Gelb.
Gelb noted that they can sound similar to other reggae artists out there because they all stem from common influences and the same passion for the music they play as well as the reggae movement.
The high energy comes from a mixture of the band’s rootsy vibes and the unique bass and guitar riffs that are incorporated.
Although inspired by some of reggae’s most prominent and well-known acts including Bob Marley, Tribal Seeds and The Aggrolites, Fortunate Youth made sure to mark themselves as unique in their sound.
So far, the attempts have paid off. Their first full-length album, Irie State Of Mind, quickly rose to No. 2 on the iTunes reggae charts. The band also gained solid footing on the Billboard Top 100 Reggae Albums chart, making it all the way to No. 13.
“We play music that inspires us and hopefully other people. As musicians we all have our own styles and contributions to making our music and I think that helps us create our own unique blend,” said Corey Draskovich.
He added that there are many inspiring reggae artists in the world today and the band has had the opportunity to share the stage with a few of them.
Unfortunate Youth was a part of The Expendables “Winter Blackout” tour in 2012, as well as the Tribal Seeds nationwide “Run the Show” tour.
They even hosted their own nationwide “Summer of Sweet Love” tour and recently played in Costa Rica with Thicker Than Thieves.
The band has managed to do all this without even being signed to a record label.
As far as plans to sign with a label, the band does not seem to be in any hurry.
“There are many great and respectable record labels out there. I wouldn’t know where to start. I enjoy being an unsigned independent band, (it) gives you free reign and keeps everybody hands on,” Corey said.
As for future plans, they will soon be back in the studio to crank out some new music.
“We are constantly working on writing new music. We have done a little bit of work on the new album when we recorded our single last year, “One Love,” Corey said.
The group will record their album in the coming months at Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica.
The group will be working with producer Lewis Richards. Richards helped produce their first album, Irie State Of Mind.
Titans and fans can visit the Becker to meet the band, watch the show and listen to a unique and high-energy blend of reggae music.
For more information on Fortunate Youth, visit the band’s website or Facebook page: FortunateMusic.com, Reverbnation.com/fortunateyouth, Facebook.com/fortunateyouth as well as moboogie.com/fortunateyouth.
This article was written for and published in The Daily Titan. It ran on Oct. 3, 2012, the link is below!
http://www.dailytitan.com/2012/10/reggae-changes-musical-pace-at-becker/
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