This summer is Surf Roots 20 Year Anniversary! The original Surf Roots CD, which was a benefit for the USA Surf Team came out in 2005. And from there came Vol 2, Surf Roots Radio, the Surf Roots Tour, and finally Surf Roots TV. It gave a name to this genre of music and helped create the massive Reggae-Rock movement we see today!
Starting in June we'll be celebrating with a series of special edition merch, collabs, and giveaways. Thank You for all the support over the past 20 years!!!
It all started with the original Surf Roots CD, a benefit for the USA Surf Team put together by Resin Music (our parent company headed up by Dave Resin and Tim Gray), Body Glove and Surfing America. It was distributed to surf shop countertops nationwide by Surfing America to raise money for our top junior surfers. The CD featured tracks from Slightly Stoopid, Pepper, Steel Pulse, Damian Marley, The Expendables, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Long Beach Dub Allstars, John Brown's Body, Tom Curren & more. Special thanks to Mike Gerard at Surfing America and to Scott Daley, Greg Browning (RiP we love you Greg) and Mark Kawikami at Body Glove who made it possible!
The CD was a hit so we followed it up Surf Roots Volume 2 CD, which featured Ziggy Marley, Trevor Hall, Common Sense, Don Carlos, Dave Wakeling, Sashamon & more. Two CDs bringing the beach Reggae vibes to surf shops!
We also produced a DVD Sampler which featured music videos from the bands on Surf Roots Vol 1 & 2. We got it playing on the TV's at surf shops, restaurants & bars, and gave it out everywhere for free! It was the spark for the TV channel which would debut 10 years later.
Next we created the Surf Roots Radio App, the first 24-hour Reggae-Rock station. We got to program all our favorite bands (which no other station was playing) and share it with the world. Surf Roots became the #1 rated Reggae station on Live365 and iTunes Radio, which measure viewers. To date the Surf Roots Radio App has gotten over 400,000 downloads!
We linked up with fellow Hermosa Beach local Alex Curry to be our original host and interview bands. Alex interviewed The Expendables, Rebelution, The Green, Anuhea & more. She did an incredible job and she's now a big star on TV including FOX Sports!
We kicked off the Surf Roots Tour to showcase the bands, keep expanding and spreading the music. The tour went for 5 straight summers, featuring dates with Common Sense, Dirty Heads, Tribal Seeds, Anuhea, The Green, Sashamon, B Foundation & more.
In 2017 we created a second app, the Surf Roots TV App. The first platform was Roku and the host was Kaleo Wassman of Pepper, one of the legends of Reggae-Rock. Kaleo has an incredible personality and took the brand to another level. The TV channel brought the bands' music videos and live performances to life. It created a new MTV with all the music we love!
We wanted to showcase all the styles of Reggae, not just the Cali Reggae-Rock scene. So on the Radio and TV Apps we created playlists to showcase the best from Jamaica, the best from Hawaii, On the Rise artists, the Women of Reggae & more. We added podcasts to the radio and shows to the TV channel. Surf Roots is always expanding!
A community formed among the fans, and a Reggae-Rock circuit was developed by the promoters with festivals popping up like West Beach Festival, California Roots Fest, Reggae Rise Up, and One Love Cali Fest (which became Cali Vibes). Surf Roots was on location to interview the bands everywhere they went.
We hit the jackpot with our next host Britt Rafuson, a professional model who was deeply embedded in the reggae scene, has a great sense of humor, and can relate to bands. Britt keeps the good vibes flowing!
Now that you know the story make sure to grab some special edition 20 Year Anniversary gear in our Shop! Here: https://surfroots.com/collections