Band Brings Reggae to a Sold-Out Clementine

April 12, 2010 • By Jay Leamy,
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In an intimately tight Clementine Cafe last Wednesday, Soldiers of Jah Army — or SOJA as they’re colloquially known — returned to Harrisonburg for what lead singer and guitarist Jacob Hemphill called a “f—ing great” experience. The crowd there had a similar sentiment. SOJA played to an entranced, love-struck crowd of JMU students and Harrisonburg residents who were lucky enough to get tickets before the show sold out weeks in advance.

The instrument variety (bongos, drums, keyboard, guitar, saxophone, trumpet) was matched only by the band members’ hair — from dreadlocks on Hemphill, drummer Ryan Berty and bassist Bob Jefferson, to a shaved keyboardist Patrick O’Shea and a more creative mohawk on percussionist Ken Brownell.

Hairstyle is arguably a large part of the band’s image. Before the show, art education majors Theresa Miles and Kacie Deale said they had seen SOJA three times before and kept coming back because of the amazing music — but also because of the dreadlocks.

The music started with a wicked horn intro from Rodriguez and Escorcia, who were touring with the band to promote their two-month-old album “Born in Babylon.” They crept into two slow, rhythmic songs that mesmerized the audience. Everyone in the crowd threw their hands up as SOJA moved into “I Don’t Wanna Wait.” An elated crowd became rapturous when the performers went right into “You Don’t Know Me,” complete with a high kick from Jefferson. After a slower, horn-centric piece, Hemphill commented on the floating soap bubbles (courtesy of sophomore Nikki Desiderio, who commented that “SOJA equals good times”) — and said that he loves the feel of playing in Clementine Cafe.

“Clementine was a perfect venue to showcase SOJA, allowing them to make a personal connection with the audience,” said Jesse Mock, a sophomore political science major.

Freshman Jordan Pye, a media arts and design major, was not new to the SOJA scene.

“This is my third time seeing them this year, and I love getting to see them play in such small and personal venues because I can feel they’re about to get really big,” he said.

Seniors Scott Petercsak and Amanda Zimmerman commented that they loved SOJA and were expecting Clementine to have a much more crowded feel, but instead were pleased that it was such an intimate gathering.

For an hour into the show, Jefferson had been silent, aside from his melodious bass chords and his epic hair had been contained in a bun. However, as 11 p.m. struck and the band was in between songs, he shouted, “Harrisonburg, are you ready?” and started into “To Whom it May Concern,” letting his hair fly. Jefferson’s deep, resonating voice guided a heavy drum line and thick bass chords that drove the crowd crazy. The biggest cheers of the night up to this point came when Jefferson gave a series of high kicks to the beat of the music. Meanwhile, Hemphill, relieved of his singing, had a transcendental gaze on his face as he ripped out guitar chords.

They played on through the night, coming to a crescendo at the end when SOJA played songs from their album that is to be released in the coming weeks. The song’s aphrodisiacal vibes drove the crowd into a rhythmic trance of grinding and swaying. After a faux exit and the begging of the audience, the band came out for a classic encore that left the audience breathless.

“The kids know all the words to the songs,” Hemphill said. “It’s awesome.”

Hemphill said that it was special to come back because Harrisonburg was where they got their start.

“Harrisonburg is unique, we’ve been coming here forever,” Berty said. “We used to do shows in this building before it burned down. Coming back reminds me of when we were first starting out.”

For their new album, the band went back to their roots to write the material, drawing from Bob Marley and Peter Tosh influences. The members are Rastafarian, but Hemphill said that there were different levels of Rasta.

“Rasta is what it means to you. It’s about being true and being clean,” Berty said.

SOJA got its start in 1997, but has been gaining popularity in recent years.

“They’ve been around for a long time and no one has really known about them,” said Chuck Farabaugh, a sophomore criminal justice major. “Maybe now they’ll show JMU and people in the area how good of a band they really are.”

Suffice to say, the onlookers at Clementine that night won’t have to be told twice.

Contact Jay Leamy at leamyjd@dukes.jmu.edu

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