Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad (GPGDS) is known fo… Read Full Bio ↴www.LivePanda.com
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad (GPGDS) is known for folding the aesthetics of the jamband scene into the structures of reggae. In the live setting, the band performs extended jams, while their previous studio albums have blended roots reggae with psychedelia (In These Times, 2012) or diverged from the genre completely, journeying into straight Americana (Country, 2012). On STEADY, the band’s fourth studio album (and first on Easy Star Records), GPGDS has synthesized their approach by weaving traditional folk instrumentation into a foundation of reggae, with arrangements that let the reggae breathe in a non-traditional way. While STEADY may not be the first record to find inspiration in both old time Appalachia and ‘70s Jamaica, it may be the best.
Much of STEADY’s power comes from the attention put into the recording process. Craig Welsch (one of the key players in 10 Ft. Ganja Plant) invited the band to his Boston studio, with the intention of “capturing an aspect of Panda that no one had ever heard yet, something totally different.” This rings true on tracks like “Wolf At The Door” and “.45.” Bassist-singer James Searl jokes that the band “has always followed John Brown’s Body (JBB) into studios,” as each studio they’ve recorded in was previously used by the legendary Ithaca, New York-based band. This trend continues unabated here, as Welsch was formerly JBB’s dub engineer and producer on some of their finest sessions, while another song on STEADY – the herb-smoking gem “Mr. Cop” – was produced by Matt Saccuccimorano, who helmed the controls on the last JBB release. The only other track on the record not coming from Welsch – the title track – was co-produced by Danny Kalb, who has worked with The Green, Ben Harper, and Jack Johnson.
Giant Panda formed in 2001 in Rochester, New York. A mysteriously fertile area for developing the U.S. reggae scene, the city has ties going back to 1981 when Lee “Scratch” Perry recruited his entire backing band from Rochester. The Upstate NY region became early supporters of GPGDS, while its members were in high school and beginning college, playing weekly gigs to cut their teeth. In these formative years, Giant Panda began to explore their songs with an experimental approach that is stylistically akin to the Grateful Dead, while keeping their roots firmly planted in reggae rhythms and lyrical content. Around 2005 tapers began to notice and soon after one of the band’s first Colorado shows received homepage placement on the popular taper website Archive.org. Almost overnight GPGDS became a mainstay on the jamband festival circuit.
From 2005 – 2013 GPGDS’s three original members (drummer Chris O’Brian, guitarist-singer Dylan Savage, and bassist-singer James Searl) began a touring schedule averaging over 100 shows a year and performing throughout the U.S., Canada, and Jamaica. Their third lead singer, multi-instrumentalist Dan Keller, joined the group a few years back, while keyboardist Tony Gallicchio joined in 2013. (Most of the sessions for STEADY feature ex-keys man Aaron Lipp, though Gallicchio can be heard on two of the tracks.) Giant Panda’s continuous time on the road hardened the players into monster instrumentalists. Their attention to the studio in later years, along with a unique blending of reggae and rural American music solidified GPGDS as one of the region’s most beloved bands. Like their hometown, they manage to unify an intellectual and creative culture with a hard-working blue-collar past.
The three main songwriters’ material is different enough to create a flowing and diverse listening experience. Savage’s inspiring anthems tend to be the most “classically” reggae, with songs like “Not The Fool,” “Whatever Cost,” and “Solution” echoing influences like Culture (circa 1979), early Burning Spear, and Jimmy Cliff. Searl is more experimental, both in form (“Wolf At The Door” could almost be an Elvis Costello song, while “.45” utilizes African and blues influences) and in lyrics: his “Hurt Up Your Brother” is almost Dadaist, taking a few lines and constantly rearranging them to achieve new meanings, imbued with a nonsensical-yet-expressive feel, while one of the most dubbed-out riddims on the record chugs along underneath. Keller’s songs stand illusively in between, and manage to go both directions, with a hardcore reggae groove on “Move” giving way to an unexpected chorus, or with the catchy “Home” being one of the only reggae songs in history to use a banjo so creatively and fittingly.
Giant Panda is one of a growing number of bands that work with both Rootfire (their management) and Easy Star Records. STEADY marks the seventeenth release Rootfire and Easy Star have paired up for, making them one of the most storied and successful partnerships in the modern reggae scene. Release number eighteen is just a few days away…. GPGDS has cut a full Americana album as a sequel to 2012’s Country, which will also come out on Easy Star on May 18, 2015. For now though, sit back and enjoy STEADY – a masterpiece that solidifies Giant Panda’s standing as a groundbreaker in the roots reggae scene.
BAND MEMBERS:
James Searl (Bass, Vocals),
Chris O'Brian (Drums, Vocals),
Dylan Savage (Guitar, Vocals),
Dan Keller (Guitar, Vocals),
Tony Gallicchio (Keys)
Burkina Faso
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad Lyrics
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Down there I met my brethren from long, long ago
And he tried to tell me things I really wanted to know
But my mind was filled with mess-distress and pestilence, that's how it goes
Funny how your mind can make you seek your brother
Man how my mind was rich, with pride and doubt
Know I read in Revelations one day (...)
I'm still here crying
No I never forget the day that my brothers lost their fathers
Never forget the way how I cried like mother when she lost me the same way
In this world there's hell to pay
I'm not even sure when oh this pestilence will end
I travelled up north, to alleviate my soul
Funny how your brain slips and trips when you're
So far from home
But you're still in the same world
You should really try and get to know
A mind fought with mess-distress and depression
Only grows old
Funny how your mind can make you seek your brother
Man how my mind was rich, with pride and doubt
Know I read in Revelations one day (...)
I'm still here crying
Cause I, never forget way that I lost my brother
No I never forget the day that my brothers lost their fathers
Never forget the way how I cried like mother when she lost me the same way
In this world there's hell to pay
I'm not even sure when oh this pestilence will end
Caught in the trenches of this life
There's an emptiness that brings light to all of those who got nothing
Caught in the trenches of this life
There's an emptiness that brings light to all of those who've lost everything
Funny how your mind can make you seek your brother
Man how my mind was rich, with pride and doubt
Know I read in Revelations one day (...)
I'm still here crying
Cause I, never forget way that I lost my brother
No I never forget the day that my brothers lost their fathers
Never forget the way how I cried like mother when she lost me the same way
In this world there's hell to pay
I'm not even sure when oh this pestilence will end
End
The lyrics of "Burkina Faso" by Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad tell the story of the songwriter's journey to Burkina Faso and his encounter with a long-lost brother who tries to share his knowledge with him. However, the songwriter's mind is weighed down by mess, distress, and pestilence, which is causing him to question what is real and what is not. He reflects on how our minds can sometimes make us seek our brother, even when we are far away from home, and that this is especially true when we are fighting with mess, distress, and depression. He then laments about losing his brother and his brothers' fathers and how it impacted him, just like a mother losing her child. He concludes by acknowledging that there is an emptiness in this life and asks when this pestilence will end.
The lyrics evoke a sense of longing for a lost connection, whether with a family member or one's genuine self. The songwriter is grappling with the demons in his mind, which are keeping him from connecting with his brother and finding solace. The reference to Revelations suggests that he is seeking a deeper understanding of the world and the spiritual path to redemption.
Line by Line Meaning
I travelled up north, to Burkina Faso
I journeyed to Burkina Faso
Down there I met my brethren from long, long ago
I met some people whom I've known for a long time
And he tried to tell me things I really wanted to know
He attempted to inform me about things I was curious about
But my mind was filled with mess-distress and pestilence, that's how it goes
However, my thoughts were overwhelmed with chaos, anxiety, and disease, as is often the case
Funny how your mind can make you seek your brother
It is ironic how one's thoughts can lead them to seek out kin
Man how my mind was rich, with pride and doubt
My mind was full of both self-importance and uncertainty
Know I read in Revelations one day (...)
I recall reading from the book of Revelation one day
I'm still here crying
I am still weeping
Cause I, never forget way that I lost my brother
This is because I can never forget how I lost my sibling
No I never forget the day that my brothers lost their fathers
Nor can I forget the day when my brothers lost their own fathers
Never forget the way how I cried like mother when she lost me the same way
I cannot overlook the fact that I wept like a mother who lost her own child
In this world there's hell to pay
This world holds a heavy price to be paid
I'm not even sure when oh this pestilence will end
I am unsure when this disease will come to an end
I travelled up north, to alleviate my soul
I went north to soothe my soul
Funny how your brain slips and trips when you're / So far from home / But you're still in the same world
It is strange how one's mind can falter when they're far away from home, yet they're still in the same world
You should really try and get to know / A mind fought with mess-distress and depression / Only grows old
One should make an effort to understand that a mind battling anxiety, chaos, and depression ages quickly
Caught in the trenches of this life / There's an emptiness that brings light to all of those who got nothing
Trapped in the struggles of life, there is a void that illuminates the plight of those with nothing
Caught in the trenches of this life / There's an emptiness that brings light to all of those who've lost everything
Similarly, there is a void that shines a light on the situation of those who have lost everything
End
The end
Contributed by Colton W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.