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)
Signs
Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And pass it on to me
Lives that we're leading
Couldn't be more pleasing
Pour some wine
And pass it on to me
If you believe in
The bread that we're eating
Show some signs
Show some signs
You're designed
To know them signs
In this time
Pour water over me
If i'm not breathing
I should be leaving
All this time
The moon still moves the sea
It's not receding
Who you believe in?
Show some signs
Show some signs
You're designed
To know them signs
To everyone feeling love all the friends I know
It's no surprise when our lives change in time it shows
We're only one history, in a vine it grows
Only to be born again
Out of the sun again
Wild with the passion so childlike questioning the path we go
Between the sun and the moon we flow
Only to be back again
Around the sun again
I never want to slip past
I never want to think too fast
It's more a circle than a line I know
If you're loving living show some signs
Show some signs
Show some signs
You're designed
To know them signs
The song “Signs” by Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad is a call for people to pay attention to the signs around them. The song starts with the lyrics "Pour some wine and pass it on to me, lives that we’re living couldn’t be more pleasing, pour some wine and pass it on to me, if you believe in the bread that we’re eating." Here, the band urges listeners to share the good things in life, while also highlighting that the bread they’re eating is a symbol of the basic necessities of life. The band then moves to the powerful phrase "Show some signs, you’re designed to know them signs", which suggests that all individuals are designed to recognize the signs around them that point to important things.
The lyrics also touch on the concept of time and how it is constantly moving forward "In this time, pour water over me, if I'm not breathing, I should be leaving, all this time the moon still moves the sea, it's not receding, who you believe in?". Here, the band encourages people to pay attention to the passing of time while questioning the belief systems of others. They then remind us that at the core of our existence is love and that we should let it guide us "To everyone feeling love all the friends I know, it's no surprise when our lives change in time it shows, we're only one history, in a vine it grows, only to be born again, out of the sun again, wild with the passion so childlike questioning the path we go, between the sun and the moon, we flow".
Line by Line Meaning
Pour some wine
Let's relax and enjoy ourselves
And pass it on to me
Share the good times with each other
Lives that we're leading
We're happy with the way our lives are going
Couldn't be more pleasing
We enjoy everything we do
If you believe in
If you have faith in
The bread that we're eating
We can be content with what we have
Show some signs
Demonstrate your feelings
You're designed
It's in your nature
To know them signs
To understand what's happening
Pour water over me
Cleanse me of my worries
If i'm not breathing
If I'm struggling to survive
I should be leaving
I may need to move on
All this time
Despite everything that's happened
The moon still moves the sea
The natural world keeps moving forward
It's not receding
This is a constant force in our lives
Who you believe in?
What do you put your faith in?
To everyone feeling love all the friends I know
This is for all my friends who are feeling love
It's no surprise when our lives change in time it shows
Changes are inevitable and they will become evident in time
We're only one history, in a vine it grows
Our experiences are part of a larger story
Only to be born again
We will start anew
Out of the sun again
Renewed by the power of the sun
Wild with the passion so childlike questioning the path we go
We're full of passion and curiosity about where life will take us
Between the sun and the moon we flow
We are part of the natural cycle of life
Only to be back again
We will continue to repeat this cycle
Around the sun again
Part of the natural progression of life
I never want to slip past
I want to appreciate every moment
I never want to think too fast
I don't want to feel rushed or anxious
It's more a circle than a line I know
Life is a cycle of events
If you're loving living show some signs
If you're enjoying life, let it show
Contributed by Leo I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mindful Rochester
10 GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS MUSIC VIDEO (within just the first minute!)
1- THE heavy paint texture of the waves in the opening (just looks cool)…
2 - THE use of Mixed Methods Of Animation (eg, photographic cut-outs, the raw hand-drawn elements, elaborate clay models, etc.)…
3 - THE value the video places on Rest and Dreams as a means of gaining insight. Dan Keller (seen fishing at the beginning) instigates the story that follows by lowering his hat and resting…
4 - THE symbol of ‘The Fisherman’, symbolizing a type of recall-process of abstracting elements from The Unconscious (symbolized by the sea) under no logic or predetermined plan, but by allowing spontaneous forces to operate and then collecting their chance results…
5 - THE squiggly worm on the hook- used as a means to lure fish to bite, foreshadows the serpent that will instead pull a reversal and bite the fish later in the video….
6 - THE f-ing artistic design of the sea horse in general (Art!)…
7- THE fact that THE Female Sea Horse isn’t represented as “female” through typical media gender tropes such as ‘being pink’ or ‘wearing a bow’. She is revealed ala ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Botticelli, and ‘the Moon’ as a symbol…
8 - THE echo (and the general use of visual echoes throughout the video) of ‘the Pearl In The Shell’ as seen by the male sea horse, sparking his journey to her and symbolizing the value inherent in the feminine principle, AS WELL AS the value of seeing the world through ‘symbolic eyes’...
9 - THE Giant, Unvarnished, Pure Clay Fish that swallows the sea horse into another dimension of mind. It’s lack of color creates a wonderful contrast that anticipates the contrast from ‘objective’ to ‘subjective’ worlds…
10 – And, oh yeah… THE dank, dank, dank, dank, dank dankness of the music!
Mason Overton
I can't explain how much I love this song and this band. One day I'll have the pleasure to actually see them I hope! Soo good I can't even lmao 😍
Rudy Marquez
Right!!!!!😷
Timothy Szabo
It's almost'22....I'm hoping you've gotten the chance to see them live by now....
Mason Overton
@Timothy Szabo missed my chance at this year's reggae rise up. Been every year but couldn't this time. Crazy year. Don't listen to them anymore so I'm not too salty. I always see my old favorite bands when I'm not into them anymore XD
Nothing to See Here
So good live! Amazing show in Rochester last night #420!
Dakota
They're even better live
Mindful Rochester
10 GREAT THINGS ABOUT THIS MUSIC VIDEO (within just the first minute!)
1- THE heavy paint texture of the waves in the opening (just looks cool)…
2 - THE use of Mixed Methods Of Animation (eg, photographic cut-outs, the raw hand-drawn elements, elaborate clay models, etc.)…
3 - THE value the video places on Rest and Dreams as a means of gaining insight. Dan Keller (seen fishing at the beginning) instigates the story that follows by lowering his hat and resting…
4 - THE symbol of ‘The Fisherman’, symbolizing a type of recall-process of abstracting elements from The Unconscious (symbolized by the sea) under no logic or predetermined plan, but by allowing spontaneous forces to operate and then collecting their chance results…
5 - THE squiggly worm on the hook- used as a means to lure fish to bite, foreshadows the serpent that will instead pull a reversal and bite the fish later in the video….
6 - THE f-ing artistic design of the sea horse in general (Art!)…
7- THE fact that THE Female Sea Horse isn’t represented as “female” through typical media gender tropes such as ‘being pink’ or ‘wearing a bow’. She is revealed ala ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Botticelli, and ‘the Moon’ as a symbol…
8 - THE echo (and the general use of visual echoes throughout the video) of ‘the Pearl In The Shell’ as seen by the male sea horse, sparking his journey to her and symbolizing the value inherent in the feminine principle, AS WELL AS the value of seeing the world through ‘symbolic eyes’...
9 - THE Giant, Unvarnished, Pure Clay Fish that swallows the sea horse into another dimension of mind. It’s lack of color creates a wonderful contrast that anticipates the contrast from ‘objective’ to ‘subjective’ worlds…
10 – And, oh yeah… THE dank, dank, dank, dank, dank dankness of the music!
Fernando Griss Costa
Parabéns pandas! esperando vocês no Brasil.
Alexandre Gilain
This song is the definition of nostalgic vibes
Lele Genovesio Niper
Love the stop motion. Just brilliant!