The Witzard

Los Angeles super-group/production team, Night Owls have returned with yet another pipin' hot slice of Reggae-infused Soul/Funk on wax, "Gossip" B/W "What'cha See Is What'cha Get." Just a quick refresher: Night Owls' core line-up consists of Dan Ubick (The Lions, Connie Price & The Keystones) on guitar, Blake Colie (Seu Jorge, The Lions) on drum kit, Dave "Wilder Style" Wilder (The Lions) on bass, and Roger Rivas (The Aggrolites, Jason Mraz) on organ and piano. Frequent The Witzard readers and vinyl enthusiasts alike may recall Night Owls from their previous two 7-inches, "There's A Break In The Road" B/W "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" with Afrodyete and Terin Ector, respectively, or Durand Jones-assisted "This Christmas," both issued last year on LA-based F-Spot Records. Now, Dan Ubick, Blake Colie Dave Wilder & Roger Rivas have returned, again, joining forces with F-Spot Records for th...

" THE LIONS "In The Dungeon" unplugged performing "WHEN IT RAINS" off the brand new record Soul Riot on Stones Throw Records . Thanks a ton to Ross Harris and Stanley "Babylon Burning" Gonzales for direction and sound," The Lions exuberantly wrote on their Facebook page Thursday afternoon upon the release of their first unofficial video release behind third album, Soul Riot . "Our first attempt at a proper video for "When It Rains" didn't turn out how we'd hoped, but we are actively searching for directors and have a couple in mind... We did do an unplugged performance that came out great though," Lions ringleader Dan Ubick said in a brief follow-up email preceding our recent second interview conducted for this very site, The Witzard ; alluding to a filmed and since scrapped proper "When It Rains" video treatment, as well as what's seemingly amounted to the just-released The Lions in the dung...

(1) I read that you've known Peanut Butter Wolf (Chris Manak) for quite a while now. So, what made you sign with Stones Throw after all these years for the joint release of This Generation? Yeah, I met Wolf back when he started Stones Throw and was still up in San Francisco. He signed a group I played in for 5+ years called Breakestra that my friend Miles Tackett leads. I signed with Stones Throw because Wolf is an artist himself and really believes in the groups he signs. He and the guys at the label put in a ton of time strategizing about how to best help get the band heard by more and more people. I obviously am into that (Laughs), plus they have a great track record and very loyal followers. (2) For those who aren't exactly familiar with The Lions, would you care to go through each member and their companion instrument/role in the band? Sure. On drums we have Blake Colie, bass is Dave Wilder, percussion is Dave Chegwidden, organ and piano is Dan Hastie, on guitar i...

"This one's an exclusive for the Stones Throw Digital Discography subscribers: It's a sampler of a few tracks off the upcoming album by The Lions , which we're planning to release this Summer. We've made just a few of these CD's, strictly for non-commercial use. The Lions are a 12-member Reggae group from Los Angeles ." - Stones Throw @ drip.fm (1) Seemingly the title track from their upcoming debut, "This Generation" was quietly premiered on Stones Throw 's J.Rocc -curated Podcast #70 (January). The Lions meld together their vast musical "chops," employing a gaggle of original Roots Rock Reggae -reminiscent sound effects. Pretty sure "This Generation" discusses the fact that kids these days, while often misguided, are getting back into tasteful music and means of playing: 12" vinyl... Check out the Dub [remixed] version up above. (2) "Roll It 'Round" plays out like a clever mix between Motown ...