Nightlife / Music

JoBu keeps it underground, ‘just for the good of the band’

By Stephanie De Pasquale | Wednesday, March 26, 2008 | () comments

The members of the reggae band JoBu have one rule: What’s said in the basement stays in the basement.

The bandmates are also roommates in Carbondale, Ill., and the basement of their home is where they write and practice music. Upstairs is where they are just four friends who live and breathe music.

“We’re a family. We’re together 24 hours a day. We live in a truck on the weekends, and the music is directly affected if we’re in a bad mood with each other,” drummer Evan Ryan said. “So, we say things and then we get over them very fast, just for the good of the band.”

Aaron VanVooren, a Geneseo native who is Jobu’s lead signer and guitarist, met Matt Hines, guitarist, and Andrew Neel, bass player, three years ago while attending Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

Ryan, who knew Hines from high school, joined in July 2007 when the original drummer left the group.

VanVooren, the only member of the band still in college, said he still manages to get his homework done even though the band plays dates across the Midwest every weekend.

“It’s just a lot of sacrifice,” he said. “Sleep doesn’t happen very often. And fun, this is what I do for fun. I’d rather spend my weekend playing music than just aimlessly drinking like a lot of the college scene.”

VanVooren describes Jobu’s smooth sound as reggae fusion and said the band’s mantra is to create positive music for positive people.

“It’s a lot of everything,” he said. “We’ll throw in a bluegrass section here and there and then have a rock section and have rock, metal, jazz.”

JoBu’s members have written several new songs over the past four months and recorded an EP that will be released this summer. The band has been cutting out covers from its set and playing more originals at recent shows.

“We want people to come to a show wanting to hear a JoBu song,” Ryan said. “And that’s the hard part about being an original act is you are always asked, ‘Well, do you guys play covers?’ It’s hard for booking aspects, but it also is part of the drive and the journey of being an original band starting out.”

JoBu members joke that the band’s performances are an ‘emotional roller coaster’ infused with energy and danceable music.

“What we’re striving to do is take the audience on a ride of different feelings and different emotions,” Ryan said. “And we want people to dance, but we also want people to start shaking their heads and going nuts when we start climaxing to a certain point.

“And then we want to them to take that breath after that climax and regroup and we just do it all over again. And that’s our show.”

Stephanie De Pasquale can be contacted at (563) 333-2639 or sdepasquale@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

What: JoBu

When: 10 p.m. Saturday, March 27

Where: RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave., Rock Island

How much: $3

Information: Call (309) 793-4060 or visit ribco.com on the Web

Also on the Web: myspace.com/jobujams