SOJA is releasing “Strength to Survive,” their fourth full-length album, a mix of hot reggae sounds and hopeful, zeitgeist-challenging themes, on the last day of this year. But they played some cuts from the new CD to an appreciative audience
SOJA is releasing “Strength to Survive,” their fourth full-length album, a mix of hot reggae sounds and hopeful, zeitgeist-challenging themes, on the last day of this year. But they played some cuts from the new CD to an appreciative audience here at the Kaua‘i’s Kilohana Pavilion last Sunday as a start to their Strength to Survive CD Release Tour.
Jacob Hemphill, SOJA’s lead singer/guitarist, says the album was greatly inspired by Bob Marley’s “Survival.”
“That’s the greatest reggae album ever made,” Hemphill says. “It has the best bass lines and the best lyrics ever heard on one record.” On their new CD, it sounds in places like they are channeling Marley.
Hemphill met band member Bobby Lee (bass) in the first grade in Virginia. The two instantly became best friends, finding common ground through their love of hip hop, rock and reggae, which they performed together at middle school talent shows.
In high school, they met Ryan Berty (drums), Kenneth Brownell (percussion) and Patrick O’Shea (keyboards), and together formed SOJA.
Over the course of the past few years, SOJA has sold more than 150,000 albums, headlined large theaters in more than 15 countries around the world, generated more than 20 million YouTube views, and amassed more than a half-million Facebook fans. They have an international fan-base that grows with each tour.
This seven-piece band has spent the past year and a half grinding it out from venue to venue, playing more than 360 dates, including headlining sold-out tours in North and South America, as well as opening for O.A.R. and sharing stages with everyone from the Dave Matthews Band to Matisyahu.
With “Strength to Survive,” the band makes a fervent call for unity and change with impassioned songs about faith, hope and love.
“I could go on and on about the damage we’ve done to the Earth or the problems that arise when countries compete for money or fight over an imaginary border, but the album has one central theme, and that’s our hope for the world to be one family,” Hemphill says. That sentiment is exemplified in the song “Everything Changes.”
The album swings from moving love songs such as “Let You Go” to the traditional reggae sounds of “Gone Today” done up in both acoustic and electric renditions.
The CD starts with a sexy, swingy opener entitled “Mentality,” then moves into the title track, “Strength to Survive,” which, while not my personal musical favorite, has strong lyrics on social justice which bridges into a fabulous track entitled ”Everything Changes,” which for me has it all, musically and lyrically.
All the songs feature Hemphill’s caramel voice. While some, such as the ballady “Don’t Worry,” especially showcase his vocals, the other cuts never overpower his message or vocal abilities.
I really like the minor chord transitions and progressions in “Not Done Yet” and think that the strong finish to the CD with the acoustic 2010 version of “Gone Today” is a masterful wrap up.
Hemphill says the band’s simple and honest approach to music is what’s enabled them to break through obstacles of language, distance and culture in amassing an international following.
“We sing about things that actually matter. Our fans appreciate that,” he says.
“We’re on the road a lot, and people always ask me, ‘Don’t you ever get homesick? Don’t you miss your family?’ It took me awhile to realize this, but this world is my home, and you all are my family.”
Listening to their new CD, you can believe that this is their truth.
