What is Pura Vida Music?
High energy, roots/rock/reggae with Latino influence. Derived from a native Costa Rican expression, Pura Vida means pure life. Pura Vida music keeps your head bobbing and your ass throbbing for more.�

Pura Vida has already become a staple on the Michigan college music circuit. At home in St. Joseph they pack the house when they headline shows at Czar's 505. With a healthy mix of reggae, rhythm and blues, rock, jazz, funk, and afro-beat influences in their sound. Pura Vida is trying to take the best ingredients from classic music and stir it up into a great big ball of "good energy". Bassist Tom Johnson says "With the sad state of pop and rock music today, we're just trying to bring music back around to something a little more raw, more personal. I hate the label of reggae or rock n' roll band, because that has a way of limiting you, but that's the feeling that we're trying to bring to our shows."�

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Even if the term reggae or rock n' roll doesn't do justice to the music Pura Vida brings to the stage, there is certainly no shortage of these traits in their songs. There is also plenty of positive energy and experience. Although Pura Vida is a relatively young band, these guys have been playing music all their lives. Singer/Songwriter Mike Struwin has been tearing up the local music scene since age 16, writing and producing original music on various projects, Mike has dedicated his life to music. Recently, he was awarded a cash prize and the title of "Kalamazoo Acoustic Idle". "I love playing the acoustic guitar; however in Pura Vida I mainly play the electric. It opens the doors to much more sound and adds more life to the music." Struwin is a highly recommended solo artist (for more info. visit www.mikestruwinmusic.com).�
In the wake of their appearance at Venetian Festival in St. Joseph, MI. Pura Vida is ready to hit the road. The reaction these guys get after a show is unbelievable. Located perfectly between Detroit and Chicago, St. Joseph is the perfect home base for a band primed to conquer both of those major markets plus the college circuits throughout Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.�

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Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica Kelly is Ruff and Ready, the minute he hits the stage you� are treated to 100 BPM�s of pure energy every time. He performs a mixture of Dancehall, Hip Hop, Ragamuffin and Roots Reggae. He is one of the new generation of performers who has brought positive lyrics to Dancehall and Clubs throughout the mid-west.

��������� �He was recently nominated in 5 categories at the� Chicago�s� Martin Inter-Culture Music Awards and have been honored as Chicago�s Best New Artist, Most Outstanding Personality, Best Stage Performance and Best DJ 3 times. Kelly�s new release �Hottie Gal� has been recognized as one of the best new releases in the Windy City.� The Chicago Tribune wrote of Kelly

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Right away I got the attention of�the area Radio Reggae�DJ,�David�"Jah Dave" Alert, the�founder and originator of the Reggae program, REGGAE STREET�broadcasted on WSND 88.9 FM on Saturday nite from 10 pm til 12 am. Its frequency ranges about 100 miles radius and a little over 9,000 listeners.�

I was recruited in 2000 as a��Radio Reggae DJ.� A lot of listeners have called and gave me respect for my cool selection on air. I see Reggae music as an educational tool�and during the air , I always highlight�few lyrics that has meaning and emphasis them heavily to the audience.. that why I was given the stage�name as The African Teacher...�

A 20-year veteran of the Chicago music scene, Aswah is an artist who has paid his dues and earned his place. With his Chicago-based band, the Enforcers, Aswah has emerged as a local favorite booked with international bands on tour in the Windy City including Steel Pulse, Wailing Souls, Burning Spear, Yellowman, Israel Vibration Maxi Priest, Third World, Toots and the Maytals and Pato Banton.

Off stage, Aswah is a man of few words -always humble, usually humorous, very subtle. His personal story is as inspiring as his lyrics and music. Born in Louisiana in 1946, Aswah came to Chicago after his Viet Nam experience to find work "somewhere other than the lumber mills" of Louisiana.�

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From a musical standpoint, 'Save You From Yourself' mixes roots reggae with rock steady rhythms nicely. The title track, 'Fools & Rebels', causes the listener to reflect on how many of us fight with one another, when what we really need is tolerance and love for one another. The drums and horns give this song an up-to-date sound while remaining true to a roots and culture message. Aswah's versatility is evident on, 'This Train', an upbeat dancehall style track. It is refreshing to hear a spiritual teaching in this style of music. The echo of the train horn calls all of us to get on board God's plan for salvation and freedom. Aswah's voice is mesmerizing in all tracks, causing us to feel the lyrics deeply.

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THE BEAT
May 2005, Volume 24 No. 2,
by Tom Orr

EASY STAR ALL-STARS� DUB SIDE OF THE MOON
At The Ragga Muffins Festival in Long Beach, CA, Feb, 19th, 2005

When the Easy Star All-Stars made Dub Side of the Moon two years ago, a crafty bit of reggae/rock crossover was achieved. Here was a complete reggae reworking of one of rock's most classic albums that kept intact many sonic nuances of the original while making bold changes (such as replacing guitar solos with dj chatting) that made the remake a classic in its own right. Performed live, the music not only held up well but absolutely soared, thanks to the All-Stars' supremely skilled and tight lineup of singers and players. Hearing such familiar songs as "Breathe," "Money." "Us and Them" and "Brain Damage" played onstage inna true reggae style brought a kind of hypnotically giddy feeling. Subdued but clearly awestruck, the crowd hung on every note, every word.

The Easy Star crew was a very tough act to follow...

One band that is always in demand for events in the Caribbean-Michigan communities is Universal Xpression whose members have come together from the Caribbean Islands of Nevis, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Jamaica. Their driving, festive dance rhythms are key to dances, gatherings, parades, and carnival celebrations, and the group has been honored with the "Best Live Music" award for nine consecutive years at the Detroit Carnival Parade, as well as awards for Detroit's "Best Soca Band" and "Best Live Carnival Parade," in San Francisco, California.

Richard Parris (keyboards, vocals) was born on the island of Nevis. Richard inherited his musical inclinations from his father, a well-known folk musician in the Eastern Caribbean; at the age of five Richard started playing steel drum music. His brother Noel (drums), was born on the island of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and also started playing at an early age. Noel has played drums with some of the notables in jazz music, has recorded many albums, and studied drums at the Manhattan School of Music where he excelled in African, Latin and Caribbean music. Mark "Reno" Borde (keyboards, rhythm box, vocals), the son of world famous Trinidadian pan player Hugh Borde, has also been playing music since he was a child. He has toured with his father on the Symphony Circuit that included playing with the late, great Liberace.

Kelly Ann Stargill (vocals) grew up singing in the churches of Trinidad and has 10 years of experience in Caribbean music. Earl "Melloman" Clark (keyboards, vocals) is a native Detroiter but was born of Bahamian and Jamaican parentage. His father was one of the founding fathers of the Contours and his mother has sung with some of the greatest in gospel music; Earl began performing on stage at five years of age. American-born Queen Jahmana (vocals) is a Rastafarian who has molded her reggae music style after the I Threes and Marcia Griffiths. Lastly, Billy Noah (bass), is an American who was trained by Titus, one of Africa's premier drummers, and has studied the Wailers, Sly and Robbie and other greats of Jamaica.