Since its inception three years ago, Ancestree has not only become a favorite in the local reggae scene, but also a Santa Cruz icon. Stickers bearing the band’s name can be found throughout town—from telephone poles, to cars, to bar stools, to bathroom stalls—and their signature yellow school bus makes them hard to miss. The brainchild of vocalist/lead guitarist Tom Maimon and vocalist/guitarist Tomas Gomez—“We are like two wings of the same bird,” says Maimon—Ancestree has been on three tours in support of three albums in its short history.
At the heart of the band’s music is the reggae tradition of spirtual guidance and learned consciousness. “We each have an ideal of the world that resides inside ourselves,” explains Maimon. “Most of the time this ideal is not expressed in the things outside—news, school, commercials. We want to create music that exposes the internal ideal, that also invites it into the external.” To accomplish that goal, Maimon and Gomez play with a talented group of local musicians, including Chris Carr (bass), Alia Fintz (saxophone), David Goodman (keys) and Alex Arellano Olvera (drums/percussion). “Life is hard. It is easy to dwell on the things that go wrong and a world that doesn’t seem to fit your views,” says Maimon. “Our music is [meant] to let your inner peace and happiness override, to provide the inner spiritual source.” Ancestree plans to spread that message on Oct. 15 at Moe’s Alley, when the band will share the stage with Bambu Station from the Virgin Islands and Tuff Lion from Hawaii. “You have the best international acts, the best sound, and the best venue right in front of you,” says Maimon. “Why wouldn’t you come?”
INFO: 9 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $14/adv, $17/door. 479-1854.
