Fortunate Youth

Fortunate Youth is an American reggae rock sextet from Hermosa Beach, California. Its current lineup consists of Dan Kelly (vocals), Travis "Travi Bongo" Walpole (percussion), Jered Draskovich (keys/bass), Greg Gelb (bass, guitar), Corey Draskovich (bass, guitar, keys), and Revelation (drums). The band has incorporated a wide variety of influences, including blues, ska, rock and punk into their sound, and cite acts such as Bob Marley, Katchafire, Van Morrison and The Grateful Dead as various influences. The lineup has no set designated musician, and all members rotate positions within the band during live performances.

Fortunate Youth
Fortunate Youth
Background information
OriginHermosa Beach, California, U.S.
Genresreggae, reggae rock, roots reggae
Years active2009–present
LabelsFortunate Youth Entertainment
Associated actsSlightly Stoopid, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Tribal Seeds, The Green, The Expendables, Katchafire, Josh Heinrichs
Websitefortunate-youth.com
Members
  • Dan Kelly
  • Jered Draskovich
  • Corey Draskovich
  • Travis Walpole
  • Greg Gelb
  • Revelation
Past members
  • Ryan Gonzales
  • Myles Poydras
  • Sam Mandelbaum
  • Joey Muraoka
  • Evan Hein
  • Jordan D. Rosenthal

History

Fortunate Youth was formed in 2009 in Hermosa Beach, California by members of various reggae bands based throughout the South Bay region of Southern California.[1] Walpole witnessed Kelly perform at an Open Mic Night in Hermosa Beach and recruited him to join the band he was in at the time, Rude Boy Roots.[2] After the disbandment of Rude Boy Roots, Walpole, Kelly and Jered Draskovich began forming Fortunate Youth, bringing on Jered's younger brother Corey, who was a member of the band Irie State of Mind. Gelb and Walpole, along with Corey and Jered, attended the same high school prior to the band's formation. They went through several drummers including dub master Joey Muraoka "The Hawaiintist" ex drummer for Hirie and Rian Basilio and the Roosters. Sometime after they released their first EP and after several early tours with revolving drummers they later decided to bring on Rev from Hawaii as their newest and latest drummer.[3] They released their first EP, "Up-Lifted", on January 8, 2010.[4] "Burn One" from their "Up-Lifted" EP remains the top downloaded song by Fortunate Youth on iTunes Music.[5]

"Irie State of Mind" and "It's All A Jam" (2011-2013)

One year after the release of the "Up-Lifted" EP, Fortunate Youth released their debut album "Irie State of Mind", premiering at #2 on the iTunes reggae charts and peaking at #13 on Billboard's Top 100 Reggae Chart.[6] The artwork and conceptual layout for the album was developed and created by Redondo Beach, California artist and photographer, Mike Davids, a close friend of the band.[7] That same year, Fortunate Youth supported Tribal Seeds during their Tribal Youth Tour, and released their first single "One Love" in November.[8][9] The band also toured briefly with Hawaii-based reggae band The Green.

In 2012, Fortunate Youth toured with The Expendables and Tribal Seeds while heavily promoting "Irie State of Mind." In September that year, Fortunate Youth performed a stripped down acoustic set featuring songs from both the "Up-Lifted" EP and "Irie State of Mind" during a Mooboogie Loft Session. They released an album version of the Mooboogie Loft Session on December 18, 2012.[10] During 2012, the band played four shows in Costa Rica, marking their first overseas performances.

Fortunate Youth released their sophomore album, "It's All A Jam" on March 19, 2013.[11] The album enjoyed success, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Reggae charts, #10 at the Billboard Pacific Heatseekers Chart, #23 at the Billboard National Heatseekers Chart, #1 on the iTunes Reggae Charts and #46 on the iTunes Overall charts. After the release, Fortunate Youth headlined a nationwide tour with fifty-five shows and played the California Roots Music and Arts Festival that year.[12][13]

"Don't Think Twice" and "Fortunate Youth" (2014 - Present Day)

Fortunate Youth headlined a tour in the spring of 2014, and headlined the 2014 Fall With Friends Tour accompanied by supporting acts such as The Steppas, New Kingston, Ashes of Babylon, Thrive, and The Expanders. The band released a six song extended play, "The Dub Sessions (Vol. One)" that same year and began recording their third album, "Don't Think Twice." The album was released on May 5, 2015.[14] The album hit the #1 spot on both the Billboard and iTunes Reggae charts at the time of its release, and kicked off a "Don't Think Twice Fall Tour" that October.[15] While discussing the album, Kelly stated the meaning behind the record was, "Don’t think twice, we all end up at the same place. If you look at the back of the album, two roads come back into each other. Y’know, no matter what you think, it’s all gonna be…alright."[16]

In 2016 the band released their first official music video entitled “Burn One,” a black & white portrait style video directed by Jeff Pliskin of the film/photography production company Raised Fist Propaganda. This monumental video featured cameos by Angelo Moore of Fishbone, Ryan Gonzo of Tribal Seeds, and a number of other ground breaking artists from the Cali Reggae Scene. The simplicity of the video, which was filmed at the Fortunate Youth house in Gardena - encompassed the vibe of the band and helped make Burn One an anthem in the reggae scene months after the video release. This led the band Slightly Stoopid to bring them on tour that summer, as the director personally reached out to the band and management with this video and their second hit video, “One Love.” They subsequently released two more music videos after"Burn One,"& "One Love," "Wasting Away," and "Pass The Herb." That same year they released their third extended play, "Dub Sessions (Vol. 2)" and began recording their fourth album at 17th Street Recording Studio in Costa Mesa, California, where they had previously recorded "Irie State of Mind," "It's All A Jam," and "Don't Think Twice."

In January 2017, they released a music video for "Left My Love In California." On February 3, they released another music video for the song "Friends and Family." On February 10, Fortunate Youth released their eponymous fourth album. The album peaked at #29 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and featured artists such as Slightly Stoopid and Kumar Bent.[17] On March 2, the band released yet another music video, "Things", and launched their Spring Tour to promote their fourth album on March 16, 2017 in Ventura, California, with supporting acts such as Josh Heinrichs and For Peace Band.[18] On May 26, 2017, they released the music video for "Vibes".

The band has held an annual Thanksgiving concert show at Hermosa Beach venue Saint Rocke as a tribute to their city of origin since 2011.

In 2019, band video director and tour promoter Jeff Pliskin brought reggae legend Half-Pint from Jamaica to record on their instrumental of Pass the Herb. Recorded in NYC, with Half-Pint’s vocals along with Dan Kelly - the vinyl was put out as a limited edition during their Raised Fist Propaganda east coast tour that September. The vinyl single has picked up Worldwide distribution and the band along with Pint filmed a music video for it during tour.

Some featured collab artists in the mix of future releases included Sean Paul and YDB of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan.

Current members
  • Dan Kelly
  • Travis Walpole
  • Jered Draskovich
  • Greg Gelb
  • Corey Draskovich
  • Revelation Hawaii

Discography

Albums
  • Irie State of Mind (2011)
  • Mooboogie Loft Sessions (2012)
  • It's All A Jam (2013)
  • Don't Think Twice (2015)
  • Fortunate Youth (2017)

Extended Plays
  • Up-Lifted (EP) (2010)
  • Dub Collections, Volume One (EP) (2014)
  • Dub Collections, Volume Two (EP) 2016)
  • Live Life (EP) (2019)

Singles
  • One Love (single) (2011)
  • My Love (single) (2015)
  • Young & Innocent (2019)

(Raised Fist Records) Featuring Half-Pint (Vinyl)

References
  1. "Fortunate Youth bring their reggae stylings to Saint Rocke". showbams.com.
  2. "Fortunate Youth - Interview". thepier.org.
  3. "Fortunate Youth - Profile". discogs.com.
  4. "FORTUNATE YOUTH -UP-LIFTED (EP)". Jams Space.
  5. "Fortunate Youth - Top Songs". Apple Music.
  6. "Performer - Fortunate Youth". first-avenue.com.
  7. "Fortunate Youth - Irie State of Mind". discogs.com.
  8. "Tribal Youth Tour!". thepier.org.
  9. "One Love - Single". Apple Music.
  10. "Moboogie Loft Sessions With Fortunate Youth". last.fm.
  11. "Album Review: Fortunate Youth - "It's All A Jam"". musicbailout.net.
  12. "Fortunate Youth - Bio". thesocial.org.
  13. "California Roots Festival 2013 Lineup". musicbailout.net.
  14. "Fortunate Youth - Don't Think Twice". Amazon Music.
  15. "Fortunate Youth - Don't Think Twice Tour 2015". Fortunate Youth.
  16. "Exclusive Interview: Fortunate Youth". The Bottom Line.
  17. "Independent Albums - Billboard Charts- March 4, 2017". Billboard.
  18. "Fortunate Youth announces the 2017 Spring CD Release Tour". Top Shelf Reggae.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.