B-Side Players to Rock The Sea Of Glass with Global Afro Latin Conscious Funky Reggae

The B-Side Players are set to bring down the house at The Sea Of Glass—Center For The Arts, Tucson’s newest premier entertainment venue in the 4th Avenue cultural hub. The B-Side Players are a force to be reckoned with, known for igniting crowds with their fierce rhythms and uplifting message of unity and consciousness, they are a living and breathing cultural art experience for the mind body and soul.
Many Tucsonans know and love this San Diego based activist band famous for their scorching musicianship and fierce political energy. As the backdrop to their protest lyrics, they incorporate the sounds of Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico and Brazil with the funk, rock, jazz and hip-hop rhythms of their homeland. B-Side’s sound honors the international cross-pollination that has always made music the universal language, using any beat that catches their ear, regardless of geography or genre, to create a compelling, horn-driven, polyrhythmic groove. They are a true musical melting pot; an amalgamation of world sound backing pro-active lyrics for a revolution towards global unity.
The lyrics of the B-Side Players often focus on uplifting the people of the world who suffer at the hands of greed and oppression: New World Rebellion is an anthem to the young, fearless movement of activists around the world rising up against oppressors; This Armageddon explores the lives of people who drift from San Diego to Tijuana to Los Angeles in search of a better life, and suggests a return to the Earth and community as an antidote for the technology that seems to be sucking the soul out of modern life; Warrior Culture is a salute to the Native Peoples of the Americas; their latest single and video, New Uprising, was inspired by the Occupy Movement protests against social and economic inequality; and the list of their activist songs goes on.
“In a world where people are afraid to say hello or smile and the media presents fiction as reality, it’s getting harder and harder to tell what’s real from what’s not,” says band founder, lead vocalist and trumpeter, Karlos Paez. “But the young people are always real and demand the truth. Youth all around the world are marching and protesting. Our sound was passed on to us by our ancestors along with their great teaching – Unity Is Love. We combine different styles and cultures in our music because that’s the secret behind the harmony of all races, religions and cultures. The dance floor is testimony to our common ground, our common groove.”
The B-Side Players have been laying down their inimitable Latin global funk since they came together in 1994 and have toured with the likes of James Brown, The Wailers, Los Van Van, Ben Harper, Calle 13, Juanes, Aterciopelados, Cultura Profetica, Amigos Invisibles, Sergent Garcia, Ozomatli, Nortec, Molotov, La Ley, Slightly Stoopid, War, Sheila E, Stanley Jordan, Poncho Sanchez, Fishbone, and Toots & The Maytals..
“We’re proud to be on the frontline of a new musical movement that no longer represents the minority,” Paez says happily. “We now represent the Brown Majority. The surfer, suburban stereotype of California is changing fast; it’s not all bleach blondes any more. It’s nappy, Afro, rice bowled, dirty, dusty, wet, happy struggling people and we’re right there in the struggle with our music.”

Showtime is Monday, June 9 at 7:30pm.
Tickets: Age 18 & up = $17 advance / $22 day of show; Age 12-17 = $14 advance / $19 day of show; Age 4-11 = $4; Age 3 & under = FREE.

Proceeds benefit the Personality Integration Rehabilitation Program and Avalon Gardens Internships. The Sea Of Glass—Center for The Arts is located at 330 E. 7th St., Tucson, Arizona. For tickets or more information call (520) 398-2542 or visit http://theseaofglass.org.

To assist those in financial need, the Sea Of Glass offers an Avalon Gardens Hands-In-The-Soil work reciprocation program where forms of non-monetary reciprocation can be exchanged for services. Call 520-603-9932 to inquire.