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<\/p>\nThe band 880 South has its roots in the South Bay. Across three-plus decades and thousands of miles, the reggae-infused band has weathered twists, turns, successes, breakups and reformations. But even though the band members are far-flung across the map, 880 South is more focused than ever. In support of their new album Origins<\/i>, the group came home to the Bay Area for a May 8 show at Moe\u2019s Alley.<\/p>\n
880 South grew out of Floppy Rods, a Bay Area funk band featuring Luigi Casaretto and Greg Medeiros. That band lasted from 1998 to 2002, but guitarist Casaretto had been feeling restless. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t really \u2018scratching the itch,\u2019\u201d he explains. After leaving the band, he began working on songs alone in his home studio. \u201cIt was really bad,\u201d he says with a laugh. But there was something of value within that reggae- and soul-flavored material. So when he bumped into some of his former band mates at a party, he told them about his new songs.<\/p>\n
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The musicians soon reconvened as 880 South. The new band \u2013 taking a name that proudly asserted their Campbell and San Jose roots \u2013 would develop its music around Casaretto\u2019s song ideas, taking a mindful, collaborative approach. That method brought with it more depth, nuance and consistency within what Casaretto calls a \u201creggae-ish\u201d style. \u201cIt wasn’t just reggae,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt was rock-infused, and there was some jazz in there, with beautiful instrumentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group released its debut album, Beware<\/i>, in 2006. Touring in support of the release, 880 South opened for Fishbone, Matisyahu, Slightly Stoopid and Sublime. The band released Youth Bus Sessions<\/i> in 2009, and in 2010 played the very first California Roots Festival in Monterey.<\/p>\n
The band continued to gig and tour, but eventually 880 South drifted apart. Lead guitarist Steve Shyshka relocated to San Francisco, and bassist Medeiros moved to Rocklin, near Sacramento. In 2015 Casaretto left the Bay Area altogether, settling in Denver. \u201cLife gets in the way,\u201d Casaretto explains. \u201cSome of us are dads; we\u2019ve all got a lot going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the early 2020s, Luigi Casaretto was recording and releasing music under his stage name, Weege. A run of singles led to his 2023 solo album All Fixed Up<\/i>. One of its tracks, \u201cJust a Moment\u201d featured his old band. And in 2024 the semi-inactive group began releasing a few new tracks. \u201cThose songs didn\u2019t have super-high quality production,\u201d Weege admits. \u201cThey were experimental, demo-type recordings.\u201d He says that the collective attitude of all involved was, \u201cLet\u2019s just get these off our shelves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listeners reacted positively. \u201cI started to see trends on Spotify and Pandora,\u201d Casaretto says. Tunes from 880 South\u2019s back catalog began to pick up steam as well. \u201cSome of our older stuff was starting to connect with a younger audience, which really blew our minds,\u201d he says. \u201cWe hadn’t done any marketing, and we hadn\u2019t toured in almost a decade.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that momentum, the members of 880 South re-dedicated themselves to the group. \u201cWe were motivated to get back together and push even harder,\u201d Casaretto says. Modern technology meant that while they were spread out across the western half of the U.S., 880 South could still record music.<\/p>\n
The band got busy on new material, recording remotely and sharing files. The core of Casaretto, Medeiros and Shyshka enlisted additional new members. \u201cOur drummer, Roy Camello lives in Aurora, about 20 miles from me,\u201d Casaretto says. Pueblo Saxophonist\/flautist\/trombonist Chelsea Martinez joined 880 South as well. That group wrote and recorded an album of all new material, Origins<\/i>, released April 25.<\/p>\n
Casaretto\u2019s skilled networking and guerrilla marketing efforts helped bring a tour together, but practicing when members live far apart posed a challenge. Yet Casaretto had a clever solution: he created custom mixes of all of the Origins<\/i> tracks. For Camello, the mix featured everything but drums; for Medeiros, the bass tracks were left off. Each member could rehearse by playing along to a tailor-made mix.<\/p>\n
Technology isn\u2019t a total substitute for playing together, so the entire band convened for three days of intensive practice in Denver a few days ahead of the album release day show. They played the following night in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n
Casaretto was confident it would all go smoothly. \u201cWe\u2019re all in our 40s,\u201d he says. \u201cThe experience of playing together \u2013 we did over 100 shows early on \u2013 means that we can just look at each other while we\u2019re playing and know what\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
And what\u2019s also coming is even more music from a reinvigorated 880 South. \u201cThese days,\u201d Casaretto says, \u201cwe\u2019re doing it for the art, for the love of the music.\u201d The group\u2019s newest addition is Montana-based vocalist and percussionist Cole Thorne. \u201cShe\u2019s joining us for the tour,\u201d he says, \u201cand we\u2019ll be working on the next album with her.\u201d Because wherever the band members might be, all roads lead to 880 South.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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