www.cornerstoneroots.com www.myspace.com/thecornerstoneroots NZ Reggae’s Cornerstone… The original sounding roots band from Raglan, New Zealand with music that is message orientated, bass driven, soul induced ... the quiet underdogs of Kiwi reggae for the last four years. They continue the path of many artists before – touring the venue and festival circuit in between working on their craft. Formed in 2001 after a session at the infamous local Raglan Musicians Club, the original three-piece outfit singer/songwriter/guitarist Brian and drummer Turongo Dixon (both Maori) and bassist Naomi Tuao (Samoan/Scottish) formed the rhythm section of Cornerstone Roots. The music at that time was raw and riddim focused with a mix of contemporary styled ska/roots/soul and reggae. The band quickly developed a strong local following with many of the early shows being filmed and recorded by fans. This prompted the band to record their first EP One Fine Day in 2001 where they set about touring provincial NZ where the cafes were crammed and live shows intense. By the following year the Corners had released debut album Soul Revolution, described by some reviewers as “brilliant” and “impressive”. The album was recorded in Wellington with engineer Lee Prebble at Surgery where the rhythm tracks were recorded live in one weekend. The album release was backed up with 20 date tour of NZ ending at the Wellington Town Hall supporting powerhouse rhythm section Sly n Robbie. To date seven out of the eleven tracks off the Soul Revolution Album have been playlisted on independent radio in NZ with tracks being playlisted in Australia, Japan, Brazil, and more recently the USA. The band have begun to break new territories in the last 18 months with shows in Noumea, Australia, Japan and a tour planned for Brazil in October of this year. 2004 saw the band cross the Tasman eight times with the release of the Forward Movement EP which was nominated for best roots release in 2005. Veteran Studio One DJ Ranking Joe features over cuts off the EP and remix tracks are to be released at a latter date. The band have evolved many times since its’ humble beginnings and now feature Jonathan Crayford on keyboards, Aaron Bush on percussion and Reagan Perry on Guitar. Recent shows have been described as “intense… with the impact of a hammer hitting an anvil”. Recently, Michael Franti from Spearhead joined Cornerstone Roots onstage during their performance at the 2006 Bluesfest in Byron Bay that floored Australian audiences. The band have recently postponed a month tour of Nth East India to complete their long awaited 2nd album but manage to squeeze in three shows over Queens Birthday weekend.