Music | CaliRoots Part 1 of 3: Interview with Zach Fowler of Sun Dried Vibes
Q- How is the current tour going?
A- We kind of did a national run in February and then just a few festivals and random dates in March. Our tour in Monterey last year out in California was a Road to Cali Roots tour.
Q- Who have you been on tour with recently?
A- We just did a couple of weeks with Badfish, a Sublime tribute. We also did a quick run with Tatanka out in Colorado. We also did some stuff with Hirie and Thrive and played a couple festivals that Stick Figure and Fortunate Youth and Tribal Seeds are all on.
Q- Are there plans for a new album?
A- There are. We’ve been having rehearsals and working on some new material. We’ll probably start doing some recording either later this Spring after Cali Roots Carolina Sessions or possibly in May when we’re out on the West Coast again.
Q- How will this album be different from previous albums?
A- For the most part, the sound is still fairly similar. I feel like my writing is really good on this next album coming up. I have a lot of stuff that I’m really happy with. I think we’ve got some really solid stuff that we’re going to put out for the world so I’m looking forward to this one.
Q- How many times have you played in the Cali Roots festivals?
A- We played Carolina Sessions last year so this will be our second Carolina Sessions. Then, we did the one out in California last year. The California one last May was really awesome. We played on Friday for like 10,000 people or so. It was a really great time.
Q- What does being asked to perform in a Cali Roots festival mean to you?
A- It’s an honor. They do a great job of recognizing the scene on the East Coast with the Carolina Sessions. And it’s cool to be invited to play at the one in California. A lot of the bands that they have are very progressive in the genre and it’s an honor to be asked. I kind of consider Cali Roots to be like the company picnic of reggae bands. It’s kind of a cool thing.
Q- What are your plans after the festival?
A- We’ll have a little bit of time off. We’re still rehearsing and getting the new material ready. We’re going to be doing a West Coast tour, Pacific Northwest and West Coast, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas with Maoli, they’re a band from Hawaii. After that we’ll probably do our own headlining tour in the Northeast and down to Florida. So, it’ll be a busy Summer for us but we look forward to getting out on our own and playing some new material for some people.
Q- What is your favorite part of performing at a festival like Cali Roots?
A- They do a great job of creating an atmosphere and have an overall good vibe. There’s nothing better than when you get on stage and play for a large crowd of people that are all just kind of on the same level and ready for a good day of positive, good music, ya know?
Q- Is there anything you want your fans to know about Sun Dried Vibes that they might not know?
A- Something that they might not know...I don’t know, we’re just three regular dudes, ya know? We do all the same things that everyone else does. We’re just normal people. So, I don’t really know if there’s anything. Evan, the bass player, and I have been making music together for 11 years now. So, you know, we’ve been doing this together for a long time and it’s nice to finally have some momentum and feel like we’re actually getting out there and impacting people and playing music for people. Our last album charted at number six on iTunes. We’re hoping for a number one on the next one.
Recognitions:
Sun Dried Vibes won Rock Band of the Year in 2012 and 2013 in the SC Music Awards. The band was also named Charlotte, N.C. Best Local Band in 2012 (Readers Choice) and was featured on The College Radio Day compilation cd in 2012.
This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Music | CaliRoots Part 1 of 3: Interview with Zach Fowler of Sun Dried Vibes."