Pullin’ Up Roots

Chico’s music scene is a largely migrant one. Bands and players come and go, as do venues, and the scene fluctuates accordingly. The bands that manage to maintain solid cohesion are the ones that stick around for longest, and perhaps no Chico band has more wherewithal than reggae music purveyors Mystic Roots. This seven-piece reggae group — MC cootdog (vocals and keys), Nikki Sierra (vocals), MJ (vocals), Chris Henderson (bass), Kike (pronounced Key-ké) Alvarez (drums), Eric Iverson (guitars) and Rich Yudice (engineering) — has undergone many changes throughout their six-year history, but through it all, the band, rallied by founding member and frontman MC cootdog has managed to be a mainstay in the local music scene. And not only has the band left their mark on Chico, but they’ve found some degree of success outside of town as well, which is part of the reason the band has decided to relocate to Southern California.

Mystic Roots’ most recent line-up change finds new blood in the band, though thanks to coot, the Mystic Roots core vibe is very much alive and well. This tireless music maker and promoter, who also released a solo project last year, is the undeniable mouthpiece for the band, and though he’s been in Mexico, he found time away from the beaches, beers and fish tacos to answer a few questions about the continuing evolution of Mystic Roots.

Now that you're looking toward your future and away from Chico, what things will you take with you from your time here, both musically and non-musically?
Musically, what I personally will take from here is a greater appreciation for a wider range of music. After living here for seven years and seeing so many different bands in different genres and making friends, I now dig on a lot of stuff that I wasn't open to before. From Hit by A Semi to Griswald, from Soul Maze to Indecisive Youth, I even really dig some of the rockabilly stuff I've heard. Before I came here I basically listened to hip-hop and reggae with a little older rock like Pink Floyd and The Doors. I would've only been digging on Pyrx, Dub Rev and Grits if they toured when I was in high school. Also, musically I take with me my training. I came to Chico originally because I heard that they had the best recording arts department in California, and I didn't even know it was a party school or had any idea that I would ever be in a live band. I graduated in 2000 with my BA in music and my “masters” in “field research,” if you know what I mean — we've toured like crazy for the past six years and played maybe 300 shows. That's one hell of an internship. Lastly, musically I take with me my band. I met all of the musicians I currently play with here in Chico. Nikki was the hottest undiscovered singer in the scene and Chris Henderson is one of my musical idols. I think the work he did with Electric Circus for those 10 years makes him a Chico legend. He is inspiring to me. I met Eric through the Chico State Music Department, MJ through the Theater Department, and Kike flew here from Venezuela in 2000 just to play with our group. So I think Chico made me who I am today, and as far as Mystic Roots goes, it put us on the map. I don't think we could’ve got off to such a good start in any other place. The parties here in ’96 and ’97 are really what got us up and running. Sigma Nu used to own a house out at the end of 5^th Street right before it turns into River Road, and we played huge parties there that had like 1000 people at them. They were more like little concerts than parties, and that really made me realize this band could make it. The Chico support made us decide to keep this band together and try to go all of the way with it, so we will never forget Chico, and we will always represent for her. Plus, now with Nikki and Chris in the band, we have some Chico locals to make sure that the love is always there. We owe Chico everything. And when we make it, we will still play Chico and for cheap like always.

Non musically? Well, I don't know if there is anything I can say about my life that is non-musical. I learned how to deal with people better. I learned not to trust as many people as I thought I could trust, and I learned how to deal with businesses better and hopefully I learned to better myself as a person. I really try and let karma guide my life these days, and I don't want to put out any negative energy into the world that could come back and get me later. I have made a couple of people in this town upset by accident and it was never my intention. I will always live with that, and I genuinely apologize to those people, who know who they are.

Over the years, what would you say that band's place in the local scene has been, and do you think you’ve been widely accepted or has it been a struggle?
Our acceptance in this scene has varied over the years, and it will definitely depend on who you talk to. We had many, many fans in the beginning, and a lot of them are still around. We came out with something new that other people weren't doing — mixing reggae with hip-hop. Some people compared us to Sublime in the beginning, but I don't see it. Sublime mixes reggae with punk rock; that's a whole other sound. I felt like, for a while, fans loved us and other musicians hated us. Other musicians, I think, felt we were some party band and playing music that we shouldn't play. I was really surprised when I began to learn that a lot of the musicians in this town still feel that white people shouldn't play reggae or hip-hop. It's very frustrating. I grew up on these forms of music, so that's what I know. But you got people — whenever you get love you get hate. We have opened for bands like The Wailers, Luciano, Spearhead and B-Side Players, and all of those guys are way cool and totally dig our vibe. It's not easy to play reggae in front of Luciano and Michael Rose and then get a positive reaction. But reggae teaches acceptance and understanding. It's a whole state of mind and I think the haters just don't realize that. As far as musicianship, I don't doubt any of the players in the band, and we can all jam with the best of them on our respective instruments…except for me on keyboard. I need to get off the keys and focus on the mic.

Venues loved us because we always brought in a good crowd that would buy drinks, and that is ultimately what it’s all about to the bars. I think our acceptance in the scene began to decline when we didn't come out with any new music for a while and every show we did the same set. We were going through so many different musician changes that it was hard to dedicate any practice time to developing new material, and so the shows might have gotten [similar]. That's when I developed the cootdog project, which also generated mixed reviews, and the one thing I learned from that — don't put your name in the band or people will think you’re arrogant. We just didn't have another name for that band. We made good music, though, and it brought me together with Nikki, Chris and Matt Baldoni, a great friend of mine who is tracking guitar parts for Busta Rhymes down in LA right now. So yeah, it's been a bit of a struggle, but it really balances itself out, you know?

In what ways do the new band members add to the mix?
We aren't going to be just a reggae band anymore. Kike brings the Latin flavor, Chris brings the funk, Nikki brings jazz and house, and Eric brings rock ‘n’ roll. MJ brings the hip-hop, Rich brings the dub reggae and I'll just be cootdog and try and rock the mic to the best of my ability. The new sound is fun. Come to The Brick Works and see!

Do you plan to incorporate the cootdog stuff into Mystic Roots, or will that always be a separate, more personal project?
The cootdog project band and the Mystic Roots band have fused styles and members, and we are going with the name Mystic Roots. As far as releasing material called “the cootodg project,” that will just be stuff I do with other people — compilations, studio productions and stuff. That's really what the cootdog project album was last time. We’ll play all of the material live and anything recorded with the whole band will be called Mystic Roots. Anything I record alone or with other people will be project stuff. The most important thing is that the vibe will stay positive, and the messages will be uplifting and in line with the principles of reggae music. That is important to all off us.

What about Chico made it the ideal spot for Mystic Roots?
Chico was ideal for Mystic Roots because of the amount of parties and good vibes here. Everyone is nice and wants to have a good time. In the Bay every one is more negative, and the good messages of reggae are harder to push. Chico was just perfect for us because of the people here and the opportunity to play a lot.

Where exactly are you going, and what prompted the move?
We are moving to San Diego. The move was prompted by a need to go to a new scene, take some chances and try hopefully to go all the way with it, which means getting closer to LA. But LA is too much of a culture-shock. San Diego is a lot like Chico — good vibes — but there's an ocean! We’ll still come back to Chico. We’ll still sing about Chico.

What are your immediate plans after you establish down there?
Start over but with our promotional kit and our Nor Cal stats. We want to play a lot down there, and we'll try to make it so that we can play every night and not work other jobs. But at first, we will have to get whatever we can to pay the rent on the band house and the van bill.

What do you think you'll miss the most about Chico?
All of my friends are in the band. My life has become very sheltered to just my work. So since we're all moving together, my life is basically just moving to San Diego. All of the people I hang out with and all of my daily life will be there, so for that I am grateful. What will the band miss the most about Chico? Backyard parties. What will I miss about Chico? Cheap rent.

What's next for Mystic Roots?
Well we just got signed to a new independent label that is co-founded by Jason Flathers, the original singer / songwriter for the band. So that's real exciting. The label is called Stay Positive Productions, and we are definitely being taken care of. We are releasing a new maxi-single this summer to prepare people for what's to come with our next full-length release, which we hope to complete by the end of the year.

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