Blast Off!

Plus: DJ 100dBs on the wheels of steel

The Rocksteady 7 is an influential American ska and jazz band from NYC. Founded in 1997, the core of the group has consisted of tenor saxophonist and band leader David Hillyard (The Slackers) and legendary percussionist Larry McDonald (Lee "Scratch" Perry, Gil Scott-Heron). In live performances, they are supported by a rotating cast of top shelf nyc musicians. Given reggae's globally reaching influence, the Rocksteady 7 holds true to the genre's roots and the self-described "Jamaican Jazz" sound combines ska, rocksteady and reggae with extended jazz improvisation, intricate melodies, and complex harmonies. The group incorporates many diverse elements of world music with rocksteady rhythms, including ska, jazz, calypso, as well as early African and American jazz influences.

100dBs is a producer and DJ living in Brooklyn whose signature style blends performance and selection: astral echo pedal on a wild crate-digger's chase through the genealogy of a tune. He came up listening to Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder, thanks to the bootleg cassettes his mother managed to bring with her from Cold War Romania. An adolescent encounter with a Lee Perry record flipped his whole world and led to formative dub experiments on an old four-track. He got his start spinning hip hop nights on the Lower East Side and has toured the world since. He's rocked parties for burners, breakers, Berlin artists and Brooklyn's reggae revivalists.

Saturday, March 23rd at Hank's
345 Adams Street, Brooklyn U.S.A.
Doors at 8PM. $8 - $12. 21+ with ID.