“If the city of Los Angeles had a soundtrack, it would be Ozomatli,” reads the Maplewoodstock music page, trumpeting the band’s headliner status on July 13 at the 20th annual Maplewoodstock Arts & Music Festival as part of Ozomatli’s 30 Revolutions Nationwide Tour.
Ozomatli might just be the perfect soundtrack for MapSO too.
Since the band’s formation in 1995, the six-piece ensemble has been all about diversity — blending Latin, hip-hop, funk, reggae, and global influences. And they are fun. Known for their exciting, captivating and irresistibly danceable live shows. Even more in tune with MapSO, Ozomatli is known for its strong support of social justice issues, including advocating for farmworkers’ rights.
The band members are Asdru Sierra (vocals, trumpet), Raul Pacheco (vocals, guitars), Uli Bella (saxophone, vocals), Wil-Dog Abers (bass), Jiro Yamaguchi (percussion), and Justin Poree (vocals, percussion). Recently Pacheco answered some questions from Village Green:
VG: Maplewoodstock is your only NJ date on the tour! We are honored! But are you ready for the humidity?
Pacheco: Over the past 30 years we have been to many places…New Orleans, Houston, Havana, a flooded Bonaroo? They all get pretty humid, we’ll see how Maplewoodstock compares.
VG: But seriously, how are you holding up? 40 dates through a climate-change-challenged summer is quite the haul. And we know you had a concert cancelled due to ICE raids. How do you continue to bring the joy?\
Joy is a state of mind, and we want to bring you to our perspective with our music. Nothing has ever been perfect, change is eminent and always happening, both good and bad depending on where you stand. We have our own personal lives plus 30 years of playing in band that has seen technology change how people relate to music, many presidents and political shifts. We know where we stand, regardless of all that we are always with the underdogs, the have nots and support the growth and support of those communities.
VG: Your roots in union organizing and political activism seem to make you the right band for this moment and for this town (90% of voters went for Kamala). What message do you have for Maplewood and Maplewoodstock?
Keep your head up and keep at it, America is for all of us. Remember to take care of yourself as best you can and to help someone else when you can. We look forward to playing the great state of New Jersey and to add a page to Ozomatli’s 30 year history.
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