Stemming from a bonfire, Headshine’s music stands for positivity and good times

Photo courtesy of Headshine.

Daily Reggae spoke with Headshine’s Ras about the California reggae rock band’s roots, song writing process, and upcoming live shows!

Headshine always shares such positive messages in their songs and I really appreciate the positivity that your band represents and shares! When did the band come together and where are you all based?

Headshine started at a bonfire on the beach with our friends, a few beers and a star lit sky. After a BBQ and surf session, I sang and played a song called “Better Things” on an acoustic guitar and it caught the ear of producer Jim Perkins who recorded it at his studio in Huntington Beach. The uplifting lyrics and positive message resonated with our fans and a couple months later 91X played Headshine on the radio in San Diego.

Soon after we started getting phones calls to open up and play shows for The Wailers from Jamaica, Katchafire, Less Than Jake at House of Blues Anaheim, The English Beat at Belly Up in San Diego and Saint Rocke in LA. Then we flew to the east coast to play at Florida’s Chillin Music Festival with O.A.R, Stick Figure, Ballyhoo! & more cool bands.

Thanks to our fans for requesting our uplifting music, Headshine is now playing on more radio stations. We recently performed “Better Things” during a live acoustic show on Feelin Good with Duddy from Dirty Heads that was watched over 20,000 times and recently a reporter in Michigan and Cleveland mentioned us in an article. Glad more people are discovering the lyrics that are a true story and now better things are coming to all of us. 

Speaking of positive vibes, your single “Good Deeds Are Awesome” has such a great theme. What inspired the song and how did you go about recording it? 

I wrote the lyrics and music for “Good Deeds are Awesome” after doing random acts of kindness which got Headshine to perform on tour with Ziggy Marley in Rhode Island and in Pennsylvania. It was a larger than life experience that we’ll never forget. Good things started happening when we also added the song to our set list and our tip jar would fill up with dough. Then when I showed the song to producer Lewis Richards, our bro’s and music community all came together to make it happen. Grateful to 17th Street Studio for producing the recording and Lewis Richards for playing a bass guitar given to him from Eric Wilson of Sublime with drums by Dan Kujat and harmony's by Nick Sabia. 

It’s really cool to hear our fans whistling and singing along at our shows. “Our woe’s become hope, when we show, then we glow…” The lyrics have inspired us to give hope and encourage more people to do something good for others in need and the reward is coming back in unexpected ways. Thanks to you & our friends for sharing Headshine’s music, more people are doing good deeds and discovering our music. This week we just heard “Good Deeds are Awesome” is now playing on the radio with Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Lumineers and Weezer thanks to 88.9FM Alternative Rock Hits Station WSTB. Come feel the positive vibrations now at our shows and join us by adding Headshine’s uplifting new rock & reggae album to your playlist too.

Will Headshine tour in and outside of California in 2023? What cans fans expect to see at your live gigs?

For sure, at the moment we are getting 10-12 phone calls and emails each week to play gigs all around the country, but most of the dates and locations are too far apart to drive from Cali. Our band is looking to hire 1 or 2 people to book more fun rock & reggae shows with Headshine so hopefully we’ll find someone soon who is good at booking live music and lining up dates.

Grateful to Bob Marley’s record label Tuff Gong International for sharing our music and Headshine played at the Aria in Las Vegas on Feb 7 for Bob Marley’s birthday celebration. Two more Casinos in Humboldt and an Amphitheater in NorCal also asked us to come play too. Our schedule is being updated weekly so join Headshine and our family on BandsinTown, Instagram, Facebook & Twitter. You can also get directions and concert tickets from our official site at Planetsquared.com.

Tell us about the new music you’re working on! How do you keep the creative process fresh? 

Music is a labor of love for us. Headshine keeps it fresh by letting it happen natural and organic. We live, learn, grow, write, rehearse, record, play shows, then eat, sleep and repeat. We are working on more new music and always sneak new songs into our shows whenever there is time in our set. Hope the good vibes keep spreading and more people discover our album so we can release more music soon. 

I absolutely love your song “When I See You Smile”. It reminds me of a beautiful stroll on the beach followed by some acoustic jamming on the beach. Do you often write music in nature with an acoustic session?  

Definitely, Headshine plays shows up & down the coast in California and Catalina Island with our full band and acoustic. Glad Zeb from Tribal Seeds recorded drums on “When I See You Smile” and you and our friends are enjoying it. We always bring our surfboards on tour with us cause I’ve learned happiness does come in waves. The only routine that keeps me healthy and positive is pray, surf, work, music, eat, sleep, repeat. When we get a day off, going surfing and dating nice girls does make life better and also inspired our songs “Trust the Vibes” and “Diamond in the Sun” featuring Big B. It’s cool getting to enjoy concerts with our friends, family and see them smile and sing along makes driving every mile worth it.