How long have you guys known each other, how did you meet before teaming up?
Some of the band members have known each other through other musical endeavors before coming together to form Army Gideon, such as church gigs, tour gigs with other artists, etc. The name Army Gideon has been a name performing for about 6 years now, but the past 3-4 years have been with theconsistent faces you see today.
What lead you to pick your band name?
We wanted something to represent our militancy in music & message but, still have a ring to it. For a small while, we ran with Gideon Boot, as known in the Richie Spice tune. Eventually, we said to drop the boot part and add Army as a
sort of play-on-words with Armageddon and the 300 Israelite Army of men JAH sent to fight under the leadership of Gideon. So we come to fight strong like the 300, against spiritual wickedness with word-sound-power in Music.
Who writes your songs?
For the first album, a majority of the songs Anbesa brought to the band and we added our styles, our creativity, and a piece of ourselves to what was presented. Songs like “9 Months”, “Empress”, “Kilimanjaro”. Some we created completely as a band like “Fyah Burn” & “Chains Dem”.What inspires you to make music?
Who are your musical influences?
If your question refers to just musical inspiration, then I’m sure each of us can list hundreds of artists, of course, herb have to be in the mix, and the love and example of Jah Rastafari that essentially leads to the love and respect we show each other. That’s where the inspiration starts. As a band, on a Music level, we are influenced by the bands like Bob Marley & The Wailers who laid the foundation for Reggae and even more directly live band music.
Where have you performed already? What’s your favorite venue/performance
We have performed all over South Florida at places like Culture Room,
Revolution, Virginia Key Park, Young Circle & Wynwood Yard, yet we seek to spread the message across the earth. No favorite place as of yet but wherever the music must go, the band will be there and as long as it sounds good coming out of those monitors we will always be in our favorite place.
What are your biggest challenges as a band have you overcome that challenge?
No challenge is unmet with faith, courage and eventually triumph. So we are confident in victories, not pompously but readily. So the biggest challenge will always be small compared to the next. If we are to give any challenge recognition, it is the challenge to unite the people that they can stand up against injustice without fail or error. But that first starts within self, so we make music for a one to analyze self and aspire to live more righteously, not being naive to the evils of today. Other than that we are faced with the same issues that go along with being an Up and coming band like increased promotion, financial matters, etc. but we hardly let that get to us because that’s not the true purpose it’s only an avenue.
How do you feel about music being more digital now?
Music is music, JAH never makes it to be one way alone and expression is
ever unfolding before our eyes in many capacities. Birds make music, wind, and trees make music, pot and pan make music. We prefer to present most of our material with the instruments we play because we don’t leave out the roots, but we are never opposed to presenting it over digital music as some of us grew up listening to Hip Hop & Dancehall. So you will come across Army Gideon tunes and collaborations over beats & riddim.
What changes would you like to see in the music industry and/or reggae?
Well… have to wonder if what we want is a change in industry/ Reggae… or is it really a change in the conscience of man? We would love to see more unity amongst established bands, artist, DJs, promoters and prominent figures in reaching out to the next generation of up and coming artist/bands not only for the sake of money or hype. We know that’s a part of it, but the initial step has to be grounded in a genuine love for each other’s art & progression. The same thing goes for the up and comers to unify amongst ourselves to show self and others that if we aren’t given the platform then we will create it through unification.
How can fans-to-be gain access to your music?
The best way would be to visit our official website ArmyGideon.com, in
addition googling our name will bring up a lot of media content on us. We also have ReverbNation (Army Gideon), YouTube (ArmyGideonTV), our debut album “Forsake Not” available on iTunes, Amazon, Pandora, Spotify & all major digital outlets. It will also be in major stores 3/23/18 or the physical album can be purchased on our website as well. Lastly come see us perform at the “Surfers For Autism 11th Annual South Florida Beach Festival” in Deerfield Beach, FL 4/7/18.
