Minutes before Extravaganza ’09 opened its doors to a line of hundreds of people, I found myself in front of the Rebelution tent backstage. The reggae band whose members met in SBCC and then began to build the group’s fame in Isla Vista came back to its roots to perform at this year’s Extravaganza. The prodigal return of the now successful and famous reggae band brought Eric Rachmany (guitar and vocals), Marley D. Williams (bass) and Wesley Finley (drums) back to the community where their manic fans were waiting with anticipation. Once all the members of the band had entered the tent, I followed excitedly. And among shared laughs, I managed to capture an interview with three guys whom I can only describe as down-to-earth and pretty fucking awesome.

So here you guys are again playing for the I.V. crowd.
Eric: Yeah, it’s cool, we haven’t been back here in a while.

Yeah, what’s up with that?
Eric: Well, we’ve been touring around the country, and the last time we performed in I.V., it got a little bit out of hand. So now it’s more a matter of safety and professionalism, because at this point, people can get hurt easily and nobody can monitor that.

So, no chance of a concert at the Marley House soon?
Eric: Well, at least not in the same fashion that we got started in.

Ever?
Marley: No, there is. But there has to be more planning and preparation involved. Or like, a really last-minute kind of concert. Those were the good times, but all good things come to an end, and hopefully there’s going to be another band to carry the torch.

Some I.V questions. Freebirds or Super Cucas?
Eric: Freebirds.

Marley: My first year, I lived here I lived on El Greco; Freebirds was closer, so it made sense, proximity-wise. Toward the end, we lived on DP, so I went to Cucas more because it was closer.

Wesley: I’m going to have to say that I’m in love with the breakfast burritos from La Cantina, [they’re the] all-time best breakfast burritos ever; they just don’t make them like that anywhere else. But as far as burritos go, I’d have to go with Freebirds.

Did you guys find starting out in I.V., it being such a unique place to live in, helped your music?
Marley: Yeah, because we had our practice spot in I.V. as well, so afterward, we’d pack everything into our truck, ride down the street and unload it, so it was easy to have a show. It didn’t take very much effort.

Where did you guys practice?
Marley: Where we still do now – it’s kind of by SOS. We still practice there, but we don’t practice as much because we’re on tour.

Wesley: Our practices are now just sound checks before the show.

You already know you’re good enough.
Wesley: You can always be better.

Eric: I.V. was fun, and it’s cool being a student too, and playing on weekends. The I.V. atmosphere is a really good spot for a band to get started, because we’d just set up in our backyard or driveway, and we built ourselves up from there, from playing on a drive way to the Marley House to Extravaganza three years ago and again this year. It’s a big deal to have people from I.V., who have made it to come back and perform for us; it means there’s still hope!

Eric: For people who didn’t get to see us, like the freshmen now, they have that recognition that we’re from I.V., and they feel a sense of pride.

Alright. Favorite I.V. moment?
Wesley: 420. I think 420 was the last show we played; it was a good one. It was pretty intense… it was almost too intense. There were so many people and broken glass. That was definitely a memorable I.V. moment.

Eric: As crazy as the last show was, at the Marley House, it was the best. It showed our journey and how we had built ourselves up. Whenever we set up a show, it would start at 9 in the morning and it was craziness until the end. Although that was the craziest show, it showed what we did to get to that point.

How did you survive for that long?
Marley: Build tolerance, learn moderation and pick your battles y’know? Do I want get really drunk, or do I want to play for longer?