A Closer look at The Elovaters By: Jetta Intelisano

Considering that I was born in Boston, and grew up in the Boston Area, I am very
excited to pick the brains of the Boston based powerhouse known as The Elovaters.
Currently, these guys are just blowing up reggae scene coast to coast after some amazing
momentum prior to COVID. It would seem to me that the pandemic has not slowed
their pace one bit as the band’s popularity continues to rise nation-wide. Here is what
The Elovaters had to say.

RRX: Your newest album Castles had some well-chosen collaborations such as
“Gardenia” (one of my favorites) where you guys partnered up with Stick Figure, is there
any band or artist that you worked with that really stood out for you?

TE: (Nick) I think that Keznamdi knocked it outta the park with his verse on ‘My
Friend.’ That song was pretty bare bones when we sent it to Kez and when he sent back
that first verse we were in awe. He’s a wordsmith and a great vocalist so the feeling that
he created was a beautiful thing.

RRX: The band has really stepped up their game in recent years, has there been
any band you have played with or milestone you’ve passed where you felt, yes, we have
made it?

TE: (Nick) Totally – There have been many milestones since we started the band.
For example, we started writing songs in a small Pembroke, Massachusetts garage and
now last week we played a music festival in Cabo San Lucas Mexico (Cali Roots Baja
Sessions) with some of our favorite bands including Sublime with Rome. It’s only been
around six or seven years since we started the band, but it seems like a lifetime of hard
work and grinding it out on tour. One particular milestone that stands out to me is
signing to Ineffable Music Group. We always strived to be a part of the Rootfire and
Ineffable family and when that happened, we knew we were on the right path. As far as
feeling like we’ve made it. I personally don’t know how to define what ‘made it’ means. I
just think we will always strive to be the best that we can be no matter how successful we
become. We want to keep creating the best music that we can and keep touring the
country relentlessly bringing our live show to our fans.

RRX: Recently you played one of our favorite smaller venues in my area for the
second time, The Rustic Barn Pub, what are some notable differences between the
smaller venues and say a large festival crowd?

TE: (Nick) Funny story about The Rustic Barn Pub – they were the very first
venue outside of our home state of Massachusetts that we played. The owners Jody and
Jay Brenenstuhl took a chance on us when we were in our infancy and helped us build a
fan base in the Troy N.Y. area. We love playing there and will return often.

As a musician playing on stage, we feed off of the crowd’s energy. It can make or
break the vibe and feeling of our whole set. With that being said, small venues seem to
always have high energy from the crowd. They are right in front of us and it’s a personal
experience that I love. Although the same can be said about crowd energy for huge
festivals. We just recently played Reggae Rise Up Florida and it was one of my favorite
shows that we’ve ever played.

RRX: Now that music seems to be getting back to normal a bit from the
pandemic what band(s) have you always wanted to share the stage with?

TE: (Nick) Jack Johnson, The Interrupters, Soja, Dirty Heads.

RRX: It seems most artists all have a venues that they would love to headline, is
there a venue the band has on their bucket list to play?

TE: (Nick) Looking forward to the day that we can play at Red Rocks. For me
would be another epic milestone.

RRX: Aside from your hometown is there an area of the country you find that
you are more well received compared to other locations?

TE: (Nick) Philadelphia and Washington D.C. always throw down hard. But there
are always cities that completely surprise me and show up hard for our shows. Phoenix,
Arizona – Denver, Colorado – Jupiter, Florida – Charleston, South Carolina – Columbus,
Ohio. Just naming a few of the top of my head where I love playing.

RRX: The big question: East Coast versus West Coast. What differences, if any,
are there between these two coasts as far as reggae is concerned?

TE: (Nick) For me, I just think that California is so beautiful and iconic, and it
paved the way for this genre. There are so many amazing current and past bands from
Cali. I just have the upmost respect and appreciation for the West Coast bands as well as
the OG bands from Jamaica and the islands. This whole entire genre and my band
wouldn’t even exist without the musicians that came before us so. I think being a band
from the East Coast makes us grind for acceptance from the Cali scene. It honestly just
makes me want to work harder and tour out West more. Yeah, we have weird Boston
accents – but we can still kick it on the Pacific Coast.