It’s Friday night and Mezzanine is packed: people from all tribes and walks of life, all dressed to impress, dance or just kick back and sip drinks to the sound of roots-reggae DJs.
Suddenly, the music stops and the lights turn to the far corner of the club, where nearly a dozen musicians are crammed on stage, ready to play.
A voice calls out: “Are y’all ready for some live music?,” and as a wave of sound crashes over the crowd, the room is transformed from a night club into a neighborhood block party, making the release of Bayonics’ latest record “Mission Statement” official.
Homegrown funk
As the name would suggest, Bayonics are a local phenomena; a mostly Latino ensemble collective whose musical backgrounds are as varied as the region its members represent. Over the course of their decade together, they’ve developed a unique fusion of flavors that embodies the free spirit and diversity of the Bay Area.
Their homegrown sound is heavily influenced by the Bay’s rich musical past: The funky bounce of Sly and the Family Stone, the Latin-tinged blues of Carlos Santana and the swaggering bravado of pioneering Bay Area MCs Too $hort and E-40.
The band also incorporates elements of rock, soul and reggae into their productions as well as a pastiche of Latin flavors, including salsa, cumbia and Cuban “timba.”
Lead singer and band leader, Jairo Vargas, who performs under the stage name Rojai, said Bayonics’ eclectic sound comes directly from the diversity of the Bay.
“We love all these styles,” he said. “We don’t stick to any one genre – we do Bay Area.”
A product of the Mission District, the original lineup was formed through Loco Bloco, a Mission neighborhood nonprofit focused on providing arts education to immigrants and minorities. Drummer Pedro Gomez and bassist Bob Menacho met at SF State, playing in a salsa band called Mala Fama, before linking up with Vargas to start Bayonics.
Bayonics’ live performances have won them followers from southern California to Miami, but the hybrid nature of their music has meant an ongoing challenge in figuring out how to market themselves.
With three emcees —Rojai, Sir Grizwald and Jun— fronting the outfit, hip-hop seems to be the most natural association, but even “pure hip-hop” groups struggle to find mainstream acceptance, and Bayonics’ sprawling sound, which spills over into at least half-a-dozen genres of music, is simply too broad for most A&R types to make sense of.
So, with the release of their latest album, “Mission Statement,” Bayonics made the choice to use online “crowd sourcing,” so fans could directly donate money to the project.
Vargas said the decision was made, in part, as a response to demand from fans; it had been four years since the last Bayonics release and fans were hungry for more.
The crowd sourcing site also created an opportunity for fans to communicate with the band and see what they were up to.
“We were introduced to [crowd sourcing] over the spring,” Vargas said. “At first it seemed a little fishy, some of the guys were a little uncomfortable with it. But we decided to go for it anyway.”
Vargas sees crowd-sourcing as an important resource for independent musicians.
“It allows indie bands to do what they gotta do, to get their music out to the people,” he said.
Another challenge for the band has been Vargas’ ailing health; due to a degenerative eye disease, Vargas’ vision has declined over the past few years, to the point where he is now legally blind. This has forced some reorganization in the roles of various band members.
“There was this whole transitional period where it became stagnant; morale went down, it was like ‘what are we going to do?’” Vargas said. “But members in the crew stepped up to handle the logistical parts.”
Vargas says the ordeal has actually strengthened ties in the band and led to a more egalitarian creative process.
“It’s very democratic,” he said. “When you got five, six producers in the crew, guys just bring in tracks they’ve been working on and then emcees just flow right over top.”
According to Vargas the new album is the band’s most fully realized collection of songs to date, giving the title “Mission Statement” an added dimension of meaning.
“Mission Statement” is now available in stores and you can catch Bayonics perform as part of the Bay Vibes festival on Sept. 29 at Café Cocomo 650 Indiana St.