Dope Soda

Thirsty for music that is both dangerous and danceable, refreshing as a mojito and as eye-opening as a whiskey sour? A cocktail party mix of reggae, punk rock, jazz, hiphop, and ska? This is DopeSoda.

Dope Soda formed in late 2011, a fresh concoction of six of the top jazz, rock, and Jamaican-music-inspired musicians from Vancouver Island, with frequent appearances in acts such as Current Swell, Jon & Roy, and Lovecoast. The band is led by a three-piece horn section with roots in the highly-regarded Vancouver Island University Jazz Department, buoyed by a funky rhythm section that serves up sips of bubbling Hammonds and Wurlitzers, shots of distorted guitar, and heavy bass–in your face.

Dope Soda jumps back and forth between reggae jams, punk-rock assaults, happy ska romps, and hip-hop throw-downs– a thirst quencher for audiences who need good rhymes and good times. Dope Soda’s 1st full-length, “Carbonation,” features a 12-pack of ska-punk-jazz-pop tunes (best paired with a West Coast IPA). It’s carbonated party fuel; a beer-in-cheek look at video games, hallucinations, bar brawls, unsettled relationships, and the trials and tribulations of wearing an eye patch. Recorded in Nanaimo, B.C. and produced by a team of dancing rabbits. Drink up!