Typically, a band that has only been together for a year doesn't have a whole lot to offer in the way of history but INNASTATE is a band with a past. The band's founder ADRIAN WALL - a world renowned Jemez Pueblo sculptor -  first flexed his musical muscle as the bass player of the band RED EARTH. During RED EARTH's tenure the band in almost single-handedly electrified their local Albuquerque scene and even generated a buzz throughout Indian Country with a sound that combined the groove of reggae and ska with the alternative rock posturing that was all the rage in the mid to late-nineties. After spending years away from music making WALL teamed with bassist and co-songwriter RYLAN KABOTIE and drummer LAWRENCE BAILON to form INNASTATE and the results of their labor in the studio can be heard on their self-titled EP. Not surprisingly WALL's inclination for that irresistible reggae groove is still as strong as ever but it's tempered by lyrics that are reflective and a delivery that is more earnest than RED EARTH's war whoop. JIR ANDERSON on lead guitar adds a roots rock touch to this very promising debut.

ROCKWIRED had a chance to speak with ADRIAN WALL regarding the bands debut EP. Here is how the interview went.

INNASTATE'S self titled debut EP is here right now isn't it?
It'll be here this week.

So talk what's all going through you head with this new music that is about to get it's big release.
I think we're most excited about getting this thing out into the world. We've been playing a lot live to some small audiences here and there but right now we're really looking forward to sharing these songs with the greater community of reggae and rock fans. And music fans in general.

And talk the evolution of this project. How did it all get off the ground. I remember you from the band RED EARTH and it's been a while since there ha been any significant output from them. How did this new project get started?
It's been a few years in the making. It kind of emerged from out of a group that I was with called TWIN RIVERS and my friend ED KABOTIE and his son RYLAN KABOTIE played with me in that band. Late in life I decided to go to college and while I was there I didn't play any music. I just concentrated on studying but that last semester of school I was like "I need to start playing again!" I called up RYLAN - the young man from TWIN RIVERS - and I asked him if he was interested in doing some music. So we started writing and a month or so later we brought in a drummer and we worked all summer long and booked some shows for the following fall and that was how it started. I've always had this desire to play reggae music and with this project it's just worked out really well. RYLAN's influences are a lot broader than mine. He's a collector of music and he has a broad range of influences and I think he is a rocker at heart with a love for reggae and I think that influence comes through in our music as well.

And I'm not trying to say anything with this next question but I've seen a picture of you guys and it looks like the makeup of that band is pretty pan-generational.
Absolutely. RYLAN is twenty-one years old. I'm forty-five and the guitar player we have now is around forty years old. The music transcends all of that. My role in this band - with all of the experience that I've had in other bands like RED EARTH and TWIN RIVERS - is that i can be a coach for these guys in some ways. as far as the business model for the band and how to promote. I've pretty much taught them everything i know and they are up and running with it at this point. It's kind of neat to be able to share the stage with such youthful energy. It reminds me of when I firs started playing music when there were no rules and anything went. I really missed that. Sometimes I've played with very mature musicians and there are so many rules and it sucks a lot of the fun out of it. But INNASTATE is a lot of fun because of the youthful energy and that approach to making music where it's about being in the moment and creating fun and meaningful music.

We're living in an age where the EP is a legitimate release. For a long time an EP didn't get you anywhere but nowadays it's the preferred mode of getting the music out there so with that being said is this new EP a standalone release or is it a sampling of a larger album to come?
That's a hard question to answer. This here is the music that we started with. These were the firs songs that we developed over the last year The band is only a year old basically. We started playing last February and now it's April. Our goal is put together a bigger collection of music to share but we really needed to put something out there that was well done. And you're right! I think the way the world works today with the internet access and deadlines it seems like music comes and goes pretty quickly these days. We do see a lot of shorter collections of music because of that. It's also more affordable to release a five or six song EP but our goal is to get into the recording studio by Fall and record at least a twelve song collection. We have the music. It's just a question of getting it together.

Who helped put this EP together for you guys?
It's pretty much self-produced. We took a very interesting approach to recording this one. We actually went into my home studio and recorded everything and worked out all of the kinks and got everything tight and then we went into FROGVILLE STUDIOS in Santa Fe. BILL PALMER definitely helped us in producing the album with his ideas and his outboard gear. He helped us quite a bit but as far as the songwriting is concerned - that was all INNASTATE. RYLAN is the bassist in the band and kind of served at the executive producer of the project. He put it all together and made sure that everything was buttoned up for us. Working with BILL PALMER was an amazing experience for us. We really wanted to put out a really good recording and we felt it was very important to present the band's professionalism and really show people what we could do. We're not beyond asking for help. We're really happy that we used BILL.

Describe the songwriting process between you and RYLAN. How do you guys go about it?
We definitely have a unique way of working. Sometimes I'll write song and work it out and then present it tot the band. RYLAN's approach is similar. He's more of an idea guy. He'll bring in an idea and we'll work it out as a band in the rehearsal studio. I try to go for more of a complete idea before I bring it forward to to the band. We work things out in a lot of different ways. For the most part we just hash things out in a rehearsal studio once we have the ideas. We're not the kind of band that writes a song every ten minutes. One of the things that we try to do as much as possible is get into the home studio and record everything and figure out what's working and what's not working. We're also always rehashing songs. We've got some songs that we started with that we are just starting to revisit now.

And talk about what got you into music making in the first place.
When I was growing up there were no musicians in my family but I've always been attracted to music. I remember being fourteen and getting my first guitar and learning some BEATLES songs. It was a great experience but I didn't really have any guidance. It wasn't until I met RYLAN's father ED KABOTIE. He's a drummer and we meshed and I started playing bass with him. That was where i learned the importance of practicing and taking things more seriously and that if you want to get somewhere you really have to work hard. ED really taught me how to get form point A to point B as a musician. Once I had that foundation I just started writing. Those early RED EARTH days were like free-for-all jam sessions. If you listen to the early RED EARTH stuff it's a little bit of everything. There were no rules so we could do whatever we wanted to do. Having those tools that ED gave me allowed me to express myself. I'm a creative person. I'm a professional artist. I'm a sculptor, jeweler and I work across several materials and mediums and one of them is music.

And so far how is this experience with INNASTATE different from the RED EARTH experience?
It's definitely very different. I have a lot more experience now as far as marketing and as far as what I want personally out of the band. I'm older now and I have this other life. It feels like I can take things a little slower now and take my time and do things right like we did with this new EP. Working with younger peoples in the band is also very different. There is a different dynamics involved. It's very exciting for me and I'm learning so much from these younger people and the music that they're in to. The things that are influencing the younger generation are really amazing. I'm learning a lot form the whole experience. I still get to hang out with RED EARTH guys. As a matter of fact we're doing a reunion concert this Friday. That band is twenty years old now if you can believe it. We all grew up together but eventually we all went our separate ways. It's been five years since we've played. The dynamics of the two bands are very different. Every band is different. They're just relationships with other musicians is what they are.

Once this EP is out there What do you hope that someone comes away with after hearing it?
I'm hoping that people realize our potential. Like I said this is just an EP and this is just the beginning for us I believe. We have a lot of potential and already people are realizing that something is happening with us. We are booking shows like crazy and out Summer is really filling up. We're trying to be smart about it and pick and choose our battles and not just play anything that comes our way. We've been fortunate to have opened for some National acts. We've done four this month already. I really want people to listen to this EP and really listen to the songs. I think we have some very strong songs. As a live band we're pretty dynamic too. Granted our sound is based in reggae its' not you basic roots reggae. We have a lot of influences that come from the rock vein. It's really good music. And I hope that people enjoy it.


CHECK OUT THE PODCAST AT:
http://www.rockwired.com/rockisred/rockisred5.mp3

CHECK OUT iNNASTATE AT:
https://www.facebook.com/Innastateband/timeline