Twenty-three years of trying to
get their musical vibes known
in a Calypso/Soca music-infested
environment has not been easy.
Still, through sheer determination
and will, Inner Visions has finally
surfaced internationally to become
one of the most sought after reggae
bands over the last decade. In
1995, after release of their first
CD, Love One Another, the question
was asked, “Where have you
guys been? You are the Virgin
Islands’ best kept secret!
The band has struggled from the
beginning. Living on St. John,
one of the U.S. Virgin Islands
and a beautiful nineteen square
mile Island in the northeastern
Caribbean, has had its pluses
and its drawbacks. Being so far
from everything and not having
the resources to record without
extensive traveling abroad, Inner
Visions built a reputation for
being the band to see while visiting
St. John. They managed to gain
a fan base that would envy some
of the most well known groups
anywhere. Over the course of time,
they have come to realize that
they did not lose anything over
the years by remaining stagnant.
Instead they have seen where their
labor of love has paid off. On
their 2003 stateside tour, die-hard
fans traveled for miles crisscrossing
the United States just to see
them perform. Of the fifty performances
delivered, there were always folks
present who had seen them at one
time or another.
After several years the collaboration
with Radiant Enterprises, USA
booking agency, has been very
fruitful taking them from Tampa
to Vermont, New York to California,
Texas, Colorado, Chicago, Nashville,
Boston and Maine, just to name
a few of the places they have
performed. Still it was at a very
small but wonderful club by the
name of Club Helsinki in Great
Barrington, Massachusetts that
the band realized they had arrived.
Again folks traveled for many
miles to see the band. Although
this in itself was impressive,
it was the poster on the marquee
that said it all - “Performing
here tonight is Inner Visions
‘A Secret No More’!”
To round off a wonderful six
months, the gigs culminated with
a four-day stint at Universal
Studios’ Club Bob Marley
- A Tribute to Freedom in Orlando,
Florida. Today Inner Visions is
poised to take the world by storm.
Just a mention of their recorded
music brings smiles to their adoring
fans everywhere. The quality of
each of their productions speaks
for itself. “We spare no
funding when it comes to recordings.
When we get old and gray, we’d
like to be proud of the legacy
we will be leaving behind. It
sometimes takes us years to create
a new product but it’s always
done with the highest level of
Grammy Award-winning sound. This
is why we only have three CD’s
and one single in circulation
since our first recording in 1995,”
says Grasshopper, band leader.
In times like these when everyone
can make a CD at home, it sure
is nice to find that quality still
matters to this group of “Street
Corner Musicians”!
Inner Visions is: Phillip “Grasshopper”
Pickering……….Guitar/Lead
Vocals
Paul “Ras Paul” Samms…………………………………..Percussion/Lead
Vocals
Alvin “Jupiter” Pickering…………………………………Bass/Drum
Programs/Vocals
The Players are: Leroy “Spikie”Guiste
…………………
Keyboards/Vocals
Akiba Pickering ..……………………
... … … … …
… Keyboards
Aswad Pickering………………………………………….Drums
Amazingly, on their 2003 USA
tour, it was Aswad and Akiba Pickering
that stole the show. Barely performing
more than a couple of months at
the tours’ inception, their
delivery was a testament to their
hard work and the knowledge their
father imparted to them. They
are the sons of Grasshopper who,
on the road, spoke first hand
of the responsibility of men to
take more of a direct approach
to supporting their offspring.
So, take the plunge, “ride
the waves,” and be inspired.
But most of all get ready to meet
the most wonderful group of musicians
to have surfaced in a very long
time. “They are simply marvelous!
They are filled with so much love,
it’s contagious! They’ve
got that “Inner Visions!”
http://www.innervisionsreggae.com
