Iration

Iration is a pop/reggae group from Santa Barbara, California. All members originally hail from Hawaii. They play a mix of reggae, dub, pop and rock. The group is one of the leading bands in the genre of sunshine reggae.[2]

Iration
Iration performing in Eugene, Oregon on February 21, 2016.
Background information
Origin	Santa Barbara, California, United States
Genres	Reggae, dub, reggae rock[1]
Years active	2004–present
Website	http://irationmusic.com
Members	Joseph "the D" Dickens Adam Taylor Cayson Peterson Micah Pueschel Micah Brown Jason Petruso
Past members	Catlin Peterson Kai Rediske Joseph King

History

Iration began in Isla Vista, an unincorporated community connected to UC Santa Barbara, playing reggae covers in college towns such as Cal Poly SLO, Chico State, and UC Davis. They recorded an EP, New Roots, in 2006, and built a reputation for their live performance, according to the Santa Barbara Independent: "There's something to be said for any band that can capture the undivided attention of a crowd full of drunken Isla Vistans, especially when there are kegs to be tapped and cops to avoid. But roots reggae rockers Iration manage to 'do it' on a regular basis."[3]

In 2007, they recorded and released their first full-length album, No Time for Rest, which topped the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart,[4] and a single, "Cookie Jar", reached number one in Hawaii on 93.9 DaBeat and was featured on Fuel TV’s Triple Crown of Surfing recap. In 2008, Iration embarked on their first national tour, opening for Pepper.

On October 3, 2008, Iration released their second EP, Sample This, which debuted as the No. 3 top-selling reggae album world-wide on iTunes. They released their second album, Time Bomb, in March 2010, which also topped the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart and sold over 36,000 copies.[4]

In the week of February 19, 2011, Iration's third EP, Fresh Grounds, hit No. 147 on the "Billboard" magazine's Albums list.[5] They were featured as No. 1 on the magazine's Heatseekers albums list for the week of February 19, 2011[6]

Lead singer Micah Pueschel performing in Eugene, Oregon on February 21, 2016

In early 2013, after extensive U.S. touring Iration announced they had finished recording a new full length album titled Automatic The album was released in July 2013, sold more than 8,000 copies in its first week of release, and topped the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart.[4] Cage The Elephant guitarist Lincoln Parish is featured on numerous songs, as well as helping produce the upcoming album.

On April 5, 2013, Iration announced that vocalist Kai Rediske had quit the band, leaving Micah Pueschel as the only vocalist/guitarist left in the group. While Iration's official announcement of this via their own website stated Kai left to "pursue other interests", many fans have speculated that the departure was the result of tension within the group due to having two lead vocalists. People that have knowledge of the group dynamic have also stated that Kai's upcoming marriage, and unwillingness to be a part of extensive future touring as a result also played a factor. On April 8, 2013, ThePier.org reported Iration has maintained that the upcoming Automatic album and all future shows would not be affected by Kai's departure.

The band's fourth album, Hotting Up, just as the first three had, topped the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.[7]

On March 09, 2020, the band announced their seventh studio album, titled Coastin', alongside a promotional tour in the "Coastin' Summer Tour," set to feature roots reggae artist Tribal Seeds[8]. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, however, they were forced to postpone the tour.

Members

• Cayson Peterson – keyboards (2004–present)
• Joseph Dickens – drums (2004–present)
• Adam Taylor – bass (2004–present)
• Micah Pueschel (The Rainbow Road Warrior[9]) – guitar, vocals (2004–present)
• Micah Brown – lead guitar, vocals (2014–present)
• Drake Peterson – percussion, trumpet (2017–present)

Former members

• Kai Rediske – vocals, percussion
• Catlin Peterson – vocals, guitars
• Joseph King – dub controls, live sound

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions			Sales
		US [10]	US Reggae [11]	US Indie [12]
No Time for Rest	Release date: June 19, 2007 Label: Self-release Formats: CD, Digital	—	1	—
Time Bomb	Release date: March 9, 2010 Label: LAW Formats: CD, LP, Digital	—	1	—
Automatic	Release date: July 2, 2013 Label: 3 Prong Formats: CD, LP, Digital	75	1	16	US: 23,000[13]
Hotting Up	Release date: August 28, 2015 Label: 3 Prong Formats: CD, LP, Digital	79	1	5
Double Up	Release date: December 2, 2016 Label: 3 Prong Formats: CD, Digital	—	2	—
Iration	Release date: May 18, 2018 Label: 3 Prong Formats: CD, LP, Digital	199	2	14
Coastin'	Release date: July 10, 2020 Label: 3 Prong Formats: CD, LP, Digital	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

EPs

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [10]	US Reggae [11]
New Roots	Release date: July 12, 2006 Label: New Roots Formats: CD, Digital	—	—
Sample This	Release date: October 3, 2008 Label: Michael Harlan Formats: Digital	—	—
Fresh Grounds	Release date: February 1, 2011 Label: 3 Prong Formats: Digital	147	3
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

• "Summer Nights" – August 17, 2010
• "Porcupine" – September 11, 2012[14]
• "Show Me" – June 24, 2014[15]
• "Reelin" – June, 2016
• "Fly With Me" – May 19, 2017
• "Borderlines" – August 11, 2017
• "Hit List" – January 19, 2018
• "Danger (feat. J Boog and Tyrone's Jacket)" – March 30, 2018
• "Chill Out" – June 28, 2019
• "Right Here, Right Now (feat. Eric Rachmany and Stick Figure)" – June 11, 2020
• "Move Forward" – June 17, 2020
• "Coastin'" – June 26, 2020

References

1. Jeffries, David. "Iration – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
2. "Locals Only Music Issue, Version 2.0". Locals Only. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
3. "Featured Bands Local Issue 2007". Featured Bands. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
4. Jackson, Kevin (2013) "Iration on Automatic", Jamaica Observer, July 26, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2013,
5. "Iration - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
6. "Heatseekers Albums: Up and Coming Musicians Chart | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
7. Jackson, Kevin (2015) "Iration ‘hot’ on Billboard", Jamaica Observer, September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015
8. "Coastin' 2020: New Album and Summer Tour", March 9, 2020. Retrieved July 12, 2020
9. Stephens, Erin. "Iration returns to Vinyl Music Hall". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
10. "Iration – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
11. "Iration – Reggae Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
12. "Iration – Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
13. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on September 17, 2015.
14. "Porcupine by Iration at ArtistDirect".
15. "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on June 20, 2014.

Caulfield, Keith. Billboard – The International Newsweekly of Music, Video and Home Entertainment125.27 (Jul 20, 2013): 44.