André Jebbinson, Staff Reporter

In2nation performs at the Port Royal Seafood Festival, in 2005.- Contributed

In2nation is a relatively young band, but it is causing quite a stir around the nation.

It was only five years ago when a group of professional men, headed by drummer and attorney-at-law, Ewan Simpson, came together to form the band. Over the years the number grew to the current 11. In2nation was formed as a backing band for recording group, To-Isis, but has now become a full show band.

It was formed with the intention for the members "to hone and utilise their collective creative and musical prowess". In musical terms, intonation is the pattern or melody of pitch changes or pitch pattern in an distinguishable manner. Now, despite dancehall's negative connotations to the numeral two, In2nation got creative by dropping the numeral into its name.

"We pride ourselves on being accurate musicians. Intonation is critical key to music and we just put a creative twist to the word," Simpson said.

High-powered gigs

Despite their busy nine-to-five lives, it turns out there is enough time to factor in a few high-powered gigs. Some of those include twosuccessive stints at the annual Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival (performing on the side stage in 2004 and graduating to the main stage in 2005), the Prime Minister's Independence Gala, Third World in Concert, and Unity Explosion.

The band was also backing and show band at the Port Royal Seafood Festival in November 2005, and backing band for over 50 acts on Sting, in 2005 and 2006. Most recently the band did the honours of backing several artistes on two separate nights of the 2006 renewal of Reggae Sunsplash. There In2nation supported the performances of artistes such as Kiprich, Professor Nuts and General trees, Lutan Fyah and the Kingston Ladies.

Ewan Simpson, who is referred to as "the man who wears many hats", may be described as a 'young veteran' in the entertainment arena who boasts musical as well as technical skills. An attorney by day, he is also an experienced lighting and sound technician, as well as a talented and proficient composer, arranger, producer and percussionist. Simpson is a former president of the University Singers, currently serves as musical adjudicator for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), and has been musical director for To-Isis, the National Youth choir and the Taylor Hall Chorale. He has toured extensively as an instrumentalist and vocalist.

Other members of In2nation are Djenne Greaves, a physics teacher who sits around the keyboard, and Lamont Savoury, who plays the guitar. The latter is a graduate of the Jamaica School of Music and is the baby of the band whose expertise has earned him the name young Ernie Ranglin".

Othneil Halliburt, another guitarist, has played with most of Jamaica's foremost reggae musicians.

Bass player Davol Fletcher is also a graduate of the Jamaica School of Music. He has performed with various artistes, including Ritchie Spice, Chuck Fender and Anthony Cruz. He is also a very seasoned musician on the jazz and cabaret circuits. Ian Hird (saxophone and flute) is a musician and a teacher of music by profession.

Samuel 'Sammy' Grant plays the trumpet and is perhaps best known as the energetic trumpeter from Fab. Five Inc.. He has also worked with Lloyd Parkes and We The People band.

Everton Pessoa, trombonist, teaches drumming and Music Education at the Jamaica School of Music. He also performs with Burning Spear and is a member of the Bare Essentials Band. Shawna-Gae Turner, Andrew Casanova and Boltar Solomon are the three voalists. Solomon also plays the guitar.

The band is usually well received when they perform but the members at times must deal with clients who lament at their rates. With a basic fee of about $150,000, Simpson said based on the make-up the band, it would be difficult to charge any less.

"We are by no means the most expensive band in Jamaica and I won't you we're the cheapest either. You have members who have gone on tour and are still touring with the best," he said

Apart from that, each member has over seven year's experience in the business and they should be fairly compensated for that. But that will not stop them from enjoying what they do. The good moments have come and they are looking for more.

"We want people to be able to appreciate clean, authentic music," Simpson said.

With that in mind, he was quite particular about who he invited to join the group, as it was important to have members with complementary tastes in music. There is no weed-smoking or alcohol abuse in In2nation and Simpson said this prevents one member from throwing off the vibe of the band at any given time. When they get together for rehearsal two to three times for the week, it is all about music.

"Music should challenge your head space and not just your body," Simpson said.