Interview: Sean Rawls of Still Flyin'

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When former Masters of the Hemisphere vocalist and songwriter Sean Rawls left Athens for the Bay Area, he founded Still Flyin', which began as a 14-piece+ white reggae band. Over the years Rawls has tamed the Reggae urge with a bit more of a dance floor pop sound that comes to fruition on their debut full-length, Never Gonna Touch the Ground. Through it all the group has undergone a serious transformation without ever taking them selves too seriously. HAMMJAMM is their credo, and freewheeling eclecticism combined with infectious rhythms that keep the party moving is the band's way of life.-

Chad Radford:  How have you been? We haven't spoken since the last Master of the Hemisphere reunion back in 2006.-

Sean Rawls:  Pretty good, man. The Masters are playing again on Friday at Caledonia in Athens...-

I wanted to ask what this Owl Hootenanny is all about.-

We were on Kindercore Records out of Athens and one of the guys who used to run that label, Ryan Lewis works for Owl Scooters now and he's putting on a big festival show/party thing that is Kindercore and Owl Scooters together. He wanted Still Flyin' and the Masters to play, so we're doing it for our buddy.-

The last time I saw Still Flyin' play was a few years ago. You were a 14-piece reggae band back then, but that seems to have changed.-

Yeah it's a little different. We started out as a reggae joke band but then it got kind of serious because we liked it so much. Now it's more pop music. Our first album came out last spring and it's more like dancey, rhythmic music. We call ourselves party music, I guess. There's a lot less reggae going on with us now, but it's still there.-

Still Flyin', Peelander-Z and Excalibrah play the Earl on Sun., Sept. 20. $10. 8 p.m. 404-522-3950.