Sink or Swim on Seattle Ave

Sink or Swim is both a great name and an exceedingly talented new band. Particularly being brand new, sink or swim is really the only thing a band can try to do in today's music scene. And with what these guys have to offer, they are most definitely set up to swim.

With Frank Arcega, aka The Boss Demus, on guitar and vocals, Sam Thorkildsen, aka Lbo, on bass and Robert Croot, aka Jahnny Bones, on drums, Sink or Swim plays a highly skilled set of reggae dub rock music that is both fun and mesmerizing. The band is heavily influenced by bands like Sublime and 311, but they are not a sound-alike by any means. More and more musical influences creep into their music all the time and sometimes when you least expect it. There are bits of punk, ska, surf, hip-hop, rock and even an occasional dance hall break thrown in for good measure. Each of the members has a diverse musical background and each adds sounds from their personal influences to create an all-inclusive reggae-based sound.

Sink or Swim played their first show on May 16, 2009, however the members have been playing together and composing songs for almost a year. In fact, these guys have all known each other for around 10 years, having worked at Guitar Center together years ago. They have tried to coordinate on a few projects in the past, but the timing was never quite right. Each of them played in other projects in the meantime. Frank had been doing some solo work as well as some collaborative work, but found himself at a standstill with his music. He wanted to get back into doing something original and creative, as well as create a band with the true heart of music behind it. He wanted to remember why he was doing this in the first place, which was for the love of the music and not take everything so seriously.

Sink or Swim has something both unique to the Seattle music scene and highly enjoyable to its audience. Although it's easy to say they fit into the genre of reggae, or reggae-dub-rock, this band has so much talent and creativity backing it that it never gets boring. They are currently working on their first EP, which they are hoping to release in October of this year. You can catch them live on Oct. 16 at The Jet in Mill Creek with Project Lionheart and Publish the Quest. For information on Sink or Swim and upcoming shows, go to www.sinkorswimmusic.com, www.myspace.com/sinkorswimseattle, or find them on Facebook.