Jacob Bain & PUBLISH THE QUEST

JACOB BAIN & PUBLISH THE QUEST/Then What!?: Sort of a later day, multi culti follow up to Les McCann's "Compared to What?", this world beat political diatribe brings in everyone from Kuti to Matt Chamberlain to Radioactive for a super mosh of salsa, hip hop, reggae, Arfopop and everything else but Guy Lombardo. High octane stuff that has appropriately sprung from the old hippie enclave of Vachon Island outside Seattle, this is what happens when you realize grunge is kid stuff. This sounds like the soundtrack for Occupy Your Head. Utterly wild and world wise. - CHRIS SPECTOR

The Seattle-based band, Jacob Bain & The Publish Quest, incorporates a plethora of Afro-beat elements and folk/rock/alternative leanings. There are rap vocals on "Gotta Keep Movin!" and "I Believe People Can Change." Femi Kuti lends some vocals on the title track, "Then What!?." There are great guitar jams here with some jazz, fusion, and rock influences. However, the entire album is relatively light overall. For instance, the rap vocals are not particularly hard or difficult to understand. A mix of instrumentation provides an enjoyable listening experience, even though there are some rap vocals. You will hear congas, trumpet, acoustic guitar, viola, violin, bass, tenor sax, alto sax, baritone sax, keyboards, electric guitar, and classical guitar. The Dave Matthews Band comes to mind at times. "Then What!?," "Gotta Keep Movin!," "The Wall," and "When It Comes" are recommended tracks. There is an urban element to the abovementioned tracks, but there is plenty of room for alternative pop and fusion. Whatever it is called, Then What!? is something that everyone should possess and play. ~ Matthew Forss - Matthew Forss

USA based musical group Publish The Quest has given all of us here at Pakare Paye Arts Centre a huge smile with an unprecedented gift of an assortment of musical instruments...

Off the stage, Publish The Quest has a strong mission of social responsibility. The group has become an integral part of Learn Africa, a project founded by the band's manager, Johnny Fernandes.
Registered in the U.S.A. as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, Learn Africa works with established programs to provide resources for Arts Education in Africa. Through the initiative's ongoing instrument collection, Learn Africa has to date donated musical instruments to a school in Cape Verde, to Pakare Paye and to children in Hatcliffe, outside Harare. In Zimbabwe, it is in the process of establishing music lessons for children in Hatcliffe and at Emerald Hill Children's Home. The classes will be taught by musicians from Pakare Paye. - Tuku Music

Publish the Quest, a band with deep Vashon roots that has made a name for itself worldwide as both a musical and philanthropic force, is coming home to Vashon this weekend after several whirlwind trips around the world.

Jacob Bain, frontman for the group and also a founder of the all-Islander ensemble Trolls Cottage, grew up on Vashon and lives here now. The group plays an energetic and danceable mix of blues, rock, ska and world pop.

A passion for social and musical outreach has taken the group around the globe. Working with a nonprofit called Learn Africa, Publish the Quest has made several recent trips to Cape Verde, Zimbabwe, Mali, Poland, Portugal and Spain, where band members have played in festivals and music halls, recorded with local artists, and conducted music workshops and jam sessions with under-privileged children. On their most recent trip to Zimbabwe, this summer, the band brought along a trove of donated instruments and soccer balls to give to kids in Harare and Hatcliffe Extension, a slum just outside the city.

An impressive roster of international stars has collaborated with the band — Femi Kuti, Nneka Lucia Egbuna, Matt Chamberlain, Eyvind Kang, Radioactive, Oliver Mtukudzi and Vieux Farka Touré have joined forces with the group on recordings and in concert. A recent single, "Sodade," was recorded with Cape Verdean vocalist Laise Sanches, with all proceeds from the sale of the song going to benefit the cause of arts education in Africa.

Bain said he has found great inspiration in working with kids and musicians in Africa — people he said had "an insatiable appetite for music." To share the healing aspects of music with children in Africa, he said, has been a joy.

Publish the Quest’s latest album is called "Then What!?", and Bain said he is currently working on a new album as well as a short film that will document the band’s work in Africa.
- The Vashon Loop