The Ithaca music scene is a diverse, vibrant world that has rocked and rolled as the years have gone by.  While I was growing up, I listened to Ithaca musicians play out at the local hot spots.  I remember distinctly seeing my first Tribulations show (reformed later as John Brown's Body) at the Haunt, where Elliot Martin and Kevin Kinsella seemed to have Ithaca wrapped around their fingers.  Donna the Buffalo have been on the scene for years with their electric folk fusion, moving and shaking Tompkins county festivals.   Jennie Stearns broke hearts with her easy going soft tunes that spoke from the soul.  Johnny Dowd, the Lost Sailors, the Horseflies—and dozens of others you can still catch jamming out to a loyal Ithacan following. 

      Some of the names have changed in the 13 years since that first show I saw at the Haunt and the music has developed since then. The Sim Redmond Band is now reining champ, according to Best of Ithaca polls, with their jam band nature and beautiful lyrics that you can practice your Ithaca twist or—simply—fall in love staring into your girlfriend's eyes. 

If you were to attempt to "define" the Ithaca music scene in one word, I would stake my writing career on the word being:  "positive."  Donna the Buffalo wrote a song years ago called "Me and Depression" which is more of a jaunt into the hilarity of dealing with depression than homage to going softly into that good night.  You can bet that the tectonic plates of Ithaca will have shifted the minute Sim Redmond starts writing lyrics about cold winters and staring down the barrel of a gun.

      The latest band to climb into Ithaca's music scene that pushes a positive, inspirational message of community is none other than Thousands of One.  They have an eclectic, worldly sound that reaches into the pit of our consciousness and spins you through political messages.  Yet, they aren't simply a political band.  Yet, they aren't a jam band. To see Thousands of One live is more than just a show they are an experience.  Their energy is contagious, their music catchy.  Rather than make political messages such as Rage Against the Machine, or rant against the system, like Public Enemy, Thousands of One educates, and feeds you beautiful arrangements, harmonies and soul driven music that has a message.  With songs like "King Amplified" "Babylon" and "Soul Force" their song names seem heavy but their sound is light, catchy and easy to dance to.

      Formed by Joel Blizzard and Jakeem Haltom the band started as a fusion of passions that the two men had to create a band that would be inspired by the educational and self-empowerment of early rap music.  They developed with the help of JBB front man, Eliot Martin who produced their first self-titled LP.  They define themselves as a soul band, yet they have influences of the reggae of Bob Marley and Burning Spear, the hip-hop of Common and Talib Kawli and the Rock/Funk train of a Red Hot Chili Peppers and George Clinton.  Thousands of One falls into that "soul" genre by their own definition, but to this writer, they are simply damn good Ithaca music and have emerged taking the Ithaca music scene to new levels. 

They are articulate, poised and impassioned when you speak to them.  When I asked the two men about their message, Haltom had this to say, "Our message is simple… our message is local, what do we see in our community?  We see racism. We see the fact that people are reaching towards sustainability buy can't reach it… why because they're not seeing racism.  So we have to put the goal of sustainability aside until we deal with racism as a community, it's a local message.  That's what we're aiming at."  It was evident from speaking to them that they had spoken for hours about their social political thoughts and developed a strong bond. "Fighting racism is central to the future of Thousands of one," Blizzard told me, "It's central to history of America, and has been used as a tool to divide communities.  And that's where we're going for our community here." It was easy for Haltom to finish Blizzard's sentences as he picked up where he left off saying, "You ask where we're going… we're going where Ithaca is going, we believe in this community.  I don't believe in America. I have no faith in America anymore. Ithaca has set out a lot of ideals, I've seen it I've experienced it—where you're at Ithaca, that's where we're at."

      I caught them at Castaways two weeks ago, local fans were abundant, despite the pouring cold rain outside.  It was warm inside and clothes peeled off and the crowd was ready from the warm up.  As they took the stage Haltom dedicated the night in solidarity to Ameila Kierney fight against the ICSD. 

When you go to a Thousands of One show you have to move, it's obligatory.  You can't sit still watching them play.  At one point during the show I heard the chords of George Clinton in When I Met You and in the next song they transitioned into, Babylon, almost sounded like Coldplay, but well, funky Coldplay. As soon as the band began to play, which totals eight active members, the crowd began to bob and twist as if electricity shot through the crowd.  When the band played the song "Dig Deeper" it seemed as if the entire band moved along in unison with the crowd, which I should mention is one of my favorite tracks.   Along with "Dig Deeper" I have to say their piece, "Revolution" is truly beautiful and has Mark Wienand plays an amazing stand out saxophone.