Brown rice is a culinary staple that does a body good. It was a belief in this "vital food," especially among Rastafarians, that gave the eight-piece Brown Rice Family its name. In fact, when asked how his group tries to psyche up a crowd, percussionist Yuichi Iida simply says, "It's Brown Rice: high-fiber music."
Brown Rice Family takes pride in getting its audience moving, whether its at a show in Tokyo or on the beaches of Kanagawa Prefecture. This weekend, though, it will take its Latin, dancehall and ska-infused sound to the Windblow Festival at Sagara Seaside Park in Shizuoka.
"We try to involve the crowds," Iida says. "We have dancers who go into the audience, and we also pull people from the crowd and dance with them on stage."