The Alchemist, March 30, 2010, Volume 3, Number 
117
2009 Alchy Award Winner – Best Local Band: Sar Shalom
The reggae band Sar Shalom is relatively new on the Corvallis music scene, but the group is packed with local talent and really good at keeping things moving. That must be why you chose them for an Alchy Award for Best Local Band last year.
“We’ve really only been around for a little over a year now,” said lead singer and rhythm guitarist Santino Cadiz.
Originally the group started as a trio with Cadiz, Brad Burnheimer on drums and Aarron Wootton on bass. Both Burnheimer and Wootton have been playing with local bands for some time, including last years Best Acoustic Performer Jenna Summer Smith. Burnheimer is also a former player in the Willamette Valley band The Crescendo Show, and Wootton also plays in Corvallis band Kaddy Wampus.
“I’ve been in Corvallis like two years now,” Cadiz added.
Most recently hailing from Eugene, Cadiz didn’t even pick up a guitar until he was 22 year old. Nowadays, after over a decade of playing music, he’s on his third album, has his own solo act going, and is going to school for independent film.
Since the original inception Sar Shalom has added several members. Ed Propst, a trombonist and keyboard player who played in the Badfish Band and Kaddy Wampus, joined the ranks. As did lead guitarist Luke Thomas, a nominee for 2009 Best Electric Performer who is a veteran of the Southtown Hounds and has played with Propst before. The sixth member of the band is saxophonist Peter W.A.
“The veteran of the band, the Yoda of the group,” Cadiz said of W.A., “Much respect for him musically.”
Cadiz sounds humble, but it may not be that hard considering the depth of the music backgrounds his band mates have. Two of them teach music; Wootton builds guitars even.
“I don’t have an extensive knowledge of [music] theory but everybody else does,” Cadiz said.
Each members talent and experience must have mixed well from the start because the band already had it’s first album on iTunes in September, after only about half a year together.
“Now that we’ve got that base we’re collaborating more together,” Cadiz commented.
Sar Shalom enjoys playing hip-hop, jazz and blues, but has really come to be a reggae band. The music is slow and wanders, and listening is good fun. Most of the song lyrics are originals by Cadiz, and contain traditional reggae roles and values.
“A lot of times the music we play has those underlying themes in there – though the rest of the band doesn’t subscribe to those beliefs,” Cadiz said.
That’s not to say the others don’t believe in good wishes on top of good music. The name alone testifies to the opposite: Sar Shalom is Hebrew for Prince of Peace.
“The cool thing is the word shalom, peace, typically means absence of conflict. It also means to be whole, to be complete. So a little bit more than absence of conflict,” Cadiz explained.
The band is currently on break to occasion guitarist Luke Thomas’ wedding, but is eager to get back to playing soon. Besides several shows coming up, they also want to get back to recording.
“We’ve already got enough songs to record our next album,” Cadiz said, “We kind of rushed to record this first album to have something to show people, so we want to go spend time in a studio and work on a single.”
This is happy news for fans Sar Shalom has made up and down the valley. The band has played shows in Eugene and Portland, as well as last years “Reggae on the Mountain” festival and local Bradstock event. This year they are confirmed to play at the local May Day festival, and are waiting to hear back from the Oregon Country Fair. In Corvallis there are many venues they are likely to return to, including Bombs Away Cafe and Cloud 9.
“We have a pretty committed fan base. They’ll drive all the way out to Eugene to see us,” Cadiz said, “A pretty big crowd came out to Calapooia [Brewing].”
This April you can catch Sar Shalom in town at Fireworks on the 24th, or head out to Summit, Oregon on the 17th for Clinton’s Annual 420 Party. At www.sarshalomband.com you can keep tabs on the band’s shows and recording, and members usually post info on their other projects, too.
~Robin Canfield
