Inna Sense

About

Jimi Dred (lead vocals, keyboards), Prince Patrick (lead vocals, DJ), Icardo Richards (bass and vocals), Junior Richards (drums and vocals), Stevie Marco (Guitar). In 1987, using Philadelphia as a base, the band developed a nationwide following touring from California to New York with plenty of stops in between with occasional trips back home to Miami. By the mid 90's, they had established themselves as the hottest act in Philadelphia and broke the international scene with tours to Jamaica and Europe. Their recording "Always Something There To Remind Me" hit #5 on the Hawaiian charts and was soon followed by "Let Your Love Flow", "No Matter What Your Color", and "Book Of Rules" from their 1998 self-titled release. Although they continued to tour, the majority of their time was spent at home where they rocked SOBE crowds 5 nights a week on Ocean Drive at Mango's Tropical Cafe in Miami, Florida. Their third album "4:20 Rough" was released in 2000. In 2007 they released their fourth album titled "Anthology", which included the hit song "Top Of The Line". Through the rigors of touring, Inna Sense has not missed a beat since they started in 1987. Since 2007 Inna Sense has decided to transform their music with a new sound called "Rasta Rock". Playing for crowds up and down the east coast, the new genre has been a huge success. https://ourstage.com/profile/innasense INNA SENSE: A BRIEF HISTORY - by Peter McEvilley (aka Swee'Pea) Formed in Aug. 1990 by John Paul Graham A.K.A. Man Called Scratch. Jamaican student in Gainesville Scratch, who had played with a few college reggae bands at UNF moved to Miami to search for better opportunities to play and promote Reggae music. There he formed Inna Sense, which consisted of Scratch, Prince Patrick (Jamaican), Peter Swee Pea McEvilley (Cincinnatian living in Miami), Jimi Dred (brought down by Scratch from Gainesville, originally from Ocala, FL) and Harold heavyweight Estime (Haitian). The band, with two weeks of rehearsal under their belts, left for Belize, Central America, for a month long tours. Belizean friends of Scratch who were well connected with the Belizean government arranged the tour. The tour was celebrating Belize's 10th year of independence. Plane tickets, transportation, and the government provided accommodations. The band played in nearly every out of the way little spot in Belize and was extremely well received. Many areas they played had not ever seen a live band from another country. Riots started to break out twice when Inna Sense stopped and the band was forced to play until near daylight to keep everyone happy. But, enjoying the beautiful country and feeling the effects of the local rum CANE JUICE (also one of the tours sponsors), the boys were happy to oblige. Excited by the tour and exhausted, the band returned to Miami where they almost immediately began playing at Tropic's which is now the All-Star Cafe. Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday the band could be seen playing, always full of energy, enthusiasm, and always encouraging the audience to tune into the good vibe. In no time at all, Tropic's was packed to the brim with tourists and locals alike. It was a happening. Within a few months, Inna Sense was named the best Reggae band of Miami by the New Times. Now (1991) the band was working 8 shows a weeks from south beach to Ft. Lauderdale. They were building a great reputation and a large following. At this point Inna Sense started recording their first album United with legendary engineer/producer Karl Pitterson (Bob Marley, Steel Pulse). With new album in hand, the band decided to cash in their chips in Miami and hit the road. Using contacts they had met in Miami (mostly club owners from around the eastern US who, on vacation in Miami had said here is my card, call me if you guys ever want to play in....) The band began touring in up and down the East coast and Midwest. They built a nice following in cities like Cincinnati, Chicago, Grand Rapids Mich., Tampa, Washington DC and many others. During this period, because of exhaustion and minor differences, Man Called Scratch left to pursue a solo career. Immediately after their first tour, Inna Sense was offered a steady gig at a club they had played in Philly on tour. The club was KatManDu where they have played every summer since. After their first summer in Philly, the band decided to go west. They headed out to sunny Southern California. Here they met with local reggae promoter Roberto Angotti. Roberto was very instrumental in the careers of UB40 and Pato Banton. He had been out of the business for a while but decided to get back into it when he received Inna Sense's CD. He immediately took them under his wing (put them up in his house) and started booking them up and down the West coast. They played San Diego, L.A., Santa Barbara, San Jose and many others. At the end of the winter, the band headed back to Philly. Inna Sense has built a large following in Philadelphia where they eventually stayed for two and a half years (1995-1996). During this period, they spent much time learning the art of studio recording and worked on the initial ideas for there current self titled album. Also during this time, drummer Swee Pea, started his own record label, Swee Pea Records. The idea of the label being to give Inna Sense and other artists they had met on the road a home for their recorded music. Swee Pea records released Reggae Jam-1, a compilation of Inna Sense, Man Called Scratch, and friends. The album was not released in the mainland U.S although many copies were sold at shows. The album was, however, released in Hawaii where the label was able to set up a distribution deal. Coincidentally, the two songs on the album that received the most radio play were by Inna Sense and Man Called Scratch. Both acts have now released full-length albums in Hawaii where they are well known and are played on the largest stations (KCCN) in Hawaii. Inna Sense recently (October 1998) toured across the US mainland to California where they flew to Hawaii and played 5 shows on 3 different islands (Oahu, Hawaii, and Maui). Scratch was also on the shows, which was a nice addition and reminded the band of the early days at Tropic's on South Beach. The band was well received in Hawaii where they were special guest on the TV show Good Morning Honolulu (NBC affiliate) and did 7 different radio interviews. The album is selling well in Hawaii and will be released nationally on the mainland by Swee Pea Records (who are in the process of signing a distribution deal for the label) no later than this fall. Promoters in Hawaii are currently setting up shows for the band and Scratch for September of this year. Other highlights of the band¹s career include their trip to Europe where they played with Julian Lennon on a benefit for the Australian Rainforest. While there, they played for, met Prince Albert and Princess Stephanie, and stayed at Julian Lennon¹s house. Julian (or Jules as we like to call him) was a regular guest at all of their performances and was even seen late nights at a few afterhours clubs doing improvised acoustic sets with Peter Swee Pea McEvilley on the piano and Jimmy Dread backing him up on the vocals. Currently, the band resides in Miami where they are playing at Mango's and the Hungry Sailor and rapidly building a new following consisting of some fans from the old days and many new fans. They are planning lots of touring for the summer (including Hawaii) and are working on a new album. From https://web.archive.org/web/20000930041719/http://www.innasense.com/band_history.htm