10 Ft. Ganja Plant was born in the summer of 1999 from a desire to play Roots Reggae, the only music most of us knew how to play.  We wanted to water the tree that bore us such abundant musical fruit and amassed a collection of vintage equipment to make authentic-sounding records. In those days, most of us were touring for weeks at a time. We would get off the road and run to Mang Studio (aka “home,” to some of us) and try out new song ideas. Over the summer’s long sweltering sessions, we frequently took breaks to hit the rooftop, get a breath of fresh air, and watch and wait for the next track to materialize. Then we put it to tape. Raw.

Something clicked inside us all, and we quickly produced a large amount of material. The album Presents debuted in 2000, released on the Ithaca based imprint, I-Town Records. As we continued to build our arsenal of music, we decided to present the next batch of material (recorded on consumer grade JVC cassette decks), to a friend. In doing so, our family grew to include the underground NYC record label ROIR! (Reach Out International Records). From there, we continued to grow as a group of friends, family, musicians and engineers.

The first release with ROIR was Hillside Airstrip in 2001. On any given day, many musical friends stopped through the studio for vibes, further developing our sound. As a tribute to the unnamed heroes of Jamaican music, who gave so much for a chance to be heard by the world (for little to no credit), we decided not to include liner notes.

Midnight Landing arrived in 2003, reiterating the band’s passion for music rooted in the mid to late 70′s Jamaican style. The bass got heavier, the drums bigger, the melodies stronger, and the ganja smoke thicker. 

Bass Chalice followed in 2005. 

Touring slowed. Life decisions took some of us to different realms of music and the world. We knew we needed to gather the vibes and build a new studio. We took a long break, which resulted in the foundation for what would become Bush Rock.  Released in 2009, the album reached new levels of psychedelia and heavy bass.

After Bush Rock, we began to look further back to the classic sounds of groups like The Upsetters, Silvertones, Pioneers, Gladiators, Gregory Isaacs, Lee Perry, The Maytones, and Burning Spear, as well as the great instrumentalists that graced their tracks, such as Ernest Ranglin, Lynn Taitt, Jackie Mittoo, Carlton and Family Man Barrett, and countless others. We’d evolved our sound to a point where a return to the deepest roots was in order. 

In April of 2010, to coincide with the launch of our website (10ftganjaplant.com),the Plant decided to quickly release a digital-only instrumental record. This then evolved into the Deadly Shots Trilogy.  Each album would feature one predominant instrument, taking a relaxed and natural approach to playing riddims (pure vibe).  10 Deadly Shots Volume 1 featured the saxophone.

For the next several records, the harvests continued to alternate between bare bones instrumental treatments and “dubbier” songs. 2011 yielded the next vocal album, Shake Up The Place, featuring two brand new original songs by classic Jamaican singer, Sylford Walker, as well as two chats by the incomparable Prince Jazzbo. Also sprinkled in were a couple of new tunes from 10 Ft. regulars, as well as a few hardcore dubs to round out the track list. Shake Up The Place stayed at the top of the iTunes reggae charts for longer than we thought possible. A search for 10 Ft. on Youtube now revealed our music was gaining attention on the global stage.

This could have been the end of the 10 Ft. Ganja Plant story. After a decade of making the music we all feel deep in our bones, hearing the voices of our musical heroes gracing the tracks, we saw over a million youtube hits on Chalwa (Track 1 on our debut release), mostly in South America and Europe. It would have been easy to enjoy these accomplishments, lose momentum and not do much for a while. But, there were two things that needed to be done immediately.

Roger Rivas (of Aggrolites fame), had been doing some work in town. It was a no brainer to feature his wicked organ style on 10 Deadly Shots Volume 2. We spent two days in the studio and decided to strike up the band for a CD release party in April of 2012. It was our first gig since our fledgling years, tickets sold out quickly. We delivered a strong show and had a blast. Now that we’d taken it to the stage, we found it hard to go back to being a strictly studio band. We’d rediscovered the thrill of flying freehand.

2013 brought 10 Ft. Ganja Plant’s 9th full length release for ROIR records, Skycatcher. All lead vocals came from the core members of the Plant this time. After album release shows in Boston and NYC, it was straight back to the studio. 

2014’s, 10 Deadly Shots Volume 3 featured sweet melodies, played mostly on a 1950’s Gibson Super 400 guitar. The instrument was depicted on the album artwork amongst images of deadly flowers, herbs and vines – the folk names of which provide the song titles.

We’ve got lots more music in the works, ready to release in the near future. In the meantime, we are looking forward to the opportunity to share our love of roots reggae on a stage near you. The extended 10 Ft Ganja Plant musical family will be there.  Where do you want to be?