The Rebirth

“The Rebirth is prepared to fully represent the return of the quintessential soul band,” says Loslito, the leader and creator of the group. The original keyboardist for the L.A. underground funk troop, Breakestra, Loslito has been conceptualizing The Rebirth since the Acid Jazz movement in the early 90’s. Groups like Soul 2 Soul, Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, Omar and the underrated Young Disciples,” inspired Loslito to write and perform similar soulful music. From this era came the studio project turned live act known as Mesh of Mind. After making their statement around Los Angeles and releasing music on Planet Earth Recordings and Dorado records, the group soon learned that the U.S. wasn’t quite ready for a band of its kind. D’Angelo was just releasing “Brown Sugar,” and the Philly sound was still finding its unified voice. The project persevered and while recording the full-length album several key members started a side project that became the Grammy Award winning Ozomatli. In turn, Mesh of Mind went their separate ways and the concept and music had to be put on the shelves, hence The Rebirth. “Though it was hard to let go, I do find solace in my belief that situations happen for a reason,” said Loslito. “Mesh of Mind was the learning grounds for what The Rebirth is today and what it will become. The project has matured and all the current members have synchronicity not only on a performance level, but most importantly on an instinctual level. Leonard Bernstein once said ‘You are the sum of your listening experience’ and in The Rebirth’s case we have been influenced by the same types of music and it helped us to achieve a complimentary state without force in our music”.

The additional lead vocalist of The Rebirth is Noelle Scaggs. Her smooth voice and captivating stage presence matches the band’s soulful soundscape. She was discovered by Carlos singing back-up in a friend’s band. Only twenty at the time, Noelle was impressed by The Rebirth’s level of professionalism and immediately clicked with the members. Five years later, she has not only evolved as a musician, but has acquired an extended family of big brothers. The camaraderie she shares with them manifests in the comfort she exudes on stage. Through her continued perseverance, her list of collaborations includes Dilated Peoples, Black Eyed Peas, DJ Babu of The World Famous Beat Junkies, King Tech (of the Wake Up Show), DJ Tonk and Tupac Shakur.

The original member of the group is drummer Chris “C-Quest” Taylor. Chris has been playing drums since the age of five. Music is in his blood. You can call it divine intervention that Chris is in The Rebirth because he is the son and nephew of members of the 70’s R&B super group, The Newbirth. Chris has always been around great musicians. In many ways this explains Chris’ creative prowess and his love for The Rebirth’s style. Chris met Loslito in one of the original jam sessions in 1995, with a group of guys that morphed into Breakestra. Chris and Loslito have been playing together since.

The guitarist of the group is Patrick Bailey. Patrick is a truly skilled guitarist, well known for his guitar and bass playing contributions to the single release entitled Contemplations by Los Angeles based DJ/producer Josh ONE. His skill with the strings is a big part of the enigmatic sound of The Rebirth. His talents are visibly shown on the bands first single, “This Journey In.” He is a perfect compliment to Loslito in creating the atmospheric blends and dirt-down home grooves.

On bass is Gregory “Lectric” Malone who wasn’t the first of The Rebirth’s bass players. The band has been through many trials in finding a solid groove player. After losing a bass player to Nikka Costa, Loslito found Gregory playing with rap artist Spontaneous at a Good Vibe Records showcase. In a first conversation, Gregory gave Carlos some of his musical influences citing Jimi Hendrix, Pharcyde, 4Hero, Esthero and a deep love for Dub style reggae. Gregory’s talents don’t simply lie behind the bass. He also is an aspiring actor and was recently featured playing upright with Common and Mya in a commercial.

On percussion, a man of Cuban decent is the New Jersey raised Raul “Lil Big Fat” Gonzalez. Raul is the fan that joined his favorite band. Supporter of Mesh of Mind and an aspiring player, Raul was urged by percussionist Justin “Niño” Porée (current member of Ozomatli) to sit in with the group during a live performance. It went so well, he was encouraged to play professionally. Raul soon owned a set of congas, and from there went on to play along with Loslito, traveling the world with Breakestra and becoming a core member of The Rebirth. Heavily involved in the traditional sounds of his birthplace, Raul brings a constant element of expressive percussion to the group. Raul is currently helping create awareness by producing local rumberos, Los Cimarrones’ debut record.

The seventh and newly added keyboardist, Mark Cross, rounds out the exploratory The Rebirth sound. To capture the full spectrum of the recordings, it was necessary to add a player that can not only compliment Los’ style, but help take the sound to the next cosmic level. He does this and also contributes the fourth vocals needed to perform the rich layered harmonies. He has also toured with Tre from Pharcyde and was a member of the defunct outfit, Weapon of Choice.