Brown Rice Makes for Good Music

If you think that it's only sporting events like the Olympics or the World Cup where people of different nationalities can come together for a good time, then you are wrong.  The Brown Rice Family is an ensemble band  made up of members from soccer loving countries all over the world: Japan, Jamaica, Haiti, Nigeria, the United States, and South Africa. Last year the group won WNYC’s Battle of the Boroughs in New York City, and this year they are taking their global style nationwide. The group is committed to “global solidarity and organic happiness.”

While this would normally lead to incessant corny songs for most bands, Brown Rice Family remains remarkably fresh.  Through upbeat melodies and fast sung lyrics Brown Rice Family does everything from warn you about genetic engineering in food to singing about falling in love with strangers on the street. They do all this while proclaiming Brown Rice Ah Ichiban, which is Japanese for Brown Rice is Number One. In addition to great music, the band also has an Etsy shop where they sell cotton shirts and homemade soap-just in case you doubted the organic portion of their commitment.

As happy as this makes me, could you imagine a television show with the same distribution of representation? Maybe the Brown Rice Family could pitch their band story to a network. I for one would watch.