By Ava Bourbeau
Tasty Vibrations, a jam band out of Pompano Beach, has a unique sound and feel good energy that makes them a delight to listen to and an adventure to watch perform. They’ve been playing for a decade, won the title of Best Band from Fort Lauderdale Magazine six years in a row, and aren’t planning on slowing down anytime soon. To think, it all started with the proposition: “Do you wanna make some money?”
The band came into existence as serendipitously as their music sounds. The two founding members stumbled upon each other like some kind of meet-cute (if meet-cutes happened in alleyways).
In 2015 or 2016, depending who you ask, Sean De Beltrand was ambling along an alley next to a regular haunt of his, playing his ukulele and singing a little tune. None other than Max Accetta heard it and offered him the aforementioned proposition.
Not shady at all.
The duo, each at the time coming from their own musical duos, gelled immediately. Max had been in a bind because his singer was moving away and Sean happened to have a killer voice. Thus, they practiced, played together, and made some money. Over the years, the sound has changed, the members have shifted, but the easy going draw of the group has remained.
Sean, frontman and ukulele, and Max, guitar, are joined by Nik Dee on keyboard, Larry Dinan on drums, and Booey Cednano on bass.
In a state as untamed as Florida, they fit right in; in no box, boundary, or genre. They make their own rules. “We never really wanted to claim a genre, we wanted to be free to play whatever we want,” Sean said. “We all grew up in South Florida and were raised here since we were young.”
Sean and Max also grew up with musical inspiration from their family members who encouraged them to pick up their instruments early.
“In South Florida, there’s so much inspiration to work with from the natural beauty of its landscape to the melting pot of cultures here. It will always be a part of our style and sound,” Sean said.
They started out acoustic — working with what they had — but as instruments, members, and subwoofers were introduced, things started to evolve. That, and get louder. These days, you could describe their sound as a little bit reggae, a little bit rock, a little bit R&B, yet simultaneously none of
the above.
The changes weren’t explicit or intended, but you can hear the shift in their sound over the years. “The evolution of our band was very organic. We never tried to be anything we are not and let the music take us wherever we needed to be artistically,” Sean said.
Now, 10 years after the duo first met, the band has more than 1,000 live shows under its belt and is gearing up to record its third album.
At their live performances, you feel the charge of excitement around you. This, Sean points out, is one of his favorite parts:
“There’s just a really cool exchange of energy at a show, you know, they give it to us, and then we give it back to them, and it cycles through each other.”
Sure, they have a setlist, but with a jam band you still never know exactly what you’ll get.
“The songs have their own formats, and it’s easy to solo through them. Some parts can be the same, like certain riffs, but others… We can change it on the fly,” Sean said. “But they have structure… (a certain) riff will indicate we’re going back into a verse. So we can solo and do whatever we want, and then as soon as we hear that riff, we know (to go) back to structure.”
Like being off book instantly, because there is no book.
“That, or we all just stare at each other with anxiety,” Sean said.
There are ample chances to see the feat in action ranging from Fort Lauderdale to Stuart. Venues like Revelry in Pompano (also their hometown watering hole), Guanabanas in Jupiter, and Terra Fermata in Stuart are regular favorites and book the band often — usually monthly. They also go on tour a couple times a year, typically going as far north on I-95 as Virginia, veering in either direction along the way.
You can also listen digitally wherever you get your music. Their third album doesn’t have a projected release date, but if you cruise by Love Potion Studios in Boca Raton, maybe you’ll hear whispers. Who’s to say though. Their first and second album took five hours and 10 hours, respectively, but don’t hold your breath for that kind of speed this go around. In those instances, the recording had been a long time coming. They had full songs they’d practiced and perfected. That’s no longer the case.
Sean shared: “We have shells of songs. We have a riff or a chord progression, but nothing else; nothing that’s been played by everybody.”
They’re lax, but they’re driven. They work long hours during the week, they have nearly a dozen shows a month, and they jam. They’re performing for the crowd, but making music for themselves.
