Part collective and part local supergroup, L.A.'s the Lions grew out of a series of impromptu jam sessions loosely conducted and arranged by Todd Simon at Killion Studios in late 2006 (vocals were added later at Dan Ubick's Lion's Den Studios) that featured members of Breakestra, the Rhythm Roots All-Stars, Connie Price & the Keystones, Orgone, Sound Directions, PlantLife, and Poetics, among others, all of whom came together because of their love of classic Jamaican reggae styles and the musicianship of bands like the Skatalites, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, and the Aggrovators. Membership in the group remains fairly fluid, but the core includes Simon on trumpet and flügelhorn, Ubick and Sergio Rios on guitars, David Wilder on bass, Davey Chegwidden on percussion, and Dan Hastie on organ, piano, and clavinet. An album, Jungle Struttin', grew out of the 2006 sessions, and was issued by Ubiquity Records in 2008, featuring vocals from Noelle Scaggs, Black Shakespeare, and members of Hepcat. In 2013, the group signed to Stones Throw for This Generation. A year later, Tom Chasteen from L.A.'s Dub Club remixed eight tracks from the album for This Generation in Dub. The conceptual Soul Riot followed in 2015, filled with positive numbers intended to lift listeners' spirits. ~ Steve Leggett