Bands can go through a lot of changes over a 20-year career. They might, for example, go from reggae-influenced rock to experimental pop sounds, and from radio-friendly hooks to dense studio experimentation. They might even circle back to their roots, revisiting the reggae, ska, and rock that first defined them.
Iration has done all of the above.
The band’s new album, “Where It All Began,” deliberately strips away the genre-blurring detours of recent records and returns to the guitar-driven rock and reggae-infused grooves that launched them two decades ago.
The band will tour through Wilmington’s Live Oak Bank Pavilion on Saturday, May 23.
Iration emerged from Hawaii’s Big Island in the mid-2000s, building a devoted following through relentless touring across every state. Today, the group remains one of modern reggae-rock’s most enduring acts, with a catalog spanning 11 albums and a fanbase that has grown alongside them for nearly two decades.
We caught up with vocalist/guitarist/bandleader Micah Pueschel to talk about creative evolution, family life, and the importance of giving audiences the performance they paid for.
Port City Daily: You grew up in a tiny town on a big island in Hawaii. When you leave a place like that, what do you bring with you, and what do you have to leave behind?
Micah Pueschel: You bring humility. When you live in a small town, everybody knows everybody. If you get a little too big for your britches, someone is there to put you in your place. It was always instilled in us as kids that you don’t act like that. Because of that, when we go back, our friendships are still strong. The people from home are still the ones coming out to support our shows 20 years later.
What you have to leave behind, though, is the comfort and shelter of a small town. We’ve been touring since 2008, played hundreds of shows, and been to every state. You have to go out into the big world and learn how to adapt to a different city every single day.
PCD: You’ve described this new record as honoring the music that inspired you when you first started the band. After 11 albums, how does it feel to do that kind of time traveling?
MP: It felt fairly natural. We had done a lot of experimentation in the studio over our last few records, starting with “Hotting Up” (2015). The self-titled album (2018) was basically a giant smorgasbord of different sounds and styles where we were just hitting a crazy vein of writing and trying a ton of different things. After we got through that, we decided to go back to what we do best and what feels like the true sound of this band. “Daytripping” (2023) was the beginning of that, bringing a bit more of a rock edge. With this new album, it very much feels like coming back to where it all began. This is really what we do well as a band, so it felt very easy.
PCD: Let’s talk about the record itself in the studio. What was the production process like?
MP: We really changed up the production this time. We worked with Susie Shin, a producer who has worked with Weezer, Modest Mouse, and several big pop acts. She’s from a different world, but she was open to working with us, and we became great friends and collaborators. She produced songs like “Island Time,” “Grapevine,” “Castle,” and “Obvious.”
For a couple of other songs, we brought in outside production from friends of ours in Hawaii — Bimwalla, Les Ludia, and Pana. They’re all incredible musicians, and this was the first time we’ve ever taken rhythms or beats from outside producers. Pana co-produced “My Kind of Vibe,” and Les co-produced the title track, “Where It All Began.” Ultimately, it became very fruitful, and we self-produced the remainder of the songs because we knew exactly what we wanted the record to sound like.
PCD: You’ve been doing this for a while — adapting to life on the road, different cultures, and unexpected chaos — and then you have to go out on stage and give your best in front of thousands of people. What is that life like?
MP: It has become second nature to us at this point, but it is a weird, surreal experience. My wife was a public school teacher for 10 years, and I always told her she worked much harder than I do, but she didn’t have people cheering her on every day. I go do my job every night, and people clap and tell me how great I am. It’s a strange thing to think about.
I do understand the importance of what we do. I get messages from people telling me how much our music has helped them through a phase in their life or a loss, and that is incredible. But at the same time, I try to keep the perspective that I’m just playing music and making art. It’s not the most serious thing in the world. You have one job: go up there, give the performance people paid for, and give them the energy they want.
PCD: You are married with kids in your 40s and still living on the road. Has fatherhood changed what you write about or your perspective?
MP: It’s impossible not to take into account that my perspective has changed. Almost all the guys in the band are dads now, so everyone’s perspective on touring and life is slightly altered. You gain an understanding of what is most important, and egos become much less important. We understand that we’re out here not only for ourselves, but to support our families, as well as the families of our crew, our management, and everyone under the Iration umbrella.
PCD: If you had to name just one internal thing that Iration has given you that nothing else in your life could have, what would it be?
MP: A creative outlet. I don’t know if I would have been able to get everything I had inside of me out the way I have through music. I wasn’t a musician my whole life, but I always felt I had a lot inside me to express creatively. I just didn’t necessarily understand how. Falling into this and finding a groove as a songwriter is something I truly cherish.
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