When Sativa Blue was a working band it was handy to have a press kit you could mail to booking agents with copies of reviews picked up in the press, photographs, and CDs if you had them. We made 1000 CD's of each album and sold them for $10 at gigs and gave them out to bars around SF to put in their juke boxes. The CD's eventually sold out but occasionally I see one for sale on the internet. The following Review is from an Amazon listing for one of our CDs - Where Only The Frogs Dare Go, found in the Albums section. I had to copy it below for posterity. The reviewer was a little mixed up about a few things, like my brother being the keyboard player (Chick T did write the lyrics to Soma Street - referred to below), but it never detracted from the authenticity of the review.
Master Craftsman
5.0 out of 5 stars Groovy blues with searing guitar solos and crisp, precise vocal phrasings!
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2018
"First saw this group live around 2000 or so in San Francisco at the Paradise Lounge upstairs. They used to have a female guest singer who did a great Etta James "Little Sugar in my Bowl". The lead guitarist and singer, Justin Torpey, was a natural at the guitar, more specifically, a natural feel for lead solos that simply ripped. I saw them a few times and then they didn't play for awhile. I have owned this album for years. My favorite track is Soma Street. Super cool lyrics "let's go across the street and go for a swim in the sea. I looked up across Soma street, saw the motel that she was staring at... and I remember the drug was in my brain playing ping pong with my eyeballs"... then he says something indistinct. His brother was the keys player on this album. I remember the bass player kept demanding that the bass should be the loudest instrument in the band. Totally typical band banter... all part of the music scene back then... too bad S.F. declined after that... most of the pure artists left. Anyway... I am supposed to be writing a review of the album... not reminiscing... stay on track man... come on... haha... Nicely mixed album. Not a big budget obviously, but nice tones all around and decent mixes, screaming tastefully phrased guitar solos, very crisp vocals that sear with underrated poetry of the past and present times. I miss groups with this type of energy. They were just beginning to meld... not sure what happened to them after 2000, but I hope whatever they did, it was super fun and rewarding. Buy this album and put it on some good speakers on a Sunday afternoon while your cleaning your house or working in your garage or shop... you will be transported to a place between bliss and the rungs of the ladder that takes you there. Side note: recently saw a live version of "fly on little brother" from this album with singer Earl Thomas. Groovy version, but he changes the original vocal phrasing too much. The original vocals were much more concise and catchy... in my opinion of course. Nothing against Earl Thomas... but listen to the original vocals on this album and you'll hear what I am talking about. Cheers!"