Shaka Buku Artist Story

"Shaka Buku (pronounced Shocka Bookoo) Sound familiar? Dubbed "Music for the masses" by Reggae Reviews.com this band delivers a crowd shakin mix of Reggae, Rock, Funk, Jazz & Hip Hop. Anchored by the highly energetic and distinctive voice of singer/songwriter Chad Nellis and bass player Pancho Tomaselli from the band WAR, Shaka Buku is a masterpiece of musical adventure.

Based in San Diego, California, Shaka Buku takes their stage moniker from a Japanese Buddhists term. The name loosely translates to the goal of their music: "To remove suffering and bring happiness to all people by awakening them to their inherent greatness." While such a lofty goal might prove daunting to most, Shaka Buku attacks it with a single-minded fervor on tracks like "Heart of a Buddha" with its universal message and uplifting chorus. Transcending barriers of genre and style with their "Reggae Rock Hop" sound on tracks like "Sunday Sunday Monday", Shaka Buku is able to break through the very obstacles that divide people and unify them with lyrical threads of empowerment, love, groove and harmony. This unification and empowerment of people through music and message is the mission of Shaka Buku.

Shaka’s eclectic musical style is directly influenced by the simplicity and social consciousness of Bob Marley, the funk and groove of Stevie Wonder and the power and edge of Led Zeppelin. This power, edge and funk can be heard on tracks like "I’m Alive", influenced by Shaka’s love for the outdoors, dancing and the adrenaline of high octane sports. The deepest message however, is about inner transformation, manifesting our endless potential and making our dreams come true.

With 2 independantly released CD's on Empower Records and a third due out in November Shaka Buku has sold over 5,000 CDs for good reason -They awaken the sleeping giant inside us all and it feels good.

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The Early Years

Chad Nellis (a.k.a. Shaka Buku) was born an identical twin and raised in Denver Colorado for the first 12 years of his life. He grew up in a competitive family environment where athletics garnered highest praise and pushed him to constantly succeed. Athletics provided an unfailing outlet for self-expression and freedom in his youth. There were the sports staples such as baseball, football, basketball, and soccer, but skiing was his greatest passion. Whether mocking down a mountain at light speed, carving fresh powder or launching himself airborne until gravity was defied, adrenaline was the key to freedom. He and his brother were naturally gifted athletes and this gift coupled with being a twin, provided plenty of controversy, attention and popularity which he never sought nor cared for. Not the typical jocks, Shaka and his brother socialized on both sides of the fence, both popular and unpopular and gained a reputation for defending the physically weak and socially disadvantaged. Schoolyard tales of the twins taking down the bully of the school were infamous. Schoolwork on the other hand, was a different story for Shaka. Good grades were hard to come by and he had to study twice as hard as some to make the good grades. Failing was not an option though and the value of discipline and hard work instilled by his parents became one of his most valued assets that would carry him through many trials as a child, teen and later as an adult. Musically, the early years were spent at Skate City roller rink getting down to the bump and grind of Disco. The beat of dance rhythms would eventually play a large role influencing the music of Shaka Buku.

After 13 years Shaka packed up and moved to Southern California with his family. This was a completely different type of culture, new and fresh. The ocean and palm trees would replace mountains and streams, mohawks and buzzcuts would replace bob cuts and surf and skateboards would replace skis. He would spend a year in Malibu then the next 5 in rich kid paradise -Beverly Hills. Being raised middle class in an upper class city was motivating and frustrating at the same time as most kids received brand new Beamers (BMW's) for their 16th Birthdays and he would settle for what he could afford from his summer jobs- a moped then a motorcycle. High School in BH was a playground of new and different experimental lifestyles with cutting edge fashion, drugs, music and other trends. Socially it rivaled anything he had ever experienced. He quickly took a liking to this new lifestyle and the colorful people of California. Athletically it was weekend ski trips to Mammoth, and during school it was Football primarily. The adrenaline pumping rhythms of bands like Van Halen and Led Zeppelin would fuel the fire of rock in the heart of Shaka and provide inspiration for athletic performance. This was of course supplemented with a strong dose of the bumpin grooves of the time like The Gap Band, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Shaka was a frequent visitor of nightclubs and loved to dance any chance he could get. Last but not least Reggae, which was a magic bullet shot into his heart. His high school girlfriend introduced him to BOB Marley and Steel Pulse and the door to his heart was open.Top

 

College years

Upon graduation of high school Shaka left BH to attend San Diego State University and pursue his dream of being a professional football player. College was like camp for grownups -no parents to tell you what to do and parties 24-7 and chicks everywhere. What more could a walking hormone want. In his second year of college he was to receive his first major blow in life. First, while in football practice jumping up to catch a pass over the middle he was met mid air by a 260 pound Somoan linebacker. The crack from the collision rang across campus and would end any hopes of a career in football. The diagnosis was broken sternal clavicular joint. For months he would struggle to lift his arms above his own head or even to tie a shoelace. The second blow came shortly thereafter when his high school sweetheart gave him some devastating news as she would be leaving to England for school and decided they should part ways.

Devastated from a broken dream and a broken heart, his twin suggested a time-tested remedy of meditation by chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo, roughly translated as: devotion to the mystic or wonderful law of cause and effect through sound. Although his brother and mother introduced him to this practice of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism a couple years prior, he really had no appreciation for it until now. This would be the first real attempt at surmounting an obstacle through a spiritual practice, rather than just dumbing, or numbing the pain with drugs, TV, or food. This was a new concept to Shaka which enabled him to see his faults and strengths and move on to conquer them, but the growth was to be stalled as he was not mature enough and lacked the appreciation for spirituality.

Being a student at SDSU with an undergraduate population of 40,000 was daunting and lonely if one didn't connect with some sort of organization or brotherhood so he joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. The music and dancing had come back to Shaka's life. The brothers would frequently call him Denny Tario from the show "Dance Fever" as he could cut the rug (dance) up a storm at the endless parties. The new goal to replace the dream of professional sports would become money, as much money as possible and he undertook many business ventures in his pursuit. Still unresolved about abandoning athletic dreams he took a day trip to a local Mt where he aired one too many helicopters on a maxed out binding setting and tore his MCL, ACL, and medial meniscus cartilage. He would spend the next 6 months on crutches and be forced to reconsider his dreams once again.

Shaka was then hired out of college to run an information service business in LA where he finished his college degree at night school. LA opened the doors to opportunity to parlay money made from one venture to another from buying and selling anything from sports cars to sports cards. Eventually this would end up in the buying and selling of stocks where Shaka flourished. Newfound wealth and the superficial entertainment industry of LA had worn on Shaka and he decided to follow a childhood dream of living in a Ski resort in Colorado. Shortly thereafter while at the Vail ski resort he happened to meet a mountain photographer who was making a snowboard film. At this point he had switched to snowboarding from skiing as it provided less pain on the old nagging injury from college. The light went on in his head as he had grown up watching Warren Miller films and this was an opportunity to follow in those footsteps. He would end up becoming the executive producer and finance the film as well as help put together the soundtrack.

Room & Board Productions was born and Vail Colorado became his residence for the filming and editing of "Blindside," a snowboard video, over the next year. The film was released by Action Sports Videos in Ca and garnered much respect for a rookie film. As the music director Shaka tapped some BH alumni at Delicious Vinyl records as well as the staff at Epitaph Records and began to expand his own musical taste from bands like the Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquois and the Offspring.

Soon Shaka got bored with Vail and its transient population and moved to Aspen to start a real estate development and run the Room & Board Productions. Money was flowing from prior stock investments, life was grand and he bought a 3-story condo in the heart of Aspen and was living the so-called "good life." Aspen was the next level of college camp for adults. Paradise in the mountains with year round adrenaline producing activities like snowboarding, skiing, hiking, biking, rafting, hang gliding, and a night life that rivals most big cities. This could only last so long as self-indulgement is a limited pursuit. Soon both the snowboard films and the real estate development came to an abrupt halt due to political reasons from partners. Top

 

The Music

In 1995 with no real occupation other than snowboarding and hanging out with friends in Aspen, Shaka decided to make a few visits back to LA. One weekend while visiting long time friend Chance Boyer, a happy go lucky surfer/actor/musician in San Clemente Ca, he heard his friend play the acoustic guitar and asked how to play it. After learning a couple chords the light went on again. This time it was different, it ignited a fire deep inside the heart of Shaka; so deep that from that day on he vowed to devote his life to music and become a professional musician. He had found what had touched him most it was obvious.

He packed up and moved back to LA to begin a musical education by taking private guitar and voice lessons weekly. This was to be the most difficult time of his life so far, as LA was a far cry from the paradise he had left behind in Aspen and this new endeavor proved to be more of a challenge than anticipated. To suck at something like singing which he had virtually no clue how to do or playing guitar was mentally depressing his spirit. The mental stress then translated into a constant battle with physical illness in the form of colds and flues. Top

The Opening of the Eyes

This period of illness culminated in a three-day bout with vomiting and landed him in the hospital with the doctors unable to provide any explanation for his illness. He had hit rock bottom physically, mentally, and spiritually. This would provide the first opportunity to begin chipping away at his most fundamental negative tendency of arrogance which prevented the learning he so dearly needed in order to truly become happy and succeed in life. At this time with no explanation to his illness, his twin brother, probably the only person he respected in life that he would consider taking advice from, suggested the time tested remedy of meditation through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo again. He had pretty much abandoned the practice after his last encounter with hardship in school but placed his faith in his most trusted brother and began chanting. Immediately he felt the power of his life surging forth. The courage the compassion, the wisdom; it was all there all the time, he just had no means by which to tap into it. (See Dream Tools..click here)

Little by little he realized that this illness had a profound meaning, as it would awake him to a greater truth in life. He began to ask the big questions in life: what is the purpose of life and what is my mission. The purpose of life was to become absolutely happy. How to do this was not by living a self serving life or just about acquiring things. He had done this for years. He was rich, good looking, and smart and treated himself well, but these never brought him lasting happiness. What he now experienced was an overwhelming desire to help others become happy and live their dreams by sharing this empowering truth he had discovered. This could now be accomplished through a profound life changing philosophy and would be conveyed through music and many one on one dialogue with the people of the world. "The measure of ones greatness is reflected in how people around you grow and develop," now how many things you've acquired. The things you acquire are all just temporary. The lives you change are treasures that last forever.

With this new awakening, Shaka began to transform his situation and begin his own Human Revolution. This was not a revolution against anyone but himself. A revolt against his negative tendencies to be arrogant and not listen to others, to slander or criticize others, and his constant comparison with others. After about two years of studying guitar and voice he began writing songs. After studying the masters who influenced him most he began to define his own style. The masters were Bob Marley, Steel Pulse, Stevie Wonder, and Led Zeppelin, primarily. He always had a diverse collection of influences. There was Reggae which was would strike the deepest spiritual chord in his heart, then R&B-Funk-Hip-Hop which represented the roots of dance and freedom from his childhood, and finally the rock which provided the edge and power which were very much part of the masculine side of Shaka.

Writing songs was not an easy task. It was frustrating as he had very high expectations of himself. But with the new philosophy in hand there would be no obstacle that couldn't be overcome. He realized that everyone that ever became great in music was once a beginner and made some less than appealing recordings- everyone. He had to come up with a name for his band. The name Shaka Buku came from Shakubuku a Japanese phrase, which means to correct another's false views and awaken that person to the truth of Buddhism. This literal interpretation could be easily misinterpreted and cast as discriminatory so he decided to make an entirely new version of the word with the same intent yet a broader scope in its definition so all people could understand and relate to it. The new phrase Shaka Buku was created and given the definition was "to remove suffering and bring happiness to all people by empowering and awakening people to their inherent greatness." Top

Good Vibrations

The next three years would be spent recording, and performing songs from his first album Good Vibrations, which was completed in 2000. Shaka assembled a cast of musicians from LA to record and support him. Two would remain throughout this period: Jason Young, a happy-go-lucky Canadian guitar player with the nickname bacon and Francis DiCosmo an eccentric Italian bass player with the nick name skip jack -he had a tendency to play extra notes. Both were very talented and would make significant contributions to Good Vibrations. The album and any support for it ceased and desisted after the record release party at which Shaka Buku performed to a packed house at "The Gig" in Santa Monica Ca. There were 12 people on stage: two female backup singers, trumpet, trombone, sax, bass, guitar, two drummers, percussionist, keyboards, and Shaka. He paid all the performers for rehearsals for about 6 weeks and paid them for the gig. It was a sloppy performance, financially a loosing proposition, and he personally didn't feel connected to the music anymore. This left a bad taste in Shaka's mouth and he stepped away for a couple months to reflect.

After a halfhearted attempt to market the album and not much success he began to write again. The growth was apparent but still not enough. After about a year he had written another four songs and presented this as a demo to some record industry people. The songs were: Home, She loves me, Getting Loose and Face it. The response was fair from the so called "industry pros," but when played for the actual people the response was overwhelming encouraging. He realized that who you give your music to matters. You will not be able to please everyone. So he decided to start performing live again, but this time instead of playing some random club to inattentive audiences he would play for his local Community Center and charity events with people who would appreciate the effort and be inspired. He assembled a new band comprised solely of fellow Buddhist members.

Fortune had once more appeared as a roadblock when a live performance led one of the band members to abandon Shaka because he didn't think he could sing well enough. About the same time a good friend and Producer, Geza X, had given him feedback on his demo instructing him to find a voice coach and dig a little deeper when singing. This caused his ego a great deal of pain as he had poured 6 years of his life into this so far with no real success to show for. But the success was inconspicuous as his character and his foundation were being constructed day by day. He once again sought guidance from his brother who encouraged him to understand this as a benefit. This was an opportunity to deepen his faith in himself and become a great human being. He challenged him to make more causes to help people and chant even more to manifest his wisdom and courage. For the next two years Shaka would study from master vocalist Joel Ewing three days a week and begin writing new album.

By accepting his circumstance as his own making and acknowledging the need for more growth the door then swung wide open to some of the greatest young musicians in LA which would aid Shaka in his mission. He met Sebastian Mortan a keyboard player at his older brothers wedding who introduced him to Poncho Tomaselli an extraordinary human being and multitalented bass and guitar player. This was a warm day, as the first day they met was like reuniting with a brother from a previous life. They shared a chemistry that went beyond music to the depths of brotherhood. Poncho would be the key vehicle by which Shaka would express his next album Reggae-Rock-Hop. Top

Reggae-Rock-Hop

This new album would incorporate all the musical influences of Shaka's past and chart new territory for integration of styles. The particular blend of reggae, rock, and funk/hip-hop would become the Shaka Buku trademark. Poncho opened up doors not only to Shaka's own creativity, but to many other amazing young musicians such as JB Eckl, a guitar player who toured with War for years and has written for Carlos Santana on two albums, Eli Brueggemann a jock turned athlete like Shaka who played keys with the same passion Michael Jordan would play basketball. Eli would eventually introduce Shaka to James King another happy-go-lucky musician who played sax with the most beautiful and creative melodies of any horn player he had heard. Shaka spent the last two years with these musicians playing various live performances for charity and recording endless sessions of Reggae-Rock-Hop at his studio in Venice California. The magical sounds that became Reggae-Rock-Hop were a result of the good vibes at the Shaka studio. An opened minded producer; Shaka would empower the musicians to speak their heart and would without fail create some sort of magic in every session. The musicians could not create what they did anywhere else. This was a testament to the great purpose or mission of Shaka Buku. With a mission to encourage, empower and inspire others achieving greatness is only a matter of time. The music itself is powerful, inspiring, and joyful; sophisticated yet simple in its approach it appeals to broad audiences. So sing along, dance and awaken to your own greatness -"live your dreams." Shaka Buku -Reggae-Rock-Hop. Top