Ricky Small & The Talls

“Ricky Small & The Talls”

Pop music has a newly refined soulful groove; street walkin’ and head nodding, “Ricky Small & The Talls” merge a confident and impressionable “Be yourself” message with laid back coastal rhythm. “I hold people to high standards” says writer and lead singer Ricky Small, “while the music we play will definitely get into your step.” Formed in 2008 “Ricky Small & The Talls” are a dynamic combination of East and West coast talent.

Ricky Small, originally from Maine, picked up the guitar in fourth grade and began song- writing at fifteen. A natural performer and singer, he took his skills to the Berklee College of Music where he teamed up with drummer Nolan Greene, a native of San Diego. The two set a stride for playing refreshing acoustic progressions with an edgy tone. Small describes his lyrics as often having a “brutally honest east-coast sharpness” while his musical influences include the warm sound of Jason Mraz, Jack Johnson, and Bob Marley.

The music found its home on the West coast, where Small and Greene found their other half, Pacific Islander’s Keli and Tonga Ross-Ma’u from North County San Diego, who lay down the backdrop on bass, keys, and steel drum. The Ross-Ma’u brothers, also performers since childhood, embody rich and eclectic musical styles ranging from island groove, Caribbean calypso and reggae to African percussion, jazz and funk.

The group members agree that they feel more like family than a band, and pursue their music like their lives, with a cool seriousness and a fun-loving appeal. While their message and music is inspired from an organic and impulsive personal process, they strive and succeed in creating an experience that people from every walk of life can move to. “Forget the little separations between people, music like life is for everyone.”