Green Sunshine on Maternity Leave After Funk-filled Farewell

Green Sunshine on Maternity Leave After Funk-filled Farewell

Green Sunshine has come a long way in nine years. From their early days of two guys rapping with a drum machine all the way to their final incarnation of an eight-piece funk powerhouse complete with horn section and full backline, they never stopped moving forward. The band now consists of singer Tanisha Wade (Motown Tea), frontmen Chad Ade (MC Reason) and Rhyan Reinertsen (MC Optimus Rhyme), Justin Boza – guitar, Joe (MoJoe) Wheeler – bass, Dillon (Booty) Reeder – drums, Sara Phillips (Mama Bone) – trombone and Johnny Nichol (Sunshine Slim) – trumpet/harmonica.

Saturday night was their final show for a while. Tanisha is expecting her first child with husband Chad. Rhyan is also expecting his first child with his wife. Add in trumpet player Johnny having to take a hiatus, and it all adds up to a good time for the band to take a break.

Green Sunshine toured relentlessly for several years and garnered a very large, enthusiastic fan base which turned out in force and packed the Ringside Cafe in downtown St. Petersburg for one last show on Saturday, May 7th.

The band took the stage right on the mark at 10 pm for what became slightly over four hours of nearly nonstop high-energy music. I snuck photos of the setlist, and, by my count, they played 63 songs Saturday night with only a single 10-minute break during the four-plus hours they spent on stage.

They played many of their hits as well as popular covers. They even threw in a few surprises such as Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” transitioning into a nod to the late Prince with a cover of “Kiss.”

At the end of the night there were tears, there were smiles, and there were hugs. Just like every Green Sunshine show, though, they brought the funk, and the people danced right up until the final, bittersweet goodbye.

Sara Phillips, better known as Mama Bone, shared her thoughts about Saturday’s performance:

Over the past couple days, I’ve been processing my emotions from Saturday night and trying to figure out just how to put my feelings into words. I don’t think any words exist to properly express my severe love and gratitude for you all, but here’s a try.

Playing with Green Sunshine for three years gave me some of the best experiences of my life. I was the second-newest member of the band after Dillon, only coming in for the last third of Green Sunshine’s life. I traveled more than I have in my life, getting the opportunity to play in amazing cities such as New Orleans and Asheville and states that I had never visited such as Tennessee, West Virginia, and Alabama. Green Sunshine was my first “professional” band and taught me so much about the industry on both the musical and business side. I formed strong, lasting friendships, met new people, and gained a family.

Many of you met me before I was in Green Sunshine, before I was in the Funky Seeds, before I picked up my trombone again after not playing it for six years. You were my friends before the idea of having fans was even a thought in my head. Saying I have fans still makes me feel weird, as I consider most of you my friends and family. To see all of your faces in the crowd Saturday night was so moving and heartwarming. To see you all smiling, crying, laughing, hugging, dancing and being there to support us meant so much to me. By the end, I was there crying with you all.

I want to thank all my friends for supporting me and continuing to encourage me as my musical journey moves onto the next stage. I want to thank all the other local musicians who have been a part of Green Sunshine’s journey along the way. Not only sharing the stage with us, but sharing advice, stories and good times with us. And most of all, I want to thank my brothers and sister in Green Sunshine for the wonderful experiences over the past three years. There were some crazy times, a lot of ups and downs, but I love you guys and wish everybody the best as we all move on to this next phase of our lives. I look forward to doing it again.

Thank you all so much. From the deepest part of my soul, thank you.

And this just surfaced from Dillon Reeder:

I just want to take a moment to thank the Green Sunshine crew for inviting me to be apart of their family.

Before this, I didn’t know what playing a headlining slot at a Festival felt like, I didn’t know what it took to be a part of a professional gigging band, I didn’t know how rough 13-hour drives to play a four-hour set then driving 13 hours straight back was, I never knew such a beautiful and amazing music scene existed to the magnitude that this Hometeam is. Thank you for making me better, showing me my flaws and pushing me further. Thank you for giving me the building blocks to being a professional musician and rooting me into a scene that only spreads love and respect. I am forever grateful for you and will always remember this most spectacular year I’ve spent as your drummer.

Thank you, Mama Bone! Thank you, Booty! Thank you, Green Sunshine!

Photographs courtesy of Matt Hillman and David Lee/Gypsyshooter.

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