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Hepcat
Hepcat came together in 1989, when young ska and reggae fanatics Greg Lee (vocals) and Deston Berry (keyboards/vocals), frustrated by their inability to find a traditional ska band, decided to form one of their own. At the time, the bands playing ska-influenced music in their Southern California home were playing a hybrid, mostly influenced by the late-'70s 2-Tone-era bands. Lee and Berry wanted to get back to the roots of the music, and recruited vocalist Alex Desert (pronounced "days-air"), bassist David Fuentes, saxophonists Dave Hillyard and Raul Talavera, drummer Greg Narvas, and guitarist Dennis Wilson, the multi-ethnic combo released their first record, Out Of Nowhere, in 1994. The band's rootsy, traditional blend of Jamaican music gained immediate acclaim, especially for the triple-threat harmonies of Lee, Desert, and Berry. The follow-up, 1996's Scientific, saw a change in personnel, with Hillyard and Wilson departing, to be replaced by Efren Santana and Lino Trujillo, respectively, and trumpeter Kincaid Smith joining the band. Surprisingly, the band didn't lose a step in the transition, as Scientific was equally acclaimed, and a clever video for the single "Bobby And Joe" got a fair amount of play on MTV.

In 1998, Hepcat achieved their greatest success yet with their third album, Right On Time. The band gained major exposure with a spot on the Warped Tour, and the album, which included the controversial "Open Season … Is Closed" (a scathing answer to the Stubborn All-Stars' "Open Season"), was named one of the year's ten best albums by Time magazine. Sadly, it would mark the end of an era, as well. Desert had long juggled his career as an actor (you've seen him on TV in The Flash and Boy Meets World, and in movies like Swingers and PCU) with his role as co-frontman of Hepcat, and having landed a role in the hit CBS sitcom Becker, he finally had to leave the band. Desert did contribute guest vocals to Hepcat's fourth album, Push 'N Shove (which also featured new guitarist Aaron Owens and drummer Scott Abels), released in 2000.


Hepcat	You & I	MP3	Reggae
Former co-frontman Alex Desert guests on this smooth and beautiful reggae groove that's easily one of the most romantic songs you'll ever hear!