 While they play around with the infectious grooves of reggae
and Latin music as well as the heavy deliverance of hip-hop and rock, San
Diego's hard rock four-piece P.O.D. has defined a universal message. They're
born-again Christians and their faith takes a central place in their music.
Formed in 1992 in the SoCal neighborhood of San Ysidro,
Marcos (guitar) and Wuv (drums) relished the music they grew up on. San Ysidro
or "Southtown" was a multicultural area, but working class. While Marcos and Wuv
were fond of their jazz and reggae roots, they were young punks in the making.
Both loved the gnarl of grunge and took to liking Green Day, Pennywise, Bad
Brains, and the Vandals. They got a band together, P.O.D. (short for "Payable on
Death"), with Wuv's hip-hop MC cousin, Sonny, and aimed for something real.
Cleveland native Traa joined in 1993 and P.O.D. were on the map.
Throughout the 1990s, P.O.D. played countless shows across
the nation and sold more than 40,000 copies of their three homemade EPs --
Brown, Snuff the Punk, and P.O.D. Live -- on their own Rescue Records. Atlantic
Records was intrigued by the group's hard-working ethic and passion for music,
inking a deal with P.O.D. in 1998. The Warriors EP preceded the major-label
debut of P.O.D.'s 1999 release, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown. "Southtown"
and "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)" were powerful singles, pushing the album to
go platinum. P.O.D. earned top honors for Best Hard Rock or Metal Group, Album
of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)" at the
1999 San Diego Music Awards as well.
A year later and with the buzz still going, P.O.D. hit the
road with Ozzfest 2000 and shared dates with Crazy Town and Staind for the MTV
Campus Invasion tour. They also ventured into films, contributing several songs
to various soundtracks. "School of Hard Knocks" proved successful in the Adam
Sandler comedy Little Nicky in 2001, whereas additional tracks featured in the
Al Pacino sports thriller Any Given Sunday and Ready to Rumble maintained
P.O.D.'s growing status. A second album for Atlantic, Satellite, was recorded
with Howard Benson in spring 2001. Benson captured the magic once again, for
P.O.D.'s stature exploded later that year, hot on the heels of the spiritual
chaos of debut single "Alive." "Youth of the Nation" scored again for P.O.D., as
its positive mix of hip-hop, reggae, and hardcore punk defined a different kind
of rock next to the likes of Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, and Korn.
Controversy hit the P.O.D. camp in 2003 when founding
guitarist Marcos left the band. However, P.O.D. were soon back on track, tapping
ex-Living Sacrifice guitarist Jason Truby as a replacement and recording the
Satellite follow-up Payable on Death. Heavy touring followed, and stretched all
the way into late 2004. Early the next year, P.O.D. reconvened in the studio,
this time with Glen Ballard behind the board, and the Top Ten hit Testify
appeared in early 2006. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book P.O.D. for
your next corporate or private event.
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