June 2006: Michael Sanders & One Tribe Nation - Servants Of A Lesser God by The Rock and Roll Farm Report Growing up in the shadows of Motown in London, Ontario, Canadian guitarslinger Michael Sanders may have been poor, but he soaked up some impressive musical influences. At first fronting the brutal hardcore cult band Dyoxen, Sanders later left Canada and made his way to LA to pursue his own unique musical vision. Sanders' debut, Servants Of A Lesser God, brings together a myriad of influences. Fronting the "One Tribe Nation," a pick-up band of like-minded young talents and grizzled session pros like percussionist Luis Conte and vocalist Bernard Fowler, Sanders strikes with the stealth of a stage magician and the menace of a coiled rattlesnake. Servants Of A Lesser God runs the gamut of hard rock, blues, jazz, funk and Latin genres, all of them tied together by Sanders' amazing six-string abilities. He reminds me a lot of a young Carlos Santana in tone and range, but Sanders aspires to achieve much more. The guitarist is not afraid to sit back and allow his band to fill in these songs with a joyful noise, resulting in the same sort of groundbreaking performances we heard back in the day from titans like Santana and Weather Report. Sanders & One Tribe Nation experiment with both style and sound, creating a satisfying multi-cultural stew and one breathtaking debut. (Esoterica Records)