The All Good :: Feel Good Collective is taking over the collective consciousness of the Seacoast scene

Three-part harmonies, an extensive horn section, and a determination to create authentic reggae music with other influences thrown in are all hallmarks of the All Good :: Feel Good Collective. The band, officially formed in the fall of 2011, has played more than 45 shows since September, gaining recognition all over New England for its sound and dance-inspiring live performances.

According to trombonist and vocalist Billy Kottage, the All Good :: Feel Good Collective started in 2009 as a group of friends who met through various roommates and mutual friends at the University of New Hampshire. They used to play in a recital room in the Paul Creative Arts Center just for fun and decided to take the music to a more serious level last year.

“I guess I’m pretty lucky because people seem to really love it just as much as I do. It’s not hard to get them to commit to playing shows very often,” Kottage said.

Kottage books all the band’s shows, and since September the group has played with a number of established bands, including Roots of Creation and The Slackers.

And the group’s gigging schedule is not about to slow down. The Collective is playing at UNH’s Boulder Field on Sunday, April 29, before kicking off a month-long residency at Fury’s Publick House in Dover every Wednesday in May. On July 20, the Collective is opening for The Slackers at the annual Rock On! Concert Cruise out of Boston. Last year, all of the members of the Collective went on the cruise for fun and now they’re the opening act. It’s been an intense journey, Kottage said.

Since September, Kottage said the group has played in six different states and each time their music got people up and dancing throughout the performances.

The Collective played at Durham’s Three Chimneys Inn on Friday, April 20, and though the crowd on the outside deck was mellow, everyone present was clearly into the show. UNH students primarily made up the crowd, and dancing seemed the natural response to the band’s infectious energy.

“When people in the crowd hear (our music), it really seems to affect them,” Kottage said. “Also, we’re pretty much maniacs on stage. People like to dance to our music.”

Kottage believes part of the appeal is that the Collective takes an approach to reggae music that isn’t seen much anymore. He said a lot of the original ska bands are gone, and several bands that purport to play reggae don’t have any horns and lack a traditional sound.

The Collective features several brass instruments and offers three-part vocal harmonies. In addition to Kottage, the septet consists of Nate Ashton on guitar and percussion, Michel Helou on alto sax, Nick Murray on trumpet, Andrew Riordan on tenor sax, Nick Minicucci on bass and percussion, and Alex Brander on drums and percussion. Several members share vocal duties.

“We like to take a traditionalist approach to the music,” Kottage said. “We like to keep the sounds natural, but we’re also really into dub. Most of us studied jazz and classical music, too. We all grew up in high school playing in rock and indie bands. So between all of that, we try to keep it traditional but with our own twist on it. We’re not trying to pretend we’re Jamaicans playing this music, we’re just trying to play as Jamaicans do.”

According to Kottage, the band’s members actively listen to music from across the board, with the exception of country. At UNH, they have studied many different types of music, which adds backbone to their sound and can clearly be heard at their live shows.

The band is in the midst of completing its first studio album, which was initially recorded for The Wire’s annual RPM Challenge in February. Featuring eight tracks, Kottage said the RPM record was rough and the band is currently focused on fixing the vocals, mixing and overall cohesiveness.

“We’re turning the RPM Challenge into a full-length record. We’ve been working on it ever since,” Kottage said. “We submitted a rough draft to the RPM just to have it under our belts.”

The All Good :: Feel Good Collective will drop their debut album soon, though no official release date has been decided. Balancing full-time class schedules, dozens of shows, and recording the album has been a struggle, Kottage said.

He said the Collective has gotten significant help from WXGR 101.5 FM with booking shows with bigger names. He also mentioned the massive impact social media has had on the band’s prospects. Kottage has had to get used to regularly being on social media sites like Facebook, and he recently purchased an iPhone just so he could have constant access to his e-mail.

With the Internet and advancing technology giving everyone the chance to create music and get it out into the world, Kottage said the best thing a band can do is stand out. And, in his eyes, the Collective is “doing something no one else is.”

“There’s a big sea out there, but you have to find a way to sell yourself to people and make yourself stand out,” Kottage said.