Alternative rock, reggae, hip-hop: Each is definable, recognizable, and at once familiar to people the world over. But never have those three forms of musical expression been so effortlessly blended into one sound that is as indefinable as it is recognizable and familiar. That's where The Movement comes in, hailing from Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love.

Growing up together in Columbia, South Carolina, Joshua Swain and Jordan Miller spent time playing soccer and jamming in high school bands together. Swain, a multi-instrumentalist versed in guitar, bass, and drums, left for Florida’s Full Sail University in 2001 while Miller honed his freestyle rap, guitar, and keyboard skills in Columbia. Upon returning in 2002, Swain reconnected with Miller, and the two began writing songs in Swain’s garage using a drum machine, a 4-track and musical influences that range from Sublime to Tupac to the Pixies.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, circa 2001, avid hip-hop fan Jon Ruff was purchasing his first pair of turntables. It wasn’t long before Ruff was dj’ing parties, bars, and backing regional emcees during hip hop performances, honing his skills as an all-around dj.

Fast forward to January of 2004: After catching a performance of Swain and Miller at Columbia’s famed New Brookland Tavern, Ruff approached the duo about incorporating a dj into their lineup, “just to see what happens”. After numerous freestyle jam sessions, Swain and Miller asked Ruff to do some cuts on the album they were recording at Pat Casey’s Modern Music Studios. That album, recorded and mixed in 24 studio hours, would come to be “On Your Feet”, a debut that is rough, yet polished, original, yet familiar. “On Your Feet” was released merely one week after the trio’s first performance together, in March of 2004, and continues to be well received by new fans everywhere.

The Movement has seemingly been on a fast track to success, thanks in part to brilliant song writing, exciting stage shows, and superb management. Versatility being a key ingredient to success, the trio has opened for such acts as Steel Pulse, Blues Traveler, Slightly Stoopid, The Wailers, Ludacris, G Love, Common, Long Beach Shortbus, and the Wu Tang Clan, including others.

In 2006, The Movement released it's first live album entitled "Alive at Home", being that it was recorded at Headliners in their home town of Columbia. In 2007, after 3 years of relentless touring, Ruff decided to leave the band which led Josh and Jordan on a search for a drummer and bassist. They were recording their third album in Philly at Philadelphonic Studios with the help of producer Chris Dibenidetto (G. Love, Slightly Stoopid) when they auditioned Gary Jackson, a talented and established drummer from Philly who was currently playing with several local reggae and punk bands. They clicked immediately but there was only one problem. Swain and Miller lived 11 hours away in S.C. So, in 2008, they moved to Philly, PA to start their newly formed band and finish the new album.

Not long after, they met Jay Schmidt, a versatile musician and singer who had known and played in bands with Gary since childhood. He was predominantly a guitarist, but the bass came just as easily, and after one jam session became the fourth member of The Movement. They are to start their first tour as a 4 piece in October of 2008, when they release their long anticipated third album entitled "Set Sail".