Posts Tagged ‘bands’

What do you get when you stuff 5 reggae musicians, a whole heap of instruments, and 4 drunk girls in a white fifteen passenger van?

My next story.

I was playing once again in Denver with Danny Dread and Rising Lion. We just finished a gig and were driving back to the hotel. Were acquired some (click!) —–> travel companions and were headed back to rest up.

As we trudged down the road I began to notice ( but not care ) that the conversation was getting louder and louder. It was like a party where everyone knows and loves each other.

… and are drunk as vikings.

Although the driver was fine, we were all busted up, but too hammered to care. We are all checking out the girls, laughing and enjoying the fact that we just got paid. The fact that we were going to a hotel with our new friends was a big bonus.

I think after the third cop car was passed, we were loud as ever. Stuff was falling and people were flopping all over the place. Just before it got outta control, Lion, our bass players yells out in his trademark southern accent…

“WE ALL GOIN’ TO JAIL TONIGHT!”

The van got dead silent. We all looked at each other and realized how loud we had truly become. Then broke out in a thunder of laughter.

We did not go to jail, and the rest of the night was interesting… to say the least. I think there were cuffs involved, though

Driving across the country with a reggae band was always an adventure. Imagine 4 smoked up rastas ( plus me ) crusing across the United States… no wives, no girlfriends…. just 10 cities to visit, play music and explore.

… Now you’re getting the picture.

Jamming with Rising Lion was especially fun, because Danny Dread was a cool and funny guy.  I still have contact with him to this day, and he should be releasing a new single very soon.

Here is a clip of Danny in action.

We were cruising through the Arizona desert and were running out of gas. If you’ve ever been in the middle of nowhere on those hot desert highways, you’ll know that you never EVER want to run out of gas.

We pulled into a gas station/restaurant that looked like something from a Stephen King movie.  It was old and creepy. Tumbleweeds bounced down the street and the air was extremely hot and oppressive.

As we jumped out of the van, I knew it was going to be a weird experience. Not only have these people perhaps never seen a black person in their lives, but there is no way in hell they ever saw 5 at once, most of whom had dreadlocks down to their ankles.

We walked into a room full of people who were all eating and talking with each other. But as soon as we entered the building I saw astonishment mixed with fear mixed with hate spread across everyone’s faces.

What was a a loud and busy room immediately grew silent…. the record scratched off the turntable.

I cant explain fully the amount of awkwardness I felt as we walked up to pay for the gas, but those few moments felt like hours. I had no idea what was going to happen, but the fear was certainly there.

We quickly paid for our gas and got the hell out of dodge. You should have seen the dust fly as we screached out of the parking lot.

Although nothing did happen … something could have.

…whew

One day, a co-worker of mine, Amanda, asked me how I was doing.

“Irie!” I replied…

“What the…?” was her answer….

…and the convo rolled on about about the meaning of the word irie.

I forgot that many people don’t know what irie meant, so I figured I would take a few moments to explain this cool little word to ya.

Irie ( pronounced EYE-ree ), is a state of mind. It’s a state where everything is at peace within, and your mind is full of joy.

No wonder, when someone smokes ganja, they say they feel irie.

Irie, is a jamaican/patois word, that can mean a lot of things, but it’s always something very positive and respectful.

Check out urban dictionaries many different meanings for irie.

My life was as it’s most irie when I was living in San Diego, playing reggae drums and living in a little beach town. I was playing with Ishmael and the Peacemakers, and the album we were promoting was called, “Feel ‘N Irie”.  <— take a listen to the first track, and you will begin to understand the wonders of irieness.

I hope you have an irie day.

Peace!

I loved traveling across the states with different bands. There was always something new to see, someone new to meet, and great vibes to spread.

Because we were to close to Colorado, a lot of bands I played with from California would do mini tours into the mountains and across that enormous state. It was always a gas, and the breathtaking beauty and size of the Rockies was always a source of spiritual refreshment.

It was a cold December evening, and I was the assigned driver for Ishmael and the Peacemakers. We usually drive in four hour shifts or so, and it was my turn.

We were running a couple of hours behind schedule and we were quickly approaching a very big mountain. Here was our dilemma:

• If we took the main highway around the mountain, it would take us 4 hours or so.
• If we took the pas that went UP and over the mountain, it would take us about 2.
• We were LATE.

After a vote, we decided to take the pass… how bad could it be, right?

We started up the side of the mountain, and most of the band started falling asleep.  It was just me and the Israel Vibration Dub album that I loved so much. This is a seriously deep and hypnotic album, with no vocals. There is something quite magical and ethereal about it – I can’t really explain.

After about 20 minutes or so, it pleasantly began to snow.  This was beautiful, of course, and since we were in the Rockies, it was to be expected. Everyone was asleep by now and the snow was very light.

About 15 minutes later, the snow thickened considerably and a funny thought crossed my mind… what if it keeps snowing and we get stuck on this mountain?  There is nothing for miles around and nobody uses this road….hahahaha…. we could freeze to death….hahahaha….gulp…  I drove on with Israel slowly churning in the background.

I decided to finally slow the van to a stop and assess what the road felt like. Everyone still asleep, I crept out of the van and walked out into the snow.  My foot sank into the powder immediately, and I could see that about an inch and a half had already accumulated and was a clean blanket across the entire road. This was not cool.

I then looked to my left and there was nothing but pine trees going almost straight up as far as I could see.  I then walked to the right of the van and it was a sheer drop into complete blackness… with no guardrail.  Things were getting very bad, very quickly. We were now in a blizzard.

Shaking, I got back into the van and decided to just drive…. I drove through almost no visibility as the white rain continued to buffet and shake the van. I hadn’t seen another vehicle on the road for hours.

I was sweating and praying the entire time. The only thing that kept me centered was Israel Vibration reassuring chants in my ears.

I drove for what seemed an eternity, not knowing if we would live through the storm…

The next thing I remember is stepping out of the van into the most beautiful and clear night I have ever seen. There were thousands of brilliant stars in the sky. And best of all, we weren’t dead.

We apparently passed completely through the storm and made it to the other side of the enormous mountain. The guys in the van had no idea how close to death we had come, and that Israel Vibration and JAH had kept our ship steady.

Besides having a sweet name, the Roots Radics band is a talented unit that not many people know about.

In 1997, I was playing a gig in San Diego with Jah Soldiers. We were opening for Israel Vibration, and took the stage before the main show. After we played our set, we went backstage, then went out into the audience.

A roots band came out and blew me away with this song.

They then proceeded to rule the night with some great riddims.

Although you may have never heard of them, the Roots Radics are well known in the reggae community. Take some time to check them out!

You can learn more about the Roots Radics:

• Roots Radics Wiki
• Roots Radics on Myspace
• Many Roots Radics Videos
• Roots Radics Roots Archive
• Roots Radics Discography
  

Israel Vibration Looks up at JAH