Posts Tagged ‘rasta ron’

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 of the coolest reggae bands I have played with is Ishmael and the Peacemakers.

Ishmael and the Peacemakers is led by ( you guessed it! ) Ishmael. He is a reggae drummer, songwriter and lyricist from Barbados.

Ishmael Sealy was the drummer for the Killer Bees from Austin Texas, as well as for the BlackSheep from Philly/DC. He really made a name for himself with those bands.

Most top reggae musicians know exactly who he is when you mention his name.

Since I mention Ishmael so much in previous posts, it should be no surprise to you that he was a heavy influence in my development as a drummer. When I first started playing with him, he pointed out a lot of intricacies about reggae music that I had no idea existed before.

Things such as:

• The major differences between different types of reggae beats
• Varying tempos between songs
• Song structure
• Roots, culture and history
• Being creative without sacrificing the basics
• .. the list goes on and on

All these things have stuck with me over the years and continue to help me along the way.

Take a listen to Ishamel’s wicked song called “Burning Van”.

Aside from being a great musician, Ishmael is a great human being. You can learn a lot from his music as well as from him personally.

I invite you to become a friend of his:

• Peacemaker Facebook Page
• Peacemaker Myspace Page

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

There is something powerful about the Stepper riddim. It really gets the blood pumping and your feet moving.

The Stepper is unique to reggae and is driven by the heavy four “steps” that the drummer plays on the kick drum. The right hand can play either cross sticks on the snare or hit the drum itself. no biggie, but you gotta keep those “steps” on the kick drum steady, and of course your hi-hat rockin’ on the upbeats.

As seen by this cool Black Uhuru video, the Stepper really gets people up and moving.

Now THIS is what live reggae should sound like.

Also, as mentioned in my post “Does the World Love Reggae?”, take notice that they are in Germany! And they are grooving hard, son!

What’s cool about dis riddim is that it can sound really modern and less “islandy”, because just because you are playing reggae, you don’t have to sound like Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Band.

You can hit with some balls.

In a little bit, I will post some more stepper beats for ya!

-Peace

Update:
I found a near perfectly played stepper by this gentlemman. Notice the four beats on the floor