Posts Tagged ‘ron givens’

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

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!

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

This will be the first post in a series designed to help you learn about reggae rhythms ( from now on we’ll call them “riddims” ) and how they are used in reggae music.

Listen to this tune by Bob Marley, appropriately named, One Drop.

The one drop is the most recognizable beat in reggae. It is the beat that Bob made popular and is most likely the riddim that runs through your mind when you think of reggae music.

The key component on this groove is the ONE BIG DROP that the drummer plays. The whole flow is based around the drop. The drummer plays the drop with the bass drum and cross stick.  Boomf!

It should sound ( and feel ) like a 50lb sandbag hitting you in the chest.

Watch crazy gorilla play some variations of the one drop.

If you take notice to my man, Gorilla, you will see that his left drum stick and bass drum fall of the same beat. That, my friends, is the drop!

Take a listen to these other great examples of one drop riddims!

In our next lesson, we’ll take a look at the skank and how it applies to reggae riddims.

One of the most colorful characters in reggae music has to be Eek-A-Mouse.

When I first heard this guy sing, I had no idea what to think.  He had a high pitched voice and sang about the most bizarre things.

In 1998, I had the pleasure of playing several gigs as an opener for Eek.  After we played our set, we then went out into the audience and waited for him to come out.

After several minutes of the band warming up, out comes this lumbering giant of a man wearing a full on Yankees Uniform.  I was cracking up.

First of all, I expected Eek a mouse to be this 4’11″ dude crawling around the stage…that definitely wasn’t the case.  Secondly, this Jamaican guy was wearing a New York Yankees uniform?  Just weird.

I was pretty blown away by the show, though.  Eek is very well respected in the reggae community and is one of the original reggae ragga muffins.

Check out some of his shows.  I think you will enjoy them.