TRIO

Hello World

(a.k.a. This May Be the First Trumpet)

Two guys sit at a bar on a cruise ship having a conversation about Jamaica, the place their cruise is headed for, and this country’s fame for its marijuana...

 “Well, they’re not only famous for that, they’re famous for some of their  musicians”

 “Well yeah, Bob of course, but what was he famous for..”

 “He was famous for writing a good tune.”

 “Ah yeah, you know, but if you said to somebody, ‘Bob Marley’ they’d say ‘smoking  a joint.’  They wouldn’t say ‘Bob Marley and uh uh..’ they wouldn’t go straight into his songs, man, they wouldn’t.  Every picture you’ve ever seen of Bob Marley isn’t him recording a song or, or playing a guitar. Its him with a fat doobie.”  

The man shrugs his shoulders matter-of-factly, taking another sip of his beer.

This dialogue comes from a scene out of the recently released indie film “Wah Do Dem,” written and directed by Ben Chace and Sam Fleischner.  This scene struck me by the way it illuminates the notion that there are many around the world that commonly and instinctually associate reggae music, such as that of the late Robert Nesta Marley (more  affectionately known as Bob), purely with the smoking of cannabis and the propagandist image of the stoner culture. Though marijuana is a religious part of the reggae culture, with my blog I hope to share a perspective that the real root and essence of reggae music lies in its highly spiritual philosophies and countercultural values that communicate messages of unity, righteous living, equality, hope, and love in its truest sense - unconditional and all-encompassing.

Born and raised on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi I’m currently going to school in southern California for a degree in film production, hoping to one day return to Hawaiʻi to make feature films.  Growing up in the islands, reggae and hawaiian music was always around me.  However, it wasn’t until high school that I really started paying attention to reggae music or even getting into it.  I knew the popular Bob Marley songs and a bunch of Jawaiian music (a mix of reggae and contemporary hawaiian music) that the radio stations played.  But all this changed in high school when a friend introduced me to a band from Arlington, Virginia by the name S.O.J.A. (or Soldiers Of Jah Army), who at this time was still very underground and not yet widely known.  Their sound was new and fresh yet carried a heavy roots vibe with potent and highly conscious lyrics relevant to the current issues facing our world today.  This was music that encouraged me to broaden my mind, as it introduced new perspectives - something I could truly relate to and feel.  I was hooked.  I couldn’t let go.  My love for this roots reggae only grew.

So, it is my ambition with this blog to introduce contemporary reggae artists, mainly those from America, to discuss the issues these artists bring to light with relevance to current as well as historical events.  Also, to see how these artists are using the vessel of reggae music - a genre born in the revolutionary times of Jamaica’s history - and making it their own to address the issues most relevant to them.  And, of course, for us to hopefully share some great music with each other!  Blessed be the journey.

Aloha a Mālama Pono,

Messenjah


Profile
(a.k.a. Reggae Stories)

Scouring the web for blogs similar to the theme that I’m trying to pursue with my blog - interpretations of contemporary reggae music - proved to be a little difficult. Nearly all the blogs I came across that dealt with reggae music were either reviews of various albums or blogs that contained only embedded Youtube videos of songs.  There were so few blogs that had a unique voice which shared their opinions in regards to reggae music as opposed to simply introducing songs and bands (not to say discovering new bands and songs isn’t tight, of course). However, I was looking for something a little different, and to my delight (finally) I found what I’d been seeking in Reggae Stories, a blog that fused the writer’s life experiences with her love of reggae music and the humble Rasta culture. 

Jeanie is the writer of Reggae Stories, a blog dedicated to the thoughts and experiences of the writer and her readers. In her “Greetings” post, Jeanie introduces herself as a stateside white girl whose roots are Noblesville, Indiana - surprising to most that she’d have a reggae blog page. It turns out that it wasn’t until she dropped out of college in 1980 and started dating a singer of a small local band that she started getting into reggae music. She fell in love with the song “Rivers of Babylon” by the Melodians, and would always plead her boyfriend to sing it. The relationship with this boyfriend ended, but her fondness for reggae music continued. For the next 28 years she saturated herself in reggae music and culture and even opened a Reggae shop on St. John in the Virgin Islands. Living in a shack on the island for a number of years with her partner, she raised their children and lived a humble life off the land, sea, and her small shop. Though she is not a Rasta, and does not claim to be, she states her purpose for the blog is to tell her stories and share her love for reggae music.

Reggae Stories doesn’t seem to be a very popular blog, though it is somewhat personal and intimate in nature, boasting few followers. Many of her posts don’t have any comments, and the posts that do usually only have one to three (if any). Most of her posts are quite bare, including just an embedded video of a song or artist with a little bit of text that relates to it. For example, her post “Spragga Benz - ‘Livication,’” includes an embedded video of the song “Livication” by artist Spragga Benz followed by a short interpretation of the song. Her longer posts tend not to deal so much with reggae music but instead shares a bit of her memories and life story. “Blame Will Not Move You Toward Love” is a post in which Jeanie shares a heartfelt letter she wrote to someone close to her that was in jail, hoping that the letter might inspire anyone that may be going through rough times. She also includes a video in the post by artist Buju Banton entitled “Destiny” as a song that relates to the tone of her letter.

My blog will be similar to Jeanie’s in the sense that I will hopefully be able to introduce readers to some good reggae music that they haven’t heard before and inspire people to look at the real messages and values being communicated through this music. I also like that her blog shares personal insight to some of the artists and songs she shares, which is what I’d definitely like to do in my blog. The memoir-like anecdotes that occupy Jeanie’s blog is another element I’d like to strive for with my blog, giving readers some background and personal stories to go along with the music. My blog would also be different in ways, of course.  Hoping to include a little more insight into the meanings and intentions of certain songs and artists, especially with reference to their backgrounds and world views (or at least the world views as I interpret it from their music).

Aloha a Mālama Pono,

Messenjah

Voice Critique
(a.k.a. Searching For A Voice)

Believe it or not, there are little to no reggae blogs that - with a unique and opinionated voice - share their subjective views on particular reggae songs and bands. Most reggae blogs I’ve come across merely share embedded videos of artists or songs that the writer likes, with very little to no commentary. The days passed. My search continued. Frustration grew. 

Finally, I came across Rasta Ron Givens, an interesting and insightful blog by a true lover of reggae music. The writer of this blog, Rasta Ron, is a reggae drummer from the San Diego area. Throughout the years he’s backed many well-known reggae bands, like Big Mountain, Sister Nancy, Ishmael and the Peacemakers; the list goes on. This means a life of tours and traveling, new experiences and interesting people, which of course, means a ton of enjoyable stories  (surprisingly enough, this is what Rasta Ron shares with his blog). His posts kept me interested and wanting to read more because not only were the stories from a perspective of a touring and talented reggae musician, but because this musician (as a writer) shared a distinct voice, unlike many of the other reggae music blogs I’ve come across.

His writing has a very informal touch to it that makes each piece seem personable and intimate - as if he were a good, long-time friend and we were just hanging out, talking story, recounting memories, and sharing interests.

His blogs tend to include a lot of sentences, words, and phrases that are bolded. This seems to either emphasize a point, illicit humor, or highlight an important name or term. For example, the opening paragraph of his blog post, “Does The World Love Reggae?,” goes:

“My girlfriend, Lisa, used to say to me, “Oh, reggae isn’t that popular… Nobody listens to reggae”. She definitely had no idea what the frig she was talking about.”

The use of this bolded sentence expresses a sense of humor while also emphasizing a point. The blog continues on, speaking of how reggae music has spread throughout the world and how, today, there are popular reggae bands from many different countries.

From smiley faces to irie rasta faces, another unique aspect about Rasta Ron’s writing is his use of emoticons in a bunch of his posts. These serve to promote the intimacy and informality of his posts, adding a sense of personality that makes it feel as if you know each other and are simply having a conversation.

I enjoy his use of hyperlinks throughout his posts. He links often, and many of his links direct the reader to more information on a band or to more information on a term or idea, which is great. However, his most enjoyable links lead readers to a hilarious picture or video, which emphasizes the point he’s making yet in a truly humorous and satirical way. For example, in his post “Victor, the Butcher,” Rasta Ron writes about a guy named Victor Essiet, whom he was on a tour with in Texas, and shares a story of why this guy is one of the biggest asshole’s he’s met. Early in the post he includes a bolded statement and a great hyperlink:

"But as with any situation, there is always going to be an asshole. 

If you are reading this and are a dude…don’t ever be THAT guy."

I thought this was really funny, and a great way to employ hyperlinks. I’m definitely going to consider this type of linking for my own blog. Just for kicks, here’s another great link from Rasta Ron’s post, “Death By Tiger Bone,” where he shares a funny experience with a crazy drink called Tiger Bone, in which he was offered a sip and told it would allow him to drum up a storm on stage. Surprisingly, Rasta Ron said it ended up being one of the best gigs he ever played, and...

“I don’t know if it was the placebo effect, but man, I was charged up and played like an animal… I was hooked on tiger bone.”

What a great way to embed humor into the writing. Rasta Ron’s informal and personable voice comes through in every one of his posts making them interesting and engaging pieces to read, which is exactly what I hope to achieve with Catch A Fire.

Aloha a Mālama Pono,

Messenjah