After 10 years of steady touring, recording and working to establish ska and reggae in the UK and Europe, Pama International have announced they will be taking an extended break for the foreseeable future. But don't shed a tear just yet. Fans of the band living in the UK will have one more chance to see the band live when the kick off their 'Pama International Meet Mad Professor Rewired In Dub' tour during October and some final dates in November and December . The show will feature Mad Professor mixing the band at each show to create a live dub experience. The tour will be in support of a new limited edition dub version of the 'Outernational' album the band will release on November 4th.
After 10 years of working solidly on Pama Intl, time has come for an extended break. It certainly won't be the last you hear of Pama Intl. For the immediate future we're out promoting the Pama Intl meet Mad Professor-Rewired! In Dub album and tour In Oct'10, plus we've almost got the Pama Intl meet Wrongtom album finished (which will come out in the new year). As a proper chance to say thank you for all your support, we'll be doing a number of shows in Nov and Dec'10, which will see some very special guests appearing in the Pama Intl line up. Dates to be announced very soon, but these and the dates with Mad Professor will be the last Pama Intl perform live, so if you'd like to see the band anytime soon please come along in Oct/Nov/Dec'10. It'd be wonderful to see you!
While I'm sad the band will be on break, I'm very excited about the new projects that band leader Sean Flowerdew is undertaking including pulling together the 2011 London International Ska Festival which will take over the Clapham Grand Theatre in London from April 21st to April 24th and will feature a reunited version of his late 80's ska band The Loafers who will be one of the headlining acts. More information is available on the Facebook page created for the Festival.
The phenomena that is UB40 shows no signs of slowing down. Indeed, the band has just released 'Labour Of Love IV' here in the U.S. and are now busy rehearsing for a 30th anniversary tour of the U.S. and U.K. this fall to celebrate the release of their classic 'Signing Off' album in 1980. It was that album that set the band on the path they continue to follow. Though they may no longer be blazing trails musically, I have tremendous respect for the consistency with which they have sought to promote reggae music and the original artists that inspired them. Say what you will about the 'Labour of Love' series of records, but each one pays respects (and royalties) to the Jamaican artists who wrote and performed the originals.
UB40 remains a personal inspiration to me as a musician primarily because most of them didn't know how to play their instruments when they started. I've always been particularly impressed by the brass section. Initially it included Brian Travers on saxophone, Norman Hassan on trombone and Astro on trumpet. As time went on, Hassan and Astro went back to percussion and toasting respectively. During most of the mid-80's and early 90's the Tenyue brothers joined Travers in the brass section. Since the mid-90's the section has been anchored by Travers along with saxophonist Martin Meredith (who received his first saxophone from Travers when he was a teen living in Birmingham) and multi-instrumentalist Laurence Parry who plays trumpet and trombone. The section remains one of the best in the business and many UB40 songs are memorable for the brass melodies that carry the songs.
Parry's musical pedigree is striking and he is a renowned musician in the U.K. jazz and blues music scene. Joining the R&B group Rent Party straight out of school at 17 in the early 80's, he immediately found himself touring the world, playing international jazz festivals and sharing the stage with the likes of Miles Davis and Chic Corea. Rent Party built a solid reputation in the UK as well as in Europe, topping the bill on countless festivals and in many clubs, and they appeared on many TV shows releasing four singles and two albums.
Before landing with UB40 full-time in 1994 when they recorded and released the 'Promises & Lies' album, Parry was an in demand session musician performing and recording with a who's who of musicians including: Robert Plant, The Cure, Midnight Oil, Go West, The Eurythmics, Boy George, Joe Cocker, Matt Bianco, Boyzone, The Brand New Heavies, Prefab Sprout, Phil Collins, Tina Turner, Robert Palmer, Billy Ocean and Beyonce and he also played alongside the JB's, backing various artists (including James Brown) all over the world.
Below is footage of Parry in action with UB40 performing on 'Tyler' and 'King' from a show in Ireland in 2009.
With interest in UB40's US tour starting to peak as the band kick off a 2 week tour starting in San Francisco on September 23rd at The Filmore Theatre, I wanted to provide readers a chance to learn more about Parry, who is one of the very talented musicians who are an integral part of UB40. Read on!
Where did you grow up in the UK? Leigh On Sea which is about 40 miles east of London lots of music and some great bands come from the area. Dr Feelgood, Depeche Mode etc
What inspired you to first pick up the trumpet and trombone? Who were your musical influences? A friend of my parents had a trombone in his front room. I tried it one day and managed to get a note out of it to everyone's surprise as i was only about 7. So I kind of owe my career to that first encounter. Fats Navarro and Clifford Brown were my main influences as a trumpet player very cool players then as I got older I was in to Dizzy and Clark Terry as well as many other great Jazz and blues players.
Do you remember the first record you ever bought? I think it was a Kool and the Gang or Stevie Wonder. I cant remember which one. It was a long time ago!
Tell me a bit about your jazz background. You joined the R&B group Rent Party right out of school right? What was it like to tour play international jazz festivals with the likes of Miles Davis and Chic Corea? Totally amazing! I was 17 years old on the same stage as some of the greatest musicians of our time, it was a great start and I learned a lot.
How did you end up performing with a such a diverse who's who of bands and musicians like The Cure, The Eurythmics, Robert Palmer, BB King, Robert Plant, Tina Turner, Beyonce, Joe Cocker, Phil Collins, Vanessa May, Ruby Turner and James Brown’s backing band, The JBs? I don't really know it just kinda happened that way, one thing leads to another and then another and before you know it, your 10 years down the line and you've played with a lot of different people.
How were you first introduced to reggae? Were you a fan of UB40 growing up? Well I suppose it was through the band really, although I had listened to reggae before but it wasn't one of my main influences when I was young. I've always liked the sound of the band
How did you end up performing and recording with UB40? I was coming back from the States, when I got a phone call from my manager at the time, who said that the UBs management needed a trumpet player to help them out. So I went over and saw the band play some stadium in Spain and about a week later I was on stage with them and I haven't escaped since!
You've been featured on every UB40 album since 1994. Tell me a bit about the creative process of writing and recording horn lines for UB40 songs? Well it usually starts with the rhythm section going in and laying down the basis of the track. Then Brian, Martin and myself go in. Usually Brian has some ideas that we play around with and then we lay the basic parts down and then the fun begins as we harmonize and generally mess around with it until we end up with what you hear.
What is your favorite song to perform live with UB40 and why? 'Bring me your Cup'. Its just a great track to play. Lovely brass parts.
How are rehearsals going for the 'Signing Off' tour? Can we expect to hear any songs from the album during the US tour this fall? The rehearsals are going really well and we might play a couple when we come over!!
Finally, how do you like touring the USA? Touring in the States is always a lot of fun. Great audiences and some memorable parties, but that's another story!!!!
UB40 will be performing at BB King's in New York City on Monday October 11th. Tickets are available through the club Web site. Let me know if you plan to attend as I'm trying to plan a get together of fans for a meet up before the show.
I just returned from the long Labor Day weekend here in the U.S. to find an e-mail from reggae/hip hop remixer Max Tannone (who I interviewed earlier this year) in my inbox. He's just released a new project along the same lines as the kicking Mos Dub project he released earlier this year. This one's called Dub Kweli and Tannone has taken the same concept he employed so successfully with Mos Def, and one again matched the acapella vocals of hip-hop artist Talib Kweli to classic dub and roots reggae classics from the 60's and 70's.
Tannone has a good feel for reggae and has fused Kweli’s rhythmic delivery of intelligent, insightful and political lyrics with the old school Jamaican reggae and dub to create 21st century protest songs that keep you dancing and nodding your head. Some may be familiar with Tannone's earlier projects, including 'Jaydiohead', which combined Jay-Z's vocal vocal tracks over Radiohead songs or 'Doublecheck You Head' which mixed Beastie Boys vocals over instrumental tracks the band recorded for the 'Check Your Head' disc. While I have enjoyed both of those recordings very much, the 'Mos Dub' and 'Dub Kweli' recordings are on another level. Perhaps its because I'm a old school reggae fan at heart or because I'm a frustrated remix artist myself. Either way, I find myself drawn back to the songs Tannone has created. Oh, and did I mention this one is also free?
You can stream the album for free on Soundcloud (below) or grab a zip of the entire album here.
The Specials performed 'Nite Klub' on Late Show with David Letterman last night. The band was promoting the U.S. release of their 30th anniversary tour DVD.
The band arrived in New York last weekend and taped the show on Monday night. It was aired last night. I caught up with the band's saxophone player Drew Stansall and keyboardist Nik Torp after the taping and they shared a bit about the behind the scenes at the show. First, the band's crew had a 6 am call on Monday morning to set up all the gear. The band also ended up spending several hours cooped up in the show's green room which made them all stir crazy. According to Stansall and Torp, this had a lot to do with the added energy the band added to their performance. I look forward to reading band bassist Horace Panter's blog post about the whole experience.
As expected, Neville Staple did not join the band for the performance because of ongoing visa issues with the U.S. Government. The good news for Canadian fans of the band is that Staple is expected to join the band in Toronto for their two shows this weekend .
Mexicali Blues on the other hand, is an interesting choice for a national act like Fishbone. Its a very small club with a capacity of no more than 300 people. The intimate nature of the club will ensure 1) a very quick sell out and 2) the kind of heaving, packed to the gills, crowd surfing environment that Fishbone has made a hallmark of their live show over the last 30 years.
I had the good luck to see the band perform live at The Ritz on Halloween in 1985. The bill included 24-7 Spyz and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, but it was Fishbone who stole the show with their turbocharged ska. The Ritz was the epicenter of live music in New York City in the 1980s. An expansive, high ceilinged, two-tiered theatre, it was relatively perfect in every way and I saw many shows there including Bad Manners, the first General Public show in the US and this Fishbone show. It remains one of the best live shows I have ever seen in my life. I recently had the good luck to discover two rare pictures of the band taken during the Halloween performance at The Ritz in 1985:
Below is a very rare live video of the band performing the never released song 'Why'd You Make Me Mad' along with 'A Selection' and others from 1986:
While there is no live recording of that Halloween show from 1985, as a special added bonus, below is a live stream and a download of a show the band performed December 27, 1985 at The Keystone in Palo Alto, California. This is one of the very first known live recordings of Fishbone. It includes a great selection of early tracks (many of which surfaced on later albums) and is a great historical document as this show featured many of the bands most well known songs taken from their first EP 'Fishbone' as well as their first full length album 'In Your Face'. The set list is below:
1. I Got a Fish 2. Skankin' to the Beat 3. Ugly 4. Another Generation 5. Knock It 6. ?(Modern Industry) 7. A Selection 8. Deep Inside 9. When Problems Arise 10. What Have I Done 11. They All Have Abandoned Their Hopes 12. Game of Destruction 13. V.T.T.L.O.T.F.D.G.F 14. "Simon Says" The Kingpin Alcoholic 15. Party At Ground Zero 16. Lyin' Ass Bitch 17. Bonin' in the Boneyard 18. Fishbone is Red Hot
For anyone who loves 2-Tone era ska and reggae, 2010 has been an amazing year to celebrate the music's legacy and longevity. With 1980 as the high point of many iconic releases, 2010 has been a bonanza of 30th anniversaries. With The Specials now actively touring, Madness announcing plans for a new album of material and UB40 touring later this year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 'Signing Off' album, its now time to turn our attention to the 30th anniversary of one of 2-Tone era ska's all time great albums, namely 'I Just Can't Stop It' by The Beat. To celebrate this milestone in the U.K., Ranking Roger's version of the band (featuring Roger, his son and Everett Morton on drums) will perform the album, in its entirety, exclusively at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London on Saturday October 9th. The performance comes a few weeks ahead of a similar performance by Pauline Black's version of The Selecter at the same venue on November 13th to mark the 30th anniversary of their debut album 'Too Much Pressure'. Here in the U.S., Dave Wakeling's version of The English Beat have marked the 30th anniversary by continuing their road warrior ways with a coast-to-coast tour featuring Bad Manners! Its like we've entered a 2-Tone era time machine!
I have to say I love the idea of a band performing an album in its entirety and I think its a clever way for a band to market a show or a tour. The Beat's first album (like UB40's 'Signing Off' and The Selecter's 'Too Much Pressure') is certainly a worthy collection for this type of showcase. While the band had a long and varied recording career, the band's first album remains a classic of the genre. The Beat debuted with a cover of Smokey Robinson's `Tears of a Clown' b/w `Ranking Full Stop' on 2-Tone. During the flurry of A&R interest than ensued, The Beat secured a deal with Arista (on their own 2-Tone inspired imprint Go-Feet) and released, `Hand's Off... She's Mine' b/w `Twist and Crawl'. The band capitalized on this with third single `Mirror in the Bathroom' b/w Prince Buster classic `Jackpot' followed by their debut LP `I Just Can't Stop It' which featured both Go-Feet singles, further Prince Buster songs `Rough Rider' and `Whine & Grine' (augmented by political toast `Stand Down Margaret') and a fantastic cover of Andy William's `Can't Get Used to Losing You' (which became a single on the release of their later best of compilation) and five more originals.
Here are video's of Ranking Roger's version of The Beat performing songs from 'I Just Can't Stop It' including 'Ranking Full Stop' and 'Rough Rider':
Tickets for the The Beat performing 'I Just Can't Stop It' on Saturday October 9th at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London are available through the promoter AGMP's Web site.
While various members of the band have released albums during the 1990's and early 2000's, the six current and original members last recorded together on 'More Specials' which was released in October 1980.
