RockOm

By Tom Crenshaw, Tom@RockOm.net

Three melodic strings, a drumbeat and a passionate desire to connect with another can create a force that is larger than life. This immense, graceful force can be found in Christine Stevens and UpBeat Drum Circles as they travel the world, often venturing into hostile and war-torn territories to bridge cultural and spiritual barriers through music.

Music holds many keys for conflict healing and is an incredibly valuable weapon for promoting peace and reconciliation. Through music Christine Stevens has selflessly dedicated her life and resources in a mission to change the world one heartbeat and drumbeat at a time. Christine is an internationally acclaimed musician, author, music therapist and speaker as well as the founder of UpBeat Drum Circles. RockOm has made a dear friend in Christine featuring her work many times on our website.

We caught up with Christine recently to talk about bridging cultural barriers through music and instrumentation knowing she would have much to share with us on the subject. In connecting with Christine again we are introduced to the Strumstick: a three-stringed instrument whose small nature belies its capabilities. Through the Strumstick and drumming Christine has propagated goodwill, grace and peacemaking not only in Iraq but around the world as well.

Tom: In your work with Ashti Drum in Iraq, when you first are introduced to perform for a group is there an air of apprehension on either your part as a musician or those you’re meeting for the first time with regards to your being a Western musician? If so how do you make that first, all-important connection?

Christine: Well that’s a good question. "The beginning is half the whole" as they say and the first moments of a connection are crucial. A lot of preparation goes into going to Iraq. I dress according to the cultural norms; I dyed my hair, wore a hijab and prepared to meet people in their way. The first connection - what I noticed - it was all about making music and not talking at all.

More often than not, I introduce myself with drumming  and then wait and see if someone will answer you. [Laughs] What I love about the Strumstick and bringing a melodic instrument with me to Iraq to complement the drum circle program is that the Strumstick is in open tuning, like a drone. When you start to make that drone, people start to come. It’s a magnetic force for group gatherings. When you play a Strumstick it’s a call for singing and chanting. So I would play a simple open drone and often someone would just stand up and chant using Middle Eastern scales.

The idea for music for peacemaking has to do with some very important principles including inclusiveness and we get everyone to participate by handing out our rhythmic instruments. Everyone can join the beat. I love what Mickey Hart (drummer for The Dead) says, “When we drum together we create sacred space.” When we add the Strumstick and that drone - chanting and rhythm - we create a symphony of cultural sharing from the heart.

Tom: So using a Strumstick made the difficult work in bridging cultural barriers easier?

Christine: I would say that it makes it much easier because this time I had this fantastic instrument that was created by Bob McNally (he’s based in New Jersey and his information is at strumstick.com). What I love about it is that it’s three strings and no wrong notes! Anyone can play this! The biggest barrier is words, I think. As long as we’re aware of each other's culture and we’re sensitive, what is the real barrier? It’s words! With music, we can talk. We have to simplify to create that bridge for cultural connection.

The other thing I will say is that in my travels around the world with the Strumstick, everybody knows Bob Marley and you can play Bob Marley tunes on this real easily. According to the Dalai Lama, what we need to do to create peace on the planet is to have more music sharing and music festivals.

Tom: Oh, I agree. More music and more music festivals. That’s the plan and a perfect prescription. Many times we get caught up with words, like you say, when we simply should just let the music speak for us.

Christine: I think we’re becoming energy linguists. In sound and in music we can communicate best… our heart, our feelings. When we communicate on that plane there’s no conflict, there’s no war. We create “sacred space.” What happens in sacred space? We create connections and harmony. Just the word harmony is a metaphor for what we’re creating on the planet right now, one beat at a time.

Tom: Why is it that some people think they could never learn a musical instrument when drumming and the Strumstick, with only a fraction of instruction, turn anyone into a music-maker?

Christine: The key is having a very easy, immediate learning curve. We give up on ourselves too easily. If I had to sit down and try to learn piano scales right away I’d probably quit too, but because you can get a sound immediately on a drum, and a good sound immediately on a Strumstick without any training, all of a sudden children who have never played an instrument before can be in a jam session. I think it’s time to remove that dualistic thinking that some people have talent and some don’t and recognize that music is who we are - that we are biologically wired for music. We all have a singing voice, we all have a drum beat called our heartbeat, and it’s time to let go of all those myths and lies, find the instrument that calls to our heart and be part of the music.

Tom:  In your experience how important are the arts, especially music in connecting us with one another and why aren’t diplomatic efforts on the part of nations engaged in peace making more focused on cultural exchanges involving musicians and artists?

Christine: That’s actually not true. There are many diplomatic efforts right now happening through music. If you look at U.S. history one of the first efforts of diplomacy was sending an African-American gospel choir to Russia during the beginning of the Cold War. Louis Armstrong was paid by the State Department to travel and play music.  I just think we need more of this and the vision that I hold is that before the United Nations talk - we have to have dialogue - first we would have music together. First there would be a performance and then there would be dialogue. I don’t believe it’s only about the music; I think it’s about the whole protocol of combining music-making, musical sharing and appreciation of each other’s culture, and true listening.

Tom: What’s upcoming in the near future for UpBeat Drum Circles?

Christine: We have opportunities to train people in the HealthRHYTHMS program that Remo Drum Company sponsors and we’ll be teaching more in the sacred drumming and peace building traditions in places like the Shambhala Mountain Center. We’re working on some new books and CDs about UpBeat Drum Circle's and Ashti Drum's whole journey in the Middle East hoping to continue to build our drum ashram, our drum ministry, our peace drum corps and continue to collaborate with RockOm. We love learning so much from visiting your site and tuning into what RockOm is doing. Thank you so much for that, Tom.

LINKS:

Visit Strumstick.com to learn more and to see and hear Christine demonstrate its versatility

Be sure to view all our features and interviews with Christine Stevens:

The Rhythm of Life

Social Change and the Power of Music

Global Resonance

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• Raider of the Lost Ark: ‘Scratch’ Perry is itching to release reggae’s spiritual side - "After more than 40 years exporting reggae and dub from Jamaica to the world, Lee “Scratch” Perry isn’t finished yet. At age 73, the legendary Jamaican producer certainly isn’t the same person he was in the 1970s, when he churned out hit tracks for the likes of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and himself." (bostonherald.com)
• Thou shalt not steel: Robert Randolph's brand of sacred music angers the church, but he plays on - "And guys like me who've dared to play outside the church, well, we're the devil to the elders. It's really mind blowing that they say you can't spread the gift that God gave you to people who aren't in this church." (philly.com)
• Muslims can see Black Eyed Peas, Malaysia says - "Malaysia has reversed an earlier ban on Muslims attending a concert by U.S. hip-hop band the Black Eyed Peas, saying it had no right to keep people from entertainment events." (in.reuters.com)
• “Idol” finalist Danny Gokey gets countrified with record deal - "Gokey also has plenty of fans, especially from Wisconsin and among devout Christians, who responded to the way he showed his own faith on the show. That could serve Gokey well in the country music realm, which has always had a heavy dose of spirituality stirred in with more secular concerns of job, love and money." (blogs.reuters.com)
• Crowds up to 320,000 expected for 12th annual Christian music festival - "Leading artists performing on five LifeLight Festival stages include Newsboys, Kutless, Sanctus Real, Superchick, Lincoln Brewster, Rush of Fools, John Reuben and Phil Joel." (argusleader.com)

by Playing For Change

LINKS:
PlayingForChange.com
Preview/Purchase the album

Playing for Change: Songs Around the World is the name of the album that accompanies the documentary, Playing For Change: Peace Through Music. Playing for Change is an extraordinary effort to unite musicians and vocalists from diverse parts of the globe, while at the same time seeking to immerse audiences in a multimedia movement to inspire, connect and bring peace to the world through music. Be sure to also check out RockOm's interview with filmmaker Jonathan Walls.

"One Love"

"While recording and filming in Dharmsala India, where we planned to add some Tibetan singers to this track we passed by a small record shop on the side of the road. The display featured about 50 Tibetan CD covers and one Bob Marley album in the middle. This song around the world is in dedication to the love inside each of us. We can achieve far more together as a human race than we ever can apart. One Love." (Playing For Change)

On this week's podcast episode, out today:

• Color the Sound's Jesse Zenitram (who supplies this week's Featured Track of the Week) talks about the benefits of being a one-man band, his song "LucidTV" and the almost 'religious' impact that music has had on his life.
• Songwriter Scott Valentine shares his weekly newsletter, this week discussing his song "Hang On" and the human species "adapting to a much more rewarding lifestyle for itself."
• Bob Marley and The Wailers' original bassist Family Man discusses the band's powerful impact, the spiritual foundations of reggae and a "secret" new album. (Edited transcript here)

Swing over to the podcast page to download this episode individually or to subscribe to all future podcasts with iTunes or any other podcatching software.

Psychedelic country-rock with a Kingston-inspired Reggae groove accompanying mystic Celtic chant and flute. It's how we roll at RockOm and we're rolling at you with three new RockOm Featured interviews today. Though different cultures separate them, each of these artists are creating music with a united purpose: to spread love, peace and some "righteous" joy.

The New Riders of The Purple Sage, California's psychedelic cowboys of 70's country-rock, have released their first album in 20 years. The New Riders' Buddy Cage joined RockOm for a revealing discussion on the new CD and band, and how it makes all the difference when you "play it in your own spirit."

The Wailers, led now by Aston "Family Man" Barrett continue spreading the message that "we're all Jah people." The band's reggae groove has been the soundtrack to the lives of hundreds of millions across the planet. Family Man joined RockOm before a recent performance to talk about the soul of Rastafari, the legacy of Bob Marley and an upcoming new Wailers CD featuring surprise guest artists.

A Celtic Mass for Peace: Songs for the Earth gives voice and sound to earth's deepest yearnings for peace. These are not just religious longings or Christian longings. These are sacred longings from the heights and depths of humanity's song. In a RockOm exclusive, composers Sam Guarnaccia and J. Philip Newell reveal how music and chant bring out the natural mystic in us all.

An Interview with The Wailers’ “Family Man”
By Tom Crenshaw and Trevor Harden

Think reggae and you immediately think of Bob Marley and the Wailers. No artist since has embodied the sound, message, philosophy and lifestyle of reggae music in such a mainstream and influential way as did Bob and his band. And now, decades after Marley’s death, the Wailers continue the legacy, touring in promotion of the re-release of their classic album, Exodus.

RockOm’s Tom Crenshaw met up with original bassist, Aston "Family Man" Barrett, at a Wailers show on Hilton Head Island, SC to discuss the band’s powerful impact, the spiritual foundations of reggae and a “secret” new album.

RockOm: Do you feel that you’ve been called to spread “the Word” through music all these years?

Family Man: Ya, man. I’ve been doing that since 1969, internationally until now and still going on. I just know that Family Man and The Wailers band - Bob (Marley), Bunny (Wailer), Peter (Tosh), my brother Carlton, and Wya (Earl “Wya” Lindo) – the six of us, we set the trend. After we set the trend in ‘72 and ‘ 73 we carried on with one man short. In ‘74 we were three [men] short; no Bob, no Peter, no Wya and we decided to take it to the next level when we came with the album Natty Dread. Those first two were Catch a Fire and Burnin’ and then Rastaman Vibration after Natty Dread. Then Live, then Exodus and Kaya, followed by Survivor. Then Babylon by Bus, Uprising, Confrontation and tracks taken from that catalog to bring forward the Legend and then Exodus - which is nominated by Time Magazine and awarded the Album of the Century.

Unfortunately we still have a little negative thing going on out there with a couple guys who used to be in my band, hired hands that were in and out, in and out more than 12 times. They cannot think of anything else than what they used to do before, so they are trying to impersonate my band and cause some kind of confusion out there with the fans. We would like [the fans] to know we are the band - the Bob Marley band. Those guys are British and one American who used to do some guitar licks. They are not “foundation people,” you know – from the Jamaican scene, the ghetto thing. How can you say that out there in the public eye, in the young generation that you are what you are not? It’s too bad. Anyway, we keep the music going on, the Wailers Band. This is the band, the Bob Marley Wailers band. We are run by the Family Man and the crew.

RockOm: When you were young how did you know you were going to be doing this the rest of your life?

Family Man: Well, I was voluntarily chosen for the mission, ya know? To spread the message to the four corners of the earth and that Jah’s will must be done by our means, no matter the crisis we are facing right now. Lucifer and his disciples are trying to penetrate the righteous.

RockOm: You’re a devout Rastafarian?

Family Man: Yes, Rastafari is a positive thing. It’s just like people who go to some other church who call themselves Christian. Rastafarian is the original Christianity and it’s just one, though it has many different names. But as we know, there’s only one living and true God - the Almighty who created heaven and earth and all living substance.

RockOm: Is there room for diversity in Rastafari?

Family Man: Yes, because He created all living substance - no matter the nation, you see? All of the nations and earth sprung from after the great flood when Noah and his family were safe in the ark. Those are the people that flourished the earth. It’s one man’s son. Noah got three sons - Ham, Shem and Japheth. Ham is like the black man, Shem is the oriental man and Japheth is the white people. It’s one man’s kids, no matter what you see there. It’s the Almighty, moving in mysterious form. We’re all Jah people, all children of the Almighty God.

RockOm: Do your audience and fans receive anything of Rasta when they hear your music, even if they know nothing about Rastafari?

Family Man: Of course. I see people coming to the concert who could not come when Bob was alive. They are coming today and even young people who were born after Bob have taken to the message and the music and are coming, because what we play is for all ages and all times. It’s about past, present and future. That’s the reggae music. It’s the heartbeat of the people, the universal language that carries the message of roots, cultures, and reality.

RockOm: There’s an explosion of reggae artists and music taking place. What is it about reggae that connects people in ways that other music can’t?

Family Man: Reggae music is coming from the King David’s throne, coming from the chief musician. It’s like the talking drum, what they used to use in Africa to send messages across the valley and village and city. That kind of drumming we culminate within the trap drum. We feel it on the one-drop and play the reggae music. It’s not like any other. The island music, they’re playing war drums. But we’re playing the love/peace drum with the positive message.

RockOm: I’ve read in interviews where you’ve said the goal of the Wailers is to uplift the oppressed and help the downtrodden. In what ways do you see that happening and manifesting through your music and do you think that has something to do with, “when the music hits you, you feel no pain”?

Family Man: Well that’s one good thing about the music - when it hits you, you feel no pain, my man. You know? The music is love; it’s life, ya know? And it tells you about reality and how to move through the earth. War is not the answer. Only love can conquer. War is very ugly but love is very lovely. Yes.

RockOm: When Exodus first came out did you know it would have the influence it had?

Family Man: Of course, because even the first time it was released I said to myself, I don’t figure they get the message fully yet. Before I heard the release of Kaya (we worked on both Exodus and Kaya at the same time), the single Exodus needed some more time before Kaya was released, to work on the business strategies, the marketing strategies. It was good. It’s also much better to see that they get the message after all and re-released it. (laughs) It’s good. And here we are out there promoting it, just like what we did with all the Bob Marley and the Wailers’ catalog. Year in and year out, no one else does that. We know what we do and people know - the world knows and God knows - that we keep the spirit of Bob alive through the reggae music and we’re out there generating it too, ya know? Only the Almighty can pay us for that, really. But we hang on there still. We know that God is real and also the devil, Satan, is real too. He has a lot of big people with him.

RockOm: Is music, the fire of music, a purifier?

Family Man: The fire of the music, yes, and the burning and the force of it and the energy. You will find the good, the bad and the indifferent around it for sure. It’s so precious.

RockOm: Let me ask you about “Natural Mystic” from Exodus. It’s a mysterious song. The lyrics say, “Many more will have to suffer, many more will have to die, don’t ask me why.” What was Bob saying in this song and why will many more have to suffer and die?

Family Man: There’s a part in the Bible that says, “Many are called, but few will be chosen,” and this could be the last trumpet. Just like when Noah was preaching for so many days, weeks, months and years warning the people of this great flood, because they didn’t have the Weather Channel in those times (laughs)! He was telling them to be good, make preparation; prepare yourself and your families to be in this ark. Many didn’t take him seriously. Just a handful did. So let it be.

RockOm: We’ve heard talk about a new album.

Family Man: Yes, we are working on a collaborative album, ya know. Something like Santana’s Supernatural with [various guest artists]. We said we would not disclose the names. We’re keeping that not so much a secret but a surprise for the music lovers. We still have to write three tracks to finish up before we start the mixing. We recorded some in Jamaica and some on the road. We have unreleased drum tracks with my brother playing drums. What I did was get in all the original members of the band to contribute, trying to catch back the ‘70’s and make it even better! So, that is the spirit, man. We make a new concept of rhythm around the drum tracks - like a brand new thing, like my brother is alive in the room playing the drums. It’s fantastic.

RockOm: How long are going to tour? How long are the Wailers going to stay on the road?

Family Man: How long you think I should? (laughs)

www.wailers.com

Photography by Tom Crenshaw

by Mel Cooke, The Gleaner, Jamaica W.I.

Though primarily a roots reggae album, Julian Marley delves into several other genres on his latest project, Awake.

On the album, due out May 26 through Ghetto Youths/Universal, there is a marked difference between the feel of two adjacent songs on the same topic, the slow, bare-bones (musically) "Just In Time", which is followed by the up-tempo reggae piece, "Jah Works". Both deal with the spirituality of the Rastafarian. Marley tells The Sunday Gleaner that the tempo for "Just In Time" was decided when the song was being constructed.

"Songs like that don't need a whole heap of instruments. It is a more organic sound. It is a desolate sounding song. Jah Works now, more upbeat, more in the reggae beat," he says.

Variations in tempo and vocal timbre are part and parcel of the album, the title track of which was the first that Marley came up with. (He points out that it took him two years from conceptualization to completion, but he was not "really consistent right through" the entire 24 months.) So he started out with the love song, "Oh Girl", featuring rapper Mr Cheeks, with a brief monologue in a deep voice and quickly goes into a good falsetto. "Boom Draw" is an out-and-out rub-a-dub tune, while "All I Know" is a hip-hop one.

Every little thing

Still, most of Awake is on familiar roots reggae ground. "Me is a man listen most of the legendaries," Marley says, adding that he listens to jazz, the blues and "every little thing".

"But when it come down to the roots we want to have it original," he said. And that means reggae rockers. "Jamaica has a history of reggae, just like America have a history of the blues. If you go to a blues show in America is like you are in the '50s. So me no care, me come fi deliver the roots and create it with live music." He can play a lot of that live music, as he plays the guitar, keyboard, bass and drums. The guitar is the accustomed composition tool, although he chuckles as he says if he had a keyboard with him he would probably write more songs.

Another pair of adjacent, thematically similar songs is "Rose Hall" and "A Little Too Late" (featuring brother, Stephen Marley). Both are about relationships where the male gets the bitter end of the stick. Marley says while they are not about his personal experiences, other persons he knows have been through them. They are in part intended for the men "to wise up. If you love a woman love her, but you can't lose yourself".

And while "Rose Hall" is not about the notorious Montego Bay lady, Marley says she is "one of the headliners. It is a lineage of people. It no have no colour either".

He is not looking askance at The Bible either, as in "Jah Works" Marley mentions Noah and the ark, as well as a pillar of salt. There is no conflict of spirituality here, as Marley says "of course Rastafari is biblically based. In The Bible, it speaks of the east. It may not say Ethiopia, but if you do your math ... Christ a go come in a new form," Marley said, referring to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. "As we live the prophecy reveal in front of our eyes."

Discrimination

"Violence in the Streets" features another brother, Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley. Julian sings about the youths who "say them can't gat a job/'cause they got no credential", while Jr Gong deejays about the youths being discriminated against because of their hair like wool. Julian says the song is about the plight of the youths in general.

"We represent the African children wherever we are. The wool is not necessarily the locks. Everyone have the wool same way. But we can use that song to represent Jamaica 'cause is nuff African brethren. This song is a very serious song. If me go England is the same thing," Marley tells The Sunday Gleaner.

He considers unemployment the beginning of violence.

"You can't eat no food, everything goes upside down. If you can't feed your youths, it gets bitter," he said. Still, he points out that "it is also a mentality that get us lazy along the way. Even if you get an opportunity, you been doing nothing for so long". He describes "All I Know", which uses the familiar image of the bucket going to the well repeatedly as a "parables kind of song", which applies to the personal as well as the international level, although "this song was composed even before the recession".

Marley says he is satisfied with his third album and says now it is a matter of promoting it, with the possibility of a promotional tour across the US. However, he says, "we need the support in Jamaica" because in matters of roots reggae, drum and bass, Jamaica is the base "of course".

No burden from father, brothers

In his facial features and stance onstage, Julian Marley is strikingly like his father Bob Marley. Being the closest thing to the physical replica of a legend can be as much a curse as a blessing, but the younger Marley has absolutely no doubts about the effect on him.

"Is a blessing. Is a blessing. If it wasn't a blessing we wouldn't be grateful for life. It is a blessing to be on Earth," he told The Sunday Gleaner. He points out that his father is a man from the hills, a man of the red dirt and soil, and "our father is our teacher so we learn same way". As for the possibility of being overshadowed by his brothers, including Stephen, Damian and Ziggy, Julian points out that "all of the brothers who do music, if you put us on a stage you going to enjoy everybody. We all have our unique thing. No shadows".

There may be a shadow over the Awake album's lead single though, as it may be restricted from airplay. Marley says, "Me hear a little thing, me no know. But me hear through de daggerin' ting we can't say certain tings. But we say herbs an' we a say it for 30, 40 years now." He advocates an individual assessment of songs for airplay, advising the powers that be to check all music and ban what needs to be banned.

"Jamaica is still hiding the truth and the truth get banned," he said. And although he has heard that "Boom Draw" "get couple play, it no get the full run". So although "Boom Draw" is available on iTunes, Marley says, "We want to penetrate the underground with this one, the sound system." It would seem too, that the most likely next single from Awake will be also pitched through the sound systems. As will the rub-a-dub "Violence in the Streets" with Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley.

http://www.myspace.com/royalmarley

An Interview with Cyril Neville
By Tom Crenshaw, tom@rockom.net

“It’s not so much brand new blues as it is brand new grooves.” So says Cyril Neville when asked to describe his new CD entitled Brand New Blues released April 7th on M.C. Records. It’s been eight years since his last release and Brand New Blues marks a distinctive departure from previous efforts.

The new album contains mostly original material written or co-written by Neville with the perspective of an outspoken human rights advocate. Brand New Blues is a musical gumbo containing a lifetime of musical influences & passions and spans the genres of blues, funk and soul. Brian J (of Pimps of Joytime) took care of the production chores and played most of the instruments while family and friends gathered to help Neville achieve his vision including Art Neville (Organ & Vocals), Ivan Neville (Organ), Ian Neville (Guitar), Tab Benoit (Guitar), Waylon Thibodeaux (Washboard) and Jumpin' Johnny Sansone on harmonica. The sessions were recorded in Brooklyn NY, Austin TX, Houma LA & New Orleans LA.

Cyril Neville is the youngest of the famed Neville Brothers and has made his own unique mark within the music industry with his distinctive style of music and his vision in serving and giving back to others. He does the latter primarily through a lifetime of service within the New Orleans’ community and through work with such causes as Amnesty International and wetlands conservation in Louisiana.

Cyril began singing professionally at 19 in 1967 and released his first single in 1970. He was the vocalist and conga player for the influential and successful band The Meters and contributed to two releases and a tour opening for the Rolling Stones (the Stones specifically stated that if Neville had not been a part of the Meters, they wouldn't have been asked). In addition to his work with the Neville Brothers, Cyril has formed other bands over the years including the Endangered Species Band in 1983 and the Uptown All-stars Band. Neville also found time to launch his own record label, Endangered Species, and founded the New Orleans Musicians Organized (NOMO), which helps musicians needing business advice with their careers.

Neville has issued several solo albums on his own including 1995's The Fire This Time and a pair in 2000, New Orleans Cookin' and Soulo. In addition he has guest performed on various other artists’ recordings over the years including albums by Edie Brickell, Jimmy Buffett, Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois, Willie Nelson, Tab Benoit, and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux among others.

Tom: Tell me about Brand New Blues. What inspired the album and how are the blues brand new for you?

Cyril: Well actually it’s just brand new grooves put to blues lyrics in one sense. And we also did some traditional blues but we did it our own way. It basically came out the way it came out because of my friend Brian J who has a group called The Pimps of Joytime. He’s from Brooklyn, but I met him about 15 years ago in New Orleans where he was playing on the street in the French Quarter. I was working on a project that I had told a friend of mine I needed some help with. He said, “Man there’s a guy I’ve been playing with who is a one man band, he plays everything.” So basically the majority of the music that you hear on here is Brian J with the exception of Art Neville, Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, and Tab Benoit and [Jumpin’ Johnny Sansome on] the harmonica. Everything else: drums, bass, guitar, background vocals and some of the percussion is Brian J. We’ve worked together on a few other things before but this was definitely a labor love for both of us and we’ve been wanting to work on something special for some time. So when I decided to do a blues record he was one of the first people I called. So basically I sent him some lyrics, he put some music to the lyrics; he sent me some music, I put some lyrics to the music. Then we got together in Austin and we fleshed the project out. He took it back to Brooklyn, to his laboratory, put the finishing touches on it, and then brought it to New Orleans, got Art and them on it, brought it to the home of Louisiana and got Tab Benoit and the rest of the guys on it. Waylon Thibodeaux is playing the washboard, Jumpin’ Johnny Sansome is playing harmonica and Tab is playing guitar. Basically that’s how we came up with this musical Gumbo. Both of us have a great love not only for the blues, but for New Orleans at the same time. So that’s how it happened.

Tom: I’m loving the reggae infusion you’ve pumped into Brand New Blues (on M.C. Records, I should mention). How are blues and reggae similar and how do they differ?

Cyril: I was blessed to have traveled several tours with Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers when we were all young. I got to know the Marley family and saw that there were a lot of similarities in their lives and the people in New Orleans – food wise, spirituality, music, the whole 9 yards. It’s well documented that reggae music and the musicians in Jamaica were influenced by the music of New Orleans. I think Fats Domino went down there in the 50s and I guess that kinda turned things around too.

I had a band called The Uptown Allstars and we invented what we called Second Line Reggae. That’s where we learned all of the grooves the way the cats did them in Jamaica and then we put a New Orleans twist on it thanks to Mean Willie Green’s bass drum and his attitude. We called it Second Line Reggae because we didn’t want to just be repeating what someone else was doing but taking the stuff a few light years further, like they did with our music. We used to begin our shows by saying that we thought that New Orleans was not only the southern most point of America but the Northern most point of the Caribbean and that there were more similarities than differences between a black man in Jamaica and a black man in New Orleans. The thought that I have of it is that we do what we do for the same reasons – we don’t play music as a means of making a living. It’s a way of life.

Tom: In your liner notes you thank “The Great Spirit who moves through all things for life.” Is Brand New Blues a spiritual album and is there an essence of spirituality infused into it?

Cyril: Well everything I do has spiritual overtones to it. That is what I live for and how I live. Last October 10th I made 60 years old. In regulation years I’m 60 years old but in actuality I’m 120 because of the amount of stress that goes with being an African-American in a white supremist society. Also coming up in New Orleans I think you can add a year and a half onto each year. I’m saying it and joking with it but it’s actually the truth, man! There’s no way of describing what it’s like growing up black if you ain’t. It’s hard to understand it. I say that because I know that the reason I’m speaking to you right now is because of the love the Great Spirit has for me and that this gift of song that I have come directly from that. There must’ve been a reason that the Great Spirit put this gift in me. So every time I see injustice I have to put it into a song. That’s one of the things I loved about reggae music was the beautiful lilting melodies wrapped around those hard personal experiences – like “Slave Driver,” “Three o’clock Roadblock,” and “Them Belly Full but We Hungry.” Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Bob Marley were all three prophets in their own rights, working for a job, working for the Holy Spirit and that’s basically the way I am.

Tom: What do you say to white folks like me who love the blues and reggae and who don’t know anything about being black, who can’t understand because we weren’t raised in the black experience and yet we love the music and realize the spirituality in it?

Cyril: There’s really only one race on this planet and that’s the human race. What comes from the heart and from the soul goes straight to the heart and to the soul. So it’s like me riding in my dad’s taxi cab with him asking him why he was listening to this hillbilly music; he was listening to country and western. Because you listen to it and you learn something about the people who were singing it. That’s their blues. So I started listening more closely to what Hank Williams and some of those other guys were talking about. I saw it for what it was worth. I realized it was the same type of feelings, the same experiences but it was just from two different sides of the tracks. But it’s all basically coming from the same spirit. Loneliness is loneliness no matter what color your skin is. All of this skin stuff is a game someone invented to control people’s minds and actions.

The Blues cuts through age, through color, through all of that man. I’ve been on two Blues Cruises and I’ve not ever had that much fun in my life. Looking out in the audience I see people from all creeds, colors and genres. That’s the most beautiful thing in the world.

Tom: You’ve been an advocate for human rights with Amnesty International and have worked to conserve the wetlands in Louisiana. Would you be the same person you are today had you not become involved in these efforts?

Cyril: Yes, because I was doing all those thing before we ever heard of Amnesty International. There was a constant struggle going on in my hometown - a struggle for life. My whole thing is centered in the community that I come from. This thing called the Mardi Gras Indians is basically what saved my life. My uncle was the chief of the Mardi Gras Indian tribe called The Wild Chapatulas. The first Neville Brothers record was really the first Capatulas record because that was the first time we were all in the studio together. It was not only the Neville Brothers and my uncle Jolly but the musicians were The Meters, who came from the same neighborhood. That whole thing is very spiritual and it’s been compared to secret societies, African culture and Native American culture. It’s something that when I was growing up that you knew was not the same as the Mardi Gras floats and the people with the masks throwing things from them. This was something closer to the earth, closer to being real, closer to you who you were.

Cyril goes on to explain in detail more about Native American history, Mardi Gras, Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath and more. Hear the full interview on the April 9th Episode of the RockOm podcast.

Tom: New Orleans is different now as compared to six or seven years ago. When you play your new music there, there’s got to be some kind of celebration in your being there and your performing new music there.

Cyril: I celebrate being from there every time I open my mouth. I celebrate being from New Orleans. That’s the air that I still breathe. When I dream, I dream New Orleans. So I wrote a song about it called “I Got the Blues for New Orleans” which I did with the Voice of the Wetland All-stars. There’s also another song that Allen Toussaint and I wrote called “A Box of Pictures” about how who will believe that just in a matter of minutes everything that you hold dear will just be gone. All that’s left, luckily, is a box of pictures. That’s what a lot of people ended up with [after Katrina] – and some people didn’t even get that. And so I’m writing about a lot of this stuff and it’s therapeutic, I’ll tell you that; it’s healing. Because I do love New Orleans so.

http://www.mc-records.com/html/cyril_neville.html

http://www.nevilles.com/

http://www.myspace.com/cyrilnevilleandtribe13

RockOm August 2008 Featured Article

Musician Trevor Hall's credits include 2006's John Alagia-produced, four-song EP, The Rascals Have Returned, on Geffen Records, a six-track live EP, Trevor Hall Live, recorded at the Mint and Hotel Café in Los Angeles, and his 2004 indie debut, Lace Up Your Shoes, also produced by Alagia (Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Jason Mraz).

Trevor's songs have appeared in numerous feature films and television shows. Most recently his song "Other Ways" appeared on the Shrek the Third soundtrack. He also covered the Band's "Life is a Carnival" for the recent star-studded tribute album Endless Highway: The Music of the Band.

Trevor has toured extensively with Steel Pulse, Rusted Root, Keb' Mo', Ziggy Marley, Stevie Nicks, Matisyahu, and Colbie Caillat to name a few, and has also opened for Jason Mraz, Donovan Frankenreiter and Ben Harper. RockOm's Tom Crenshaw met up with Trevor at Erskine College in South Carolina, where he was performing with percussionist and close friend Chris Steele.
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RockOm: I asked Abigail Washburn a couple of weeks back a long convoluted question and she let me know that what I really should have asked her was summed up in the simple question, "Why do you sing?" and so I'm going to ask you: "Why do you sing?"

T: Why do I sing? I like the feeling of singing. Melodies, they just make me feel good. Singing is a good way of expressing yourself and a good way of talking to other people through song. That's a good question; I never really thought about it. I think it's just a natural thing. I've always sang and keep on singing.

Tom: Tell our readers about your new acoustic CD coming out soon, titled This is Blue.

Trevor Hall: This is Blue is a CD that I just recently recorded with my friend, percussionist Chris Steele. The CD was inspired by a number of things. While recording this record, I was meditating on the simplicity of life and bringing things back to their roots. I have always wanted to record a "stripped down" CD. Over the years, I have written numerous acoustic/folk songs that I have kept locked in my "vault," so to speak, and have never had the chance to play them anywhere. I recorded some of those as well as many new tracks just recently written.

RO: What inspired this CD?

Trevor: Most of the songs are in the theme of rising above and keeping strength. While things may not always go the way you thought they would, I try to remember that everything is the Grace of the Almighty and to keep my strength in the Higher Presence alone. . . the Source of all things seen and unseen.

RO: What's it like collaborating with percussionist Chris Steele- how did you two hook up?

Trevor: Chris Steele is my main brethren. We must have linked up and created some wacky music in another life because we get along too well. I don't think we've ever fought with each other, and that is a lot to say when being with that person 24/7 while touring and playing around the country. We met at an audition a couple of years ago. I was looking for a percussion player to start playing acoustic shows. He was the first guy I saw. After hearing him play, I didn't need to see anybody else. He's been playing with me ever since. It's that simple.

RO: What should listeners expect from This is Blue?

Trevor: I don't know what people should expect. Because no label or producer was involved in recording this record, we had a lot of freedom and really just tried to be true and pure and most importantly... have a great time. Things are more stripped down musically on this record, but not stripped of content. I really poured my heart into these songs and tried to share my thoughts on strength, positivity, life, and the Almighty. I am just happy that I am able to share some new music with everyone. It's been such a long time. It looks like the album will be out late summer or early fall...God willing. Until then...only love.

RO: You also have your debut LP with Geffen out later this year, called The Elephant's Door. It's produced by Abe and Matteo Laboriel; Abe is Paul McCartney's drummer. How did that happen?

T: I met them through Ron Fair, who is the president of Geffen. He introduced me to Abe and his brother and I was asked to collaborate with them for a bit and to see if it vibed and it went really, really well. We did a couple songs and we showed Ron, who said, "Why don't you do a whole album?" We stuck it out and did a record together.

RO: What was the process like working with Abe and Matteo versus what you've done in the past? These are some pretty heavy hitters.

T: These guys were heavy hitters but they came off as teddy bears. When you see them you're like, "Oh, man!" because they're big guys. Abe's got a shaved head and big earrings and you're like, "Wow, these guys are intense," but they're the nicest guys in the world. They have the biggest hearts. This was a lot different because it was more intimate, it was just us three. We had nobody coming in and out of the studio, nobody checking in on us, which sometimes can be a little bit of a distraction. It was really focused. We didn't have many plans, we were like "Whatever comes up today, let's record this song." It wasn't like, "Okay, we're going to record THIS group of songs." It was very free and very: "Lets just see what happens."

RO: It sounds like Geffen is being really good to you, giving you the opportunity to expand and search and find what you want to do. It's kind of opposite of what a lot of labels do now, telling folks what to do, how to do it, how fast they're going to do it, how much they're going to make. What do you feel is different with you and Geffen?

T: I don't know; we definitely have our hiccups. It's not all [perfect]. You just work through it and figure it out.

RO: You no doubt have a very deep spirituality which you communicate through your music and songwriting. You reference one of my heroes, Neem Karoli Baba, and there's a reference to Shiva in a couple of your songs. What's been your spiritual journey? How did you get started down this particular path of spirituatlity?

T: It's all grace, really. I didn't ask for any of it, it just struck a chord. In boarding school, one of my good friends had a picture of Neem Karoli Baba on his wall and his father was with Neem Karoli Baba in the body. I saw the picture and I was really attracted to the photograph and said, "Who is that?" We stayed up all night and he was telling me stories of Neem Karoli Baba. That's how I started and from there it gets deeper and deeper with every blink of an eye. Before I knew it, here I am. I didn't ask to be in this path but when you feel love, you want to give it back.

RO: You've toured with some different acts, a lot of diverse groups, but one thing that struck me as interesting is your touring with Matisyahu. You guys are from totally different faith traditions. Where did you find your connection spiritually?

T: 'Matis' is a devotee and I am a devotee. He is Jewish and I am not Jewish, but we both love God. We love divinity, we love singing for the Almighty. I think that connection right off the bat was what brought us together. He's been kind of like my big brother throughout the game, giving me advice and taking me under his wing. He showed me some stuff that just inspired me because it's really quite something that he's doing. We talk about our beliefs all the time, but it's never an argument. It's always a comparison, how things are similar. It's never been an issue of "I'm right and you're wrong." 'Matis' is a very open guy, he's open minded not only in his beliefs, but in his music and new ideas so that's what makes him so much fun to be around. It's not his way or the highway, it's just, "Let's get together and see what happens."

RO: Is it risky being as transparent as you are, as Matisyahu is, in regard to spirituality? Is it risky to do it as blatantly as you guys do with your music?

T: Well I think he's a little more out there (laughs). I'm not, like, going on stage with a sheet around me or anything. But I don't think it's risky at all. At his concerts, not everybody's Jewish, but people feel the love. It starts a core and everybody wants to feel it. He's not up there singing, "My way is the only way," he's singing about love, or his love for his ideal. And I'm doing the same thing, we're all in it together, we're all in it to figure things out.

RO: I've had an opportunity to see how audiences react to what you sing and there's no doubt that what you're doing emanates from the heart and really communicates. Who gives you inspiration musically? Who do you look to that you get that from?

T: I'd say the biggest influence is Bob Marley, not just from a musical standpoint but from the way he lived his life. I've read countless books and biographies and everytime I hear his voice and think about him, he's really a strong presence, even now. His body is gone but I think he's still hanging around. It's really inspiring because every time you hear a Bob Marley song, it's joy, it's happiness. It's so positive, no matter who you are. And he was doing the same thing, he wasn't saying "my way is the only way." He's a big influence and Matisyahu is a big influence, but musically I listen to a wide range of music.

RO: You traveled to India twice recently. What's that like?

T: (laughs) It's the best place on earth. India is a golden bird. She is a golden bird. Everything there is gold. Everywhere you look is just shining, even the poverty. It's just so vibrant. Every minute you are getting cut up - your ego's getting cut up, your attachments, you are getting sliced up left and right. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's fierce grace, but it's just a magical place.

RO: You did some charity over there...

T: My teacher's ashram, my teacher's temple, is called the Yoga Vedanta Kutir. It's where they take these young orphan boys and they teach them yoga and religion and send them to school; they're poor boys. I really love kids in general and while we were there, for ten days, I just fell in love with these magic boys. They're divine children. When I got back and thought we should do something so I did a little benefit concert and accepted donations on their behalf. We set up an account for them at a bank over there and we put money in there every couple months, so it's a very low key kind of thing, but it's a great gift.

RO: What do you do right now for practice spiritually? Do you meditate? Do you sit and meditate, do you walk and meditate? Is being on stage meditation for you?

T: Everything is meditation. Everything is the guru's words. Every situation is the guru's situation. When I first started being on the road, I was getting really frustrated because nothing is on time, nothing is where it's supposed to be, what it's supposed to be. At first I got really frustrated and tight and then over time, it's a total practice. Everything is a practice. For me, I've accepted, "Okay, this is my practice." I really had to surrender to everything, where you are, the people. You can't have any attachments on the road because nothing's going to last. Same thing in life, too. Neem Karoli Baba said, " A yogi who's always on the move is like flowing water, no impurities can stick to him." When you're on the road, you meet people but that's it. That night, that's it. Next night, that's it. You can't get attached to anything so it's a good lesson. On the road, I sit. I always sit every morning, no matter if I got four hours sleep, if it's for five minutes, I sit. You gotta sit. Baba said that everybody's highest duty no matter what is to sit. A set offering every day, no matter if you sit for five minutes, say one prayer, or whatever. I have to follow my teacher's teaching.

RO: Do you feel like you're here to accomplish anything in particular?

T: I am an instrument myself. I don't know what there is to accomplish. I have my own goals within myself and in my spiritual life, but as far as musically, this is where I am and this is how I'm being played on the chessboard. I don't really have any goals. I have things I want to do, obviously, maybe some charities once I get more cash flow and set up some things I can do. But it's enough for me to get off stage and someone says a comment, even if it's one person. Some things people tell me are such nice things, but again I have to remember that it's not me, that it's something that's working through me. Because if I take credit for it, I get my head chopped off. You have to stay humble.

RO: How do you see the dance that's moving through you playing out over the next five to ten years?

T: Man, like I said about the road - you always think you know how it's going to go, but you don't. It's truly in some other thing's hands - whether you want to call it God or Jesus or Ram, Sita, Krishna, Shiva, Allah, Love, whatever - something else is going on. For me, until I accepted that fact that there was something else, my life was just miserable. I would get so frustrated. But you have to have faith and devotion that everything will change and everything's alright. That everywhere you are, that's where the action is. That's where the temple is. That's some of the greatest advice that anyone's ever given me. Because when I went on the road at first, I always wanted to be in the temple, I didn't want to be on the road. But a great friend of mine, a great role model of mine, said to me, "No, you have it all wrong. Wherever you are, that's where the temple is. That's where the action is. Wherever you are, that's where you worship." I haven't figured it out yet, but I try to remember that as much as I can. Wherever you are, that's where the action is.

www.trevorhallmusic.com

www.myspace.com/trevorhall

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Photography by Joe Mozdzen - http://mozdzen.com/

[Interview Edited by Andrew Hoogheem]

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