When in doubt, turn the reggae out

11/28/2006

After getting out and enjoying our unseasonably warm weather, there was only one thing left to do during last week’s heat wave—get the reggae out.


Reggae is a music genre born in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term reggae is often used in a broad sense to refer to many types of Jamaican music; but the feeling, and the groove, is always pretty much the same. It makes you feel good.


The music is based on a rhythm style of regular chops on the back beat, known as the skank. Any music that describes itself using the word skank is okay in my books. The rhythm is cranked out on a guitar, with the bass drum hitting on the third beat of each measure, known as the one drop.


This is important if you want to play reggae, and largely meaningless if all you want to do is listen.

And listening is the best part. Reggae can lift you up when you are down, and lift you higher when you get up. It lacks the angst of hard rock, and all the pathetic simpering found in country music.


This may have something to do with its roots in the Rastafarian movement, which influenced many prominent reggae musicians, such as Toots and the Maytals, and its undisputed king Bob Marley.


One of the cornerstones of the Rasta religion is the sacred use of cannabis, and the promotion of cannabis use through lyrics, images and lifestyle has been a staple of reggae since its inception.

True Rastafarians enjoy their marijuana, some until their eyes are bleeding, but it is by no means a reggae requirement. Jamaica actually has some of the harshest anti-marijuana laws in the world.


Either way, reggae music is good medicine, and I recommend a dose of it for whatever is ailing you.


Anyone lucky enough to be in the Old Roxy on Sunday night got a welcome dose of the music in the form of Staylefish, the opening act for a free concert being held at the Mount Forest theatre. It was a perfect way to cap off the heat wave, before the snow and the Christmas music takes over.


According to their website, the six members of Staylefish come from diverse cultural backgrounds and were drawn together by a love of reggae.


The band infuses the underlying framework of reggae rhythm with a rock sensibility that crosses over into the mainstream, and the lads have created a powerful body of original work that boasts catchy melodies and intoxicating rhythms.


Having already built a devoted following in the Canadian music scene, London-based Staylefish sits poised to widen their audience internationally.


And, I rather hope they do.


I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for future Staylefish music and appearances. Their first two CDs are anything but stale, and I plan on giving them a good listen this winter—and often.