Mikey Dread wants you to know that reggae is much bigger than Bob Marley.
"Reggae music is not owned by any family out of Jamaica," said the DJ, producer and musician born Michael Campbell. "Reggae music is for the world. Anybody can make it, white, black, Chinese ..."
It angers him that so many people outside Jamaica think reggae began and ended with Marley, who died in 1981."The media is putting that image out there and it's not fair," he said, speaking from a tour stop in Hawaii. Friday night, Dread plays a show at the Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach. "We, the elders, get backseat treatment. It's not fair, man. I'm an intelligent Rasta man. Watching what's happening, it's like taking us back to slavery. I'm not an idiot. I have to be a spokesman."
In the late 1970s, Mikey Dread started a landmark radio show in his native Jamaica. Called "Dread at the Controls," his popular late-night program concentrated on local sounds and gave listeners an undiluted weekly shot of homegrown roots reggae. He eventually moved into making records himself, collaborating with Lee "Scratch" Perry. Those sides, as well as tapes of his radio show, found their way to England where they created an underground sensation.
Punk rockers The Clash became fans of Dread's music and teamed with him on tour and in the studio. "Bankrobber," a tune that bears Dread's distinctive sonic thumbprint, was a hit song on British radio in 1980. Their creative partnership continued on The Clash's triple album "Sandinista!"
The Clash connection brought Dread more fame, but little fortune. "I'm still fighting to get my royalties," he said. "It's not right. And I don't have the money to sue."
But the 51-year-old musician hasn't been sitting around hoping for a check to arrive. Over the years, he's produced tracks for musicians ranging from UB40 to Izzy Stradlin, made reggae news segments for BBC Radio 1 and studied international communications at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.Recently, he took his live act on the road to both California and Hawaii, where he spent New Year's Eve helping reggae lovers ring in 2007.
This month, he launches his "Dread at the Controls" podcast to the delight of iPod-using reggae fans. It's available from www.insomniaradio.net.
Dread doesn't have a reggae show on American satellite radio, but he's open to the idea. The DJs currently spinning reggae on satellite radio don't offer his depth of knowledge and experience, he explained.
"You can't top Mikey Dread in terms of reggae radio," he said. "I'm not jealous, but I want to set the facts straight."
source:dailypress.com
Jan 11, 2007
Give credit where it's due
Mikey Dread wants you to know that reggae is much bigger than Bob Marley.
"Reggae music is not owned by any family out of Jamaica," said the DJ, producer and musician born Michael Campbell. "Reggae music is for the world. Anybody can make it, white, black, Chinese ..."
It angers him that so many people outside Jamaica think reggae began and ended with Marley, who died in 1981."The media is putting that image out there and it's not fair," he said, speaking from a tour stop in Hawaii. Friday night, Dread plays a show at the Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach. "We, the elders, get backseat treatment. It's not fair, man. I'm an intelligent Rasta man. Watching what's happening, it's like taking us back to slavery. I'm not an idiot. I have to be a spokesman."
In the late 1970s, Mikey Dread started a landmark radio show in his native Jamaica. Called "Dread at the Controls," his popular late-night program concentrated on local sounds and gave listeners an undiluted weekly shot of homegrown roots reggae. He eventually moved into making records himself, collaborating with Lee "Scratch" Perry. Those sides, as well as tapes of his radio show, found their way to England where they created an underground sensation.
Punk rockers The Clash became fans of Dread's music and teamed with him on tour and in the studio. "Bankrobber," a tune that bears Dread's distinctive sonic thumbprint, was a hit song on British radio in 1980. Their creative partnership continued on The Clash's triple album "Sandinista!"
The Clash connection brought Dread more fame, but little fortune. "I'm still fighting to get my royalties," he said. "It's not right. And I don't have the money to sue."
But the 51-year-old musician hasn't been sitting around hoping for a check to arrive. Over the years, he's produced tracks for musicians ranging from UB40 to Izzy Stradlin, made reggae news segments for BBC Radio 1 and studied international communications at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.Recently, he took his live act on the road to both California and Hawaii, where he spent New Year's Eve helping reggae lovers ring in 2007.
This month, he launches his "Dread at the Controls" podcast to the delight of iPod-using reggae fans. It's available from www.insomniaradio.net.
Dread doesn't have a reggae show on American satellite radio, but he's open to the idea. The DJs currently spinning reggae on satellite radio don't offer his depth of knowledge and experience, he explained.
"You can't top Mikey Dread in terms of reggae radio," he said. "I'm not jealous, but I want to set the facts straight."
source:dailypress.com
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