by Bill Pearis

Little Roy

September 24 marks the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind and amongst the hoopla we've already seen SPIN devote an entire issue to the album as well as curate a free, downloadable tribute. Naam has also released a tribute 7". And there are surely more to come.

The most recent, and one of more unlikely, is Little Roy's new album Battle for Seattle, on which the reggae legend (who's first Jamaican #1 was in 1969) does an entire album of Nirvana covers. Though it sounds like a questionable idea on paper, Battle for Seattle is surprisingly good. Credit producers Prince Fatty (aka Mike Pelanconi) and Mutant Hi-Fi (aka Nick Coplowe) who are clever, tasteful arrangers. They recorded the album on analogue tape using vintage gear which gives the album a classic Studio One sound. Pelanconi did similar work with Hollie Cook (daughter of Sex Pistols' drummer Paul Cook) on her entertaining debut from earlier this year.

Spotify users can listen to the whole of Battle for Seattle here. For everyone else there are a few tracks to stream below.

Meanwhile... of course there's a 20th Anniversary edition of Nevermind coming out. A two-disc, 39-track Deluxe Edition (four vinyl LPs) hits stores September 27 and comes with single b-sides the original demos for Nevermind recorded at Butch Vig's Smart Studios, as well as rehearsal demos recorded on a boombox. There's also a five-disc Super-Deluxe box set version out October 25 that, in addition to those two discs, contains Butch Vig's original album mixes, plus a live disc recorded at the Seattle's Paramount Theater on Halloween 1991, and a DVD with the Paramount concert plus music videos. Only 10,000 are being released in the U.S.

Continue reading "Little Roy released an album of reggae Nirvana covers, 20th anniversary editions of Nevermind out soon"

Reggae legends Toots and the Maytals are touring non-stop through the end of July, and they're coming to Brooklyn twice this summer. They play Brooklyn Bowl on July 19 and 25. Tickets are on sale now for both shows (July 19 and July 25). The 7/19 show will opened by Lukas Nelson and the 7/25 show by Fear Nuttin' Band.

Toots' tour ends 7/31 at Hollywood Bowl, but they are also scheduled to play Jam Cruise in early 2012. All dates are listed below.

Toots and the Maytals broke up in the early 1980s, but reunited in the '90s and have been together ever since. Toots' current band features himself (Frederick "Toots" Hibbert) on lead vocals along with Leba Thomas-Backup Vocal, Marie "Twiggi" Gitten-Backup Vocal, Paul Douglas-Percussion, Carl Harvey-Lead Guitar, Jackie Jackson-Bass, Radcliffe "Dougie" Bryan-Rhythm Guitar, Charles "The Bulge" Farquarson-Keyboard, and Norris "Computer" Webb-Keyboard. Last year, they released the album Flip and Twist which you can order from their website, along with a joint-shaped USB drive loaded with the full album (pictured above).

Download the track "There is a Reason", along with all tour dates and some recent live videos, below...

Continue reading "Toots and the Maytals selling joint-shaped USB Drive, on tour now (2 Brooklyn dates included)"

Since we last spoke, official word came back regarding Ari Up's untimely passing: it was cancer. In her memory and the memory of the tunes she left behind, Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg is hosting a show on January 16th called "Ari Up Punky Reggae Birthday Party" featuring appearances from members of The Slits, The Slackers, PiL, as well as Neneh Cherry and many others. Tickets are on sale.

Being that Ari Up was John Lydon's step-daughter, it's not surprising that her passing had an effect on him:

John Lydon has delayed sessions to record new material with Public Image Ltd following the death of his step-daughter, The Slits singer Ari Up.

"We were going to go into the studio but in light of my step-daughter's death, I really can't be doing that at the moment," Lydon said [around November 22nd].

"I don't want to leave my wife alone for any length of time right now. So the music side has had to be held." -[BBC]

Another recent tribute to Ari Up happened in the form of Kathleen Hanna and The Raincoats covering a Slits song at MoMA. Video of that, with info on upcoming Kathleen Hanna-related events, can be found HERE.

Members of The Slackers are involved in the Ari Up show at MHoW, and the band has a show of their own in NYC next week. Tickets are still available for The Slackers at Brooklyn Bowl on December 18th. The show is one of two December dates for the NYC ska band. The second is New Years Eve in San Francisco, and the first date on a larger tour for the band who will be pretty busy through June. Openers for the Brooklyn show are Frighteners, the Forthights, and DJ 100dBs with special guest appearances by Greg Lee (Hepcat) & Jesse Wagner (Aggrolites).

All Slackers dates and some videos below.

Continue reading "an Ari-Up birthday party show, Slackers tour dates & more"

Reggae and dancehall pioneer Sugar Minott died Saturday at a hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, after suffering from a heart-related ailment. He was 54.

Lincoln Barrington "Sugar" Minott loved the music he helped create: When he'd perform, he'd shake his shoulders, bug out his eyes and then shut them tight with the music. When he smiled, which was often, an adorable gap would peek out between his teeth.

Minott's first album, Live Loving, came out in 1978. It's credited by many as the first dancehall album in Jamaica, and its influence on Jamaican music -- and, by extension, American hip-hop -- is massive. Minott started his own label, Black Roots, and shaped the reggae, ragga and dub music scenes as the sound of dancehall evolved in the 1980s.- [NPR]

Listen to some Sugar below...

Continue reading "Sugar Minott, RIP "

words & photos by Benjamin Lozovsky

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final/first week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

With golden-encrusted boots, bristly magenta beard and childlike eyes that could sit deeply sunken on any familiar septuagenarian relative, Lee 'Scratch' Perry wheeled his suitcase on stage. By the time he departed his performance at the Highline Ballroom, Perry took with him more than his Selassie-emblazoned luggage; he had ran off with the crowd's sanity.

Although the reggae world has its fair share of pioneers still eluding that eternal cloud of weed smoke in the sky, few remain as colorful and essential of a performer as Perry. Arguably one of the genre's originators and certainly greatest innovators, the 73 year-old singer/producer continues to tour and be a playful if not amusingly confounding stage presence. With more patches and flair on his jacket than an alt-rock preteen, his outfit alone was eye candy; Perry's music, navigated by a top-notch touring band, was equally appetizing.

Perry was preceded by a set of sarcastic battle hip hop by underground vet Pacewon and DJ Mr. Green, as well as a performance of one-dimensional, sloppy garage rock from Philly duo PO PO. Fans seemed to appear out of nowhere to fill up the venue just in time for Perry, whose soft voice shot through the sound system before he joined his already skanking backing group on stage. Surrounded by younger musicians, Perry's characteristic style was at moments more aggressive than laid-back and ethereal, and there weren't as many stuttering snares and waves of reverb as one might expect from this progenitor of dub. Despite that, the plinking keyboards and tiptoeing riddims of classics like "Roast Fish and Cornbread" and "Dreadlocks In Moonlight" were still worn in and luxurious.

More pictures from Lee Perry's December show at Highline Ballroom, below...

Continue reading "Lee Scratch Perry @ Highline Ballroom in NYC - pics & setlist"

photos by Tim Griffin

Alpha Blondy

"4:45 PM: Perry's band is ok. A couple of times they do a little dub, some swirling, echoey organ, some piano but mostly it's just one long vamp after another. From down the hill, most of Perry's vocals are inaudible and those that aren't don't make any sense. Not that they'd make any more sense if they were. It would be nice to be able to see something but it's also nice to be outside under the trees with plenty of space.

5:20 PM: The line has mostly disappeared, but the place is clearly sold out. Ivory Coast reggae legend Alpha Blondy has taken the stage, barely visible from beyond the wooden fence just short of the press tent outside. He's got a couple of women singing harmony, a horn section, a couple of guitars and keyboards. He looks resplendent in his gold robe. The sound is all highs and lows with not much midrange, screechy guitar opening the show with a long, note-for-note Zeppelin riff, bass booming, hypnotic and comforting. Just down the hill behind the back wall of the arena, people have brought their blankets, their picnics, their beer. The sound is great back here, and it's a lot more comfortable than having to stand inside. Scratch Perry's deity is everywhere, in the air, in peoples' lungs, in their red eyes. Time to find a tree that hasn't been taken, get some back support. One with the earth, yes I! Alpha Blondy plays a greatest-hits show..." [Lucid Culture]

Continue reading "Lee Scratch Perry & Alpha Blondy @ Summerstage - pics"

Lee 'Scratch" Perry' @ Central Park Summerstage - July 19, 2009 (by Tim Griffin)

HR of Bad Brains of Fun Fun Fun Fest 2008 (by Tyler Nutter)

DOWNLOAD: Lee Scratch Perry - Pum Pum (MP3)

Narnack is excited to announce the signing of "The Slits"... this pioneering all girl act is noted for it's influence on many of music's most acclaimed female musician's and was espousing on the riot girl ethic before most of the movements artists had even picked up an instrument.

The band is rehearsing new material now and will be returning to the studio for their first full-length album with all new material in over 20 years. Look for all the original members (Ari, Tessa & Palmolive) to be back in the studio for the new album which will start recording in February. The Slits will also be touring the US and abroad in 2009.

Also, Lee Scratch Perry's "REPENTANCE" has been nominated for Best Reggae Album of 2008. Oo-produced by Andrew WK and featuring Moby, seminal producer Don Fleming and drummer Brian Chippendale of staccato noise duo Lightning Bolt!. The Upsetter will be attending his first ever Grammy Awards ceremony here in Los Angeles on Feb. 8th. Be sure to tune in...

For more Narnack, check out the pics from their CMJ 2008 showcase.

The family of Bob Marley has refused to license any of his music for an upcoming Weinstein Co. film drama about the late reggae star even though his widow, Rita Marley, is its executive producer.

The reason? There is a competing Martin Scorsese documentary being produced by the Marley family-owned Tuff Gong Pictures and Steven Bing's Shangri La production banner, the first theatrical documentary to license Marley songs. [Reuters]

February 7th in Brooklyn, and then on TV....

Continue reading "NYC Forum on Anti-Gay Lyrics in Reggae Music"

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- Five men have been arrested and charged with murder over the shooting of reggae legend Lucky Dube, Johannesburg police said Monday.

The men were arrested Sunday in an area east of Johannesburg and will appear in court on Tuesday, police spokesman Eugene Opperman said.

Along with murder, Opperman said the men were charged with possession of stolen property, a charge unrelated to Dube's death. Opperman said police seized two stolen firearms and four vehicles, including the one used on the night Dube was shot.

The 43-year-old musician was killed Thursday night as a hijacker tried to steal his car, his record company said. Dube was dropping his children off at a relative's house at the time; he attempted to escape but died almost instantly from his wounds, Gallo Record Company said. [CNN]

The Reggae Carifest set to happen at Randall's Island this Saturday may get the plug pulled. amNewYork reports that Power 105 withdrew its sponsorship in response to two artists on the bill having anti-gay language in their songs. The artists, Buju Banton and Bounty Killer, have a history of inflammatory lyrics. Banton's song "Boom Bye Bye" speaks of burning and shooting gay men, while Bounty Killer's song "Another Level" suggests drowning them. The Dancehall reggae artists are part of a long history that genre has in advocating anti-gay violence." [Gothamist]