THE PULSE – CHATANOOGA

By: Stephanie Smith

The reach of Rastafari and reggae has spread beyond the songs of the legendary Bob Marley, but the vibration remains the same: One World. One Love.

As a child growing up in St. Lucia in the Caribbean, Taj Weekes was exposed to all different kinds of music on the radio—reggae, calypso, rock ‘n roll—in addition to the liberation theology and music he grew up with in church. It was reggae, however, that he fell in love with.

“Reggae initially meant put rhythm to a poem and cry,” says Weekes. “When people listen to us, that’s what they expect. There’s been the development of this crazy stepchild of the music—run off of excess and rhythm driven—but it’s not reggae. Reggae is organic, soul, message-driven music.”

Weekes and Adowa left St. Lucia for North America to spread the message. The band is named after the 1896 Battle of Adowa, in which the Ethiopians triumphed over the Italians, directly leading to Ethiopia becoming an independent state.

“I have Ethiopian lineage; the name keeps me in contact with Ethiopian ancestry. I like to carry that with me. Everybody in the band are Caribbean musicians. It’s a beautiful thing that everybody brings from their island. When [the music] comes together, it’s a wonderful melting pot.”

Another part of heritage that Weekes and Adowa carry with them is the principle of Rastafarianism, a monotheistic movement promoting a peaceful lifestyle and a holistic organic world view. Rastafari and reggae go hand-in-hand and provide a place in the world for the band.

“Rastafari teaches us to see beauty in ourselves—not to look like anybody else, but to look like ourselves. It’s a more spiritual, holistic approach to the world where you treat everybody as your equal.

“We really know who we are. [As for the music], we are in it, not of it. Nothing changes—the vibration remains the same. Music is spiritual for us. We’re Rasta…we’re modern-day town criers.”

Weekes’ poetry has influenced people all over the world. On a recent trip to New Orleans, the band’s holistic message of love received an overwhelming response from the audience.

“Suffering is universal. Our message is universal. You know we’re coming up on the fifth anniversary of Katrina. I told the people there that I could not help with the rebuilding, so I wrote a song for them. The response to ‘Louisiana‘ was tremendous.”

As for contemporary musical influences, Weekes is reluctant to name names, but as a lyricist he is drawn to artists who “say old things in new ways.

“Look at is this way: if I were a basketball player, I would look for people who played better than me. I am naturally drawn to these kinds of people. The ones who are giving the message music are few and far between. They tend to stand out like beacons among the gray.”

In keeping with his Rastafari lifestyle, Weekes wanted to do more than just music. He decided to shine a light on the “other side of the Caribbean” when he formed They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO) in 2007, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the lives of underprivileged children through sports, enrichment, educational and wellness programs. Much of the money from the music supports the charity.

“The Caribbean is not all sandy and vacation spots. The place has its share of maladies. Diabetes is at the largest occurrence per capita in world; we just filmed a documentary about it and we gave away 2,500 diabetes testers. We’ve just implemented a soccer program for children.

“We’re also collecting shoes for the people of Haiti. So far we’ve collected 3,200 pairs. We’re asking people to bring gently used shoes [to Riverbend], tie them together, and put a dollar in there. We’ll dump them in my trailer and carry them along with us.”

The diabetes documentary, which opens in November 2010, was filmed by the video division of Jatta Records, Weekes’ record company. The band is also in the studio finishing its third album, to be released by Jatta in July 2010.

“Jatta means to let your hair grow and not cut it. [The company] has different wings, music and video, because I want to produce more documentaries about issues that affect me in ways that I just have to say something about it.

“If you walk and talk, it’s easier to spread the word that way. You kind of spread a mess if you’re not living that lifestyle. If you live a life that’s not one of excess and show people life can be simple, it’s easier [for them] to listen.”

Taj Weekes and Adowa Performance
2 p.m.
Friday, June 11
Riverbend Unplugged
Free.
Hunter Museum Lobby, 10 Bluff View.
9:15 pm
Friday, June 11
Riverbend Festival: TVFCU Stage
For more on the Haiti shoe project, visit www.theyoftencryoutreach.org

Interview by: Selector Timothy (Timothy Cross)

On Sunday, June 6th, DUBATOMIC PARTICLES, Taj Weekes joined Selector Timothy for a conversation about life, his charity They Often Cry Outreach and his last album Deidem .

(Interview with Taj Weekes starts in hour two of broadcast.)

Selector Timothy joined the Dubatomic Particles broadcast in March of 2003.

Father, son, husband, brother, friend, Selector Timothy also works as a selector from time to time with the Deep Roots Soundsystem and One World Global Sound. Prior to his work on Dubatomic Particles, Timothy hosted a Friday night broadcast at Western Carolina University called The Reggae 120 Show.

“Vibes are what I come to share. I’m a record collector and much more interested in expanding your understanding of reggae music, than offering up the status quo. We’ll deal with some crucial roots, but we’ll also deal with what’s grown from those roots over the past 40 or so years.”

Not afraid to venture beyond the traditional sounds of reggae music, Selector Timothy embraces many of King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Prince Jammy, and Scientist’s 21st century descendents. As he often declares in his broadcasts, “I think you’ll find – dub is the tie that binds my selections. Venturing into the outer limits …”

Timothy can be contacted at dubatomic@wncw.org.

To download or stream past Dubatomic Particles broadcasts, please visit: http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=dubatomic%20particles

• June 8 : Jewish Mother : Virginia Beach, VA
• June 9 : Port O’ Call : Kill Devil Hills, NC
• June 10 : Pisgah Brewing Company : Black Mountain, NC
• June 11 : Riverbend Festival : Chattanooga, TN
• June 13 : The Pour House : Charleston, SC
• June 18 : The Kalamazoo Island Festival : Kalamazoo, MI
• July 20 : One Pelham East : Newport, RI
• July 22 : Johnny D’s : Somerville, MA
• July 31 : Peoples’ Festival : Wilmington, DE
• August 7 : Joe’s Pub : New York, NY
• October 2 : Roots ‘N Blues ‘N BBQ Festival : Columbus, MO

Grammy hopeful Weekes states, “We may just be the first St. Lucian artists to be nominated for a Grammy to date.” For the first time ever, the announcement of nominations for the 2009 Grammy Awards will take place during a prime-time television special, “The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night,” on December 3 on the CBS Television Network.

Enthusiastically received by fans and the media alike, Billboard Magazine proclaimed DEIDEM as one of “six albums that herald the roots reggae resurgence.” Veteran music journalist and XM Satellite Radio Program Director Dermot Hussey described DEIDEM as “raising the level of songwriting within the idiom of reggae music.” Reflecting on his position as a non-Jamaican reggae artist, Weekes muses, “Reggae music is like a tree… its roots are in Jamaica, but its branches have outgrown the yard and the fruit has landed in other territories.”

With potent and penetrating lyrics, DEIDEM, meaning “All of Us,” delivers a passionate commentary on the relevant issues of our time. Weekes explains, “Whether it’s Darfur, the Middle East, global warming…there’s something going on in every part of the world and we’re trying to bring it all together on one album. No one is talking to each other; the album is designed to create conversation where people can come together.”

Though the topics are insightful and serious, the grooves, melodies and rhythms are the familiar backbeats that reggae fans know and love. Reggae Reviews writes, “After releasing perhaps the best reggae album of 2005, Taj Weekes returns with an early candidate for the best of ’08 in DEIDEM… It’s smart, inspirational, musically vibrant, and just plain gorgeous. No reggae fan can afford not to know Taj Weekes.”

Weekes’ commitment to humanitarian issues is demonstrated by his work as Goodwill Ambassador to the Caribbean in cooperation with the International Consortium of Caribbean Professionals (ICCP) and as founder of his charity, They Often Cry Outreach, which is dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged, at-risk and orphaned children in the Caribbean and beyond. A portion of the proceeds from the song “Orphans Cry” will be donated to TOCO to bring awareness to the issues that affect the Caribbean such as HIV/AIDS, global warming and poverty.

DEIDEM was released during the eligibility period on August 8, 2008 through Weekes’ independent label, Jatta Records, with U.S. distribution through the Independent Distributors Collective and Homegrown Music Network. Through a licensing deal with Spectra Records, DEIDEM was released to major distribution chains throughout the U.S., Canada and Asia. In conjunction with Afrikool/Culture Taxi Records, Jatta secured distribution for DEIDEM in the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. DEIDEM is available online through iTunes, eMusic, Amazon and other online music distributors.