Eric Steiner, Cosmik Debris, ©2000
"I've spent many years listening to Bob Marley sing ‘I Shot the Sheriff’ and ‘Buffalo Soldier.’ I thought that the black experience in the American West had been told. For me, Marley's showdown in the street or his exploration of dreadlock rastas who fought the war for America seemed to be enough. For me, Robert Nesta Marley said it all, until I saw the Reggae Cowboys live. I caught the Reggae Cowboys at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on July 24th on tour behind their second CD, ‘Rock Steady Rodeo.
Toronto's Reggae Cowboys have a unique sound, reggae by way of the Caribbean island nation of Dominica in the British West Indies. Dominica is home to Reggae Cowboys songwriters and co-founders Bird "Stone Ranger" Bellony and Algernon "Click Masta Sync" Rabess.
The Reggae Cowboys bring their own brand of reggae, flavored with Caribbean, Old West, Spaghetti Western and, yes, even traditional reggae spices. They've been around a while, having formed in Toronto seven years ago by Stone Ranger and Click Masta Sync. At the Kennedy Center, they were joined by new touring Cowboys: The Hitman on drums and Wild Donovan Westney on bass. This four-piece rocked, as in rock steady, for well over an hour in the gilded Grand Foyer of one of America's greatest performing arts facilities. Down the hall, the National Opera was conducting auditions for its upcoming season, but I was there to experience reggae, Reggae Cowboys-style.
The Reggae Cowboys took the stage with an uptempo version of ‘Hang 'Em High’ from the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. Both Eastwood and Ennio Morricone defined Spaghetti Westerns with soundtracks that seemed to capture every nuance of the mountains and the plains of the American West, although many were filmed throughout Italy. I'm confident they would've joined these Rastas in jeans, vests and Stetsons. Reggae Cowboys' originals ‘Road Show’ and ‘Cowboy Riddim’ followed, and the rhythm section of Wild Dononvan Westney on bass and The Hitman powered the band with a mixture of reggae, country twang, and a little bit of jazz behind the bass and the drums.
Stone Ranger and Click Masta Sync clicked on several cuts, including the upbeat ‘Lighten Up’ and ‘Reggae Rodeo,’ both from ‘Rock Steady Rodeo’ Stone's guitar solos soared, particularly when he traded leads with Click on a powerful reggae version of Chuck Berry's ‘Johnny B. Goode.’ I had heard Peter Tosh do this one live several times in the 70's, and the Steppin' Razor would be mighty, mighty proud of the Reggae Cowboys' version of this Chuck Berry rock and roll standard.
‘Searchin' for the Outlaw,’ one of the more popular cuts from the band's first LP titled "Tell the Truth," got the audience up and moving and their cover of The Eagle's ‘Outlaw Man’ made me wish for ‘Hotel California,’ Reggae.Cowboys-style.
Toronto's Reggae Cowboys have a unique sound, reggae by way of the Caribbean island nation of Dominica in the British West Indies. Dominica is home to Reggae Cowboys songwriters and co-founders Bird "Stone Ranger" Bellony and Algernon "Click Masta Sync" Rabess.
The Reggae Cowboys bring their own brand of reggae, flavored with Caribbean, Old West, Spaghetti Western and, yes, even traditional reggae spices. They've been around a while, having formed in Toronto seven years ago by Stone Ranger and Click Masta Sync. At the Kennedy Center, they were joined by new touring Cowboys: The Hitman on drums and Wild Donovan Westney on bass. This four-piece rocked, as in rock steady, for well over an hour in the gilded Grand Foyer of one of America's greatest performing arts facilities. Down the hall, the National Opera was conducting auditions for its upcoming season, but I was there to experience reggae, Reggae Cowboys-style.
The Reggae Cowboys took the stage with an uptempo version of ‘Hang 'Em High’ from the Clint Eastwood movie of the same name. Both Eastwood and Ennio Morricone defined Spaghetti Westerns with soundtracks that seemed to capture every nuance of the mountains and the plains of the American West, although many were filmed throughout Italy. I'm confident they would've joined these Rastas in jeans, vests and Stetsons. Reggae Cowboys' originals ‘Road Show’ and ‘Cowboy Riddim’ followed, and the rhythm section of Wild Dononvan Westney on bass and The Hitman powered the band with a mixture of reggae, country twang, and a little bit of jazz behind the bass and the drums.
Stone Ranger and Click Masta Sync clicked on several cuts, including the upbeat ‘Lighten Up’ and ‘Reggae Rodeo,’ both from ‘Rock Steady Rodeo’ Stone's guitar solos soared, particularly when he traded leads with Click on a powerful reggae version of Chuck Berry's ‘Johnny B. Goode.’ I had heard Peter Tosh do this one live several times in the 70's, and the Steppin' Razor would be mighty, mighty proud of the Reggae Cowboys' version of this Chuck Berry rock and roll standard.
‘Searchin' for the Outlaw,’ one of the more popular cuts from the band's first LP titled "Tell the Truth," got the audience up and moving and their cover of The Eagle's ‘Outlaw Man’ made me wish for ‘Hotel California,’ Reggae.Cowboys-style.
posted by Reggae Cowboys at 1:55 AM
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