Weekly Reggae Night brings positive vibes to the Dock
JIM CATALANO, Correspondent 5:09 p.m. EST January 7, 2015
Since last summer, some of Ithaca’s top musicians have been gathering weekly at the Dock for Reggae Night. Every Wednesday, members of bands such as Mosaic Foundation, Big Mean Sound Machine, Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad and John Brown’s Body take the stage with a sense of adventure seeking to mine the deep well of reggae.
Core players of the I-Town Allstars include Angelo Peters (Big Mean Sound Machine), Daniel Keller (Giant Panda), John-Paul Nawn (Mosaic Foundation), Bryan Davis (Big Mean/Mosaic), Jon Petronzio (John Brown’s Body) and a few others, with Kenny Christianson usually manning the soundboard. They’re joined by a rotating cast of guest singers, horn players, guitarists, keyboardists and other instrumentalists who come up throughout the night.
“With such a great lineup of friends from many different bands, the audience can expect that some interesting things are going to happen on stage,” Petronzio said.
“This tiny little town has such a strong, diverse, creative and talented musical community,” added Jimkata manager Russ Friedell, who has taken the stage himself a few times on keyboards, “and Reggae Night has turned into this great avenue where these artists can get on stage and play some of their favorite reggae tunes together. The real beauty to me is how the talents of each individual musician blend smoothly on stage.”
And Ithacans are noticing. Most Wednesdays, more than 200 people usually pass through the door, drawn by the lack of a cover charge, the stellar music and the positive vibrations created throughout the night.
A new beginning
Though Castaways used to host Reggae Tuesdays in the same space before it closed in 2012, the current version at the Dock is a totally new thing, conceived by Dock owner Jason Sokoloff along with Peters, Keller and Nawn.
“Jason loves reggae and so do we, and it came together at the right time,” said Peters. “We were tired of having no outlet for doing weekly music in Ithaca, or for playing covers — how else will this music stay alive?”
With a loose “no Bob Marley” rule in place, the repertoire draws from other reggae legends such as Peter Tosh Clinton Fearon, Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, Peter Tosh, Abyssinians, John Holt, Errol Dunkley and the Mighty Diamonds.
“There are so many good songs,” Keller noted. “We’re playing lots of deep cuts that I’ve never heard. We’re learning all these classics, and I’m learning all about reggae history by playing them.”
Continuing a long-running reggae tradition, the band will occasionally work up reggae-fied versions of songs such as Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,” Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” or John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” to name some examples.
“There were a lot more improvised jams when we first started,” Nawn said. “We are adding new classic covers and originals from individuals in the band every week.”
While some of the players rehearse occasionally, mainly to work out vocal harmonies and learn new songs, “one of the things I love about the Reggae Night is how little preparation actually goes into it,” Petronzio said. “From a performer’s standpoint, you often work and rehearse tirelessly to create a show worth paying for, only to get to the performance and have some sort of gear meltdown, or monitor blowout, or your voice is gone, or colleges are on break and nobody shows up.
“What I like about the jam is that we show up each and every week and play to have a good time regardless of who will come out. We do it because we love playing music — get on stage and somebody calls out a couple chords and away we go.”
Reggae Night also is run in a much different way than its predecessor — it’s not an open jam, and guests have to be invited to sit in with the band, “although we are pretty open to anyone we know jumping up,” Peters said.
“My favorite part is performing with the guys,” said Rochelle Renee Matthews, who usually sings a couple of songs each week. “They are all so talented and when it’s jamming with the best that Ithaca has to offer, what’s not to like?”
Added Mosiac Foundation singer Yao Foli “Cha Cha” Augustine: “Reggae Wednesday is the mid-week stress relief! Singing and playing conscious and constructive reggae covers is like re-reading the good book. This commitment reveals unity in diversity among musicians and audience in Ithaca.”
Other guests have included Kevin Kinsella, John Brown’s Body frontman Elliot Martin and Grey Gary’s Tom Burchinal and Shikhar Bajracharya (who did a Billy Idol song).
“It seems like the perfect platform, for singers to come and do their thing,” Keller noted. “If they have songs they want to sing, it takes pressure of us to learn the words.”
Some of the guests are from bands whose repertoire has little to do with reggae.
“What I like about Reggae Night is the spontaneity, camaraderie and the chance to learn something about reggae history through song,” said Evan Friedell, singer-guitarist with the electro-rock band Jimkata. “I feel like I’m coming from a much different musical environment, and one that is pretty rehearsed and controlled, so stepping up on stage without knowing a whole lot was a fun challenge.
“When I first started playing I was asking between almost every song, ‘What key is it in? What are the chords?’ Then after the show I leave with five different songs stuck in my head, usually by artists who I should know more about, then I go home and learn more about those artists.
“It’s also fun to have different reputable musicians come up on stage throughout the night that want to play their own songs or do an unusual cover in a reggae style. Mostly, I get to play with guys and gals I don’t get to see too often who are all doing important things in their own right in the Ithaca community and beyond.”
Building bonds
Reggae Night has helped knit together some various strands of the Ithaca music scene, not just among the musicians but the listeners who regularly attend.
“My weekend effectively starts on Wednesday nights now,” Davis said. “I like being able to do something that’s fun and rewarding to myself, and have it be acknowledged by so many people. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of people as well, when you have a residency you can build a rapport with folks in a much different way. That’s been really valuable.”
“My favorite part of doing it every week has been feeling a sense of community that is being built between the audience and the musicians,” Nawn said.
“The best thing about all this is the fact that we can get people together every week to make music,” Peters said. “Ithaca has been lacking something like this for as long as I have been here. The ‘scene’ has been up and down for a while, and this has been something that has helped bring people together.”
Added Petronzio: “I am really excited that in the dead of winter we’ve already cleared 250 people one night. This has all happened mostly by way of word of mouth — people tend to return and bring some friends the next week. That being said, I’ve seen a lot of faces I don’t know, so once the whole local crowd starts showing up, it’s going to be off the hook!”
“It just proves that everyone from all walks of life loves reggae music,” said DJ Mike “Judah” Miller, who usually starts the night off by spinning reggae tunes from his vast collection. “It’s amazing to see how it all comes together and it’s hard to believe that most of what happens on stage is unrehearsed. And it’s free!”
If You Go
•What: Reggae Night
•Who: The I-Town Allstars
•When: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesdays
•Where: The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca
•Cost: no cover
•Info:
http://www.TheDockIthaca.comhttp://www.ithacajournal.com/story/ente ... /21407591/