Steel Pulse @ Mountain Winery, Saratoga
“Reggae
music pleases kings and queens, so I’m sure that it will please
you,” announced lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist David Hinds.
I
first saw Steel Pulse at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, HI, 1988.
Ironically, the U.K.’s Grammy winning reggae band was the opening
act for a local group, Cecilio & Kapono. My first exposure to
the music of Steel Pulse came via the reggae show on KTUH FM, our
local university radio station. I was captivated by their roots and
dub sound and their militant and spiritually uplifting lyrics. Songs
like “Handsworth Revolution,” “Chant a Psalm a Day,”
“Stepping Out,” “Ku Klux Klan,” “Not King James Version,”
“Blues Dance Raid,” “Roller Skates” and “Drug Squad”
became the soundtrack of my young adult life. Steel Pulse was rocking
against racism and speaking out on police shootings of unarmed black
youth decades before Black Lives Matter.
David Hinds and Selwyn Brown. Founders of Steel Pulse
It
was fate that led me to spot a fabulous young dread, David Hinds, and
his magnificent towering dreadlock, walking out of the Food Pantry,
our neighborhood overpriced grocery store, in Waikiki, 1989 on the
eve of Steel Pulse’ headlining Waikiki Shell performance. I
remember running through the “don’t walk” sign to catch up with
David and grabbing the sleeve of his denim jacket.
“Excuse
me, are you….”
“Oh,
yes,” he said. “And you are…?
I
quickly introduced myself and the underground publication, “Scrawling
Wall,” that I was writing for at the time. I did not know that I
was shaking and sweating in the Honolulu heat.
“You
seem like you are afraid of me,” said Hinds.
“Oh
no, I’m just a bit nervous because I love you guys so much,” I
said.
What
followed was a two hour interview for “Scrawling Wall” with
Hinds, who introduced me to band members Steve “Grizzly” Nesbit
on drums, Selwyn Brown on vocals, keyboards and melodic, Phono
Martin on percussion and vocals and Sidney Mills on keyboards.
Hinds spoke to me in depth about the influence of the Black Power
Movement in America, discrimination against blacks and other peoples
of color in the U.K., and the songwriting process that led him to
write classics such as “Throne of Gold” and “Ravers.” When
Hinds opened his jacket to reveal an oversize button depicting a cow
pooping with a circle and I line over it, (“No Bullshit”), I knew
that we would be friends for life.
Ironically, Steel Pulse came
to town to perform during my last weekend in Honolulu and I hung out
with the band members at Diamond Head Beach, where the warm sand
glistened like millions of diamond chips. The Pulse was with me when
I left Honolulu for good to attend graduate school in San Francisco.
While tears flowed, I played their 1991 recording, “Victims” on
the plane. The first single was “Taxi Driver.” Putting worlds
into action, Steel Pulse filed a class action suit against the New
York Taxi and Limousine Commission, due to drivers refusing to pick
up blacks and dreads.
In the summer of 1994, the
staff of the Reggae Calendar International lost our dear friend,
Joyce Ann Cooke, who was killed in a car crash on the way to Reggae
on the River. Headlining at Reggae on the River that weekend was none
other than Steel Pulse. A blessing came out of tragedy that weekend;
my feature story on Steel Pulse for “Reggae Calendar International”
caught the eye of Steel Pulse’s tour manager, who recommended me to
MCA records to write the press release for their upcoming album,
“Vex.”
A
standout track on “Vex” was a song called “No Justice, No
Peace.”
“The
practice of so many injustices has left us with very little
confidence in the judicial system,” said Hinds. “Above the angry
groove of the drum and bass, “No Justice, No Peace,” lashes out
at the outcome of the Rodney King trials. “No Justice, No Peace”
goes on to acknowledge Mike Tyson’s incarceration in comparison to
a Kennedy family member’s acquittal on an almost similar crime.”
Fast
forward to fall, 2016. Steel Pulse is currently touring with one of
the biggest acts in reggae music, multiple Grammy winner Ziggy
Marley. When reggae music was rough and uncut, Steel Pulse opened
for Bob Marley, who dubbed them the Young Wailers.
Drummer Wayne "C-Sharp" Clarke
Though they players and the
groove may have changed over 40 years, the message remains the same.
Steel Pulse current lineup includes core members, Hinds, Brown and
Mills, along with Wayne “C Sharp” Clarke on drums, Amlak Tafari
on bass, Jerry Johnson on sax, and Makiesha McTaggert on vocals,
rapper BaRuch Hinds (son of David) and David Elecceri on guitar.
Vocalist Keysha McTaggart and keyboardist Sidney Mills
They’ve added an acoustic version of “Chant a Psalm a Day” and
new songs such as “Don’t Shoot” and “Put Your Hoodies Up (4
Trayvon),” livicated to the unarmed black youth across the country
who’ve been killed by police.
Steel Pulse newest members David Elecciri, guitar, and rapper BaRuch Hinds
After seeing the Pulse live at
least 100 times over the years, the show is new to me every time and
I wait for the point when they play “Rally Round” and I can throw
my fist in the air and sing along with the refrain “Closer to God
we Africans!”
Steel
Pulse is also gearing up for the release of “Dreadtown,” the
definitive documentary of Steel Pulse, which memorializes their 40
year career and evolution of as a band. With Hinds as executive
producer, “Dreadtown” was directed by Yoni Gal of Driftwood
Pictures. Past and present band members and family are featured in
the film, as well as luminaries such as the Marley family, Gwen
Stefani, Michael Franti, Snoop Dogg, Johnny Rotten and Alpha Blondy.
"Dreadtown" has been in the making for eight years, said
Hinds, 60.
“We started out doing the video, for our song "Door of No Return." (see link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsO4aYNFc9U). The song is about a captured slave who is actually a king. My son, BaRuch, has the lead in the video. The song is about someone of high realms all of a sudden finding himself on an auction block in the United States or somewhere like that, and being sold. The whole idea of "Door of No Return," not that I'm veering from the subject of "Dreadtown," is that there is a place called Goree Island, a small island off the coast of Senegal, and on Goree Island is a detention center or a fortress where slaves were held until they were dispatched to various parts of the world. There was an opening through the fortress that the slaves had to go through that was called the door of no return. Once they went through the door, and went throughout Europe and parts of the Americas to become slaves, they never had a chance to return.”
“We started out doing the video, for our song "Door of No Return." (see link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsO4aYNFc9U). The song is about a captured slave who is actually a king. My son, BaRuch, has the lead in the video. The song is about someone of high realms all of a sudden finding himself on an auction block in the United States or somewhere like that, and being sold. The whole idea of "Door of No Return," not that I'm veering from the subject of "Dreadtown," is that there is a place called Goree Island, a small island off the coast of Senegal, and on Goree Island is a detention center or a fortress where slaves were held until they were dispatched to various parts of the world. There was an opening through the fortress that the slaves had to go through that was called the door of no return. Once they went through the door, and went throughout Europe and parts of the Americas to become slaves, they never had a chance to return.”
“I was very emotional about the whole thing and thought I was
actually representing my ancestors returning through the door of no
return,” said Hinds. “My point is, we decided to take it to
another level and make a movie on the making of "Door of No
Return." It was so interesting what developed as far as ideas
and what we contributed, and the next step was to turn the whole the
Steel Pulse experience and advertise our 40 year legacy. That's how
"Dreadtown" came into play. We're hoping that it can be
completed by the end of the year. It's crucial now, because there are
so many issues involved. We started out, as you know in England where
we were facing racism and all of the stuff that came along
colonialism and of course, we go back to 400 years of slavery. To
know that things have come around 360 degrees in this day and age;
where England has exited out of Europe—racism is at the root of it
all. You’ve got Donald Trump establishing his format of racism
right here in the U.S. It’s as if our songs have been revitalized
for that same reason. Our story needs to be out there; it needs to be
told and I’m hoping that it will be something that people are very
much interested in. I hope it doesn’t have a “sell by” date or
gets put on the shelf after a period of time, because we are living
in times where things are very much disposable. We want to know that
your children and grandchildren can still have this film as a
template of how things are and were. I hope that it can be part of a
school’s curriculum. We want to have people taking time out with
kids of all ages and dimensions and looking at it and saying, wow,
this is what’s happening, and sort of have it as a debate or
whatever they want to use it as. We want it to last for a long, long
time, even after Steel Pulse has retired as a band.”
May
the Pulse be with you at: www.steelpulse.com
On
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteelPulse/
On
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steelpulseofficial/
On
Twitter: @Steelpulse
