JOURNAL CULTURE
SOUND CHECK
WITH VINCENT HARRIS
‘Power to the people’ Reggae takes center stage at IPA Over the next two months, the Independent Public Ale House, located at 110 Poinsett Highway in Greenville, will be featuring a series of artists that highlight the past, present and future of reggae music. IPA’s talent booker, Robert Boggs, has used years of experience as a musician, band manager, engineer and agent to find the best representatives of the musical style he’s loved since childhood. “Going back to when I was a little kid, there was always reggae in my life,” Boggs says. “I’d go through phases where I loved metal or other kinds of music and that’s all I would play, but reggae was always a staple in my life. Then when I got an opportunity to go out on the road with a band B-Side Players called The Movement about three years ago, and they toured around the country for a number of years, that was my first connection to the reggae community.” Starting with the veteran B-Side Players band on Sept. 12, Boggs has lined up shows with Fortunate Youth, Simplified, Taj Weekes, Sun-Dried Vibes, Spiritual Rez, the Lionz of Zion and Passafire. The bands represent everything from rootsreggae (Taj Weekes) to funk-reggae (the B-Side Players) to regional reggae musicians (Lionz of Zion, Passafire). Boggs says that the shows are coming to IPA from various sources, from an upcoming festival nearby to his own connections. “A lot of it has to do with a festival up in Wilmington, N.C., called the California Roots festival,” he says. “It brings bands from all over the world to Wilmington. At the same time, if it’s a show I think we can sell here in Greenville, then I try to take it.” Boggs says that the artists playing IPA honor both evolution and tradition when it comes to reggae music. “It’s a really small musical community once you get out there,” he says. “There are only 20-30 bands that fit the genre, but none of them sound the same. It’s really cool to see the genre to be interpreted differently by each artist. At the same time, I think anyone can relate to [reggae] because at the end of the day, reggae is about giving power to the people, and all of us living together. It’s music that makes you feel like you’re on vacation instead of stuck in your daily grind.” Here is a sampling of some of the artists that Boggs has scheduled for IPA, and why he’s excited about them: B-Side Players (Friday, Sept. 12): “This is their 20th anniversary tour. I was lucky enough to get them, and I haven’t seen them live yet, so that’s one of the shows that I’m looking forward to most. Fortunate Youth (Tuesday, Sept. 16): “Fortunate Youth is a band out of California. They’re one of those bands where you’ll see them live, you’ll go home and put the record on and just relive the experience over and over again. Their singer is one of the most charismatic people I’ve ever seen.” Taj Weekes (Wednesday, Oct. 1): “He’s never been to South Carolina to perform his music before. He’s from St. Lucia and he reminds me a lot of the early Bob Marley records, where it’s all about unity and he talks about fighting for your rights and for humanity. It music where he’s not just a singer, he’s an activist.” Passafire (Wednesday, Nov. 12): “They’re some local boys from Savannah, Ga., but they’ve only played Greenville once. They’re one of my favorite bands on- and offstage. They’re really good guys.” For more information, contact Independent Public Ale House at 864-552-1265 or visit ipagreenville.com. VINCENT HARRIS | CONTRIBUTOR
vharris@communityjournals.com
SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 | THE JOURNAL 35