Truckee Reggae Festival

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BY SEAN MCALINDIN

June 24-25 | Truckee River Regional Park | Truckee, CA

Cat Coore on stage, left. Third World, right. | Courtesy Third World

Steven “Cat” Coore has led Third World around the world as one of Jamaica’s all-time popular acts for the last 49 years. By combining elements of R&B, funk, pop, dancehall, rap, Latin and African music, the beloved group has long been one of the foremost innovators of reggae fusion while spreading a timeless message of resistance and hope. Third World shares the stage at the second annual Truckee Reggae Fest on June 24 and 25 with Bob’s son Ky-Mani Marley, Wailing Souls, Sister Carol, North Shore locals Pipe Down and many more. “We are looking forward to coming to Truckee,” says Coore. “We know that vibe and we know those runnings and we’re excited to be a part of what you’re doing.” Born in 1950, Coore’s earliest musical memories take him back to his Mummy who used to play Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong on her gramophone at their home in Kingston. He studied classical music on the cello before making the transition to electric guitar. By 12 years old, Coore was listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones when he formed a pickup band called The Alley Cats. “We all had the same love for the music going on at the time,” says Coore. “All the guys on the street who could play a little bit put together a little band. We got the drums on hire purchase and had to borrow a couple amps for the first few gigs.”

As the sounds of classic Jamaican music wafted from the ghetto across the gully from where he lived, Coore riffed and picked along with the enchanting bass lines of the day. He soon met the group Inner Circle whom he watched and studied at a Kingston disco called the Tunnel. When their guitarist left to study medicine in New York, Coore stepped in from age 13 to 17. While the experience was certainly formative, Coore was always seeking something closer to his own sound. “I was inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears,” he says. “I wanted to be in a group doing more experimental stuff fusing with rock. Bob Marley’s ‘Catch a Fire‘ was a big inspiration for me. That was the first time I heard rock guitar used in reggae. It inspired a generation of guitarists behind me. I pride myself as one of the people who made great guitar solos in reggae a regular thing.” Coore created Third World with Inner Circle keyboardist Michael “Ibo” Cooper in 1973. Early in their career, the band toured Europe with Bob Marley and The Wailers. In 1976, Third World recorded their breakout record “96 Degrees in the Shade” (a reference to the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865) in the same studio where The Wailers were making “Exodus.” Coore and Marley lived on the same road. “I remember the personal moments I spent with him,” says Coore. “It was just a really great friendship. It was almost an everyday thing. We were cohabitating with each other and being

close, sharing food, chasing the vibe, sharing weed, sharing music.” The band’s name was originally shortened from Sons of the Third World, an idea that came from the fact that Coore grew up in one of Jamaica’s prominent political families. “Jamaica was leading the frontlines of the Third World,” says Coore. “It was an awareness of what the Third World was and also the fact that we blended all of those musical forms together. Reggae has always been a force of protest, a force of understanding, a force of change, a cause of the people. It’s also been a love story. It’s been a message of hope, a message of the future. And it has a worldwide impact as such. Although we’re only [4,240] square miles and roughly 3 million people, we’ve been able to influence the world with our music. It goes to show — sometimes you may think you’re small, but you’re big.”| lateniteproductions.com n