There’s something to be said for reggae in the winter: The warm sounds immediately seem to raise the outside temperature by about 50 degrees. Couple that with lyrics from the Talking Heads, and the upcoming show by the
I spoke with Talking Dreads founder Mystic Bowie earlier this week about why Talking Dreads isn’t just another cover band, what it was like working with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth (of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club) and the importance of the Talking Heads’ music.
Q: What makes you guys different from a tribute band – because you’re definitely not.
A: We’re not. That’s not what I really want to be, so I made sure of that. I did not just replay Talking Heads music. You know, all the years of being around the Talking Heads’ original members and working with them, I have this great appreciation for their lyrics, their story, the poetry, the way David Byrne delivered his poetry, I have amazing respect for it. So I figure, here’s this great storyteller, here’s this amazing band delivering these stories in their way, and I know the appreciation that I developed for their music and their poetry – I know there’s a huge fan base out there that also appreciates that, and they’re never going to get any more of it in the way that they used to. And also, how could I carry on to make sure the next generation knows of this poetry?
So what I did, I did not want to be the typical sort of go out and just play Talking Heads songs; I’m an artist, I want to be an artist. I want to use my artistry to basically marry my culture, my heritage, which is reggae and ska, Caribbean, to their music and their poetry. I actually went back to Jamaica to make sure it’s not typical.
I went back to Jamaica and called in all the real, deep roots original reggae musicians. ... On top of that, what I did was I brought in some of the younger Jamaican musicians also to record on this album because I want to bridge the generation gap to make sure we had that sound that the young people are also going to gravitate to. ... So I basically went hardcore to make sure we’re not the typical cover band, we’re not the typical tribute band.
I want Talking Dreads basically passing on poetry from one generation to another.
Q: It seems like the marriage of the two totally works. Why do you think that is? Why do you think the Talking Heads’ songs work with a reggae format?
A: It works because if you really listen to Talking Heads music, it’s very rhythmic, and that’s what reggae is. Reggae and Caribbean music are all about rhythm, old African rhythm. And Talking Heads, those guys used to spend a lot of time in the Caribbean anyway; they know rhythm, they have their thing down. ... (You) listen to these songs over the years, it lends itself to reggae so well.
And I remember I came up with the idea over nine years ago. I was on tour with the Tom Tom Club and I came up with the idea and went back to Chris Frantz, and I talked to Chris and Tina (Weymouth) I said, “Listen, I have this idea, but I need your blessing, your approval before I even go ahead with it.” I said, “Listen, I want to pass on this music, this poetry of you guys. I’m gonna start a band and call it, out of respect for you and Talking Heads, I want to have a band called Talking Dreads.”
Q: Were they cool with it?
A: They looked at me and Chris Frantz said, “You should definitely do it.”
Q: The Talking Heads were around for a while; do you have a favorite period of theirs – the early stuff, the mid stuff, the later stuff?
A: The truth is, it’s hard for me to say. I’d be lying if I said I liked one era more than the other. But there are songs from the different eras of theirs that I just absolutely – it’s almost like they were telling stories of my own life, that’s why I love them, that’s why I gravitate to them now. And that’s why I felt so blessed when in ’91 I was called to start jamming with these guys. I felt honored because ... their music, Talking Heads’ music, like I said, is almost like telling my own stories. One of my favorite songs is called “Pulled Up.” Basically, “I was down on the ground, I feel so bad, but then you pulled me up so I feel better.” The stories; they’re telling my story, before I was even born they were telling my stories. So it was really easy to just take these songs and apply them to myself.
Q: Do you feel like they still hold up? To me they do, but do you think they do?
A: Yeah, they do. In a major way. These songs have not lost their thing in any way.
katie@durangoherald.com
If you go
What: Talking Dreads with The Late Ones.
When: 9 p.m. Wednesday (doors will open at 8:30).
Where: Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive.
Tickets: $10 advance/$12 day of show. Available at www.animascitytheatre.com.
More information: This is an 18-and-older show.
