Seattle guitar stalwart and dare I say legend, Stingshark Sting is laying down guitar on collaborations for ‘Going South’ and ‘Life Yard’.
Working with Stingshark and Hold in Fyah is a big deal to me. I am doing some really cool Jamaican collaborations, but this is the part of West Indian Rock where we bring it all back home and show Jam Rock and the reggae world what the Northwest can do…
And also how I only play by a couple rules:
1) Bring in a good song and serve it as best you can.
2) Even when I am acting, make sure its method and be true to yourself and your story you present. Tell the truth even when you’re lying as a narrator.
3) Respect the form and the culture and create a hybrid with thirst, respect, and as much knowledge as you can obtain. Bob Marley made plenty of good albums. Chris Blackwell’s official Catch A Fire version of ‘CONCRETE JUNGLE’ is my favorite song of all time. Bob and the Wailers did that song already.
…but find the secrets that allude the drones on the Left and Right of you. It was Whiter than a snowglobe Muscle Shoals guitar player Wayne Perkins playing those out of this world leads on the song that first grabbed me and made me say,
“What is this?”
But the song and the Wailers performance is the key. They came out of Jamaica strong on that song, with some English and American gloss that I love. So find the truth in your sources that defies THE BASIC and unlocks how for instance a guitar player that never heard of reggae 5 minutes before, contributed a sound that would define it for years to come and influence every Marley guitarist there after.
It was Wayne Perkins playing lead and he put his soul into it and served the song. He was lost at first because the groove was initially so foreign to him. He couldn’t find THE ONE. But Chris unlocked one of the SECRETS of reggae for his American cousin:
Follow the bass and its countermelodies and straight up melodies. It’s one of the greatest innovations and artistic contributions Reggae made to Western and World music. With that truth and no so called “hack” the architecture of the music suddenly spoke to him. Maybe dancing is not like architecture but songwriting and production is.
That service and respect for the architecture of music is where Stingshark has reached a level of mastery. He has an approach to simplicity and fundamental truth that resonates with Scotty X Christopher and his inspiration from the Samauri that I want to discuss later with him in a story.
Thank you Sting. Seattle AF he is on this since since 89′ or was it 91′?
Celebrate your local craftsmen and craftswoman and craftsperson, and practice the craft that moves you.
This last year I was able to collaborate with some Seattle musicians I have always wanted to work with, and the results are every bit as glorious as I hoped.
Stingshark Sting is one of the most solid pillars of Seattle guitar and his comfort applying his craft to reggae, funk, hard rock, and soul is what I’ve been driving at since I finally released my debut album, The 12th St Blues in 2007.
It’s no coincidence. The way we blend styles so seamlessly here in the Northwest is part of our musical heritage and we have made a significant contribution to World Music.
It’s a worthwhile tradition I am doing my darnedest to continue to this day with my Puerto Rican Creole ways. It’s good company…
Ray Charles, Quincy, Cobain, damn it even Kenny G shook the pop world presenting mega hits in ways that caught the world by surprise.
I can’t help it. If it ain’t mixed up, to me it ain’t that musical.
I put straight ahead Bakersfield California Country and Decurrian Rapmusic‘s own Detroit Rap City Sound on the same record with a tribute to Peter Tosh and Jimi Hendrix. The P.I. went wild for it, and then went out of business.
But Stingshark is very much in business. And it was this night at High Dive that my friend actor / director Tyler Trerise captured some amazing moments as Sting & Eric Struthers met on stage for the first time.
Follow me on some adventures in 2019, such as my 40th birthday concert with Eric in New Orleans at The Maple Leaf.
Follow my adventures with Tuff Gong in the Caribbean and Europe.
And catch me on occassion in the Northwest, such as March 9th at Stevens Pass, and Brodie Nation this July.
I ain’t hiding. But I am in the shadows searching for The Light that waits at the end of the tunnel that is finishing great songs. Songs forged with my friends and idols that will catapult me, and hopefully my collaborators to stages in France and Finland, and as far as the sun sets as Seattle sleeps.
☆ Sountrack to this post, which I discovered thanks to Dennis Cook and his legendary mix tapes:
‘I Ain’t Hiding’ by The Black Crowes:
– Musician and writer Davin Michael Stedman has many ventures, such as the AMAZING blog, 100milesofmusic.com. Davin’s new song has become a global earworm and Caribbean dancehall hit. Listen here on Reggaeville: DAVIN MICHAEL STEDMAN & ANTHONY RED ROSE – FREE YOUR MIND FEAT. SLY & ROBBIE WITH LENKY MARSDEN. The video is now available on Youtube. His single with British band Sherlock Soul is available here.
