since we talking militancy, now excerpted from Rev20's prospective book, him
1978 interview with PETER TOSH!
In a packed small club on Long Island, a single spotlight cuts
through the pitch onto a smartly dressed Jamaican raver,
who launches into a long dizzying spiel along the lines of,
"Peter Tosh is his name, and marijuana is his game, so
buckle up your seats for the real starship," which might sound
corny to you, but only because you can't hear the band, still in
total darkness, already ripping into the first song. "Extinquish
your cigarettes and light up your spliffs, because THIS is the
Peter Tosh Experience!"
Wham! The stagelights pulse into action, and you find
yourself in the middle of the storm without ever had the
chance to batten down the hatches. Front and center, from
his skin to his shades, from his dreadlocks to his tunic, the
blackest man on the planet.
"If you want to live, treat me good. I said if you want to live,
better treat me good. I'm like a stepping razor, don't you
watch my size, I'm dangerous, dangerous."
It was no surprise to me that Peter would come on strong,
but what I was not prepared for was the much harder live
sound of his band, compared to the records. Amps cranked
all the way, riff on top of riff on top of riff from the seven
players, but never muddled, everything crisp and distinct. The
graceful bass of Robbie Shakespeare, the flickering
drumsticks of Sly Dunbar, both showing off their chops rather
than just holding down a groove, pumped up further with
Touter Harvey's organ and the nearly honky-tonk stylings of
pianist Robert Lynn, anchored on one end by Mikey Chung's
snakey rhythm guitar lines, while lifted on the other by the
stinging lead of American bluesman Donald Kinsey.
At times, Peter would just leave the stage, no doubt for a
smoke, yet the intensity level would be undiminished, thanks
in part to some surprising showmanship from the others, like
when Sly and Robbie did a bass solo together, Sly using his
drumsticks on the strings while Robbie worked the fretboard
with both hands.
Then you add in Peter's own alternately chiming and chicken-
scratch guitar work, plus his voice, deep and resonant as a
cave, commanding us to either pick up on his vision or go
away, and you've got one complete beast of a band on your
hands. So by the time they charge into Peter and Bob's
climactic international anthem Get Up Stand Up, even the
most laid-back and burnt-out amongst us were shaking their
asses like school kids. As if in benediction, Peter finally
breaks loose too, highstepping it around the drumkit like
some mad Chinese hillbilly, his wide grin nothing less than
a crack in the wall of time.
Two days later is when I get my interview with Peter, meeting
him where he's staying, at a motel on the outskirts of
Westport, Connecticut. As I shake his hand, I can't help but
immediately gush about his show and how hard it rocked.
"No, man. Rock and roll must be rock and roll, and reggae
must be reggae, and so it is. Reggae can not be played in
rock, but rock can be played in reggae. Any music you can
come up with can be played in reggae. Any song you can
sing can be played in reggae. That is why it is the root of all
music."
But when your music leaves the crowd jumping and cheering
and stomping for more, isn't that sort of rock and roll?
"No, man. It is not a rocking sound. It is a militant sound.
Reggae music has the ability to hypnotize you and hold you
in suspense, so you think, I like it so much, it must be rock
and roll, because that is the way you were miseducated."
Peter then does something he rarely does, even in a dark
motel room. He removes his sunglasses, dramatically, for
emphasis. There are no whites of his eyes. Only reds.
"When I play the music, I play the music with the intention
that it can penetrate the skull of the listener and goes down
through you, through your spine, and your foot go like this",
tap tap tap, "to leave that thing inside you, that make you
say, 'Wow. That music was nice. So good.' And for once
you're not telling yourself a lie."
His sunglasses go back into place.
"See, reggae music was built up from the heartbeat. That
means if you don't feel it, you don't have a heart, man.
Congratulations, yes I, we find out you have a heart."
Peter doesn't laugh much, but he laughs hard now, which
I'm grateful for, as it eases the slight tension in the room.
Only slowly will it dawn on me, as the minutes turn to hours,
just how extraordinarily gracious and generous Peter is being
towards me, given that he has a show that evening in
Westport and then he has to drive all night to open for the
Rolling Stones tomorrow afternoon at some stadium
somewhere.
Peter is newly signed to Rolling Stones Records, the only
other act to ever appear on the label, and his tour of America
will intersect with theirs more than a dozen times over the
summer months. I'm guessing that Peter's association with
the Stones, and the persistent rumors that one or more of
them might drop by, have not hurt Peter's attendance figures
any.
"The Stones have given me the opportunity of meeting many
new people, for which I am grateful."
But touring with them, playing to their audiences, can't be
easy.
"It is a great experience. First thing, it gives you courage. It
strengthens your knees. Because you have to play before
thousands of people. Ninety thousand people. You have to
have strong knees to stand up there."
Especially when you consider some of the reactions Peter
has gotten from Stones fans who just didn't want to know.
There was some impatient booing at the Palladium, while at
Philly's JFK Stadium, some cans and other trash had been
thrown on stage. But mostly the kids just ignored Peter. What
good is it to play to a crowd like that?
"You have many kids, approximately seventy percent of them
didn't even hear reggae one time yet. But they heard it now."
Of course. The same unbounded faith in the subliminal
power of his music. And to be fair to the Stones fans, the
sound at JFK was horrendous, Peter's voice and Kinsey's
guitar way up, with everything else mushed together into the
background.
"Yes, because having a guy there who all his experience in
mixing music is mixing rock and roll. And the first time he
hears reggae is onstage, when I'm performing, at the
moment. And he's a guy who won't take orders from no one,
no one can tell him nothing, because he's just a guy who's
sick with ego."
Well, that must be a common malady these days, because at
the half-dozen shows they had opened for the Stones thus
far, the Peter Tosh band had yet to be allowed a sound
check by any of the local promoters. This info is given me by
Keech, a young dreadlocked Caucasian from Berkeley who,
after witnessing Peter's band cast its spell one night about
three years ago, dropped everything to sign on as a crew
member for the duration. He is essentially a very low-rent
version of a personal assistant, but nevermind the poverty,
says Keech, Peter's music makes every little thing Irie.
Keech tells me about one of the highpoints of their tour. "In
Virginia, we managed to get a good sound. And in the end
the people booed me when I turned off the amps. They
booed me. Do you think these people in Virginia had ever...
I mean, these people had never seen reggae before."
Peter smiles at the memory, then adds, "When I left South
Carolina, a white youth said to me, who came to see the
Stones, said to me, 'Man, your music is heavy.' I say, 'You
love it?' Him say, 'If the Stones didn't come out, I would
think you was the Stones, man.'"
Keech: "You should hear Mick Jagger sing with our band.
I heard them do a version of Miss You that they had to break
my hands to get the tape out of my hands, seriously. I mean it
would crush anything the Stones have ever done and it was
the first time our band tried to do it."
Knowing the Stones penchant for learning, some would say
stealing, from great musicians, I remark, "The Stones must
be happy playing with you guys."
Peter: "Yes, man. Mick tell me that personally."
Me: "It's just an amazing band, an all-star band."
Peter: "Yes, man."
Keech: "When Peter's band leaves Jamaica, a lot of
recording stops. Seriously, there are a lot of businessmen
down there that are going, 'Peter Tosh better not come back,
we're gonna get him.'"
Peter Tosh has been making records since 1964, just about
as long as Mick and Keith, but neither as a member of the
original Wailers nor a two-shot solo artist for Columbia has he
ever risen above subsistence living. In the former case,
thieving producers and the limits of a strictly Jamaican market
clearly share the blame, but with his solo outings, the reasons
for the lack of commercial success are a bit more tangled,
especially considering that both Legalize It and Equal Rights
received very good reviews and that Bob Marley had already
blazed the trail.
Let's just say that Peter and the big American corporation
never did agree on ANYTHING. Not promotion, not cover art,
not release dates, not even song titles or running order.
Columbia even tried to get Peter to tour during the North
American winter!
So when the contract expired, there were definitely no tears
shed on either side. In the almost non-existent bidding that
followed, the word "uncooperative" travels fast in corporate
circles, Rolling Stones Records emerged the winner, and judging
by the piss-poor road conditions Peter and his band are enduring,
I'd have to say Mick Jagger stayed true to his parsimonious reputation.
I should note here that the only ground rule I was given prior
to this interview was, no questions about Bob Marley. But
I think that it is a reasonable guess that Bob may have been
the reason why Peter had not wound up on Island Records
or one of its affiliates.
I should also note that my expectation was for a maximum of
one hour of Peter's time, so all I had on me was one
60-minute cassette, which means that all afternoon I was
quite comically and unprofessionally turning my recorder on
and off, occasionally forcing Peter to hold that thought. In
other words, there was no denying that part of Peter's piss-
poor road conditions was yours truly!
Peter bummed a ride from me to the local health food store,
where I happily picked up the bill. I mean, you'd be happy
too if you got to drive around smoking ganja with Peter Tosh,
feeling utterly immune to the forces of Babylon.
Now back in his room, which was exactly twice the size of the
bed, with no TV or air conditioning, Peter chopped intently at
a head of red cabbage. The chunks fall into a pot already
simmering with fresh greens, the umpteenth straight night of
hot-plate cuisine. Does he ever eat meat?
"No, man."
Don't some Rastas eat stuff like spiced goat patties?
"Because a man has on dreadlocks, don't call him a
Rastaman. You have dreadlocks and you have Rastas, see,
and there are ways of differentiating them, by the things they
do. It's the way he lives. His life must be an example to the
heathens."
So if somebody calls themself Rasta, that is not enough?
"Not enough nearly. You have many who call themselves
Rastamen and make you believe because they will come to
you with collective words, biblical words, to convince you,
see, and stare you straight in the eye and tell you all kind of
bullshit, but when you check it out, then just don't check the
words, check the works."
And diet is one of the essential things?
"Yes I. To stimulate the system, to keep the mind
communicating with inspiration, see, because the food you
eat makes you what you are."
What about a kid that eats nothing but junk and is healthy
as a horse?
"He only appears to be healthy. But when you break down, it
is a permanent breakdown. Let me tell you, even what I'm
doing here is not good enough. It should be that I pick the
vegetable and run to put it in the pot, to keep the goodness."
How did you learn all these things about food?
"Everything I learn is from the lines of inspiration. You have
education and you have inspiration. Education is a substitute.
Inspiration, that's where creation comes from. You learn
everything between the lines."
And what about feminism?
"Women run every thing in every way, har har har. See,
interviews are the hardest things to take, because even when
I go to the lowest point, it is still misunderstood. I can't
explain. I don't know how to explain. Listen to the music, you
will know what I am trying to say. Because there are more
things said in the music than what I can say from my lips."
This past April there was a huge outdoor festival in Kingston,
featuring a couple dozen of reggae's finest bands. Billed as
The Peace Concert, it was to be a day-long armistice in the
tribal war that had bloodied Jamaica over the last three years.
Under a ganja cloud, the nation's top two politicians, Michael
Manley and Edward Seaga, were scheduled as the climactic
act. They would grasp hands with festival closer Bob Marley
and publically call off their goon squads, promising the pop
musician that it would not happen again.
For almost everybody at The Peace Concert, that would be
victory enough for one day, but not for Peter Tosh. When
his band took the stage before Bob, Peter perceived a Jah-
given opportunity that he simply could not refuse. Face to
face with all those bigshots, he let it rip.
The newspaper descriptions say it was a long bitter attack on
the "blood clot" system that was strangling Jamaica with
poverty and corruption. They said Peter lit up a big spliff,
waved it at the politicians and demanded that they "Legalize
It!" Whatever the details of what Peter preached, it must have
been good, because the next day the Kingston police busted
him for disorderly conduct, obscenity, and possession of the
sacred herb.
The trial date has yet to be set, but the punishment is already
being meted out. Like Keith Richards, but without a battery
of high-priced legal talent, Peter has apparently earned
himself a place on the Interpol blacklist. Last month, he was
again arrested for marijuana, this time by the New York City
cops. While in their custody, during the course of one night,
he was moved to seven different jails.
Obviously I'm glad I didn't know all this before my carefree
ganja-powered joyride with Peter. I'm sure I would have
freaked.
As of today, the Jamaican people are still being kept in the
dark about Peter's plight. Although his arrest "on a bench
warrant" was reported in the Kingston papers, the stories
make no reference at all to either the concert or the charges.
It's a naked attempt to isolate Peter and make him give up
the struggle.
"I'm not giving up. Can't make me give up. You see, what is
going on must go on, to prove that they are still opposing the
truth. But I know that it must go on so it don't scare me,
because they can't do more than what they are doing,
because they cannot hurt a single string of hair on my head.
The only thing they can do is try to accuse me, and laugh at
me, and put down illegal charges and all kinds of bullshit."
"It's the same thing Paul Bogle went to prison for, and was
hung. The same thing Marcus Garvey went to prison for. But
they ain't sending me to prison. People are too wise in this
time."
"Anyone who speak the truth offend the world. Because this
is a world of abomination and sin and lies and hypocrisy and
everything that is illegal is turned to legal. But the man who
created the world and the inhabitants of the world is returning
in like manner. And he won't return as no lamb to the
slaughter."
"Ever see a movie called Earthquake? I didn't see it but I got
a hint of it. I see about five minutes of it and that five minutes
of it is so dangerous that I don't want to see the rest.
Because those guys make those movies to entertain, not
knowing that it is their destruction that they are being
entertained of. All worlds of corruption must go down by
earthquake."
"If it was ordinary man coming to make earthquake, guys
would plan to kill him. They can't kill earthquake. They can't
shoot lightning. That's how it is. All those forces are controlled
by one man, and it is to Him who I give praise to. It is Him
who gives me the inspiration to sing the songs that I sing. So
when I sing and people get fearful, and start to think if I'm not
scared. Scared of what? The sun shall not smite I by day nor
the moon by night, nor the pestilence that lurks in the
darkness, nor the destruction that walketh at noonday, nor
the foulness by night. No destruction can do I no harm. So
I sing. If you want to be offended, be offended. But don't try
nothing."
"The other day, the place where they store this atomic
business, in Texas there, well, an earthquake came THIS
close to it. I saw it on television. And earthquake came THIS
close to it, where all those atomic weapons, atomic bomb
neutron @#$%& crap, is kept and is supposed to be earthquake-
proof, according to them. They tell you that to gain your
confidence, and believe even if earthquake shake, nothing
can go wrong."
"Society is set up to brainwash people. The people who
come to brainwash you are people who are looked upon in
the society to be dignified people. So who am I to under-
estimate the ability of all those difnified people, within the
society, until the dignified people show themselves to be
corruption. That's what's going to take place all over the
world. All dignified liars and traitors and crooks and robbers
and pirates will be exposed."
"The trick-nology system brainwash and deceive and tell lies
to keep functioning. Well the lies and the cats in bags is
suffocating, and where there is corruption, there will always
be an eruption."
"When my LP comes out, you listen to the song Creation,
and you will have an idea of what the eruption will be, and
when the last cock crow. And then you will know it is the new
day. There will be no more corruption. No one will be thinking
of yesterday, because there will be no more yesterday. No
one will remember the past, or even try to remember."
Exactly here, my cassette runs out.
(And the article by the youthful Rev20 ends.)