You Got Bluegrass in My Reggae! No, You Got Reggae in My Bluegrass!

What has two thumbs and didn't even make it TWO WEEKS

with 'posting new remixes'? THIS GUY.

• • •

I made a bluegrass/reggae crossover record.

What started out as a one-off goofy project for 4/20/20 eventually blossomed into a full half-hour of old bluegrass tunes recast as reggae, along with three original dub tunes to create Red, Gold, Green & Bluegrass with musical partner-in-crime Joe Dep. We released it July 1 on Bandcamp. ($7, get your copy today!)

I can trace the deepest roots of this project back to a cassette tape of Puerto Rican reggae. That's what was playing — specifically, a band called Gomba Jahbari — when I walked into one of my now-best-friend's dorm rooms, and it was immediately captivating. Partly because it was Spanish-language reggae, which I'd never heard before, but also because they were using a synthesizer that I always referred to as "the Wubbly." It's just a certain way of filtering and tweaking a square-wave synth that gives it this nice, fat, round sound that works great in a reggae context. Gomba Jahbari uses it a lot, as well as my other favorite PR reggae group, Cultura Profética. 

With the banjo originating in Africa, and its use in the Caribbean dating back to the 1700s — and its general percussive nature — Joe and I figured there was no reason it wouldn't fit right in with a reggae soundscape. And I think it does, very well. It works as a sort of melodic substitute for the hand percussion common in rocksteady reggae.

Anyway, it turned into a real labor of love, we had a great time putting it together, and hope that you might think it's worth checking out.

Snag a copy at patrickvarine.bandcamp.com.

Friday's (Acoustic) Setlist: 3/20/15, Hambone's, Pittsburgh, Pa.

'Bend down low, let me tell you what I know...'

In spite of some chest congestion, great time dropping an acoustic set with Dave on congas, in the intimate surroundings of Hambone's in Lawrenceville. Not to mention the disgustingly-awesome burger that came with pulled pork (whaaat?), a fried egg, a gigantic onion ring and some delicious barbecue sauce.

Click here to stream/download the set, courtesy of Archive.org:

Early set:

Cumberland Blues (Dead)

Mother's Meth Head Blues*

New Mexican Shuffle*

Gentleman of Leisure (J. Winchester)

Ophelia (The Band)

Slow Train (T. Bruno)

Deep Elem Blues (Cofer Bros.)

Blackjack Molly*#

Let Him Go/Bend Down Low (Marley/Tosh/Livingston)

Lookin' Out My Back Door (CCR)

Late set:

Dauphine*

Evil Mind*

I Like It*

Floating Bridge (J. Estes) >

Equinox (Coltrane) > Floating Bridge >

Big River (J. Cash)

Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning (D. Van Ronk) >

Stone Soup* >

Friend of the Devil (Dead) >

Whiskey River (W. Nelson)

Love Please Come Home (B. Monroe)

E: Pig in a Pen (Trad.)

*Original

#First time played

Tonight's Setlist: 1/25/15 Weather Permitting (Winter), New Bohemian, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Shakin' the walls at ol' St. Wenceslaus...

St. Wenceslaus, an old Polish church on Pittsburgh's North Side, has been converted into the New Bohemian, an awesome artspace/tattoo studio/host for today's Winter Weather Permitting food/music/beer extravaganza.

We played an acoustic set with Dave on congas for the first time, and it went over well. We cranked up "Friend of the Devil" to the original tempo and cast a nod to ska group and co-headliners The Pressure with an old-school Wailers tune, complete with a little spur'o'the moment "Bend Down Low" tease thrown in because I was listening to it over breakfast this morning!

Click here to download/stream the set, courtesy of Archive.org.

One set:

Dauphine*

Gentleman of Leisure (J. Winchester)

New Mexican Shuffle*

Mother's Meth Head Blues*

Friend of the Devil (Dead)

Garden of Eden (New Riders of the Purple Sage) >

Let Him Go (Marley/Tosh/Livingston) >

Bend Down Low tease (Marley) > Let Him Go

Ophelia (The Band)

Back on the Train (Phish)

*Original

128 Oz. of Haterade: 'Lazers Never Die,' by Major Lazer

Guns don't kill people... lazers do...

For those of you who, like me, are perhaps thinking that the new M.I.A. joint is just a little too blippy, bloopy and glitchy (and doesn't knock nearly as well in the ride as the first two, with the fantastic exception of "Lovalot"), may I present the new Major Lazer EP.

Major Lazer is a collab between M.I.A. producers Diplo and Switch, and for a brief five songs (two originals, three remixes), gives a glimpse at some of beats Ms. Arulpragasam could have used on /\/\/\Y/\.

This EP follows Major Lazer's full-length debut, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do, and continues the duo's penchant for injecting roots-rock and dancehall riddims with a healthy dose of electronica and gorilla steroids.

So if you had a tough time nodding your head to "Born Free," revel in the bouncy militant march of "Sound of Siren," which finds M.I.A. on chorus duty while dancehall star Busy Signal does his thing. The other original, "Good Enuff," is almost straight-up roots, with a few dubbed-out touches framing Collie Budz and Lindi Ortega's tale of trying to make an impression.

Angolan ravemasters Buraka Som Sistema run wild on their remix of "Bruk Out," replacing the original spare-drums arrangement with a squelchy synth run, and K.L.A.M. takes the distorted skank of "Can't Stop Now" on a run through the drum-and-bass jungle. Even Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke gets in on the action, throwing "Jump Up" down a dark, dubby well full of ghostly echoes.

Without a doubt, these are some killer lazers.

FREE DOWNLOAD: The Remix I Totally Forgot to Post on Linkin Park's Contest Site

Well... Linkin Park had this really cool contest where they gave out five stems from their forthcoming single, "The Catalyst," for fans to remix and repost on their MySpace site.

Unfortunately, I stupidly thought the deadline was July 30. It wasn't. It was July 25, and I completely missed it. Now, I'm not a Linkin Park fan, per se, but I always love the chance to remix a song and give it my own spin. So I've posted a link to download my version of "The Catalyst," where I took the stems and re-ordered them into a sort of dubbed-out version complete with Nyabinghi drumming.

Click here to download "The Catalyst (Beat Doctor's Dub Mix)." And lemme know what you think! (Link will be active until Aug. 4)