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Q: So what became of the 'Midas & The Bridge' constellation?
A: Well I change up that band, I change up that band and get new members now. Because I just can't deal with Jamaican musicians no more, y'know wha' I mean. They are not disciplined, man. I cannot deal with it, yunno. When time fe performin' some man haffe smoke him herb an' him pass time, an' show you mus' reach on stage ten o'clock and one haffe smoke him chalice, and one want fe do all kinda t'ings. And when you look around is eleven o'clock, and that is not good for the music business. In America here people is serious, serious more than Europe. Is not like Europe people they jus' spin around and crowd waiting, waiting, y'know what I mean. And these younger musician them that is in reggae now is not disciplined. And they don't understand the business, them believe seh when you play on stage you going to be just run up to be famous like Bob Marley & The Wailers, and you make a ton of money, an' t'ings like that. Them don't really realise how the business really work an' t'ing. Yeah but I just reformed The Bridge again, and for the past three months we are rehearsin'. So I'm just searchin' to get distribution, promoters now and I want to get serious coming on the road again, yunno. That's why I'm enquiring into Europe to get some real distribution of music, and some promoters that can sponsor me and come on a European tour. I just want to rekindle my career in a serious form. I mean... Q: It's like you've been locked away in the States for a good while now. The American scene is so totally different from the rest of the world, and your music has taken a softer side on some new recordings. So what is your impression in general about America? On the other hand they adjust the music for their kind of market and what they are able to sell, so it's kind of hard to criticise it too. A: Yeah the American scene here - that is what I realised, I realised that to get into the European scene again I have to get back to the sounds of the seventies and early eighties. And it's not to say that I have to go into the studio to re-record these tracks, all I have to do is mix, yunno. But is just to find a reputable company, I'm not saying that I have to find a company that I want them to sell 150 copy an' t'ing like that. I know that is like start all over again, y'know what I mean. But I know that I have a good reputation and I sell a good amount of records in Europe that a few people - I mean, a few people email me, like DJ's, from France and Germany and England and Netherlands and those place, and Spain. They're wondering if I'm still into the music business, and since some of my music is on the internet with CD-Baby an' t'ing, lots of people is glad to know that I still survive the rush, and wondering when I'm going to come to Europe an' t'ing like that. But as I say, is just to find the reputable people to work with. So I'm not young again and anxious by every burden, y'know what I mean, I'm a mature man now and learning about the business and understanding the business more. So I want to have control over what I'm doing. But at the same time I know that sometime you have to give and take. If I can find a small company that can distribute in their country I will go along with that and build up my mementum. |
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Q: By the way, 'Let's Go Dancing In the Rain' was a track from 'Stand Up Wise Up', but it came out on a single through the Portland imprint. Was that your own label at the time?
A: No (laughs)! I don't know 'bout that! How long it came out? Q: I don't know, it was probably issued some time before the album, I would estimate '83 or thereabouts. A: Man I don't know (laughs)! There is a lot of things that happen because, as I said, there are a lot of label that I see over the internet that have my music. And we email them and try fe get information and one company from Italy told us about a company in France, and we were trying to get in contact with that company in France and cannot reach them, they're not returning no call or anything. Yeah that is what's going on. Q: And Lloyd Coxsone apparently is still repressing his vintage '12 The Hard Way' compilation on the old Tribesman label, an album that was put together about 1988 with various producers involved and artists like Faybiene Miranda, Delroy Wilson, and so on, plus the inclusion of 'Good Old Days' too. A: Yes! I saw it about three months ago, I emailed that company where I saw 'Good Old Days' on it, with I believe Burning Spear is on it too? |
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 Lloyd Coxsone. |
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Q: Yeah and Jimmy Lindsay, Joy White and Louisa Marks amongst others, those I mentioned before.
A: And I dunno if them glad that Lloydie have them music on a compilation? And we emailed that internet store, and nobody replied to us. Q: Right. A: Yeah because the t'ing about it, if they know that you are coming they're gone to hide. That's why I neva trust this Twelve Tribes business. Because Twelve Tribes is not even in the concept of Rasta, is rip-off them dealing with - and joke. I don't know if you're familiar about it? Q: Not too much. But yes, I've heard that 'Twelve Tribes is folly business', but I guess you could say that about anyone or whatever. It depends on who you ask, there's good and bad with most things in life, but personally I have no opinion. They are free to believe in whatever they believe in. A: Yeah (laughs)! Because is a lot of people them get converted in England and New York and Miami and Washington DC and Jamaica. And is like people read the bible an' don't understand methology, them get into methology an' nuh believe in reality (chuckles). I mean, I am a spiritual person, I deal with African spirituality from Ethiopia and Egypt an' those t'ing, but I don't deal with organised religion. Q: Because it just cause separation and division, or what? A: Yeah religion just come in like separation and segregation and denomination, an' this brother cannot talk to that brother because him is Baptist and the other one is Church of God or is Catholic and the other is Protestant. You know, I can't deal with them t'ing deh. So me just keep out of them t'ing deh ca' most time when a one ask 'bout Rasta me just tell them, seh, 'Hey, me is my own Rasta, me don't try fe hit no one. Me is my own Rastaman'. Me grow up as a Rastaman, me don't come here 'bout this, an' t'ing. Most time plenty people will locks an' deal with I because they believe they can use me, because a superstition a place in my brain, an' me show them, seh 'Hey, a no read it, yu no really understan', man'. You know what I mean (laughs)? Some of these religious people, Twelve Tribes, they jus' switch Jesus to Selassie but dem (chuckles) - you know, is like dem get a switch. But within their mentality is the same colonial Christian business, same way they don't change. But they exploit people the same way, they exploit women same way. Them don't give women no respect. Is the same European, Christian macho business. I can't deal with it. Q: OK. A: Yes OK! Is a lot of people put a lot of money into that organisation, and there's lots of women who have kids around the world for these Twelve Tribes dreadlocks, those children them don't have no father. These children is growing up all around in the United States on welfare, some of them is living in England on wellfare and France same way. Is easy to have locks on your head, yunno, but what is the life you're living? What the discipline? An' when other people in the world see these people, they believe these people are dealing with Rastafari, they're not dealing with Rastafari. Yeah. Beca' Rastafari is supposed to be unity, love, respec', compassion, working together, honesty. |
 Ras Midas |
 Ras Midas |
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Q: What's your take on 'fiyah bun', that attitude?
A: Yeah 'fiyah bun business', we cyaan deal with dem t'ings deh, man. Because, put it this way: I know about colonialism, I know about slavery, I know what happened to Africa. But I personally of myself cannot carry those burden around with me. I know seh t'ings an' times change an' everybody have to walk a path of history. But reggae music originally was to unite all the people dem over the worl' that is seeking for equal rights an' justice and change! Now that concept have been changed to a money making t'ing, yunno. Is like Bob Marley used to say inna de song 'Slave Driver' seh, well, then 'Is just a machine to make money'. So what Twelve Tribes an' all these dreadlocks have done, is use Rastafari to get into peoples psyche an' then used dem to make money. It come out to be a fashion t'ing an' then the man who is struggling to live to the spiritual concept of Rastafari, nobody see him - he's drowned! Beca' most Rastafarian musicians in Jamaica they don't want to come on a record dancehall business or into the money making or them have any there. You know, most of them gone back into the mountains or into the country. So you see, most of these musicians weh you mean now is just a lickle hurry grow come up guy dem come from Kingston weh don't know nutten about the music or what the music stand for, just bringin' down the concept of the music and the revolutionary message of the music. Beca' them have themselves is only talkin' blues, and I don't want to be part of that kinda crowd! So that's what I mean in saying to you, I didn't even waan those musician to play with me anymore. It's bringin' down people. I mean, I live in United States here, I understand what the system is all about, but me understan' is not my country. And I don't get into the political atmosphere or the domestic political aspec' of people, I leave that alone beca' I'm not a politician. Beca' the politican or a religious leader is two people I do hear of, I don't want to deal with them because the two of them do manipulate your mind, put you into a situation in which you start to hate people, and the biggest preachin' of hate today is religion an' politics. Religion and politics create an atmosphere that people and people cannot live together. Because I know that you have nice and decent, loving Caucasians living in the world, and everyone of them is not blood-thirsty, or bloodsuckers. Sometimes you can't use hunger and put everybody into one well and believe everybody is the same. Because through my life I meet some nice Caucacian people, who understand what I'm saying, who's working towards change, and some of them is helpless too. Because them is fightin' against them own system and would like change to come that t'ings work out a better way, when we can't cut out racism and segregation and deal with the love of humanity. And when a one come tell you the ongle you can love Jesus, or you ongle can love Allah, or who is waiting for some Messiah, I don't want fe get into those superstitious business, man. Them t'ing deh is methology, man, an' methology is different from reality. So most of those people don't want to deal with Midas. Yes. They're not playing the game, yunno (laughs). And most of these record label now in England and Jamaica and New York here is Twelve Tribes business form those labels, and if you're not dealing with the Twelve Tribes of Israel... I just laugh, because most of those people don't read. Beca' most of those people believe like Christian, them believe seh the bible is the ongle book in the worl' that is good, so I cannot read nutten else because all of what in the world is the word of God and me seh, me say to them, 'Hey, I don't see no bible that God write yet, yunno'. (Laughs) Because when you go to England and you tek up a bible you see the 'authorised by King James'. But I kinda realise seh, people is so blind by religion, too superstitious, that they don't have no space in their minds to even drink some new wine, y'know what I mean, ca' them drunk with the old wine already. Then in America, that's how them set up the reggae scheme. Most of these people is diluted by this Twelve Tribes doctrine, and if you're not part of the Twelve Tribes doctrine a one don't want to give you no show, a one don't want to promote you; is like you are on the outside lookin' on the inside, yunno. And me is a spiritual radical, me is still a revolutionary person but me know to deal with revolution in a intellectual and intelligent way. Beca' one t'ing about it, people have to know the truth before you can know the roots. You have to know the roots before you can know the truth. And most people when dem go to Jamaica, dem just get into the tourist business and dem see all these lickle dreadlocks in Kingston and Montego Bay, everybody get excited and these lickle dreadlocks use Rasta arguments to manipulate people, man, I cyaan live that way. And everybody get into the drugs, yunno. |
 Ras Midas. Ashkenaz, Berkeley CA (2004) |
 Ras Midas. (Photo: NW World Reggae Fest) |
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Q: Then you have the infamous 'Rent-A-Dread' business.
A: Yeah the 'Rent-A-Dread' t'ing, right! Rent a dread, whatever the price. Dreadlocks like him is prostitute him rent out himself fe tourists. Yeah. Everyt'ing become a sex-tool. So everybody just join the rat race. So when you're in that rat race, nobody see you. But as I know and what you're saying there in Europe with the revival of the roots, I know that people have to come to the source again. And I'm very happy for what you're telling me that the younger generation there in Europe is more interested in knowing the roots music. And I'm glad that is going on, that they're hungry for the roots now. And they want to know the original artists and the original music, so they can find out the difference between the dancehall sex machine business from the revolutionary music of truth and spirituality. Yeah. And when you see in America with the record companies dem, is the dancehall business dem really push. You go to a company and dem tellin' you, y'know, 'There's no money in the roots market'. You have to lighten up somet'ing more to the dancehall business there, because that is what the young people are running to. And me a laugh at them, man, me seh 'Ohhh' (chuckles). Seen. And sometimes when you hear the real roots music from those days, when musician was more mature and musician was dealing with revolution and change and spirituality, those musician don't waan deal with reggae no more. Because it gets polluted down there, yunno. These few American people that come down there, promoting people and producing, is drugs money. And most of those people that called 'Rasta' don't know about self-reliance, beca' Rasta is self-reliance. Is working together to make it happen. But dem just live in a pimpers paradise, man. And a one is laughing when there ain't no joke, and dem lose dem head because of drugs. Beca' everyone want to be like America now. Beca', you and I know as experienced persons, America want to swallow us, them want to be an empire now. Tell you what to do and how to do it and if you not doing it our way, then you're not our friend (chuckles). McDonalds and Kentucky take over (laughs)! People don't even eat proper food again. You remember Ancient Rome, when Rome was going to fall, everybody eat and get fat, y'know what I mean (laughs)! Big orgy. So right now in United States, people just - there's so much chemicals in your food and dem have this new colonialist imperialism that is going on, named 'globalisation'. Everybody globalising, and when you look pon the globalising - is McDonalds and Kentucky and Jack In The Box, yunno. |
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