hauling and splitting firewood, raking leaves, whatever. And when I became a teenager I started working after school jobs as well. That way I was able to support my music jones by purchasing LP's with my money I would earn from the jobs. By the time I was 12, I started going to school in Santa Cruz. There was a lot of culture in that town and I imagine there still is, though it has been nearly twenty years since I've spent anytime there. All of my friends loved Reggae and Ska music. You'd hear a lot of Bob Marley of course, but also Peter Tosh, Steel Pulse, Black Uhuru, Yellowman as well as UB40 and Maxi Priest! I loved it and really just loved all the music I was hearing during the 80's as a teenager. When I was 16 my older brother turned me onto the Blues which made a huge impact on me to where I wanted to learn to play the guitar. So the drums got replaced by an electric guitar and amplifier. I locked myself in my room during the summer between my junior and senior years of high school and taught myself how to play.
My journey into the Blues took me all over the world from the time I graduated from high school. I was blessed to be able to work and tour playing music with many of the pioneers of the genre. I could write a book about that time in my life but it is in the past and I would rather concentrate on what is moving forward for me. In the mid to late 90's I had moved from the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco to West Oakland. I was sharing a house with my dear friend Bob Welsh who plays lead guitar in my band to this day. He also had big ears and wide, eclectic taste in music. At this time he started turning me on to Rock Steady and early Reggae sounds from Jamaica. This was not the stuff I had been exposed to in high school around Santa Cruz. He had records by Desmond Dekker & The Aces, Jimmy Cliff, early Wailers, etc.... totally soulful music. At the time it sounded like West Indian Soul music to me. I was completely captivated by this sound. Bob was still moving forward with his passion for Jamaican music and discovering all of these great artists and of course would turn me onto whatever he was finding. One of the singers he played for me was the great Alton Ellis who is my favorite vocalist of all time, but I'll talk about him more in a little bit. Shortly after this time I witnessed a live Jimmy Cliff concert! I'll never forget that day. I had a choice to either see the legendary soul/r&b singer Solomon Burke for free in Golden Gate Park or head up to Sausalito to buy a ticket to see Jimmy Cliff. I opted to see Jimmy instead and it was a huge turning point in my life. I decided right then and there that I wanted to totally abandon Blues and R&B and become a Reggae singer.
Not long after that I saw Alton Ellis perform at the Sierra
Nevada World Music Festival. That show was another turning point in my musical journey. I couldn't believe I was getting to see and hear my idol sing all of his classic hits before my very eyes and ears. Alton was singing his hit "Willow Tree" acapella but he was hiding behind the stage. You could hear his voice but couldn't see him and then all of a sudden when the band kicked in, he came running out on the stage singing dressed in white from head to toe. This was so cool to me. Being a huge Soul music fan, I was engaged by that vibe that so many of the older Jamaican singers embodied. This show was similar to what I witnessed with Jimmy Cliff but Alton took it to another level for me. It was right then and there that I was determined to push even harder to manifest my dream of becoming a reggae singer! People told me I couldn't do it, that I would always just be an R&B performer and that made me even more stubborn!
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