Dubalicious
RC Dub Reveals “Strategy” to Success
By Augusta Olsen
RC Dub, they don’t stop. Lincoln’s most authentic and spirited dub and reggae band continues to make tracks across the region, and their new album, “Strategy,” is receiving critical praise and international play. The last year has been good for the band, as members not only released their new album, but they released it on their own label, Rougher Records, which is now home to Kansas City’s classic reggae band, the Blue Riddim Band, as well.
“Strategy” embodies a classic roots reggae album with a heavy helping of spacey dub. RC Dub has been exploring the branches of the original sound since 2000. With a catalog of over 200 songs from Jamaican artists, this band has a sizable understanding of ska, rocksteady, and reggae in addition to dub. Their own music is well-crafted, thoughtful and transporting. RC Dub’s ability to produce an authentic dub sound live with a minimum of in-line effects and no synthesizers is remarkable. Their spaced-out grooves are well-balanced with relaxed and playful horn lines, creating jams irresistible to fans of Lee Perry, Sly & Robbie or King Tubby.
RC Dub’s expanded vocals in their new material evoke the spirituality of traditional roots reggae in a style reminiscent of Culture and Israel Vibration. Thus their sound spans many aspects of reggae music, from the ‘50s through today. Gigs in Jamaica, and constant regional touring have helped to cement the band’s creative role in the development of modern reggae music.
Their chops have earned them not only partnership with the Blue Riddim Band, releasing the Grammy-nominated band’s latest album on Rougher Records this past spring, but also the attention of many recognized Jamaican artists. This spring, Rougher Records also released a seven-inch featuring a version of Blue Riddim Band’s cult classic, “Nancy Reagan” with new vocal tracks by Big Youth, entitled, “Voice of the People.”
“Since Blue Riddim Band released its first studio album after 25 years, it got all this attention, and a lot of reggae legends called us,” said Emily “Goldie” Madison, bassist and co-founder of RC Dub and Rougher Records. “Jamaican legends started calling us saying, we want to work with you too because we see what you’re doing and it’s positive.”
RC Dub’s own new catalog is also receiving attention, with radio play from France to Kansas City and more exposure on several internet radio stations. International sales of all three 2011 Rougher Records releases continues to escalate as more people connect with the label’s roots-heavy sound. CDs and the Big Youth seven-inch are available at rougherrecords.com, cdbaby.com, itunes.com and this Friday’s show at the Zoo Bar.
From the sound of your music, it seems you have a solid understanding of the roots of ska and rocksteady, and how that progressed to dub. How do you bring it into your music?
Calen: We wanted to figure out where the beginning was, and give people a full spectrum of what reggae music is. Jamaicans hearing American r-n-b and jazz, and making ska. And then, it got real hot one summer, and they started playing it a little slower. We just wanted to evolve with how the music did, in our abilities and understanding of it.
Emily: At our shows we sometimes start early, and work our way up through the decades. We’re bringing it full circle, from the jazz music that started in America, traveled across the airwaves to Jamaica, and came back to America as reggae.
How do you achieve your dub sound live?
Emily: I think, magic.
Calen, Dave: Yes, magic.
Emily: Somebody will come up with a cool riff or lick, and we’ll just build on it from there. But it’s funny, with dub music, it’s like you’re making a building. And once you make it, you have to start to deconstruct it in pieces, like Jenga. It’s like, what can I take out without it falling apart? We construct it then deconstruct it live, in front of people.
Steve: A lot of dub music is performed in the studio, then they are removing certain aspects of the track. To do that live takes a lot of practice. Certain sound effects, like Dave’s guitar, or he and I stop, basically, as if someone flipped a switch or removed our tracks, we have to create that live to make the dub sound.
Emily: So we have to be really comfortable with each other, and know signals, and just feel it.
Dave: Yeah, the best stuff just falls into place, seemingly. That’s the magic.
There are 17 tracks on your first album, 2005’s Inna State of Dubmission?
Emily: Yeah, should’ve been two, probably.
Dave: It’s the RC Dub dubble disc.
How has your sound progressed for your new album since 2005?
Emily: The sound is more developed, we’re better at communicating our ideas.
Calen: There’s a lot more singing, as opposed to strictly instrumentals.
Emily: And it’s more dubby. More spaciness, and a better recording studio.
How many tracks on the new album, “Strategy?”
Emily: Ten tracks. They range from more dub to more rocksteady, there is one ska song. The whole idea is, they’re all about struggling through things and persevering and getting through these tough times. It’s about strategy to take down the beast, whatever that beast may be, be it economic factors or personal struggles.
What is it like to work with Big Youth on a single?
Emily: His song actually turned out to be somewhat prophetic. His lyrics are very clever, he draws in today’s socioeconomic concerns, playing on the statements that the Blue Riddim Band was making in the ‘80s when the original song was released. Since “Voice of the People” was released in May, it’s strange all of the social upheaval that has taken place, from Egypt and Lybia to Wall Street.
What does socially conscious music mean to you?
Emily: Anything that makes people aware of what’s going on outside of their television.
Dave: Issues that people can look at it and see a way to make better. Searching for more equality in social behavior.
Calen: But also, for the most part, we like to play party music, that people can dance to.
Emily: There’s so much going on in the world, sometimes you just need to be happy.
Loren on improvisation: A large part of our music is improvisation. When we’re to be able to play like that, it’s a way that we have fun with the audience, it’s like a conversation. If people are dancing, we might lengthen a song so people can keep having fun.
Dave on organic song-writing: It’s like planting a plant, a song. Put it in the ground, and keep working on it. Eventually it grows and produces. Then you’re like, hey there’s a tomato. It kind of hangs there, and then we get to enjoy the fruit of our labors. It’s tasty.
Steve on playing his first gig with RC Dub: I had an Excel spreadsheet with 80 songs I was trying to learn in two weeks. I had all the songs on a loop on my iPod. I was a RC Dub fan for years, so that helped out, but you know, going to a show, enjoying the music, drinking a little, I wasn’t paying attention to exactly how the songs go. I had to start to pay attention.
Calen on playing shows in Superior, Neb.: It was fun, in this town of a few thousand people, on this crazy old ballroom stage, some local townfolk would be there, 70-year-old farm couples out there dancing.
Emily on RC Dub’s trip to Jamaica: I think we played for more people in Jamaica than we ever have at our shows here. We were really well-received. We heard all this nonsense before we went down there, people saying “If you go down there with your locks, you’re going to get harassed. You guys are white kids playing reggae, they’re not going to like that.” And blahbity blah. We went down there and we had the complete opposite experience. It couldn’t have been a better, more welcoming experience. The staff of the venue, and the older people would really gather around the stage for the rocksteady. “What dat, what dat, ah da white boy!” they would say.