Dub does it

A reggae nerve center at Bill's Bar

by Kathy S. Grey

Boston reggae spans the spectrum from Cambridge clubs like the Western Front to the Skycap Plaza in Roxbury. It embraces styles from Rastafarian roots reggae to the crackin' rhythms and hip lyrics of dancehall. What's more, reggae bands multiply and divide in Boston like maddened protozoans, budding and splitting in new configurations -- from Motion to Rockers International to, now, Dub Station.

Dub Station are a reggae nerve center. Unlike bands who work with one or two vocalists and a fixed set list, Dub Station follow in the tradition of classic reggae back-up bands like Soul Syndicate, training and showcasing new artists while backing up touring national contenders. As a business, they've become a savvy entrepreneurship with connections in promotion, recording, and bookings. As a social phenomenon they've brought together a diverse, racially mixed crowd.

The basic line-up comprises Kyle Russell on bass, Rider McCoy on keyboards, and drummer Charlie Thorpe. Around this nucleus revolves a system of local singers featured on the Dub Station CD that's due next month: Paul Wayne, a British/Jamaican graduate of Boston College; Skiffy, a born-Jamaican sporting luxuriant dreadlocks; Shaka Black from the Caribbean island of Montserrat; Slim Bigga Reid of Jamaica; and Mr. B, a white American native of Salem who's often out of town at his own heavily attended performances -- in Jamaica.

McCoy, Dub Station's musical director, is a product of New York City and three years at Berklee. Armed with a triple stack of Korgs and a Kai sampler, he confronts the requirements of a reggae band with no regular guitarist, and a set list that demands fluency in all manner of roots, dub, and dancehall. "I wish I was an octopus!" he wails during a break at their rehearsal space in Somerville. "There's a lot of weight that I have to pull. I always have to be on top of different sounds, anything that's not drum and bass. The reggae of the moment is dancehall. The sound is very computerized, but the fascinating thing is the schism between roots reggae à la Bob Marley and dancehall DJs as epitomized by Bounty Killer -- the lines that separate the two forms are becoming vaguer. At our last Marley tribute show our singers did original DJ lyrics over Marley rhythms updated in a more energetic mode, with effects and added sequences."

Kyle Russell, who was born in France of a Tunisian mother and an American father, charts his travels across Washington (DC), Moscow, Bonn, and Brazil. He graduated from Yale with a psych degree, then moved to Boston. "I was drawn by the reggae community and by the new-age community. I'm a cancer survivor. It makes me more into getting things done, because I realize that one has only a finite amount of time on the planet." Russell manages the band with Tommy Ganci of Cross Currents, which produced the upcoming CD and handles bookings at the Rhythm and Spice Caribbean Grill and at Bill's Bar. He is also the founder of the glossy worldbeat publication Rhythm Music magazine.

Dub Station's primary singers are Shaka Black and Slim Bigga Reid. Tall, dark, and wild on stage, Black displays a velvety tenor voice and mastery over the rapid-fire lyrics of DJ-style reggae. Reggae cognoscenti consider Reid, who was born in Jamaica and grew up in Cambridge, to be one of the two best male vocalists in Boston (along with Errol Strength of Conscious Band). He has great tonal flexibility, huge range, and pyrotechnical dance skills.

"They're strong!", Black says of Dub Station. "I've seen them back up international artists like Terry Ganzie and Singing Melody. Some people say things to me about hanging out with three white guys, but I never paid attention. I just keep doing what I do best -- come up with new ideas and new lyrics."

Singer and songwriter Paul Wayne laughs, "I do it their way, they do it my way. If it's a bi-racial crowd, white people, we do my tune `Primrose' over a rock style. If the crowd is more urban, we give them a dancehall rhythm."

Bill's Bar manager Daniel Weingart says Dub Station's Sunday-night series at the club has "grown consistently in the seven or eight months since it started. They bring in different artists and angles. Our crowd is mixed, there are BU kids, plenty of West Indians. Everybody likes them."

Despite their varied commercial aspirations, Dub Station never lose sight of the pleasure principle. "The most fun is to be on stage with the dancehall completely rammed," McCoy says, "and not be able to play a song for more than a few phrases without being wheeled out and restarted by the singer, based on the crowd's excitement! That's what it's all about."

Dub Station play Bill's Bar on Sundays; this week, June 1, their guest will be vocalist Ratchet. Call 661-1796.