Fazal Prendergast

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Yellow Wall Dub Squad


Fazel Prendergast - Guitar
Alton "Sandrum" Vanhorn - Drums
Steve Hoffman - Keyboards
Stevie Love - Bass

Listen to Some Live Yellow Wall from their Recent Tour

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The Yellow Wall Dub Squad is an original authentic Roots Reggae Band. The name Yellow Wall Dub Squad was originally formulated by Amlak Tafari along with Fazal Prendergast. The original crew consisted of Amlak on Bass, Fazal on Guitar, Steve Hoffman on Keyboards and Manas Itene on Drums. When Amlak returned to his home base in England and Manas left and joined Michael Franti’s Spearhead, Fazal continued the works and reformed the Squad with legendary Jamaican studio session artists. The musicians consist of Band Leader Fazal Prendergast-Guitar (Jamaica), Stevie Love-Bass (Jamaica), Alton “Sandrum” Vanhorn-Drums (Jamaica), Steve Hoffman-Keyboards (USA) and Gatsby Road Manager/Driver.

Fazal Prendergast—Band Leader is an original recording sessions musician who has been recording since 1974 in Kingston, Jamaica—working at Rockers International backing the legendary Augustus Pablo—Horace Michael Sawby, in his Rockers Allstars Band (The first original Dub Band ever created). Augustus was the man who gave Fazal his first electric guitar, a SG Gibson. Rockers International was a record label and publishing company formed by the late Augustus Pablo during the early-mid 1970’s. During his tenure at Rockers International, Fazal recorded with artists like Hugh Mundell, Jacob Miller, Tetrack, Delroy Williams, Ricky Grant and more.
In 1977 he performed with Israel Vibrations as the opening act for Bob Marley and The Wailers for the International Year of the Child Festival held at the National Arena in Kingston Jamaica.

In 1983 he moved over to the High Times Label playing with the band the High Times Players. The High Times Label was founded by legendary Earl Chinna Smith in 1980, it was not only a record label but also a thriving record store. The High Times Record Label produced hit after hit during the 1980’s. With the High Times Players Fazal recorded with producers and Engineers like Bunny "Stricker" Lee, Prince Jammy's, Jack Scorpio, Errol Brown, Joe Higgs, David Hamilton, Scientist. and more The artist he recorded for included the ranks of Johnny Osborne, Junior Delgado, Joe Higgs, Junior Reed, The Congas, Frankie Paul, Don Carlos, Yami Bolo, Dennis Brown, Sugar Minott, Mutabaruka and Half Pint just to name a few. The studios he has recorded in as a sessions musician include Harry J’s, Channel 1, Studio One, Tuff Gong—Hope Road (Original Bob Marley Studio), Aquarius Studio—Halfway Tree Rd, Dynamic Sounds.

In 1983 he toured with Mutabaruka with the High Times Players who recorded on Muta’s second album “Out Cry”. In 1985 Muta changed the name from the High Times Players to “Sound of Resistance” where they toured extensively throughout Europe and the US. The members of the band were Fazal on Rhythm Guitar, Christopher Meredith on Bass, Basil “Benbow” Creary on Drums, Anthony Asher Brissett on Keyboards, Erroll “Tarzan” Nelson on Keyboards, Harry T on Percussion, Leebert “Gibby” Morrison on Lead Guitar.

Throughout the 70’s and 80’s he played with session musician like Horacemouth, Santa Davis, Squidly Cole, Dasey Jones, Robby Lynn, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Michael Fletcher and more. In 1989 Fazal moved to New York to record and tour with the likes of Computer Paul, Sister Carol, The Meditations, The Congos, The Abysinians and the list goes on. In 1991 he moved to California permanently where he has performed on every festival imaginable. In 1998 along with his wife Colette he formed Venus One, a production company producing and booking International Reggae artists. The following year along with Amlak Tafari he formed the Yellow Wall Dub Squad.
The Yellow Wall Dub Squad will be releasing a new CD in January 2004.

In the upcoming year 2004, Fazal will be releasing his solo project called—Shadows in the Storm. During the early part of the year he is also looking forward to the opening of his recording studio, Vinus-1 Studios, a thirty two track digital studio nestled in the mountains of Sonoma County, California .

In his own words “The only time I find peace, happiness and a connection with the Most High is when I play my guitar.”


- REGGAEMOVEMENT.COM

On April 1, the Bay Area lost one of its most prolific musicians. Fazal Prendergast, a well-loved Jamaican-born guitarist who toured and recorded with many reggae legends and led his own band in the Bay Area, drowned after his car veered off Highway 101 and plunged into the Eel River.

Prendergast, 46, was a lanky man with cola-colored skin who was easily recognized by his untamed locks and beaming smile that revealed a chipped front tooth. His band, the Yellow Wall Dub Squad, formed by English bassist Amlak Tafari in 1999, was touring and backing artists such as the Abyssinians, Sister Carol, Junior Jazz, the Mighty Diamonds and Yami Bolo at festivals and clubs from the Bay Area to Europe.

According to his close friend and manager, Robert Oyugi, on the day he died, Prendergast was driving alone on his way to a gig in Arcata with reggae singer Don Carlos. The previous night, Prendergast had played at a reggae bash at SoMa Arts in San Francisco with Carlos and dance-hall singer Sister I-Live. Those who attended the event remember Prendergast in good spirits.

The accident occurred at about 1:30 p.m. in Piercy at the Humboldt County line. It is unclear what caused his 1991 Mercedes Benz to swerve off the road before a bridge and fall 150 feet into the river. The car immediately sank. Prendergast managed to surface with his prized Fender Stratocaster and struggled to swim to shore. Bystanders rushed to the banks of the river -- one person even went into the icy water in a rescue attempt. But the current swept Prendergast downstream, eventually pulling him and his guitar under.

Prendergast's guitar surfaced. His body was found two hours later a quarter- mile downstream.

First to hear

Oyugi, who lives in Boulder, Colo., and had been managing the Yellow Wall Dub Squad for four years, was one of the first to hear the news.

"He did not go back into the river to get his guitar," Oyugi said, trying to dispel rumors that Prendergast died trying to save his guitar. "Most likely, the guitar was used as a floating device, because it was in a soft case, which was buoyant. No one will really every know."

"He laid a foundation, so that we could continue, carry on," said Stevie Love, who played rhythm guitar in Yellow Wall Dub Squad. "No one can take Fazal's place."

Love recalled Prendergast's knowledge of the music business and his kindness.

"He was a people person who was never really thinking about himself; he was always thinking about other people," said Love, who had known Prendergast since they were children in Kingston, Jamaica.

Prendergast's career began in 1974 when he worked as a session musician with composer Augustus Pablo and his Rockers International record label in Kingston. Rockers International helped usher in the "dub" era (surreal, instrumental reggae with occasional vocals). A popular session musician, Prendergast also recorded for Jamaica's prestigious Studio One, Channel One and Bob Marley's Tuff Gong label. In 1983, Prendergast joined Earl "Chinna" Smith's High Times Label and toured with Jamaican poet Mutabaruka and the High Times Players. Prendergast played rhythm guitar on Mutabaruka's albums "Dub Poets Dub" and "Out Cry."

During a recent book signing in the Bay Area, Mutabaruka recalled Prendergast's wilder days on tour in Europe during the 1980s. Once, while traveling to a show in Genoa, Italy, Mutabaruka told the band to get rid of their marijuana before they reached the border and warned that they would be turned back if officials found anything.

"When we reached the border, the officials came onto the bus and let the dogs on," Mutabaruka said. "They found no herb in the bus, but the dogs smelled the ganja. Every time, it was Fazal they went to. It was Fazal who argued with the men and cussed and went on bad. (The officials) turned the bus upside down, and we ended up missing the show. It was the first show that I missed in my life.

"Fazal was one of my wonderful brethren," Mutabaruka said.

In 1991, Prendergast settled in the Bay Area and formed his production company, Venus One, with Colette McGeough, his longtime partner and mother of the couple's 9-year-old daughter, Deardhra.

"He was like a bright star that burned fast and quick," McGeough said. "In the short period that I've known Fazal, it's like we condensed more into those 12 years than a lot of people could live in many lifetimes."

On a cold April night at McGeough's home in Middletown (Lake County), Prendergast's friends and family gathered to share memories as Deardhra and Prendergast's Tibetan terrier, Bright Eyes, raced through the house.

McGeough's living room was warmed by a fireplace and filled with flowers from well-wishers. The mantles were adorned with photos of Prendergast and his guitar.

"It's been really tough for Deardhra because Fazal just adored her, and she adored him," McGeough said. "He was the favorite, and I was the disciplinarian. She's very tough, and she's taking it bit by bit."

McGeough, from Castleblayney, Ireland, and Prendergast met as roommates in San Diego. Prendergast was a flirt, McGeough said, a romantic and a dreamer. They shared an interest in the supernatural.

"He had real psychic powers," McGeough said. "In Ireland, we have superstitions about everything and beliefs about everything that are not quite on this plane. Fazal was the first person I met who had even more extreme views in that way. He always encouraged me. Everybody else was always telling me, 'You need to base yourself in reality.'

"Fazal was very prophetic. He could tell me what would happen in the future. He told me that he would die before me. He told me where to put his guitar and which pictures to enlarge. All the time I was with him, he'd have me record him. He had so many things on video. He really had a sense of what was going to happen.

"I didn't have that sense. I thought he was going to live until he was 92. His great-grandmother was over 100, and she just died."

Life with Prendergast was an adventure, McGeough said. On the weekends, the couple, who moved from Guerneville to Middletown in 2004, would walk barefoot on the beach. Although the two were estranged at the time of his death, McGeough expressed love and admiration for her partner of 12 years.

"Apart from being a musician, he could cook. He'd cook salt fish, akee and sorrel -- all the Jamaican dishes," McGeough said. "He was teaching Deardhra to sew; he was teaching her how to make doll clothes. He could draw and tell stories. There was a whole different dimension to him. Music was one aspect of his creativity."

Prendergast grew up in Kingston's close-knit Mountain View district. His stepfather recognized his music potential when he was about 15 and sent him to the teacher who instructed Bob Marley. Michael Prendergast, who last saw his brother in 1987, recalled when, after school, they would watch Marley and his friends play soccer at Marley's home, Island House, in Kingston. Fazal adored Marley, Michael Prendergast said.

Prendergast had started making techno music and had recorded two albums in his Guerneville studio. He was also developing a new style of music called "razz," a hybrid of reggae and jazz

"Every day when I would come home from work, he'd have a different track, " McGeough said. "Some of it was reggae and some was not reggae. He also had an album that we co-produced that had been in the works since 1995. It's called 'Shadows in the Storm.' It's his most beautiful work.

"Fazal was a perfectionist with his music. He was a professional. He tried to maintain that standard within reggae music. So many times, musicians don't get paid. He wanted to form a union. Fazal wouldn't take a show, even if he wanted it, if it didn't pay his musicians well."

McGeough said she plans to finish his albums. The support of friends and family, as well as her belief that Prendergast is now free, she said, are helping her move forward.

"He will be missed," McGeough said. "Fazal is on a liberated plane, with all of his colleagues that went before him. He's probably organizing something up there right now. I'm not afraid of death anymore, because the person I loved the most went ahead of me."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benefit and tribute
Fazal Prendergast Memorial Benefit with Yellow Wall Dub Squad backing special guests, including Don Carlos, Sister Carol and Rankin Scroo is 9:30 p. m., June 11 at the Broadway Niteclub, 19 Broadway Ave. in Fairfax. (415) 459- 1091, www.19broadway.com. Proceeds will go to the Deardhra McGeough Prendergast college fund.

E-mail Shelah Moody at smoody@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page F - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

- San Francisco Chronicle

SISTER CAROL WITH THE YELLOW WALL DUB SQUAD
Doors at 9:00 pm; show at 9:30 pm
$17 / $15 students (w/valid ID)
Known as the “Black Cinderella” and “Mother Culture,” Jamaican-born singer Sister Carol is a leader of women in reggae, recording eight albums over the past 20 years, receiving a Grammy nomination (for her 1996 CD, “Lyrically Potent”), and playing reggae and music festivals around the world. She was also featured as an actress in two Jonathan Demme films, “Something Wild” and “Married to the Mob,” and has appeared on network TV programs such as David Letterman’s and Conan O’Brien’s. Her music is conscious reggae that delivers a social message for people all over the world. www.sistercarol.com

Yellow Wall Dub Squad plays conscious instrumentals, led by Kingston-born guitarist Fazal Prendergast, one of the greats of the reggae studios who has performed on countless recordings, including many international hits, and has been lead guitarist in bands led by everyone from Augustus Pablo to Mutabaruka. He is joined in Yellow Wall Dub Squad by drummer Alton “Sandrum” Vanhorn, keyboardist Steve Hoffman, and bassist Stevie Love.
- Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center

Features Main Page
The Bay Area Loses a Great Talent and Friend

Fazal Prendergast, the band leader and guitarist of the reggae group, Yellow Wall Dub Squad, died in a tragic car accident on the afternoon of Friday April 1. He had performed the night before at the Soma Arts Center in San Francisco, California, backing Don Carlos and Sister I-Live.
It is speculated that Prendergast left soon after the show around 4:30 am and did not sleep much, if at all. Bandmates said he wanted to get to the next venue in Arcata to get an early start. As Prendergast was driving north on California’s Highway 101, he swerved in his 1991 Mercedes over an embankment, a 150-foot drop, into the rain-swollen Eel River near the Mendocino-Humboldt county line. He was swept downstream, but able to get out of his car. Witnesses were unable to pull him out although Prendergast did hand over his Fender Stratocaster guitar to an onlooker before the current came.

The California Highway Patrol said that Prendergast was found dead at the bottom of the river about a quarter-mile away, tangled up with a tree branch and a rock, after a two-hour search involving six agencies and four helicopters.

Prendergast had a long and fruitful music career that began in ernest in Kingston, Jamaica in 1974—first with Augustus Pablo’s Rockers International Allstars Band, then with Earl “Chinna” Smith’s High Times Players. He backed everyone from Jacob Miller, Hugh Mundell, Junior Reid, Don Carlos, The Congos, Sugar Minott, Johnny Osborne, and others. In 1977, he opened with Israel Vibration for Bob Marley and the Wailers.

Prendergast linked up with Mutabaruka in 1983 and toured and recorded as part of the High Times Players for the dub poet. Mutabaruka changed the band’s name to “Sound of Resistance” where they toured Europe and the U.S. Predergast continued to record and play music at Tuff Gong, Studio One, Channel One, and other legendary studios with other top-notch session musicians including Santa Davis, Squiddly Cole and Sly Dunbar.

Prendergast then moved to New York in 1989 where he worked with Computer Paul, the Meditations, Sister Carol and others, and relocated to California permanently in 1991.

In conjunction with Amlak Tafari, Prendergast formed the Yellow Wall Dub Squad in 1999. Tafari said Prendergast initially had doubts about working as a collective, since promoters can cut costs by hiring individual session players. But once Prendergast saw the benefits, he worked harder than most to make it work, “Fazal run it 100%,” remembered Tafari, “Him always used to say ‘t’ree-foot horse always win race,’” which is how Prendergast saw Yellow Wall--the collective nature of the group was its handicap in a cut-throat industry.

His vision was that Yellow Wall would be the number one West Coast band, backing everyone who came through. "He was a pioneer," said bassist and longtime family friend Toho Saunders,"He was like a rebel with a cause. He was into his fast cars, and his Italian shoes, but reggae was a mission. He ate, breathed, lived and drank reggae music and was very diligent about business."

There was a mischievous side to Predergast as well, "Fazal was a wild child!" Saunders continued. "He would come to sound check and everyone would be trying to tune their instruments, right? Fazal would be playing LOUD over everybody! And he was unapologetic [laughs] That's Fazal. But nobody skanked like Fazal when it came to rhythm guitar. Nobody has a tone like he got from the instrument. It's because he used his whole arm. He put his body into it. Some players just use their wrists. Not Fazal."

Writing his own music was also one of Predergast's loves. He released a CD last year and was working on another one. "That is something he definitely wanted to get out there," said Saunders, "he was really working hard on his own stuff."

Fazal was 46 years old and is survived by his partner and wife of eleven years, Colette McGeough, and his 9-year-old daughter, Deadhra. Aside from his family, music was his life. He told Snowboard Magazine in January, "The only time I find peace, happiness, and a connection with the Most High is when I play my guitar."

The Bay Area reggae community is devastated and deeply affected by this loss. He will be remembered as a very talented guitarist, a hard worker and someone who cared about people--“he wears his heart on his sleeve,” said Tafari. “The whole community is upset by this loss—everyone is feeling it hard,” said Junglz Apart frontman Tony D.

Prendergast's manager, Robert Oyugi, confirmed, "Fazal will be deeply missed. It just hits home that you never know when your time will come."

The memorial will take place on Monday, April 11 at Santa Rosa Memorial Park, 1990 Franklin Avenue, Santa Rosa, California from 2-3 p.m.

There are also plans in the works for a memorial concert on May 28 at the 19 Broadway Club in Fairfax, CA. More details will be released as they become known.

- Jahworks.org by Laura Gardner

FAZAL PRENDERGAST, who we lost in a tragic road
accident last year, was not only a foundational musician
in reggae music (look on the back of your old roots
reggae albums and CDs!), he was also a beloved father.
His daughter, DEARDHRA MCGEOUGH PRENDERGAST,
age 10, treasures her memories and shares with us:
I remember when my daddy Fazal would play at reggae
festivals or shows, he would bring my mom, COLETTE, and me
along with him. I loved this part because we got to stay at
very nice hotels where I could go swimming. My daddy would
always let me choose which bed I wanted first, and he and
my mom would take the other.. I always chose the bed by the
window so I could look out and see everyone. My daddy would
then take me to the show with mum. There I would get to meet
lots of people and sometimes I would meet kids like me and
make new friends. At the show I get to stay up late and dance
to his music. I would stay backstage until he finished playing.
After, he would like to go straight back to the hotel. At the hotel
while I played, he would be busy getting his band paid and
making important phone calls. He would let me take his calls for
him sometimes. My daddy always got up in the morning very,
very early. He would go to the sauna and then come back for
mum and I, to go swimming with him. He taught me to swim
– I have a picture beside my bed of my daddy and I swimming
together. We are both laughing and splashing water at each
other. On the way back home, daddy would always stop at the
mall and buy me something like new clothes – or like last time
he got me a skateboard and a guitar. I love my daddy very
much and I miss him very, very much. - Reggae Festival Guide 2006 by Wendy Russel

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Fazal Prendergrass / artists (F)
Profile: Died in a car accident 01.04.05 aged 46
Name Variations: All | Fazal Prendergrass | Fazal Prendergast | Fazel Pendergrass

2 for sale in the Discogs Marketplace

Appears On:
Triumph (LP) Alligator Records 1985
Rising Sun (LP) Greensleeves Records 1986
Earth Rightful Ruler (LP) Shanachie, Message 1988
Eastman Dub (LP) Greensleeves Records 1988
Presents Rockers International (CD) Greensleeves Records 1991
Original Rockers Vol.2 (LP) Rockers International 1992
Dub, Reggae & Roots From The Melodica King (2xLP) Ocho 2000
Black Black Minds (2xLP) Pressure Sounds 2005
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The Soul of a Rebel
Nederland celebrates the lives of two memorable reggae artists
by Aaron Rogers (buzz@boulderweekly.com)

After reading the Rastafarian psalm chosen by the organizers of the 6th Annual Soul Rebel Festival, one understands that Rasta is a religion that offers its followers relief from suffering on Earth through the spirit of a higher force. An excerpt of the psalm reads: "Rasta is of peace with no fear of the evil of men."

Along with honoring Vieira's spirit, the 6th Annual Soul Rebel Festival will also memorialize the late guitarist and roots-reggae pioneer Fazal Prendergast of the band The Yellow Wall Dub Squad.

"Fazal was there from the early stages of reggae music, performing with greats like Augustus Pablo, " says Oyugi. "Fazal had a good style that was just powerhouse reggae."

Prendergast drowned in California after his car swerved off the road and plunged into the Eel River in 2005.

The remaining members of The Yellow Wall Dub Squad will perform at the Soul Rebel Festival to honor Prendergast's memory.
The Soul Rebel Festival will take Place on Saturday, July 14, at Jeff Guercio Memorial Baseball Park (take Hwy. 119 to Nederland, turn south on East Street), www.interfold.com/ujama/SoulRebelFestival.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com



- Boulderweekly.com

YAMI BOLO is one of the the freshest Roots and Culture artists
springing
out of the pack in Jamaica today. He has entertained and garnered fans all
over the world, with his magical voice which speaks directly to the heart,
and inspires strenth, joy and hope. His passionate singing style has been
called "a cry out in the wilderness".
He remains true to the spirit of Reggae Music and says, "the singer is but
the instrument. It's the Almighty at work."

YAMI BOLO has worked with top producers including Augustus Pablo, Coxson
Dodd, Sly and Robbie and many others, and he toured with Augustus Pablo's
prestigious Rockers crew which led him to perform in Japan where he became
quite famous.

YAMI BOLO has recorded over 19 albums and has collaborated with the
best
Reggae artists in the business, including Ghetto Youths Damian and Stephen
Marley, and he sings on Damian's Grammy-winning album "Halfway Tree". His
song "Worldwide Corruption" is found on the "Life and Debt" soundtrack and
he also appeared in this film.

YAMI BOLO's committment to conscious lyrics is evident throughout his
music. He is determined to spread the love and happiness of his spiritual
strength through exploring his multiple roles as singer, songwriter and
musician. About his mission as an artist he says,
"I know that every person on this earth is here to spread love and
happiness
across the world. I put my trust in the Almighty, and He always inspires
me,
so I use my talent to praise Jah and the principles of humility and love
that are within each and every one of us."

THE YELLOW WALL DUB SQUAD USA will back YAMI BOLO for these shows. They
are an original, authentic Roots Reggae band comprised of legendary
Jamaican
and American studio session artists Fazal Prendergast, band leader and
guitarist, Stevie Love, on bass, Sandrum on drums, and Steve Hoffman, keys.
These are seasoned and professional musicians with the real, authentic
Jamaican sound, and they will bring out the best of Yami's many talents as
well as showcasing their own.

- Sister Yasmin in (¯`·._(¯`·......Wha Gwaan in R.A.W......·´¯)_.·´¯)

This is G o o g l e's cache of http://www.reggaereview.com/archives/1004worldbeat.htm as retrieved on Jan 29, 2008 18:51:24 Turning Up The Reggae Heat

9th Annual Monterey Bay Reggae Festival
Andre Smith of A & P Productions
Photography and Article by Diane "Livonn" Adam © 2004

It was a wonderful day when fans of Reggae music received the news that this year would include an impressive comeback of the 9th Annual Monterey Bay Reggae Festival held on Labor Day weekend, September 5-6, 2004. Last year we were all disheartened to hear that the festival would not be held. Like true warriors A & P Productions took back the reins at the Monterey Fairgrounds to produce this year’s festival with MC Alan "Rocky" Bailey. Always focusing on the best in Roots and Culture, headline performers on the main "One World Stage" on Sunday, September 5th included Morgan Heritage, Sister Carol, Yami Bolo, Prezident Brown, Bambú Station and Iba from St. Croix, and Inner Vision.

On Saturday, September 6th lighting up the stage was the original roots master and nyahbinghi specialist Ras Michael and The Sons of Negus, Bushman, Israel Vibration with the Roots Radics Band, Dub-Wize, Mabrak, Earl Zero, Yellow Wall Dub Squad and youth performer, Prince Rastan and an exciting and stimulating festival-closing performance by Beenie Man.

Festival Highlights
Yami Bolo
I yie yie yie oh yeah, Lord knows it was the sweet vocal’s of Yami Bolo who moved on stage to begin his soulful set with the title track of his latest album, "Rebellution". Yami kept the audience in his gentle embrace as he delivered a satisfying set of roots songs including "Weep Not", "Jah Love Worth More Than Gold" and "Do Good" (to the poor man). Touching on the need to cease the current turmoil in the world, Yami performed his songs "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and "More Love" (in this war torn world). When he stopped the band to perform "World Wide Disarmament" as he strummed on his acoustic guitar there was no doubt that the words he sang had taken hold of the hearts of the swaying crowd.


Representing the Queens and giving the proper female balance to the festival was none other than the original Mother Culture, Sister Carol backed by the Yellow Wall Dub Squad Band featuring Fazel Pendergast on rhythm guitar. The sound of "The Conquering Lion" (shall break every chain) drifted out like a gentle breeze before Sister Carol appeared on stage to meet her adoring fans who cheered her on as she broke into the song "Black Cinderella". Giving praises to Selassie I and Queen Omega, she truly uplifted the women dem when she sang "Fire ‘Pon The West" (if you try to ditch the Empress). Never loosening her Rasta grip, she launched into a moving array of Roots and Culture songs including "Reggae Arena" where she hailed up the great Reggae legends and "Rasta Fire".

She also performed songs from her new album release, Empressive with the songs "Joy" and "Empty World". Sister Carol nicely changed up the vibe and surprised everyone when she sang Capelton’s "Mashin’ Up The World" which she smoothly transitioned back into her song "Joy". It was a non-stop culture ride as Sister Carol (gift wrapped with her sister’s lovely gospel drenched vocals that also got a chance to shine later in the show in a solo performance of "Listening" in a rub-a-dub style) captured the audience’s full attention. Especially on the songs "Rasta Girl" and "Wombman" and closed her splendid set with her trademark treatment on "Dread Knotty Congo".
Sister Carol

Monday, September 6th

The Yellow Wall Dub Squad Band got things rolling on the One World Stage on Monday, followed by youth performer, Prince Rastan and veteran singer Earl Zero got his shot to sweet the crowd. Mabrak engrossed the crowd with their song "Survival". They also gave the crowd a music lesson when they introduced the talking drum performer who lent his talents on "Summertime Rhythm" explaining to the audience that the foundation of Morse Code came from the African people who used the drum to communicate between vast distances and later Mabrak transitioned the song into a rub-a-dub style. Nice! Also performing on Monday was Dub-Wize who gave a fine set of strictly instrumental dub style songs.
- excerpts from WORLD BEAT ROAD by Diane Adams