Plug and Play has a go at live music scene

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

One of the coolest things to do in Kingston back in the day was slip into a club and listen to bands with hip names like the Now Generation and Soul Syndicate rock the house.

Drummer Deleon 'Jubba' White longs for a return to those glory days.

He and his band, Dub Tonic, kicked off one of the latest attempts at reviving live music last Friday with Plug and Play, a weekly event at The Wyndham Kingston hotel's Jonkanoo Lounge. Dub Tonic performed alongside special guest, saxophonist Tony Greene.

"The objective is not only to get back live entertainment in Kingston, but make people aware that there is a different side to the music," White explained.

Different bands

Plug and Play is scheduled for Fridays, with different bands expected to take the stage along with a guest act. White said the five-piece Dub Tonic decided to take up the gig after years of touring and recording with several of reggae's big names.

"We found that promoters, in Europe especially, were pulling away from reggae performers due to unprofessionalism," White said.

"The demand was falling and they began using their own bands."

In addition to White, who also sings, Dub Tonic includes Strickland Stone on bass, Luke Dixon (keyboards, vocals), Omar Johnson (guitar, vocals) and percussionist/vocalist Horace Morgan.

The band has been around since the 1990s, touring with rocksteady and roots-reggae greats such as The Heptones, U Roy, Max Romeo and the Mighty Diamonds. Some of their more recent projects have been with contemporary acts like singer Richie Spice on whose Marijuana Pon The Corner they played, and vocal group Voicemail, who they backed on Ready To Party.

The Jonkanoo Lounge was one of the happening venues during the live rage of the 1970s. The Caribs, which included bassist Jackie Jackson of Treasure Isle fame, was the resident band there.

Before establishing themselves as session players, many of Jamaica's top musicians such as drummer Sly Dunbar and his production partner, bass player Robbie Shakespeare, got their start playing weekly in Kingston's most popular clubs.

Most of the live action in the 1970s took place along the Red Hill's Road strip where clubs like Tit For Tat were located. Other top venues of the day included Bohemia at the intersection of Maxfield and Hagley Park roads.

Live music in clubs began a steady decline in the 1980s and was almost obsolete a decade later. In recent years, there has been a live-music renaissance of sorts with frequent shows at locations such as Weekenz, Christopher's and Redbones.

'The objective is not only to get back live entertainment in Kingston, but make people aware that there is a different side to the music.'