A grater and a spoon make all the difference
Published:Sunday | September 19, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Patrina Pink, Gleaner Writer
AN ELECTRIC guitar, drums couple up in a steamy session with a grater and spoon. It's an unorthodox, perhaps odd relationship and one that would shock the musically uptight. However, fans of the four-member group, No-Maddz, believe it is just the right formula needed to drive Jamaica's music out of the monotonous champagne splashing, Clarks and tongue-ring rut.
A fixture on the Corporate Area's small but vibrant live music scene, No-Maddz launched their first album, The Trod, in July.
Since then the group, which comprises Sheldon Shepherd, Everaldo Creary, Oneil Peart and Christopher Gordon, has been elevated in the eyes of the public. Their album, its title song and the accompanying video, has been lauded as a massive roots-rock effort.
However, members have declined to brand the music they create, choosing to refer to it simply as 'love music'. Yet, for some, the 20-track double-disked compilation is reminiscent of a young Wailers and Mutabaruka, and often, the steady, energetic, pulsing dub-rock fusion shakes even the most cynical observer to the core.
Crowd support
That doesn't mean No-Maddz is without crowd support. The group of Kingston College Old Boys came together in 2000 while at school. Since then, they have been working tirelessly to create a presence through performing at as many events as they can get their hands on, including school concerts, barbecues and earlier, by competing in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's festival.
"We want to make a mark here and to make a stamp in music in general. We really want to create history by selling more than 10,000," said Gordon.
The feat may seem Herculean in light of the downloading habits of regular music consumers, but No-Maddz isn't daunted. The group's fans flock the social-networking sites and gigs at Billy Mystic's Jamnesia, where group members said they honed much of their musical might.
The support outside the traditional lovers of live music has been mixed.
"The gatekeepers like it but don't know if the dancehall is going to appreciate it, so some are unwilling to fully embrace the music," said Gordon.
He said that the group has been operating with the Almighty as their manager, as well as close friend Lloyd Laing, as the group's main public-relations person.
Red Records and Nomadic Movements, a company formed by group members, close friends and business partners, have produced The Trod.
"We find a lot of strength in Garvey and Rastafari. You can hear it in the music, we are inspired," said Shepherd. He penned their hit, Babylon Paper, and said it refers to the Garveyite doctrine of self-reliance.
The song defines the philosophy, which was also preached by former prime minister of Jamaica, Michael Manley, as the 'highest science'.
In Babylon paper, the group expounds a refusal to adhere to the traditional Christian view that wanting to acquire heaps of capital is immoral.
Instead No-Maddz urges fans to 'make that Babylon paper' or to seek wealth and financial prosperity.
Easy is reminiscent of the Marley hit, Pimper's Paradise. The song is comical while dealing with prostitution.
"Easy, breezy, lemon squeezy, da girl she would do anything to please me.
This ah nuh weed, a muss coke, pimpa's paradise she a laugh with the joke," declares an excited sounding Shepherd.
Lionesses in the Prairie is the album's signature love song. Highly suggestive lyrics, on a smooth chord progression, makes it a favourite of Peart, and fans are sure to go giddy over the colourful message.
In Take You to a Place, they croon, "I'm surfing on you body like waves on the sea and I ain't stopping, we are gonna be free."
The launch of The Trod in Emancipation Park was a turning point, according to Gordon. For him, the packed audience of eager fans was a life-changer.
"From the support of KC, JCDC, to getting such a huge turnout, and love for this album, I am totally overwhelmed."
Gordon believes No-Maddz isn't out of the woods yet, but said the group has found it's light.
"Over the years, we have been just thinking as one, and I feel like it's going to pay off."