Rehearsal studio keeps connection

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Bochirace off Half-Way Tree Road, St Andrew, does not look like the typical studio - and it is not. It is a rehearsal studio, so there is no need for a recording booth or the strict separation of sounds between instruments and voices to create a pristine recording.

And some of the sound of musicians and performers honing their package before they hit the stage does carry beyond the walls of the studio, built specifically for rehearsal in 1995.

Horace Brown explains that the name is actually a combination of three names - the 'Bo' for guitarist Bo Pee, 'Chi' for hornsman Chico and 'Race' from his first name. And the studio was actually born out of 809 band, the numbers on the back of the bass speaker box testimony to the genesis.

Brown, who moved to New York when he was 18 years old, said he was in West Palm Beach, Florida, when 809 band was formed in 1983.

"I was around the scene. I was the individual who was their contact in the US (United States) while they were here in Jamaica," he said.

He was also there when the members started to go their separate ways, which led to Bochirace being built and outfitted.

"I went to a Luciano rehearsal and some of the equipment was there. I say to Bo Pee, we can't let the equipment go to waste, let's do something," Brown said. The guitarist suggested they talk to saxophonist Dean Fraser and, if he agreed, they would set up a rehearsal studio.

The agreement was made and the space built with the necessary consideration for sound and "immediately Lloyd Parkes started using the studio as his rehearsal home". In 1997, Brown said, Heineken Startime asked him to host rehearsals, an arrangement which lasted until 2006.

Long list

He reels off a list of performers who have rehearsed at Bochirace, among them Pinchers, Supercat, the I Threes, Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs, John Holt, Bob Andy, Mighty Diamonds, Tinga Stewart, Bounty Killer, Percy Sledge, the Chi-Lites, the Persuaders, Tony Greene, the Idren Workshop and Richie Stephens. The No-Maddz poetry quartet also rehearsed for the taping of their live album there.

A drum set, bass guitar, guitar amplifier, mixing board and keyboard are among the equipment permanently in place at Bochirace.

Brown points out a huge difference between a recording and a rehearsal studio which goes beyond equipment. He said that in recording people book their time and arrive separately, some people "don't want anybody even in the yard" when they are laying down tracks. However, at a rehearsal studio there is much more camaraderie, where "you have seven, eight artistes, they come with their friends and some people stop to say hello".

"The intimacy this creates is good for the business," Brown said. "People get to see each other and talk about the music."

keep musicians together

That was part of his reason for setting up Bochirace, as Brown says, "It was not only the income I was looking for. I was looking for a part of the business that would keep musicians together and the youngsters coming."

He also says that "It is not as lucrative as it used to be. If people do not have a tour and book you out for a week or two, you might have three bookings for the week. It has to be one of your businesses, but if it is something that you have you will enjoy owning it.

"It has kept me in the mix of the industry," Brown said.

He has had a long, varied association with music, playing guitar in the band Sons of Creation through to running a record store in Queens and producing records with persons like Little Roy and recording songs himself.

However, Brown says it was his time as production manager between 1987 and 1989 on three album projects by Tappazukie and Clive Hunt - Putting Up Resistance (Beres Hammond), Gregory in Red (Gregory Isaacs) and Death Before Dishonour (Dennis Brown) - that he considers his real music graduation.

Brown developed an especially close relationship with Isaacs and even drove the hearse with the Cool Ruler's body from the airport. He says Isaacs was "a no-nonsense person, yet he was diligent. He was very humorous. The main thing I know about Gregory is all he had was love. He loved everybody and wanted everybody to do well."

Outside of Bochirace, Brown says he plans to record an album, as vocalist, and there is the possibility of expanding the facility's scope.

"I have designated a spot for a recording studio and the equipment is still there," Brown said, but went on to say that it is up to younger persons to put their energy into that project.