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Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive: Jah-gust 9, 2014 Post Script, Vinyl is Vital: 3 hours of 45 REVOLUTIONS Per Minute

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<Smile Jamaica’s version of Stairway to Heaven; 8 sec.>

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Stairway to Heaven: From my hands to Jah’s ears – Vinyl is Vital: 7 Inch Boomshots on Smile Jamaica

Greetings,

<Smile Jamaica Jah-gust 9, 2014 intro: Jamaican Jukebox of 7″ 45s; 8 sec.>

If you listen at all to Smile Jamaica you might notice a few “trends”

  1. Music never stops. Even when I chatter away
  2. I am way too into 4:20, herbtunes, Seven Leaf
  3. I’m getting to the point of being way into all things Extra Terrestrial
  4. I don’t play much dancehall. I play contemporary dub and modern roots
  5. I worship at the Black Wax Temple.
1950s_Wurlitzer_juke_box
Chicks dig the 7 Inch

I don’t do Digital. I am a 2/3 CD 1/3 Vinyl selector/deejay/programmer on Smile Jamaica.

<lo-fi! no computa for I ‘n’ I; 5 sec.>

Christians got Ten. Muslims have Five. I only need Three.

Vinyl Commandments of Smile Jamaica

  • Commandment I – Thou Shalt Lead off each Ark-Ive Edition with a Vinyl Selection
  • Commandment II – Thou Shalt Play one Extra Loooong 12″ or 10″ piece of vinyl each half hour. Let the riddim stretch out to defy gravity. Sink down in the groove
  • Commandment III – Thou Shalt play a Vinyl is Vital (rhymes with Ital) set midway thru the 3 hour Ark-Ive
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Juggle mi a juggle

Individual tracks from LPs (Long Players) or Extended Mix Vinyl on either 12″ or 10″ sizes. Just have not made room lately for the 7″ variety.

I had a listener Tweet me that I should show some love for the 45 RPM – 7″ vinyl

<Juggling Wax: 7″ Jamaican Jukebox. 38 sec.>

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Better for you than Barbie, dawta!

So I did a quick tour of the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives and grabbed 2 crocus bags full of vinyl. Seven inch stylee!: 16 sec.

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2  crocus bags of Smile Jamaica’s secret stash of Black Wax: 7 inch 45s for juggling! That is not an oven mitt but my Grandfather’s vinyl dust cloth from when he sold records in his Montana hardware store

Flingin’ vinyl at 45 REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE; 12 sec.

VinylWarriorBlue
The Real Revolutionary

The Power of Vinyl: Heavy Roots crapped out KRCL’s electrical system with a power outage. No mp3 has that shower of power

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This 7″ 45 spun with such fury it caused a power outage at KRCL during Smile Jamaica! Digital mp3s obviously not allowed in Jah’s garden!

Here is how these 7″ Black Wax editions differ from the usual Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive Show

  1. Jukebox and singles to be played in the dance by Jamaican dancehall selectors were expected to be short and snappy.

An average Smile Jamaica, 3 hours, plays between 30-35 tunes. It jumps to well over 40+ on 7″ only shows

<Why 7″s tend to be shorter in duration; 27 sec.>

2. You need a center adapter for the US and JA singles for the station Turntables

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7 inch adapter: US and JA singles have wide mouth centers. UK 7″s do not

<Cratedigging: US/JA 7″s vs. UK 7″s;  64 sec.>

3. The rarest of the rare out of the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives. Very few artists had the career for a full length album. But hundreds of great artists put forth one hit wonders on unique and boutique labels. The obscurity for sure-ty that enhances listening to a heavy cratedigger’s perspective on the Radio.

<One hit wonder; 37 sec.>

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The obscure one shot boomshot. The true rarities featured out of the Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives. No LP, No CD, No iTunes

Here is what I featured from the big stack of Black Wax:

  • Dub Album of the Week: Front Line Dub (Virgin); compilation from the Virgin Front Line Dub LPs. So the music never has to stop
  • Secret Shame: Rasta Jamaicans with a “sweet tooth” for Kentucky Fried Chicken

<Lee Perry: Two buckets of chicken, keeps the drum kickin’; 7 sec.>

<That’s not very Ital, KFC! 87 sec..>

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Two down, 48 to go!
  • Seven Leaf juggler: Two down, 48 to go!; 7 sec.

<Smile Jamaica Legalization Prediction: 6 legalizing states in 2014; 23 sec.>

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Jah-laska. Smile Jamaica predicts legalize 2014
  • Reggae Prophecy: Bob Marley Who Colt the Game. Dominos motif on 2014 EU/NATO/Obama vs. Russia/Putin. 67 sec.
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You sanction my gas, I sanction your food. How you like dem apples?. Who Colt the Game?
  • Reggae History Lessson: DJ Charley Ace and his Swing a Ling Mobile Record Shack

<Charley Ace. 58 sec.>

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Charley Ace
  • Ancient Aliens Mutant Dub: Tenastelin tells you about my ancestors the Anunnaki

<Tenastelin Flying Sacuers; 3 min 57 sec.>

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Make way for the Anunnaki – Returning to Earth in 2800AD

I’ll load the entire 3 hours (minus vinyl induced power outage time) tomorrow with the full playlist. Also gonna tag some of the unique art work of the 45’s on one of a kind record labels

bless, robt

sensimanrock
2 down, 48 to go! Smile Jamaica’s Holy Trinity: Rare, Herbtune, clear vinyl

Smile Jamaica Preview: Jah-gust 2, 2014 – Beware the Hairy Eyeball!

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Reggae Fanatic since Oct. ’86. “Come get yer righteous raaas klaat licks!”

Smile Jamaica live every Saturday 4-7 PM Mtn. Time:

  • 90.9FM in Utah
  • Stream:  Tune In Radio
  • Ark-Ive. Here on Smile Jamaica blog; without commercial interruptions
  • Twitter: SmileJ_KRCL for live alert and stream upload/blog posts

Greetings,

Reggae Music your Summer Soundtrack rolls into its 3rd month. His Imperial Majesty month (July) into Jah-gust

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Haile Selassie I – b. July 23, 1892

Uploaded the July 26 Ark-Ive of Smile Jamaica. There is nuff  time to push us up the Mixcloud charts!

Here is what I have for you this afternoon, Jah-gust 2, 2014:

3 hours: “all killer no filler”

I’m gonna tell you a story about how I got the Hairy Eyeball at my sister’s wedding twenty years ago. It invokes a Biblical dude named Bozrah with his garments dipped in blood

Isaiah 63:1

hairy eyeball web
Beware the Hairy Eyeball: The minute I walked into the Church during my sister’s wedding the lights went out all over Fort Benton Montana. July 1994. My mom gave me the “hairy eyeball”
  • Dub Album of the Week: DJ David Rodigan selects: Rodigan’s Dub Classic: Serious Selections Volume 1 (Rewind Selecta). Tubby’s, Jammy, Scientist. So the music never haffee Stop
  • Rockers doing Reggae: First Saturday of the Month: Jackson Browne, The Clash, Elvis Costello
  • 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement. Seven Leaf 10″ every half hour. 
legalize-2-down-48-to-go-thcfinder
2 down, 48 to go!
  • Roots Dawtas: new Hollie Cook and other mutant dubstresses
  • Vinyl is Vital midway
  • Wailers Family Tree: Bob 9/23/80: Jah-sylvania; ’77 Tosh rarities from dubble disk upgrade of Equal Rights. Bunny Wailer Rule Dancehall ’87
  • Mutant Dub to end the show. Including one from Spiritual Rez name checking the Anunnaki.

bless, robt

WIK_Tilglath-Pileser-III
Anunnaki – LOOK AT HIS WRISTWATCH!. Returning from the 12th Planet Nibiru to Earth in 2800AD

Smile Jamaica live every Saturday 4-7 PM Mtn. Time:

  • 90.9FM in Utah
  • Stream:  Tune In Radio
  • Ark-Ive. Here on Smile Jamaica blog; without commercial interruptions
  • Twitter: SmileJ_KRCL for live alert and stream upload/blog posts
marleyonwall
The Stone that the builder refused. Will always be the head corner stone — Bob Marley

Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives: July 26, 2014 (Stream + Playlist): Nelstradamus Say: A-Pot-Calypse Right Now!

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Starship Selassie I: Mutant dub UFOria out of Philippines

Greetings,

<A-Pot-Calypse Right Now!; 11  sec.>

Jump straight to July 26, 2014 Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive

<Smile Jamaica Salutation; 3 sec.>

“Beware when the 3 Seven’s (777) clash/crash“

<Countdown to the A-Pot-Calypse Love Song: World War III soundclip: #1; 35 sec.>

My friends call me Nelstradamus. 

Not really, that is what I call myself to remind them of my dire political prophecies. Nelson + Nostradamus = Nelstradamus.

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Nostradamus’s secret conduit to his predictions. The Seven Leaf vapors.

I remember saying to my coffee mates in 2003 that once we invaded Iraq, it would be a new Millennial Crusade. Like smashing your first right in the middle of a hornet’s nest. The Iraqis would most certainly not be greeting us with garlands of flowers and sweet meats.

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Redder than Red – Perpetual Wars: North Africa/Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central/South Asia. The real legacy of 9/11 and Iraq 2003

Perpetual war in  dozens of West Asian, North African and Subcontinental countries. It’s quicker and easier to count the nations of Jah-frica who *aren’t* at war. Forget peace in the Holy Land. And will the last Christian Assyrian, Chaldean, Yacoubite, the indigenous people – my people – leaving Iraq and Syria please remember to turn out the lights.

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Prince Far I: “Jonah went to Nineveh to warn the Nation. Tell them about Jah Love.” Jonah’s (Mar Yunis) tomb in Mosul was destroyed by ISIS jihadis

When Ukraine went hot at the end of the Sochi Olympics, I texted my pals: “World War III. Coming this summer.” They scoffed. I brooded. Sure enough right around the 100 year anniversary of World War Uno, (Aug. 1914) events are shaping up to see another European continental war of brother killing brother. We are back to the modern equivalent of Dr. Strangelove: “we can win a tactical nuclear war.” Yes we can? No effing way!

“Crimea river” (Dr. Paul Craig Roberts)

Dr-Strangelove-Obama-Riding-Bomb-Down
President Superfly stars in “Cold War the Sequel”: Jihad? More like Yeee-hawwwwd!

<Countdown to the A-Pot-Calypse Love Song: World War III soundclip #2; 21 sec.>

My remote viewing antennae are finely tuned via thousand upon thousand of Reggae prophecies predicting this would happen if mankind didn’t repent.

<Countdown to the A-Pot-Calypse Love Song: World War III soundclip #3; 21>

Rather than be depressed I chose to embrace a nihilistic approach by virtue of those same Reggae lyrics.  Listen keenly to this tune I played on this week’s stream that lit up the phones like a Vegas jackpot live on air.

Out of Boston, Jah-suchusetts: “Either way, you’re gonna get probed!”

<Spiritual Rez – Let’s Go Out with a Bang; 2 min 48 sec.>

<A-Pot-Calypse Right Now!: Smile Jamaica intro; 63 sec.>

Lyrical satirical

  • Girl, they say the end is coming soon
  • They’re talking about impending doom and total annihilation
  • Girls, what if what they say is true
  • There’s nothing really left to do but each other
  • If the nuclear bombs get deployed tonight
  • You’ll be glad you got some Afternoon Delight
  • So take my hand and come into my room
  • If the end is coming we should be too
  • Oh yeah: Let’s go out with a bang!
  • Girl, the tidal wave’s approaching
  • We might as well start groping
  • It’s not too late
  • Girl, if we’re all going down
  • You might as well be going down
  • …On me
  • Get it beyond we’re not an Alien Tribe
  • All I want is what’s between those thighs
  • If the Spaceships have surrounded the Globe
  • Either way you’re gonna get probed
  • Oh yeah: Let’s go out with a bang!
  • People are dying
  • And we’re 69ing
  • It’s a total panic
  • And we’re getting tantric
  • Oh yeah: Let’s go out with a bang!
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Fellow devotees of the Anunnaki. Best Reggae novelty song since Smoke Two Joints and Monster Hash. Smile Jamaica approved!

bless, robt

Check the Playlist for photos and soundbytes.

The July 26, 2014 Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive

 Playlist:

  • Louise Bennett – Linstead Market; Jamaican Folk Songs Sung By Louise Bennett (Smithsonian Folkways); ’55 10” vinyl; NYC
  • Jah Shaka – Coronation Dub; Coronation Dub: Commandments of Dub – Chapter 9 (Jah Shaka); ’89 UK Dub Album of the Week
  • Dennis Brown – The Writing is on the Wall; Complete A & M Years (A & M) ‘81
  • Jimmy Cliff – American Plan; Club Paradise (Sony) ’86 Soundtrack
  • Niney & Max (Romeo) – Aily & Ailaloo; Blood and Fire (Trojan) ’71; 4:20 Cannabis Service Announcement

<2 Down, 48 to go!; 3 sec.>

  • Hollie Cook – Win or Lose; Twice (Mr. Bongo) 2014; Mutant dubstress UK***End of Set 1
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Louise Bennett – Jamaica’s national treasure
  • Peter Tosh – Jahman inna Jamdung; Equal Rights (Legacy Edition) ’77; dubble disk rarity

<His Imperial Majesty Birthday>

<Peter Tosh: Jamdung definition; 35 sec.>

  • Dayjah Meets the Disciples – Rebirth (The Mix); King Size Dub Volume 1 (Echo Beach); ’95 female vox Jah-many
  • Carlton Livingston – Tale of Two Cities; 10”; 2010 UK mutant dub update
  • Bingui Jaa Jammy – Congo Natty; African Reggae (Putumayo); 2009 Burkina Faso West Africa***End of Set 2
putumayo_african_reggae
Roots from the Mother Continent of Jah-frica. Found in Missoula, Jah-tana
  • Spiritual Rez – Let’s Go Out With a Bang; Apocalypse Whenever (Spiritual Rez) 2014 Armageddon love song
  • Lady Ann – Nice Like Me; Bad Gyal Inna Dance (Jump Up); 2008 J’can female deejay
  • Gyptian – Sensi; Hi Grade Ganja Anthems 3 (Greensleeves); 2010 herbtune set
  • Bunny Wailer – Saturday Night; Rule Dance Hall (Shanachie) ’87 Sam Cooke cover***End of Set 3
SpiritualRez11
Fukashima, War inna Holy Land, Nukes over Ukraine, 777 Plane crashes every other day. “Let’s go out with a bang”
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers – No Woman, No Cry; Live Forever (Tuff Gong) dubble disk last live show: Pittsburgh, Jah-sylvania; 9/23/80
  • King General & Century – They Say (Sensimilla Can’t Smoke); 10” (Love Dub Music); 2006 mutant dub herb tune***End of Set 4

<They Say, Sensimilla Cyaan Smoke; 2 Down, 48 to go! II; 12 sec.>

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2 Down, 48 to go: New York Times endorses Cannabis legalization.
  •  Benjamin Zephaniah – War; Dub Ranting 7” Vinyl (Radical Wallpaper) UK dub poet acapella; Vinyl is Vital set
  • Inner Circle – Natty Dread; Blame It on the Sun (Trojan) ’75 UK Marley cover
  • Ras Tesfa & Jafrica – Rome-antix; The Voice of the Rastaman (Meadowlark) ’85 dub poetry New Jah-sey
  • Crucial Bee – Come With Me; Just a Sting (All-Star) US Virgin Islands; herbtune
  • Lillian Allen – His Day Came; Conditions Critical (Redwood) ’87 Emeryville, Collie-fornya; Canadian Jamaican dub poet***End of Set 5
Benjamin Zephaniah - Dub Ranting - front
Smile Jamaica Ark-Ives rarity: 7″ EP, UK dub poetry, pic sleeve vinyl.

<Jah-tana Roadtrip set; 24 sec.>

  •  Chele Bandulu – Rich Man Poor Land; Chele Bandulu (Chele Bandulu) Missoula, Jah-tana; Set of Jah-tana Cratedigging haul
  • Horace Andy – Angie; Horace Andy/Ashley Beedle (Strut); 2009 Rolling Stones cover
  • Ras Midas – Kude a Bamba; Confirmation (Scorcher) ’99 best of
  • Omar Perry – Rasta Meditation; Man Free (Corner Shop) 2007 Lee Perry son***End of Set 6
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Roots Reggae from Big Sky country: Jah-tana
  •  Red I feat. Camoi – Lost in Space; Jahdgement Day (Red I) 2012 mutant dub UFOria out of Manila, Phillipines w/ female vox
  • Sylford Walker + Welton Irie – Lambsbread + Lambsbread International; 10” (South East Music) ’79 Glen Brown prod’n herbtunes

<Lambsbread definition. 2 down, 48 to go! III; 13 sec.>

  • AKB feat. Sister Black – Half Full; Future Present (Reyal) ’96 Jah-llywood, Collie-fornya***End of Set 7
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Lambsbread collie makes me jolly
  •  African Head Charge – I Want Water; Drastic Season (ON U Sound) ’83 UK Adrian Sherwood prod’n; mutant dub set
  • Zion Train – Watching Deep Water; Passage to Indica (Universal Egg) ’93 UK female vox

<2 Down, 48 to go! IV; 8 sec.>

  • Dubblestandart feat. Dillinger – Ten Tons of Dope (Sounds from the Ground Mix); Heavy Heavy Monster Dub (Echo Beach) 2004 Jah-stria herb tune

<2 Down, 48 to go! V>

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A-pot-calypse Right Now!

Smile Jamaica: Jah-tana Cratedigging Report!

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frs3427
Fort Benton, Jah-tana the Birthplace of Jah-tana and Smile Jamaica

Greetings,

Back from the land of my birth: Fort Benton, Jah-tana. Put a thousand miles on the Dubmobile. I took the long way home

Wheel it back to July 12…

Finished up Smile Jamaica, Saturday Night Stylee from SLC north on a hot evening jag to Idaho Falls. Nice to have late night sun to cruise to. Heavy duty bass tunes to keep me awake without caffeination. Every. Step. of the Way. Bunk for the night. Get in to a Super Full Moon dark sky about Midnite. (213 miles).

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Super Moon – the Subwoofer of Moons. I looked for UFO’s. No luck, sadly. New Season of Ancient Aliens on H2 cable/satellite. Friday nights. Smile Jamaica approved

Straight up I-15. Sunday Morning. No road rage here. 6am and I am up. As Bob sang, “Sun is shining and the weather is sweet. Makes me wanna move my dancing feet.” In Jah-tana in July, the Sun is up at 5am and sets after 11pm.

Caffeine + bass = caffabass. Better set the cruise control or Johnny Law will give I the Hairy Eyeball.

coffee-iv-drip
Caffeine the Subwoofer of stimulants. Lot of miles of open terrain at maximum volume on the Subaru Hi Fi. Sonicboomya

A heinous drive in the Winter. Until my fams started having Xmas in Jah-buquerque, New Jah-xico a few years back, I got stopped at the Monida pass 3 times in 20+ years You have two choices when the Roads on I-15 get shut down  between Spencer, Idaho and Lima, Jah-tana. Or as I call it the 30 Miles of White Knuckles at 25 MPH.

  1. Live like a refugee with thousands of other Snowbirds from Canada, long haul and livestock trucks and other Holiday travelers in the school gymnasium in Lima (population 227)
  2. Hope to Jah you can get a hotel room in Dillon, Jah-tana (-50 miles back over brutal roads) or worse Butte (-112 miles).
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Montana + Idaho = Monida Pass. 30 Miles of Vertigo at 50 MPH winds and 30 below. Do not be on this road after dark from November to May. Smile Jamaica Public Service Warning

***

Summer is a different story than White Out Jah-tana

I cross the Continental Divide a half dozen times, half a dozen rivers. Spring Wheat is a carpet of green. Winter Wheat starting to turn golden brown.

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Bitterroot Valley, Jah-tana. Like driving through a summer postcard

Jah-tana Runnings:

  • Wind my way till Butte, Jah-tana. (Hastings chain book/music/movie spot in any Metro city of the Big Sky state.) Lots of cheap rock catalog stuff: Black Sabbath, Alice  and Aerosmith for $5. New Beats Antique. (205 miles)
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Hastings, Butte, Jah-tana. Smile Jamaica Approved. Worldly dubbers. Female vox. All killer
  • Headed for the People’s Republic of Missoula for two days of cratedigging and bookdigging (Rockin’ Rudys, Ear Candy Records). Saw the new Planet of the Apes movie. Good but the Hercules trailer looks better. North of $300 at Rockin’ Rudy’s. Lots of buttons, magnets and T-shirts. Added to my Dylan and Drake bootleg collection. Took three clerks and the owner came out as they rang me up. I am known as a “whale” in the Cratedigging biz. Lots of great used stock I read about in Rolling Stone and Mojo. Bob & Gene, Cheech and Chong. Some Missoula reggae, The New CSNY reissue. Ear Candy: Bombay Disco and a group called Kadavar. Checked everywhere but no Vinyl for I’n’ I to be had in Jah-tana. The vagaries of cratedigging. (118 miles)
kadavar-abrakadavar
Not ze German ZZ Top: Kadavar: Ear Candy Records Missoula, Jah-tana
  • One day back in my old University town, Bozeman, Jah-tana. Main Street stroll: Cactus Records, Vargo’s Jazz and Books. A beer at the resurrected Rockin’ R
storefront
Main Street Bozeman. I lived two blocks from here from Sept. 1984-June 1986. Bought 100’s of albums
  • Not finding good luck in Bozeman lately. The Anchorman 2 and American Hustle Soundtracks was about it. Funny story buying Bob Marley and Johnny Cash Tee shirts in the mall. More to come…(202 miles)
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Good movie but better Soundtrack. Hastings: Bozeman, Jah-tana

Then home to the Hi Line (North Central Montana) through Helena (the Capitol) and Great Falls. 35 miles to the Birthplace of Jah-tana: Fort Benton. (225 miles).

bless, robt

mapmtvis
Fort Benton, Jah-tana. North Central. Midpoint between Great Falls and Havre.

Smile Jamaica Preview: July 5, 2014: 26th Anniversary of Reggae Radio: 3 Hour Vinyl is Vital!

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cupcake
26 Year Reggae Radio Anniversary: July 2, 1988; 3 o’Clock Roadblock; 3 to 6 AM Monday graveyard

Greetings,

26 years ago I embarked on a new hobby: Reggae Radio. It was Spring of 1988. My college roommate and I were in the Pie Pizzeria near campus at the University of Utah. They had the local community radio station on their Hi Fi: KRCL 90.9FM

Types of Radio:

  • Commercial: For profit, various formats, funded via advertisements
  • College: Managed by students, “college rock” indie format, funded via grants, radiothons, student fees and University support. Non-commercial (no adverts)
  • Public Radio: may or not be affiliated with a University. Mostly geared to NPR talk comment and similar. Funded mostly via Radiothons, donors, local businesses. Non-commercial (no adverts)
  • Community Radio: Usually done as a community asset rather than a campus entity. Funded via Radiothons*. Non-commercial  (no adverts)

KRCL 90.9FM, where I have deejayed now for 26 years is a Community Radio station

*Radiothon is where the station interrupts regular programming, for a week or ten days at a time,  to entice listeners to pay to become members. The price of not taking advertising. (By license, non-commercial stations are not allowed to accept advertising.) We run Public Service Announcements for non-profit  groups and charge local business underwriting. “Smile Jamaica is sponsored by One Stop Smoke Shop.” Lowkey, non-advocacy. Can’t say, “Come on down to One Stop Smoke Shop”.

krcl-st
The Smile Jamaica Mothership

Back to my story….

Roomie and I were having a slice and heard that KRCL was looking for new volunteers to host shows. The two of us had been involved with the re-start of the U of U’s college station called KUTE. Even though KUTE only broadcast in the student union, it did give me a little bit of experience on how be “on mic”.

Long story short: I had been doing a Reggae show on KUTE called Positive Vibrations. My roommate was into contemporary 80’s music and they weren’t looking for that. I got the nod to be trained. He did not.

Chris Gittins (RIP) was a long time programmer at KRCL and he trained me on the ins and outs, the rules and regs. Great guy. Very good mentor. KUER’s station manager John Greene (or as I call him Juan Verde) was KRCL’s station manager. Another top rank radio man.

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Haile Selassie portrait painted by University of Utah’s Alvin Gittins. Chris was his son

In most community radio stations you have to pay your dues. And that means graveyard slots. Mine was 3-6 AM Monday Morning. I would try and sleep for a few hours, Sunday night,  and then set the alarm with plenty of time to drive to the station. During the coldest winter in decades.

I called my show 3 O’clock Roadblock from Bob Marley. However, it wasn’t Bob but Black Uhuru who were my favorite Reggae group. I always started off a show with one of their selections.

Black_Uhuru_Anthem
Not Bob, not Peter not UB40: Black Uhuru and this album started my lifetime fascination with Reggae music & culture

My first show was 4th of July Weekend (July 2), 1988. It was fun and gave me plenty of time to figure out how to do radio without a ton of people listening in.

I went to San Francisco in early June to “load up” on Roots: Vinyl discards in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Reno. Started buying some CDs too. CDs were fresh and the Vinyl was cheap as people got out of the wax and into the aluminum (or whatever Cds are made of.)

The+Upsetters+-+The+Upsetter+Box+Set+-+TRIPLE+LP-460896
June 1988, Bay Area crate dig: Needed fresh wax for new Reggae Radio show: Back when Box Sets actually came in a box

I programmed 3 O’clock Roadblock from July 1988 to August 1989. I couldn’t hack the disruption every Monday after crashing at 6 AM and trying to sleep.

But then the host of Smile Jamaica at the time, John “Rutabaga” Reese, was looking to transition back to a true weekend lifestyle.  I apprenticed with him starting October 1989 (Radiothon weekend). We did the show together, alternating sets, for a while. Then every other weekend. Summer 1989 I came back from another crate dig in the Bay Area and he called me to say he was ready to let me fly solo.

And I never stopped. So today is a celebration of 26 years of Reggae Radio. More than half my life.

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26 years, average 45 shows a year times 3 hours = 3500+ hours of Reggae

I come from the land of the ice and snow. I don’t do well in the heat. I just got back from a combo style work gig in Las Vegas built around a couple days of cratedigging. In 112 degree heat. Vinyl is Vital, indeed!

So to celebrate 26 years, today’s Smile Jamaica Ark-Ive, will be devoted to  the Black Wax Attack. Had a nice little score of Vinyl rarities for sure-ty last week. Made sure they didn’t melt in my car from the Record Shop to my hotel room. I have been rinsing them out all morning. Pulling together 3 bags of vinyl: Lps, 7″, 10″ and 12″ singles. Soundtrack to this blog post! I am the ultimate multi-tasker: I listen as I write.

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112 Heat, Las Vegas. Praise Jah it was only 1 mile from here to my hotel room. Don’t leave your kids, your dogs nor your black wax in the car at these temps!

When you crate dig for Reggae vinyl there is always going to be these titles: UB40 Labour of Love, 70’s Third World, 80’s Jimmy Cliff and Steel Pulse. Surprisingly little in Bob and Peter. They must sell as soon as they get to the racks.

The reason for that is: the major labels, who dabbled in Reggae,  sent promotional vinyl. Free wax in return for airplay. Often times, they would issue special dance mix singles. THAT is what I look out for.

Here is the harvest of driving around Las Vegas in 112 degree temps with my brake sensor going off because it couldn’t handle that high temp at low elevation

  • Jimmy Riley: Rydim (Mango); Sly & Robbie, great soul vox on an LP of blissful soul covers
  • 2 Third World Promo singles I didn’t have: Sense of Purpose & the Story’s Been Told (German pressing!)
R-150-2780443-1339485864-1744
The Smile Jamaica Cratedig Trifecta: Rare, Disco Mix, Picture Sleeve. Automatic purchase!
  • Osbscure Josey Wales Jamaican dancehall 12″
  • Several cool pic sleeve offerings for annual Record Store Day: Mazzy Star and Ronnie Spector with the E Street Band

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Driving back from Vegas, I stopped in for gas and  hit up Cedar City’s record shop: Groovacious

Found some nice titles on CD. A Euro Horace Andy, a Culture re-issue I didn’t recognize.Joe Gibbs 12″ Comp for $4 (Roots sounds better at $4 than $14).

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$3.99 plus tax. Niceness!

Beastie Boy instrumental, Ohio Players, Brothers Johnson 70’s funk;. some psychedelic African revives and the fave of the dig: A Peter Tosh bootleg from 1978

bless, robt

Smile Jamaica live every Saturday 4-7 PM Mtn. Time:

  • 90.9FM in Utah
  • Stream:  Tune In Radio
  • Ark-Ive. Here on Smile Jamaica blog; without commercial interruptions
  • Twitter: SmileJ_KRCL for live alert and stream upload/blog posts
Groovacious Front and Side
Groovacious, Cedar City, Utah. Worth a stop on your way to or from Vegas

 

Greetings! The Empty Barrel

Image 7 Comments

 

emptybarrel

Greetings,

This is Robert Nelson. I am the host of Smile Jamaica, Roots Reggae & Dub radio program on KRCL 90.9FM. Salt Lake City, Utah

4-7 PM Mountain Time since Oct. 1989.

  • KRCL.org
  • Mixcloud.com: Smile Jamaica Ark-ives podcasts. Search: Smile Jamaica or Bobbylon
  • Twitter: SmileJ_KRCL
  • Facebook: None. I hate Facebook. They spy for the Security State. Tom Green said of Facebook, “Voyeuristic narcissism”

I toil as a University Librarian at the Marriott Library, University of Utah. My title is Manager of the Audio Studio in the Digital Scholarship Lab.

This is my attempt to use New Media/social media to showcase how my avocation (Community Radio) intersects with my vocation (Academic Librarian/Digital Humanities)

So here is what I hope to accomplish with yet another blog on the Internet.

My Terrestrial Radio experiences: (KUTE 1987; KRCL 1988-); Postive Vibration, 3 o’clock Roadblock, Global Gumbo, Smile Jamaica, Radioactive

Smile Jamaica Ark-ives: Playlists, Podcasts/Mixcloud, Music reviews, reggae/music news, deejay/radio tips and stories, autobiography: 25+ years of radio, Mutant Dub Files

Cratedigging: music collecting, cataloging, organizing, obsessing, autobiographical story telling, vinyl formats, reggae archives,  Itunes archives/playlist hierarchy, rock/soul/techno/world interest

Academia: New Media, Multi-media Archives, Digital Humanities, University audio projects/digital archives, Interviewing for Research, Media Trends, Mass Media, KUER Music, Middle East Library, Curriculum Library/Education, Religious Studies: Islam, Eastern Rite Christianity, Rastafari

Interests: Progressive Politics, Ancient Aliens, UFO Watching, Seven Leaf, Green Bay Packers, San Francisco Giants.

All my heroes are named Bob: Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Bob (R.) Crumb

Magazines subscribed to: Rolling Stone (Lifetime Subscription), Mojo, Uncut, Mixmag, The Nation, Sports Illustrated, Vice Magazine

I have a steep distrust of social media long before Edward Snowden and really have a steep learning curve on social media. This is the first time I’ve not embraced the new media trend.  iTunes was the last media trend  I jumped into from the start. Social media baffles me. I have no instinct for it. So I will stumble along til it’s second nature.

So I am calling this The Empty Barrel. From the Jamaican saying, “The empty barrel makes the most noise!”