Let’s face it --- island music is made for dancing!  Most people come up with a melody or words and then compose a song.  Not me.  I start with a rhythm that I feel from the energy around me at the time, or the energy and rhythm from a memory.  I then start fooling around with it until the beat, syncopation and general feeling is right for the mood.  I then add, change instruments and drum types, add background instruments, and fool around with the beats per minute.  When the various instrument octaves, tuning and echo are where I want them, I finally think about the solo instruments and their accompaniment instruments.  With these in place, I work on a melody that fits that rhythm.  Memories of things, nature’s sounds, the history of the places I’m thinking of bring the melodies to life.

Island Dancing evolved this way.  Every song went through this evolutionary process.  “Dancing in the Veracruz Square” comes from watching all the Mamas and Papas in their finery dancing to the City Orchestra playing on the balcony of the Government Building:  Papa looking so stern and Mama’s eyes sparkling and flirty in her ecstatic dancing mood, the children, dressed up and watching their parents and then bravely dancing with their friends.  Once in a while the little girls would dance with Papa by standing on his feet.

“The Sirens are Calling Me Sailing” is a provocative sea chantey type song where the hustle and bustle of life takes us away from our boats from time to time to meet the financial and family commitments of life.  But, sooner or later, the Sirens win out and we return to Mother Ocean.  “Let’s Go to the Carnival” is in a similar vein but much wilder.  “Dueling Steel Drums & Horns” typifies Junkanoo where the bands battle each other by pairing off their soloist against each other while the bands who know each other’s music support the competing soloists.

Listen to Snippets from this Album