The thing most known of Carl today is that he has been on tour with Toots Hibbert for over forty {40} years now
Toots & The Maytals
40 years
Member of the original funkmiesters, Crack Of Dawn with his brother, Rupert Harvey as well as others, a producer of five {5} of Messenjah's albums, both these bands signed to major record labels, firsts in Canadian music history, deserves props for said feats
I asked Carl why he nor Rupert are never contacted by companies like the CBC based on these outstanding accomplishments and his answer was, "I don't know. They never have and I don't care much because they don't butter my bread"
One of music's and reggae's top Canadian performers with zero regard to the CBC just like the rest of us
A known guitar impresario of global notoriety and in the past 40 years or so, the CBC and others don't acknowledge him
Interestingly, Carl is one of very few here in Canada who performed and recorded with the late, great Jackie Mittoo yet the CBC knows nothing of him but does features on Jackie
This is another example of why colonizer, white media in Canada are not our 'experts' on reggae. They don't know shit
I speak ill of them with no apology yet I move forward creating our own path
Our Feel Reggae conversation touched on many progressive thoughts and the one we kept coming back to is a "Reggae Society" where there is a place for live, reggae musicians to come and jam / perform weekly
This is the path of Feel Reggae where we do encourage folks in the audience to come jam at the end of the session
That offer still stands
Every week
David Kingston, a wealth of reggae knowledge shared his music and thoughts. This man is a walking reggae encyclopedia, supremely generous with his knowledge. As previously mentioned, Kingston was on air, every Friday night on CKLN 88.1FM for over a decade, bringing this music. His knowledge is vast!
Big love goes out to, five {5} time Juno Award winner, Exco Levi for the strength
I asked him what brought him out this time and said simply "Carl". They had never met before
Exco brought his experiences as a long time performer in the Canadian reggae scene as well as an international artist who has toured Europe and the Americas
A wealth of knowledge was shared
Reggae in Canada is a path by the people in the genre
The establishment has no interest in ever supporting the genre so reggae will always have a different set of challenges yet we seem to have the soldiers in place to deal with this next phase of growing internationally as well as monetizing the genre better than we have in past years
Thanks for the input Exco has given, who himself is eternally grateful for said establishment in his career to date with the programs that have aided his music as well as his travel for reggae. Factor and Socan grants have aided Exco fiscally and those programs are for anyone who wishes to seek them
Contradictory
No
Those who live it know it
The thing is, I am fully aware of the talent available here in Canada. They have proven it time and again and the fact that reggae isn't monetized better is TOTALLY on myself and many others in the genre. My mantra is to say "fuck you" to these bigoted morons yet they are not all alike. There are those with a sense of honor and fair play and a large audience in Canada who are more than ready to listen to this music. I will always focus on the positive. It is how I know how to win
Feel Reggae December will be Saturday, 22nd
Exco is another of those who ovastand the need for unity and came to support the Feel Reggae initiative as well as the meet guitar legend, Carl Harvey. Jeremy Rempel of Fugitive Minds, jamming along as well