Ishi Dube

Although sparsely attended, Ishi Dube's concert at Paddlers' Inn on June 19 still managed to get people moving on the dance floor.

Dube was also successful in delivering his message of tolerance, love and peace to everyone present. Although he was born in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains Dube hails from the King's Range Mountains of Humboldt County. Dube sensed a kinship with the vibe, geography and people of Molokai as soon as he landed, "The dirt roads here are just like back home … I was playing a luau on Monday and I told them I was going to Molokai, everyone went crazy," he said.

Dube looked at home on the stage. The simple set up of one mic and turntables showed that a full band is sometimes not needed when you have a presence. Dube has been involved in the performing arts since age 6. On this night his lyrics ranged from political, to spiritual to words of social change, and the message was always positive. Dube's web site has the words "More love, every time. Rastafari." At the top, that positive message was felt by everyone at Paddlers on Tuesday.

Dube and his DJ/Selector, Sam Safirei, will be involved in "the best reggae festival in the world," Reggae Rising, Aug. 3, 4 and 5 in Southern Humboldt County, California.

Dube is also working on his new album Lion Camp out in the fall. His web site is www.ishidube.com.
- The Molokai Times

Ishi Dube knows how to rock the crowd.

Backed up by Massagana, Dube's last two shows at Mazzotti's were filled with audiences that took his energy and danced with it. Dube said he really feeds off the vibe and energy that the crowd provides. That makes it hard when the audience isn't into it but that never lasts long.

"We've never had to leave a cold crowd cold, we warm them up," Dube said. "We have our own party up on stage and everyone sees how much fun we're having."

Dube has had plenty of time to hone his skills as an MC as his musical career has taken turns through many different projects. Currently he is the lead vocalist for Massagana, which is composed of eight members. Debbie Benavides and Lorenza Simmons both sing harmony vocals, Alex Litsinger keeps the beat on drums, J the Sarge plays bass, Nathaniel Vincent is on guitar with both Kiriki Delaney and Lenny Pettinelli on keys and RJ Satava manages the band and plays percussion for the group. The band was formed in 2000 and played together for four years before taking a break only to reform in Feb. 2006.

Dube has played many Humboldt shows and will add three more this week. First at 9:30 p.m. tonight at the Red Fox Tavern with Amha Baraka and the We Dem Band. Saturday he plays with Massagana at 9 p.m. at Humboldt Brews, and on Tuesday at 9 p.m. at the Red Fox Tavern he is opening for reggae legends the Gladiators.

The southern Humboldt reggae artist has been making music for longer then he can remember.

"I've heard stories about when I was three down on the river bar writing songs to a Black Uhuru beat," Dube said.

It all started by just listening to music and being in a community that was really focused on music, he said.

His influences are varied and always changing keeping him from falling into common musical categories, although he has been described as bridging the dancehall and roots styles of reggae.

"I take from everything, anything from Vivaldi's Four Seasons to a nursery rhyme. I try to draw from as many things as possible," Dube said. "Throughout each of my performances I like to touch on every style of reggae."

For a long time Dube said he was against any digital percussion but that all changed when he was exposed to artists such as Capleton and Anthony B and was impressed by their digital percussion. That was when he realized that this was something that could be used by Massagana.

When the band re-formed in 2006 they took their varied styles of reggae on tour.

"We inched our way into hitting the road," Dube said.

That first tour was titled fittingly enough the "Massagana Tour" and spanned California and Oregon.

Massagana traveled in a tour bus on the 10-show tour, which wasn't cheap, Dube said. To finance it they had sponsors but also let the bus driver, who owned the bus, sing in a couple of the songs and did a benefit show in the driver's hometown of Vallejo at an Elks lodge.

Dube said that the show was filled with kids who didn't know what to make of them. They were standing around not feeling the music at all.

"They were like statues, but we broke them," Dube said.

By the end of the show the kids were all dancing and even the Elks lodge members were moving to the beat.

Dube and Massagana have played big crowds, like when they played Reggae on the River in 2006, but Dube said he still enjoys playing smaller venues .

"I love the intimate setting of a crowded room," Dube said.

He said that he likes to give something to each crowd that he performs for and that he hopes that the crowd takes the happy feeling and the memory of it away with them. He knows that you can't be happy all the time because "life is balance," but if you can hold onto the memory of that moment when you felt the music and it moved you then it can help you through the sad times.

"Reggae is a cry from people who are suffering," Dube said. "but also an exaltation of gratitude for the blessings we have."


Jonathan Glen is the editor of Northern Lights. Contact him at jglen@times-standard.com

- Eureka Times Standard

It was the Fourth of July and Arcata was celebrating Independence with a musical array that included roots reggae by a homegrown Humboldt band called Massagana fronted by Humboldt-raised vocalist Ishi Dube, a master of many Jamaican styles with a red, green and gold scarf around his neck, who shifted easily from roots to lover's rock to singjay and on to dancehall with well-crafted anthems to freedom and songs of praise.

While he was raised here, Ishi was born in India, son of a German mother who he explained "was there with a community of people, Shiva Lila, raising children in a non-nuclear family setting. My father was Indian, a swami, and a sitar and tabla master. He had taken a vow of chastity, but he fell in love with my mom and had me, but felt bad, so he went back to his spiritual life and my mother and I moved on."

After a short time in Germany, Ishi and his mom settled in Humboldt, living on a commune until it was time for kindergarten and they moved to Arcata. He went to a number of local schools eventually finishing his high school education at Triple Junction in Honeydew.

While he'd grown up listening to reggae and says he was writing reggae songs at the age of three, he really got into it seriously in high school. He took an AfroCuban percussion class from Howie Kaufman when he was 16 and caught the drumming bug. "I knew I was meant to play music," he says. "After that it just snowballed. We started a reggae band at school for an elective class, a group called The Soul Rebels — Sam Safier of Universal Productions and the Mateel Sound Co. was our keyboard player."

Ishi told me his story last week while on a break from his day job working for his old friend Sam, who took over Jimmy Dangler's sound company after the long-time Mateel/Reggae on the River sound wizard was incapacitated by a stoke. (Keep getting better, Jimmy.) Ishi was almost done loading a trailer full of gear headed for Reggae, where he and Massagana open Saturday's lineup with a set at noon just before those other SoHum rising stars Luna and Moese Angel.

Returning to Ishi's story, he learned recording when he was a senior at Triple Junction. He also played drums, which is not the easiest thing to do as a lyricist. The Soul Rebels morphed into The Provitals, "and we did that for some time." Then he met NoHum reggae mon Kiriki Delaney of Roots Massive, Makagedon and Juce, also a founder of the very successful streaming media company StreamGuys. "I knew immediately that I wanted to play music with that guy," said Ishi. "I infiltrated and became a member of his band while still playing with The Provitals."

The local reggae scene is a small world with less than six degrees of separation. Members of Provitals, Makagedon and the related Resistance joined the I-Rise Band backing Luna and Moese Angel. At a transition point when the Angels were not playing, some of the SoHummers became NoHummers and Massagana was formed. After three and a half years together the band went on hiatus only to be reborn, but with Ishi as clear leader.

"I don't rule with an iron fist, but I'm in charge of spending the money and paying people, and I compose a lot of the music. I'm really happy with the line-up, with the personalities and musicians we have right now. We brought in the ladies of Vidagua and that was a beautiful addition." Ishi is living a lifetime dream playing at Reggae, but it gets sweeter: He's also dropping his first solo album, Thanks and Praise, at Reggae. BTW, as any serious reggae fan knows, Massagana means thanks and praise.

- North Coast Journal

ife is too short for fighting, and we must focus on solutions rather than problems. That is Ishi Dube's philosophy. Born in the Indian Himalayas in 1980, Dube and his mother moved to Humboldt County in 1983.

Dube said he always sends a positive message through his music, leaving it open for interpretation by the audience.

The decision to have list himself separately from his current band, Massagana, has given him more versatility and looks more attractive to venues, said Dube.

On Saturday, Feb. 24, Ishi Dube and Massagana will be playing at Humboldt Brewery. Dube said this performance will be a different set than usual, featuring special guest Jah Son.

Dube said he always had an interest in music, playing traditional Indian instruments like his father's tabla and sitar.

Before Dube's mother bought him a drum set she gave him only the drumsticks to make sure he was serious about playing. Although he quit playing many instruments after he began, he never let go of his love for music, he said.

Dube formed his first band, The Soul Rebels, during high school where he began to develop his own unique style of reggae, which he calls "contemporary roots." Dube became serious about his musical talent in high school with music teacher Howard Kaufman. It was from Kaufman that he learned Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian styles.

After The Soul Rebels, Dube began to write his own lyrics, making the transition from a percussionist to a vocalist. Dube said that he uses his keyboard to sequence his music while coming up with the lyrics. In Dube's song "No Room" he sings,

"No room for fussing and fighting. There isn't no love for all this wrongdoing. When the day of judgment draws so near, and all these Earthly things seem to disappear I said I pray to Jah that I'll be there when the waves of righteousness surround me everywhere."

R.J. Satara, Dube's friend and manager since 1998, compared Dube's musical career to the life of a human, growing stronger and bigger as time goes by. Satara said Dube's style has not changed, but matured. Last year Dube performed at Reggae on the River for the first time. It was a huge accomplishment, said Satara.

Dube said the stage brings something out of him because he is usually shy.

Shaweh Harijan, Dube's sister and a Humboldt State graduate with degrees in studio art and theatre arts, helps Dube make fliers and photographs of his performances.

"Ishi's music delivers a powerful message to the youth of today. He sings firm to what he believes in, while also respecting others around you," she said. "His music is uplifting and energetic. He has an overpowering presence."

Dube said his family is very enthusiastic about his music, always making the most noise and spreading the word. The strong sense of community in Humboldt County that he felt since he was a little kid influenced his music, he said.

Dube said he wants his audience to leave his shows feeling influenced by the message of tolerance. He said it is very easy for people to get into the music. "It is a serious unifier," he said.

Dube is currently working on his second album that that he plans to release this summer. This album will feature artists Windstrong, Ras Attitude and Jah Son. Dube is also building a recording studio in part with Universal Balance. - The Lumberjack