Likkle Shanx

Reggae singer Likkle Shanx, who was known as Joshua Mundahl when he attended Churchill High School, does not trade in disposable sounds.

“I've always liked music that lives a long time,” he said.

Shanx, 37, a San Antonio native, has just released a new album, “Brighter Day,” on his Rainbow Country label. The 12-track disc, serious roots reggae, was recorded mostly in Jamaica with the Firehouse Crew, including the legendary rhythm section of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, Earl Chinna Smith and Dean Frasier plus the Tamlins with Triston Palma. San Antonio reggae band Dub Gideon also appears on the record.

“I just gravitated to reggae,” Shanx said. “I was a DJ before I started singing. I had the Megalodon Sound System. My older brother, Chris, was into reggae. He had friends at Churchill who were friends with the band Buffalo Soldier. That was my introduction to reggae. We would make rhythms and sing over records.”

And the name Likkle Shanx?

“I don't even know what it means, if it means anything,” he said, laughing. “It's a nickname I've had since my DJ days and it's stuck with me.”

In 2005, reggae singer, DJ and producer Triston Palma did a gig in San Antonio, heard the Mundahl brothers sing and invited them to Jamaica to record. The result was the Roots Revealers project and songs such as “Babylon Crumbling,” “Dancehall Vibes” and “No More Killing,” all of which caught on in Jamaica. In 2009, Roots Revealer released the album “Sweet Jamaica,” which included the single “Sweetie,” a collaboration with DJ Chaka Demus. The single was a No. 1 hit in Jamaica.

With his brother taking a break from music, Joshua pressed on with Likkle Shanx.

“The Jamaican audience has always been real accepting of our music from the first time we went to Jamaica,” he said. “We went from spinning the records to being among the people who recorded them. It was surreal. A lot of people who go to Jamaica don't really study the music. If you come correctly, the people appreciate it. We get more respect over there than we do over here.”

Shanx, his Jamaica-born wife, Shereka, and their two children split time between Texas and Jamaica.

“Jamaica is the best place to record reggae,” he said. “When you get off the plane you can feel the reggae. You hear the music everywhere. Reggae music comes from the ghetto and everybody plays it everywhere. Kingston is the loudest city I've ever heard. You can hear two or three sound systems playing reggae at once, dogs are barking, people are yelling. You think people are fighting, but they're just loud and going about their business.

“When I go there I stay on the north shore, in a place called Tower Isle, outside of Ocho Rios, where it's peaceful and calm. I do a lot of spear fishing. But I go into Kingston for the music.”

The music Shanx creates is classic roots reggae — “one drop reggae,” named for the distinctive drum pattern, as opposed to dancehall reggae, which is more akin to hip-hop.

“I didn't gravitate to dancehall. I gravitated to the one drop,” he said. “I was influenced by Culture, Bob Marley, Burning Spear. I do some lovers' rock, some roots, but I would describe my music as one drop roots reggae.

“There are now different reggae movements, including one out of California, but my style is more Jamaican style.”

That Jamaican style has served Shanx well.

“In Jamaica, bands don't really play in clubs, they play at these massive outdoor festivals in front of thousands of people,” he said. “There'll be 20 or 30 acts and three or four bands back up the acts. The first time we were at one of these festivals, the crowd was booing everybody off the stage. Sugar Minott and Triston Palma called us up on stage. I didn't want to do it, but we went up there and we went over. We did one song and everybody liked it. So they called us back for a second song. After that, I didn't want to leave.”

Shanx also has done well in North America. He recently turned in a 40-show tour with the Jamaican group the Abyssinians.

“I like going into the studio, but I really like the energy of a live show,” he said. “Over the years, I've learned to read the crowd and pretty much entertain everybody. Sometimes they're sitting down to listen, sometimes they're high energy.”

There are songs on “Brighter Day” — “Love and Devotion (Mama),” “Love You Too Much,” “Pistoleros,” “Politics,” “Live in Love” and the title track — that will appeal to listeners as well as to dancers.

“My writing goes in different ways,” he said. “I usually start with a melody then put the words in. But I always want to keep it relevant and keep it positive.”

jbeal@express-news.net
- Jim Beal Jr - San Antonio Express News

Reggae singer Likkle Shanx, who was known as Joshua Mundahl when he attended Churchill High School, does not trade in disposable sounds.

“I've always liked music that lives a long time,” he said.

Shanx, 37, a San Antonio native, has just released a new album, “Brighter Day,” on his Rainbow Country label. The 12-track disc, serious roots reggae, was recorded mostly in Jamaica with the Firehouse Crew, including the legendary rhythm section of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare, Earl Chinna Smith and Dean Frasier plus the Tamlins with Triston Palma. San Antonio reggae band Dub Gideon also appears on the record.

“I just gravitated to reggae,” Shanx said. “I was a DJ before I started singing. I had the Megalodon Sound System. My older brother, Chris, was into reggae. He had friends at Churchill who were friends with the band Buffalo Soldier. That was my introduction to reggae. We would make rhythms and sing over records.”

And the name Likkle Shanx?

“I don't even know what it means, if it means anything,” he said, laughing. “It's a nickname I've had since my DJ days and it's stuck with me.”

In 2005, reggae singer, DJ and producer Triston Palma did a gig in San Antonio, heard the Mundahl brothers sing and invited them to Jamaica to record. The result was the Roots Revealers project and songs such as “Babylon Crumbling,” “Dancehall Vibes” and “No More Killing,” all of which caught on in Jamaica. In 2009, Roots Revealer released the album “Sweet Jamaica,” which included the single “Sweetie,” a collaboration with DJ Chaka Demus. The single was a No. 1 hit in Jamaica.

With his brother taking a break from music, Joshua pressed on with Likkle Shanx.

“The Jamaican audience has always been real accepting of our music from the first time we went to Jamaica,” he said. “We went from spinning the records to being among the people who recorded them. It was surreal. A lot of people who go to Jamaica don't really study the music. If you come correctly, the people appreciate it. We get more respect over there than we do over here.”

Shanx, his Jamaica-born wife, Shereka, and their two children split time between Texas and Jamaica.

“Jamaica is the best place to record reggae,” he said. “When you get off the plane you can feel the reggae. You hear the music everywhere. Reggae music comes from the ghetto and everybody plays it everywhere. Kingston is the loudest city I've ever heard. You can hear two or three sound systems playing reggae at once, dogs are barking, people are yelling. You think people are fighting, but they're just loud and going about their business.

“When I go there I stay on the north shore, in a place called Tower Isle, outside of Ocho Rios, where it's peaceful and calm. I do a lot of spear fishing. But I go into Kingston for the music.”

The music Shanx creates is classic roots reggae — “one drop reggae,” named for the distinctive drum pattern, as opposed to dancehall reggae, which is more akin to hip-hop.

“I didn't gravitate to dancehall. I gravitated to the one drop,” he said. “I was influenced by Culture, Bob Marley, Burning Spear. I do some lovers' rock, some roots, but I would describe my music as one drop roots reggae.

“There are now different reggae movements, including one out of California, but my style is more Jamaican style.”

That Jamaican style has served Shanx well.

“In Jamaica, bands don't really play in clubs, they play at these massive outdoor festivals in front of thousands of people,” he said. “There'll be 20 or 30 acts and three or four bands back up the acts. The first time we were at one of these festivals, the crowd was booing everybody off the stage. Sugar Minott and Triston Palma called us up on stage. I didn't want to do it, but we went up there and we went over. We did one song and everybody liked it. So they called us back for a second song. After that, I didn't want to leave.”

Shanx also has done well in North America. He recently turned in a 40-show tour with the Jamaican group the Abyssinians.

“I like going into the studio, but I really like the energy of a live show,” he said. “Over the years, I've learned to read the crowd and pretty much entertain everybody. Sometimes they're sitting down to listen, sometimes they're high energy.”

There are songs on “Brighter Day” — “Love and Devotion (Mama),” “Love You Too Much,” “Pistoleros,” “Politics,” “Live in Love” and the title track — that will appeal to listeners as well as to dancers.

“My writing goes in different ways,” he said. “I usually start with a melody then put the words in. But I always want to keep it relevant and keep it positive.”

jbeal@express-news.net
- Jim Beal Jr - San Antonio Express News