Rocky Mountain Rebel Music’s 10 band members make up a large part of the island’s music scene, not only in their group but in the multitude of other groups that they’re involved in, such as Dope Soda and The Chantrelles, to name just a couple (there are over 10).
“Having 10 solid musicians in our band really gives us an eclectic style,” says guitarist Jesse Horwood.
With so many influences, the band’s songs all move to a different beat, which keeps things fresh for both themselves and their listeners.
“In our four years together our music has evolved from straight rock/reggae to ska/rock/jazz/funk/electic/sex/reggae,” says Horwood.
Horwood says one of the weirdest concert moments he’s experienced was when the band were playing in Chetwynd and an intoxicated fan came on stage. The boozehound fell onto the bassist and unplugged the bass, apparently not even realizing a show was happening. Luckily, Horwood also has good memories of gigs.
“One of my best performance memories was last summer at Tofino’s Oyster Fest, where the whole crowd dressed as undersea creatures. I was dressed as a jellyfish and had glow sticks under a knitted hat on,” says Horwood. “The crowd erupted when we did a cover of The Little Mermaid’s ‘Under the Sea.’”
Rocky Mountain Rebel Music have toured across Canada; this summer they’ll be playing at big shows like Shambhala, Big Time Out, and Calgary’s Reggae Fest. But Skafest has a special place in their hearts.
“Even though we’ve played across Canada, one show we look forward to every year is Skafest,” says Horwood. “This will be our fourth year on the Skafest bill and we always feel humbled to be a part of it.”
Skafest newbies Tuff Jelly are also humbled to be playing Skafest; for them, it’s a first.
“We’re really excited to be on the Skafest bill this year and look forward to being on the same stage as some major ska heavyweights,” says Tuff Jelly drummer Sean Edwards.
The band have all been musicians since they were in their youth but only formed together as a group in the past couple years, at first as an acoustic act. Before long, they had plugged in and solidified the lineup they needed to play traditional ska riffs.
“We started experimenting with our sound by covering old reggae/ska riffs along with other old rhythms to find our own style,” says Edwards.
Currently in their mid twenties, most of Tuff Jelly’s music is about rebelling against authority.
“For now I’d dub our style as ‘rude raw reggae’, but as we grow older I’m sure our music will become more positive,” says Edwards.
Here’s one reason they don’t need to be so grumpy: Edwards is very excited to be playing at Skafest with Clinton Fearon. Fearon has played with some of his biggest influences, travelled the world, and even found love while working.
“I met my wife Catherine while I was in France years ago doing some promotional work for my music, and the rest was history,” says Fearon.
Fearon was drawn to a lifelong love of sounds at a tender age in St. Andrews, Jamaica, listening to the music from the church, the radio, and the tunes his parents would sing along to. Fearon paid attention to the details of music, started to sing along himself, and eventually decided to get a guitar.
“I couldn’t afford a guitar so I decided I would make my own guitar and was very determined to do so,” he says.
So a 10-year-old Fearon made a guitar out of a cedar trunk and used broken fork teeth as frets.
“It was quite a journey, having nothing to work with, then making something to work with, then making the thing I wanted to make to work with,” he laughs. “Thank goodness I didn’t give up on it.”
Fearon thought the guitar sounded great at the time. He played his homemade six-stringer at his church, and even though the measurements were off and the strings were too far away from the frets, he was able to eyeball it and make it work for him.
“The first night after I made that guitar I played it all night until the pain on my hands was unbearable,” he says.
A few years later, Fearon’s father and friends would save enough money to get him a new guitar and he has since gone on to have play music for nearly 50 years.
“I’ve had pointers here and there and collaborated with many other musicians, but most of my musical talent was self taught,” he says. “Determination and love for the music has kept me going. This is why my main message as a musician is to find the thing you love, do it well, and don’t stop doing it.”
13th Annual Skafest
July 10-14
victoriaskafest.ca