Victoria’s Blackwood Kings have always taken a very unique approach to playing reggae, dub, and ska. Ever since drummer Michael Luis, lead singer Chris Zielonka, and guitarist Noel Anstey went to school together, they knew the reggae scene was their cup of tea.
“We were into all sorts of things,” says Luis, “whether it was punk, or metal, or jazz, or hip hop. I think it was just from going to ska and reggae shows—especially in Victoria, there’s a good community behind the music, and it’s a music with a really interesting history.”
Luis says that ska and reggae have interesting qualities in their musical makeup; he points to a specific instrument and what it brings to the overall sound as an example of how the genres are different from others.
“The bass plays the melody, which I think is an unusual quality,” he says, “and it had a really great live community that we wanted to be a part of.”
And the genres have no shortage of hardships to be overcome, most notably that they push even the most encompassing of boundaries. Luis says there are positives and negatives to all this.
“Listeners who have an eclectic palate, who listen to punk, or jazz, or prog rock, or whatever, they think we’re an interesting band,” he says. “I think the negative of doing that, though, is in trying to appeal to so many people, you then, by extension, appeal to nobody. We might be too reggae for someone who likes prog rock, and we might be too prog rock for someone who likes reggae. It’s more self-deprecating. If I were a fan of diehard Jamaican reggae, I probably wouldn’t like Blackwood Kings. We’ll gladly admit that it’s not an authentic reggae experience; it’s our little version of the genre.”
Luis says it’s a challenge to bring in lots of different ideas and have them sound cohesive.
“On one hand it’s really cool, because you appeal to a very specific type of music fan,” he says. “On the other hand, though, it’s sometimes hard to find an audience.”
Looking ahead, the band has a new release coming out early next year; it was originally scheduled to be a five-song EP, but Blackwood Kings’ creative juices are flowing.
“It might be nine or 10 songs instead of just five,” says Luis. “It will depend how it goes. But so far, we’re ahead of schedule.”
Blackwood Kings
8 pm Thursday, September 6
$10, Copper Owl
copperowl.ca