ANDYBROUWER.CO.UK
ANDYBON THE ROAD WITH STEEL PULSE
Steel
Pulse, the
internationally acclaimed reggae pioneers who began life in the
inner-city district of Handsworth, Birmingham in the early
Seventies are still very much alive today, some thirty years
later. The band are renowned for their commitment to their
musical message of fighting injustice, educating the masses and
creating positive forces. They take their music around the globe
and have a worldwide following. Here's what they've been up to in
2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004:
2008
South America was the target audience to begin 2008. Concerts in Argentina, five shows in Brazil, then onto Venezuela, Costa Rica, Anguilla and Tobago took the band through to the end of April. Two shows in the United States before Guadaloupe and French Guyana preceded a dozen dates back in the States followed by trips to Canada, Belgium and Switzerland in July. Keep your eyes peeled for a Steel Pulse show coming to your neck of the woods soon enough!
2007
Steel
Pulse began their 2007 travels in February in the United States and Hawaii before visiting Barbados for Reggae On The Hill and a visit to Mexico on 6 May. June saw visits to Puerto Rico, Antigua, Trinidad and St Kitts whilst four gigs in France beckoned at the beginning of July. back to America in mid-July with 13 concerts prior to a brief and rare return to England for the WOMAD Festival (on 29 July) and a concert in Portugal. It was back to the USA two days later for another twenty shows with a brief visit to New Caledonia in between. In October they took off to West Africa for a few days with concerts in Abidjan and Bouake (Cote d'Ivoire).
2006
[March
2006]: Steel
Pulse kicked off 2006 with two shows in Ghana as part of the
Africa Unite celebrations, and marking the birth of Bob Marley,
on 3 and 5 February. Also appearing were Culture, Morgan Heritage
and Bob Marley's sons. A 32-date tour of the US was due to begin
on 20 February but unexpected hiccups with visas necessitated the
postponement of a good portion of the tour. However, they will
play the final eight dates of the tour and rearrange the
cancelled shows in late May.
[October
2006]: In May,
the band played five concerts on an Indian Ocean tour, playing on
Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion and Seychelles, and followed that
with a US tour in June and July. Following on from their US
adventures, they played a series of 8 gigs in France, Belgium and
Italy. In August they visited Turks & Caicos, the Sunsplash
in Jamaica and Canada, before another series of European concerts
in Northern Ireland, France, Holland, Poland, a one-off festival
appearance in England, and Germany. September kicked off in
Trinidad and eight shows in the US. In the middle of the year,
the band released their long-awaited DVD, Introspective
containing interview and live footage of the group over the years.
Whilst a dub album has been promised sometime in the future,
October heralded the release of their self-produced Rastanthology
II - The Sequel CD. Also in October, original band
member Grizzly Nisbett went to hospital for a heart-bypass
operation.
2005
[1 February 2005]: Steel Pulse closed January with three
Caribbean concerts on St Kitts, St Maarten and St Vincent, before
a US tour of 20 dates throughout February to coincide with Black
History Month. Their gig-list will include appearances in
Honolulu and at the 24th RaggaMuffins Festival at Long Beach and
the Bob Marley Day in San Diego. David Hinds revealed in an
interview that there's a distinct possibility of a dub album
being released sometime this year (likely to be a dub version of
their latest album, called 'African Dub-ocaust') and will precede
a DVD and a compilation album of the band's back catalogue. Read
two interviews here and
here.
[13
February 2005]:
The Reggae Grammy went to Toots & The Maytals (with their CD
True Love) and not Steel Pulse and African Holocaust at the 2004
Grammy Awards ceremony. Those in the 'know' felt it wasn't
unexpected that the strong messages on African Holocaust wouldn't
find favour with the judges.
[26
February 2005]:
Steel Pulse have announced plans to travel to South America in
May (though the trip was subsequently cancelled) and to Tokyo,
Japan in July, as well as intermittent dates in the States in
between. Later in the year they'll be in Europe and hope to
return to Africa. An interesting interview by Tai Adelaja with
David Hinds can be read here.
[8
April 2005]: Steel
Pulse announce two festival appearances in France later this
month. They will appear at the Printemps de Bourges festival on
22 April and then at the Yakayale festival in Morlaix the
following day. A recent interview with Selwyn Brown by Maka Iki
can be read here. In
answer to a question on the Pulse website forum, 'Moonie' Pusey
gave this reply regarding his and David Hinds' guitars: "The Dunlop Cry Baby wah does
rock and is what I have been using it since the 60's. Great tone
& very road worthy. Dave and myself use BOSS effects from
Roland. Again they hold up very well on the road and they sound
great. We use their delays, choruses, flanges, verbs, phasers
& overdrives. Amps; I use Peavey 5150 for leads. I don't rely
on pedals for that. Dave uses Roland JC120's. Great amps for
reggae. Settings on these effects and amps are always changing
per song, per venue, per night. So I could not even give you
general settings."
[30 April 2005]: In a surprise move, long-time band
members, drummer Conrad Kelly and bassist Alvin Ewen have left
the group. Pulse, who celebrate their 30th anniversary this year,
made two festival appearances in France recently (22 & 23
April) with a new drum and bass section. Conrad joined the band
eleven years ago on percussion before swapping roles with his
mentor and friend Grizzly Nisbett on drums, whilst Alvin has been
a mainstay of their studio and live work for the last twenty-two
years. Their replacements in France were Wayne 'C-Sharp' Clarke 
on drums and Amlak Tafari on bass.
Kingston-born, C-Sharp has worked with Chalice, Jimmy Cliff and
Alpha Blondy and appeared on Pulse's Grammy nominated album
African Holocaust last year, whilst AT is a well known producer,
show-host and performer with Pato Banton, Wailing Souls, Musical
Youth, Culture, Luciano and his own Yellow Wall Dub band. Both Conrad and Alvin will
be greatly missed by the Steel Pulse faithful. [30 May 2005]: At the 1st Rastafari Diaspora
Summit in Hispanic America, held in Panama, David Hinds presented
a proposal for a project called SEED (Self Empowerment &
Economic Development) For Africa, which would organise
fund-raising concert tours and private investments to provide
funding for Aids projects in Africa.
[7
June 2005]: Steel
Pulse begin a 25-date
tour of the United Sates tomorrow with an opening concert in
Washington. The tour runs through til 8 July. Visit the official
website for tour dates. The band's line-up will include Amlak on
bass and C-Sharp on drums alongwith new backing vocalist Keysha
McTaggart, who'll team up with Melanie Lynch. Jamaican-born
Keysha was previously with the Star Trail Family Band, Benjy Myaz
and has recorded and toured with Anthony B. [7 June 2005]: Rhino/Elektra have today re-issued two of Steel
Pulse's older albums, True Democracy and Earth Crisis with 4
bonus tracks on each CD. The remastered releases include 12"
versions of Ravers and Leggo Beast and dub versions of Your House
and A Who Responsible? on True Democracy, whilst Steppin' Out and
Roller Skates both get the dub and re-mix treatment on Earth
Crisis. The CDs also include full song lyrics and liner notes
from renowned reggae writer Roger Steffens. No definite news yet
for Steel Pulse's Summer tour dates in Europe though the band
have been pencilled in for a number of festivals in France,
Sweden, Holland, Norway and Morrocco. Conrad Kelly update - he's
been on tour with Ijahman Levi in New Caledonia, Switzerland and
Sweden recently and will be at the G8 Summit in Edinburgh with
the Ben Okafor Band in early July.
[12
June 2005]: A
concert report from Steel Pulse's Mohegan Sun Casino gig on 10
June has been posted here by Matte Dread. Thanks
Matte. [28
June 2005]:
Amongst a handful of dates confirmed for Steel Pulse this Summer,
will be two appearances in the UK, in their hometown of
Birmingham. On 9 September they'll take part in the Reggae Rockz
festival, playing a free open-air concert in the city centre.
They're also booked into a 15 October date at The Drum in Aston,
Birmingham. [10
July 2005]: Just
received news that Conrad Kelly will be joining UB40 on
percussion for their forthcoming European tour. [17 July 2005]: Snippets from an e-mail
from 'Moonie' Pusey on the road..."The gigs are going great. I love my
job :-) For those civilians out there that think touring is a
vacation, let me introduce them to my world. Defiantly it's a lot
of hard work that demands a certain type if discipline for
surviving outside one's comfort zone and having enough energy to
play your instrument in front 1000's. But most defiantly the
people make it worth it. Immediately after the US dates we were
propelled straight to Europe, where we commenced on the Euro,
Africa and Japan dates. All of this will last until August 15th.
Where we get 10 days off and go back out again. Phew!!! I hope I
have a wife and home to come back to when we are done :-O I'm
leaving Casablanca today (play it again Sam) as I write this
e-mail. [The tour] It's turning out better than we
expected. I can't believe it. More and more young people are
coming out to see Pulse besides our main hardcore Pulse fans and
they really love the song 'No More Weapons' which reflects on the
state of affairs that's happening these days. I do appreciate
that Pulse can write in their songs about current affairs."
[5
September 2005]: A re-mastered version of African Holocaust is
released by Voiceprint in the UK on the Wise Man Doctrine label
(WMDMCD9) after its success across the States and in Europe.
David Hinds, on the eve of two concerts in the band's home city
of Birmingham, told The Voice newspaper, "I don’t feel we have done as
much in England as we would like to have done. We had to leave
[and play overseas] for the betterment and longevity of the band.
Reggae music was not getting any opportunities here until the
pirate radio stations took up the case. The UK reggae acts that
stayed and tried to make it here are not around today. We hope
the Birmingham people respect us for what we have done over the
years and we want to give them something a little different. We are looking to give them love and
get a little appreciation. They may not have seen or heard us for
a while. I know many stopped following us, feeling we had split
up. We are back to re-invent ourselves in England, with fresh
material and to celebrate our 30th year. Steel Pulse has always
been experimental musically and on African Holocaust we are still
a voice for the black community. Still, all cultures and races of
the world can associate themselves with the experiences discussed
in our lyrics and everybody can see what’s going on –
all the cards are on the table and people need to pluck up
courage and make changes." [9 September 2005]: Steel Pulse make a
long-awaited return to play live in their home city of Birmingham
as the headline act at Reggae Rockz 2005, a free concert in
Centenary Square. Read all about it here alongwith
their other UK shows. [30 September 2005]: Steel Pulse announce shows
in California, England (Shrewsbury, Birmingham & London),
Holland and close October in Trindad and Venezuela. They kick-off
November with four concerts in Brazil, followed by appearances in
Argentina, Chile and Peru.
2004
[21
January 2004]: Steel
Pulse are to undertake a very short US tour in early February.
With a May/June release of their new album on the cards, the band
will take things easy until then. They've confirmed a date at the
Garance Festival in Paris on June 26, which may herald the start
of a European tour. The dates in February are: Feb 6
Jacksonville, FL, Freebird Cafe; Feb 7 at the 11th Annual Bob
Marley Caribbean Festival, Miami, FL, Bayfront Park; Feb 8
Gainesville, FL, the Palace; Feb 9 & 10 New Orleans, LA House
of Blues.
[7
February 2004]:
News from the Steel Pulse camp as their short tour begins - Donna
Sterling is unable to join the rest of the band on tour on
doctor's advice - she's expecting a baby later in the year.
Congratulations Donna. The band kicked off their 2004 gigs at
Jacksonville in Florida. Another snippet of news is that they've
pencilled in a second European date and look set to appear at the
19th SummerJam Festival in Cologne, Germany on 2-4 July. It'll be
their third appearance at this annual festival.
[6
March 2004]: June
8th has been classified D-Day for Steel Pulse, as that's the date
that's been pencilled in to release their new studio album in
Europe. A delayed release date is expected for the States. A few
finishing touches were made in Jamaica recently. The title of the
album is as yet unknown, though 'African Holocaust' was mentioned
as a possible title last year. Touring will kick-off with a short
European tour (Paris and Cologne look very likely) beginning in
the last two weeks of June. The touring party then moves across
to the US in mid-July, starting out on the eastern seaboard.
Watch out for an extensive touring schedule when the band hit the
States. Already confirmed is a visit to the Reggae On The River
Festival on 6-8 August in Piercy, California.
[8
April 2004]:
Steel Pulse will return to play their first UK gig on home soil
for many years, at The Ocean in Hackney, London on Monday 28
June, as part of their mini European tour. Tickets are £15 each
and its an opportunity not to be missed. Other snippets of news;
the band are auditioning for Donna Sterling's replacement whilst
Donna puts her feet up at home, awaiting the arrival of her
second child; Pulse visited Jamaica in mid-March to perform at a
wedding and took the opportunity to record a couple of songs for
their forthcoming album (expected to be 12 tracks in length).
Capleton guested on one track and they also collaborated with
producer 'Computer Paul' Henton.
[30
April 2004]: Some
more US dates have been announced, with the rest expected very
soon. Visit the official website for the full tour schedule. The
band will initially tour Europe from 22 June til 12 July and then
will begin their Stateside tour on 14 July, ending at The Roxy on
16 August. They'll return to the US in late September, with
another extensive European tour in the late fall. A couple of
extra mainland British dates have been added, at the Manchester
University - Academy 2 on Wednesday 30 June, the night before
they play at the Ambassador Theatre in Dublin. They then play
Bristol Carling Academy on Thursday 1 July.
[12
May 2004]: Just
announced... African Holocaust will be the title
of the forthcoming Steel Pulse studio album, due for release in
June. It's their first studio release since Rage & Fury in
1997. The title of African Holocaust was dropped into an
interview well over a year ago though hasn't been mentioned again
since. The group have been to Africa on a couple of occasions in
recent years and those visits have had a profound effect on the
band, enough it seems to warrant this dedication. Additional tour
dates in Europe and the US can be found on the band's official
website, here.
[31
May 2004]:
This month saw the release of a new compilation CD from
Hip-O-Records called the Best of Steel Pulse - 20th Century
Masters : the Millennium Collection. The tracks are: Handsworth
Revolution, Soldiers, KKK, Sound System, Babylon Makes The Rules,
Drug Squad, Heart of Stone, Reggae Fever, Ravers, State of
Emergency, Can't Stand It, Taxi Driver. It's the first time Can't
Stand It (from the film soundtrack to Do The Right Thing) has
been released on a Steel Pulse compilation.
[6 June 2004]: Just got my first glimpse of the cover art for the
new Steel Pulse album, African Holocaust [left].
The album is due for release in Europe in June and in the USA a
month later, to coincide with the band's tour of each continent.
The album is expected to be a dozen songs in length and to
include tracks like Build A Nation, Global Warning, African
Holocaust and a song inspired by their visit to Goree Island. The
album will be released by different labels, RAS in the USA,
Sanctuary in Britain and Nocturne in Europe. Their European tour,
which kicks off in Greece on 16 June, will include 3 English
gigs, the band's first for half a dozen years, as well as a
return to Dublin. They close their European trek in Bruges on 10
July and then take off for a month-long tour of the United
States.
[10
June 2004]: Steel
Pulse have two additions to the band's line-up for the
forthcoming European and USA tours, two backing vocalists from
New York, Traciana Graves and Melanie Lynch. The two girls will
replace Donna Sterling for the tours whilst Donna takes a break
to have a baby. Rehearsals for the tours begin in Birmingham to
prepare the band for their opening gig in Athens on 16 June.
Click here to see a photo of the
girls arriving in the UK on the official website.
[17
June 2004]:
Release dates for the new album, African Holocaust, are still to
be announced. However, the 13 tracks from the album have been
announced and they are: Global Warning; Blazing Fire; Must Be A
Way; Make Us A Nation; Dem A Wolf; No More Weapons; Tyrant; Door
Of No Return; Born Fi Rebel; Darker Than Blue; George Jackson*;
African Holocaust; Uncle George [* this track was written by Bob
Dylan]. The band kicked-off their European tour in Athens last
night, where Melanie Lynch made her first appearance as a backing
vocalist (Traciana Graves was unwell) and the band played a
handful of tracks from their latest album. Read more about the
new album here.
[22
June 2004]: News from
the Steel Pulse camp from their European tour again comes
courtesy of Tour Boss Eye, who finds a few spare moments to keep
the band's official website updated with some 'insider' snippets,
which I reprint below. Photos from their concert in Paris can be
found here:
"If
you figure day one began on Sunday and here it is just
winding down on Tuesday night. Everyone except Sid
arrived in Holland last night and the vibe was totally
irie. Sid, who had gone to Jamaica for his mum's 90th
birthday, was getting in this afternoon. So, by dinner
time tonight, with sound check number one behind us and
both girls on board, Steel Pulse was kickin' it to the
curb. There are no major surprises to set list number
one, but the show seems to be going smoothly indeed and
there are several hundred happy, bobbing faces in the
Dutch sea. The set-list is: Intro Medley (Chant A Psalm/Bad
Man/Macka Splaff/Nyahbinghi Voyage/Don't Give In) - Rally
Round - Prodigal Son - Tightrope - Bodyguard - Make Us A
Nation - Back To My Roots - Taxi Medley (Taxi
Driver/Soldiers/Ravers/Blues Dance Raid/Reggae Fever) -
Uncle George - Steppin' Out. Encores: Chant A Psalm -
Harassment - Caught You Dancing - Global Warning -
Emotional Prisoner. A small celebration will follow, as it's
one of the few nights we will spend in a hotel, and not
traveling to another city. Tracy and Melanie are great,
energetic and beautiful. We will hear more from them
later on. Peace."
"Apologies
to one and all for the lack of commentary, though Andy
has been filling in admirably....
Meanwhile, the first 10 days have
been a blur, and without revealing state secrets, I will
say that the first week was tough. The shows are
beginning to gel and everyone's vibe is improving. Set
lists will be sent to Ron in the next day or so for
posting, formally. BTW, Andy, the Taxi Medley is actually
called Medley Medley Medley....I'm quite tired and it's
almost time to board the flight, so I have to go count
dreads, er I mean, heads...."
[2
July 2004]: Steel Pulse are back on the European
mainland after their brief sojourn in England, where they played
concerts in London, Manchester and Bristol, as well as Dublin.
You can read all about their English gigs, together with
set-lists and photos, here. A welcome visitor to the
Manchester show was former Pulse drummer Steve 'Grizzly' Nisbett.
The latest on Donna Sterling is that she's in good health and is
expecting her baby to arrive a little early, sometime in late
August.
[July
2004]: Tour
Boss Eye's insider snippets from the European and American tours
continued:
"The
band are on stage [Miramas, France], as I write. They
have already checked out of their hotel and their bags
are on the bus. We are in the South of France, ordinarily
a place you should all envy us for being at, but tonight
is different. Different because as soon as the show ends,
the crew will tear it all down at lightning speed and the
band will towel off and race for their street clothes.
Different because we will have very little time to hang
out and be our usual gracious selves, but not so
different in that we have many miles to cover tonight and
nowhere but the highway to call home. We will get off the
stage at 12:45 AM and by 1:30 AM (hopefully) be starting
a 700 mile journey to Cologne, Germany. The drive will
take 12-13 hours with two drivers and that puts us at the
next show around 2:30 tomorrow afternoon. We are on stage
shortly after 4 PM, which is barely enough time for the
crew to get ready - and no time for the band to go to a
hotel or relax or do more than take showers. Yikes, but
it often makes for the very best of performances and I am
ever the optimist that this time tomorrow night (after we
watch the match between Portugal and Greece), I'll be
writing to tell you how wiped out we all are and how
great the two shows were...."
"Okay
already.... sorry but I've been a wee bit busy.... The
last several shows went spectacularly well. The crowd in
Antibes was absolutely inspiring. Today, we went on early
as an earlier act forgot to plan for flight delays. The
crowd here in Belgium was warm and welcoming and before
it was over barely let the band leave the stage. We head
for the US tomorrow. One bit of a teaser... I overheard
Selwyn, David, Traciana and Melanie working on vocal
timing for Door Of No Return -- perhaps we will see that
one soon in upcoming set lists. Speaking of set lists, I
am sending the whole European tour to Ron to be posted on
the main website. Peace."
"Here
we all are on the edge of a new tour [in the United
States]. In Providence, with load-in a mere 30 minutes
away. Everyone is in good spirits and rested,
surprisingly, from the European tour. I expect tonight's
sound check to work on some brand new material from the
African Holocaust CD, but can't say just when those songs
will make their tour debut. Hopefully tonight, but it is
up to David. David used his night off, last night, to go
to the movies and others among us walked into the park
across from our hotel to hear the brothers Hanson
perform. They were, er... umm, pleasantly amusing.
Anyway, tour time is here and we are off to meet and
greet and overwhelm all with the Steel Pulse, African
Holocaust experience... skin flesh bones dreadlocks and
long blond hair.... see you all soon..."
"Sorry
you were disappointed by the absence of two songs out of
some twenty played. Stepping Out has been in many shows
lately, but David felt it needed a rest for the night.
Handsworth, on the other hand has been gone for a while,
but may yet return at some point. Right now, they are
working on breaking in newer material. They did rehearse
No More Weapons yesterday, so we will see what happens
today in New Haven."
"Grizzly
retired from performing with Steel Pulse in August 2001
due to health problems that made it risky for him to fly
and to exert himself the way a live show demands. For
several years prior to his retirement, he had reduced his
playing primarily to percussion. On the road, he is
missed by all, as his presence and spirit are
indomitable. We all saw him in the UK a few weeks ago and
he looks great. He sends his love to all fans who miss
him the way we still do. Peace."
"Door Of No Return - First of the new
album tunes to make its world premiere on this tour...
tonight in Indianapolis. Full set list will come later.
Don't forget to tune in to WDET-FM online to hear Steel
Pulse live tomorrow morning at 11 AM EDT (that's 5 PM to
you, Andy B). Peace." (Left) Steel Pulse in the
Detroit radio WDET studio with presenter Judy Adams on 21
July.
"No
More Weapons had its premiere in Detroit tonight and Door
Of No Return had its second appearance. Also, Alvin asked
me to say thank you to all those who have commented
favorably on his bass playing on African Holocaust. He is
genuinely touched that several people here (especially)
have singled him out. I then asked if he wanted to
compliment them all on their good taste and he just
laughed. Peace."
- Chicago - "Hard
Hitting precision riddim marked the hottest performance
of the tour so far. An absolutely crisp tight stage
sound. It is a kickin' show tonight. Moonie is absolutely
on fire. Meanwhile, the buses are waiting to leave for
Atlanta and a very long weekend is in progress. It will
take us half way across the country and end up in
Colorado on Monday morning... whew....We're all in pretty
good shape... only minimal colds running around. Derrick
had it worst, but seems to be over it. Anyway, we fly to
Atlanta, do a show and hop on the bus (after the driver
rests) and drive back north to St. Louis -- feels like
we're livin' a Chuck Berry song."
- George Jackson -
"I first brought the song to David's attention when
they began performing the re-vamped Uncle George back in
2001. He told me then that George Jackson's murder was a
seminal event in his youth and helped to point him in the
direction of musical confrontation - telling it like it
is. At the time, he wanted the songs to be center pieces
to the album and subsequent tour. Time has a way of
altering one's perspective and the album as we know it
now has a broader theme. But both songs are fabulous and
they do fit well musically."
- "We are usually
watching action flicks (not my choice) or Sopranos
episodes on the long drives. Not much music on the DVD
player... we hear enough all day long. My personal music
tastes are eclectic, but lean well towards good old rock
and roll. Always interested in Springsteen, Dylan, etc...
but very little time to enjoy. I listen to my iPod most
of the time. The band have begun to study Tyrant and I
expect them to try rehearsing it next week in Colorado.
That said, it remains to be seen what Dread will
ultimately decide to do next. Right now, we are just
burning up the miles and trying not to burn ourselves and
our crew out in the process."
- "Our opening act
is a young singer songwriter named Trevor Hall. Trevor is
fantastic, though not what one might expect at a Steel
Pulse show. His songs are powerful and beautifully
written. He is a very special talent and we are happy to
be giving him this opportunity. Check him out at http://www.trevorhallmusic.com/ "
- "There are
generally 5 new songs in each show. On some nights, there
are fewer, but that has to do with the album being new
and Steel Pulse not having played that specific market
for a while. St. Louis is a perfect example. We had not
performed there for many years and we had to be off stage
at a specific time because of curfews and fireworks -
therefore, the addition of Stepping Out and the deletion
of Global Warning. As to more new songs, it has only to
do with rehearsal time. Breaking in new material isn't as
simple as just get up there and do it. For one, not every
band member played on every song, so not all of them know
the inner workings and parts of each song. For another,
live arrangements invariably differ from studio
arrangements - some things just don't work in one format
vs another. Still another issue is exactly how to begin
and end each song. I realize these things - on the
surface - would seem obvious, but trust me, it is all in
the details. Your rave reviews and generous acceptance of
these new songs are due in large part to David & Co.
paying excrutiatingly close attention to the details. Now
for those who wonder how we got this far without more
rehearsals, I ask you to look back a few weeks on this
very forum when it was revealed that the band only
finished the album on the 10th of June and were
performing in Greece 6 days later to kick off the new
tour. Give us time and more songs will work there way
into our set lists. And for my final comment... if one
looks at a Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan set list there are
rarely more than 3-4 songs from any new album they
release. Peace."
- "Hi there... me,
again.... I'm actually trying to listen to the band
performing No More Weapons here in Boulder, while I'm
supposed to be finishing off the newest edition of our
private travelogue - the tour itinerary. Talk about
details!!! And if you think I'm funny here, you should
read one of those sometime....Meanwhile, as I play hooky
from work, I want to say that we are just about at 100%
health (Alvin's still dragging a bit) and adjusting to
the altitude. Everyone is enjoying the few days in one
place and the show tonight is stronger for it. Anyway, I
am really a bit puzzled by all this praise (and, I guess,
a bit uncomfortable, too). I do what I do for the band
because A) they pay me to and B) because I love them like
blood relatives - which they may as well be. I have an
immense amount of respect for fans of any band, because
it is you who keep people like me employed. In short, I
am happy to participate in this forum not as the voice of
Steel Pulse, but as one of you. If in so doing I can
share what I've learned and what I know, and find that
you all enjoy it, then we are all better for it. It's the
perfect win-win situation. Anyway, I'd better get back to
finishing my work or I could be out on the street, too
soon. And finally, for those of you who have met me and
realized that I'm fairly no-nonsense and sometimes
humorless on the job - or worse, downright ornery - well,
it is always in pursuit of doing the best I can for my
band. I am ferocious in my support and defense of the
best **** band I know....Peace, TBE." The set-list for the Fox
Theare, Boulder, Colorado concert on 28 July was: Intro Medley (Chant
A Psalm/Bad Man/Macka Splaff/Nyahbinghi Voyage/Prodigal
Son) - Rally Round - Make Us A Nation - Tightrope - No
More Weapons - Find It Quick! - Medley Medley Medley
(Soldiers/Taxi Driver/ Ravers/Blues Dance Raid/Reggae
Fever) - Door Of No Return - Bodyguard - Uncle George -
Steppin' Out. Encores: Chant A Psalm - Global Warning -
Don't Give In - Emotional Prisoner.
- "Latest news from
this altitude is that the band finally has begun
rehearsing Tyrant. Hopefully, it will see its debut by
Reggae on the River. By the way, it sounds great
already!!!! I can't wait for the band to figure out the
fine points of the arrangement and be ready to show it
off."
- "We are in the
midst of 12 shows in 13 days and this day has not been
easy. One set of springs on the crew bus' equipment
trailer snapped, stranding us for about 4 hours and
costing us today's much needed sound check / rehearsal of
Tyrant. Nevertheless, sink or swim, Tyrant makes its
debut tonight (in about 2 songs from right now). That
means there could be as many as six new songs in the
shows later this week.... We shall see. I'm excited to
hear it live with an audience. Other titles being bandied
about for rehearsals include Blazing Fire, African
Holocaust and Unseen Guest, but I have my doubts about
how soon we might get to any of those three titles.
Anyway, we are currently about two hours from hitting the
road and another five hours from the state line to the
golden state, Governator-ville.... so, by sunrise
tomorrow, we are in California and that much closer to so
many of you. See you in a matter of days, now...."
- "I know I was
whining a bit last night, but alas, here we are in Sacto,
resting up a short while, before continuing our journey
to Truckee. Logistically speaking, we are staying here,
near the intersection of I-5 & I-80 to facilitate
both rest and getting to Reggae On The River
tomorrow....Our crew, on the other hand, have it truly
rough. They are just now arriving in their beat up jalopy
of a bus at Truckee, a mere two hours late, yet with
plenty of time to get the job done. The only thing
missing from their itineraries is rest!!!!. They don't
get any, so before you break out the violins and hankies
and marvel at just how hard I'm working (not that I don't
love sympathy)... let's all give it up for Baruch,
Derrick, Louis, Chris, Andy and (their driver) Marcus B.
We have a great crew and they deserve all the
kudos."
- "Looks like we're
doing the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on this
Monday (16 Aug on CBS). That just happened today and we
don't even know for sure what song we'll be doing."
- [The 33-date US tour
ended on Saturday 21 August with a show at the Stephen
Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York. By the end of the tour
the band were regularly including six tracks from the new
album, African Holocaust, in their set-list.]
[8
September 2004]: Steel Pulse are currently resting, though have
announced another set of touring dates beginning on 30 September
in French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Martinique as well as Montreal and
Toronto in Canada before a 25-date tour of the States, finishing
on 7 November. Another European tour is expected to begin in
mid-November. All tour dates are available on the official Steel
Pulse website. A further piece of news is that vocalist Donna
Sterling gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Kaireece, on 3
September, weighing in at 6 pounds 5 ounces. Congratulations to
Donna and her family.
[12
September 2004]: As part of the open-air Birmingham ArtsFest 2004,
David Hinds and Selwyn Brown joined in the festivities, on-stage
with former Pulse guitarist Basil Gabbidon and his band. Earlier
in the day, Selwyn took part in a reggae workshop for families
and then teamed-up with David and Gabbidon on stage for the
finale of the weekend's events. In a rare live appearance in
their hometown, the impromptu line-up belted out Prodigal Son,
Bad Man, Ravers, Rally Round and Taxi Driver. A memorable
occasion, enjoyed by all despite the pouring rain. A few days
later, Steve Grizzly Nisbett suffered a mild stroke. Our best
wishes go to Grizzly for a speedy recovery.
[1
October 2004]: The
first gig of the band's current tour, in French Guyana, has been
cancelled due to the aftermath of recent hurricane activity in
the area. A change in the band's line-up for the tour is the
arrival of Marea Wilson, to replace Traciana Graves, as one of
the two backing vocalists. Traciana has departed to pursue her
solo career, whilst Marea joins after experience with Maxi Priest
and Diana King. The tour will continue with concerts in
Guadeloupe, Martinique, two in Canada, 25 dates in the US and one
in Puerto Rico. The tour will end on 7 November.
[17
November 2004]:
Steel Pulse today begin a series of sixteen concerts in France,
one in Switzerland and two in Spain as they bring their African
Holocaust tour to the European continent. [21 November 2004]: I attended both Steel
Pulse shows at the Elysee Montmartre in Paris as part of their
French tour. Read all about it and see my photos here. Two fantastic gigs, with amazing
support from the sell-out French crowds and great to meet the
band again. Marea Wilson wasn't with the band but expects to join
up with them soon.
[7 December 2004]: Steel Pulse and their album African
Holocaust are announced as one of the 5 nominations in the Best
Reggae Album category of the 47th Grammy Awards to be made on 13
February 2005. They're up against Jimmy Cliff (Black Magic), Sly
& Robbie (The Dub Revolutionaires), Toots & The Maytals
(True Love) and the Def Jamaica album by various artists. Tonight
sees the final concert of their French tour in Ramonville, near
Toulouse. Two dates in Barcelona and Madrid and a
hastily-arranged gig in Lisbon will close their European tour on
10 December.
[1
January 2005]:
Steel Pulse ended 2004 with a Christmas Day Caribbean appearance
at the East Fest in St Thomas. They also held their first-ever
press launch for their African Holocaust album in Kingston,
Jamaica where members of the band and friends from the reggae
industry spoke about the band and the album. Early in 2005, the
band will play more dates in the Caribbean and return to the USA
for a series of dates in February. and creating positive
forces. They
To
read what Steel Pulse did 'On The Road' in 2002 and 2003,
Click Here
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