Interview with Lloyd Brevett (LB) by Nancy Lewis (NL) Recorded at King Bravo's Studio, NJ, April 29, 1997 NL: Greetings, sir. This interview is taking place in King Bravo's studio, you are doing a recording session... LB: Yeah... Just ask me de question you wanna ask me, any question about Jamaica music, an' I can answer it. NL: When did you start with Jamaica music? LB: I start in Jamaica music in 1956, me an' Lord Tanamo. Yeah. An' we first session, recordin' session, for a man name Travaris [sic]. Lord Tanamo and Sterling [Lester Sterling], it was a type of calypso - Tanamo sing at dat time, but I don' rate calypso in my music, so I kind'a run a jazz line in de calypso song dat Tanamo sing... was Sterling, and I t'ink it was Drumbago at dat time... NL: Before Winston [Grennan]... LB: Yes. An' after dat session, we started to favor a likkle more session all 'round now, Duke Reid an' all 'round... Den the recordin' promoter, dey use' to choose dem, dey wan' drummers an' bass player, so Winston was one of de man. Through Winston, Drumbago - dat was the first first start. Winston, Drumbago, an' um... Prince Buster was a Drumbago man - he love Drumbago - he use Drumbago. Duke Reid, an' all dose o'her promoter, use Winston Grennan, you know? NL: So, Winston was there before Lloyd Knibbs? LB: Oh, yes! Winston was dere long before Lloyd Knibbs! Lloyd Knibbs was in Montego Bay, foolin' 'round de hotels. Yeah. NL: Winston was recording before Lloyd? LB: Yes! Winston was recordin' for all different promoter man who have de sound system dem using... Duke Reid use him [Grennan], with us - dat time we never name Skatalite... Tommy McCook wasn' around, he was in Nassau... so it was never name Skatalite... so whenever time Roland Alphonso take up a likkle job - we didn' call it a job, we call it a "gig," he call to get me, to get Winston and we go an' play it. Or dis likkle guy you see out dere name Wackee [Aston Henry], dey was de drummer dat was around, wasn' Lloyd Knibbs. NL: So...the evening I first met you three or four years ago at the Eight By Ten Club in Baltimore [Maryland], after the show, up in the dressing room, I brought a journalist to interview the band, and Lloyd [Knibbs] gave the interview... It really surprised me -since I had introduced myself as Winston Grennan's manager - that during the interview, when the journalist asked Lloyd about the change of the rhythms, from ska into rock steady into reggae... LB: Lloyd Knibbs wasn' dere at all... NL: But Lloyd said, "I created the 'one-drop reggae beat.'" LB: No! Was Winston! Not even Drumbago! No, nor... nor Wackee... with de reggae, was Winston! Winston Grennan. He's the man... NL: He [Grennan] slowed the beat down... LB: Yes! Because when de t'ing down, he de man who play de reggae, he play de reggae, de reggae drums... NL: And the one-drop? LB: The one-drop. De reggae one-drop. An' de rock steady. For him [Grennan] was de man e'erybody call around to come in studio an' do some music. NL: For every different studio? For all the different producers and all the different singers? LB: Yeah, yeah, all de different studio, yes, de different singers. Dat is what de reason why, say, um, dis, what him name dere? Dis band dat he [Grennan] play wid now.... NL: Who? Winston plays with his band, Ska Rocks... LB: I hear he play wid... NL: Grennan just got off tour with Pablo Moses and The Meditations... and he tours once in a while with Toots... LB: Toots! Yes! Dat's why Toots love to use him... NL: Winston recorded the original songs with Toots. LB: Yeah, yeah... NL: But just as you, Winston has not received credit. One of my objectives with these interviews is to establish not only his credibility, but for all you - you guys are the foundation, you made the road, you are the creators, the pioneers - and you get no credit, no recognition... LB: Yeah, not'ing. So dat's why, when we give dese interviews, we must tell of e'eryone. 'Cause e'eryone go t'rough de same t'ing - don' just big up yourself alone. Like Lloyd Knibbs an' dem - it not dem alone did dis. NL: When I interviewed Toots, he said "I created reggae!" LB: If you go to Bob Marley, Bob Marley tell you de same t'ing! An' if you go to all of dem - Bunny Wailer, e'eryone! - says dem create reggae! But reggae was created by de riddim, by de riddim... NL: The studio musicians... LB: Yeah, yeah... true no singer canna' create de reggae. (Break) NL: You and The Skatalites have been doing a lot of touring. How is this going? LB: Yeah, we doin' a lot of tourin', you know. Lot of people, lot of people... e'erywhere we go, most place sol' out. Last gig I did, Upstate [NY], sol' out, sol' out... NL: How do you feel about what I would call the "third generation" of ska? LB: De young kids gettin' to love it more an' more, an' de young musicians dem, American and de English, dey gettin' to love it an' it [ska] just what dey wan' to play an' dey try to play it but I don' t'ink dey, it take a long time to really [play it]... (Break) NL: This is comfortable for you, to be with these musicians [Winston Grennan, Wackee Henry, Lynn Taitt, Bill - keys for The Skatalites; vocalists Lord Tanamo and King Bravo] in this session? All the musicians are professionals... LB: Yeah, a band like dis is good, yeah... NL: I thank you very much, sir. LB: You're welcome, baby, you're welcome. Any interview I give, I really... to tell you de truth, I wasn't really... I never really big up Winston much, 'cause you know, is long time I haven't seen him... Long time I don' see him so I don't see a person, out of your mind slightly. Now anytime I give an interview anywhere, anywhere, come Saturday night [Knitting Factory, NYC], 'cause dey ask me to give interview plenty, I will big up Winston - make Lloyd Knibbs vex [laughter]... Him de last one come in one dis Jamaica music, he way down Montego Bay, foolin' 'round an' work on ship... him wasn't around... Him come in an' bully it down, yeah... # # # # # Nancy Lewis Public Relations: Marketing PR/Publicity/Media Relations Entertainment Works: Management/Booking (reggae) RAW #72 2400 Poplar Dr Baltimore, MD 21207 410/594-9486 Fax 594-9487 ============================================================================