Blue Riddim Band Kansas City's Blue Riddim Band Returns to Lincoln March 25th at the Royal Grove Reggae, Riddim & Blues Reggae music, the cherished heartbeat of the Caribbean island of Jamaica, long ago took root outside its homeland. In the twenty-odd years since the rhythms of Bob Marley became synonymous with the genre, thousands of reggae bands from Asia to South America and from Europe to Australia have proliferated their own vision and sound of this 20th century musical phenomenon. Few groups have played reggae outside Jamaica as convincingly as the Blue Riddim Band from Kansas City. The group coalesced as Rhythm Function in the mid-70s under the guidance of multi-instrumentalist and composer Bob Zohn and percussionist Steve "Duck" McLane. The group earned a reputation skillfully playing soul and R&B at clubs in the South and Northeast of the US. McLane's and Zohn's early passion for Jamaican music was fueled by the vibrant Brooklyn scene of the early 70s. As a result of their growing passion, Zohn and McLane began regular trips to Jamaica in 1973. During their first excursion to Kingston, they visited the Turntable Club and immediately found themselves under the wings of their idols in the Soul Syndicate band. Syndicate drummer "Santa" Davis and bassist George "Fully" Fullwood exchanged musical information with Zohn and McLane for years, each honing skills on the latest techniques of Kingston rockers or American soul. In the mid-70s, Rhythm Function exposed many Americans to reggae for the first time, and with the addition of horn players Scott Korchak and Bob Blackett in 1977, the ensemble authenticated its sound and became Blue Riddim. By the end of the decade the group was based in Lawrence, Kansas and was touring voraciously around the United States -- headlining its own shows and opening for every major name in Jamaican music, including Dennis Brown, Big Youth, Culture, Burning Spear, Peter Tosh and Bob Marley. Naturally, there were superficial skeptics of the mostly European-descended members of the group. No one who ever heard Blue Riddim in action, however, had any doubt as to the group's power and legitimacy. The Jamaican musicians who originated and developed the music in the 60s and 70s counted themselves among Blue Riddim's biggest fans. The members of Blue Riddim, unlike many upstart reggae musicians, were accomplished players with jazz and R&B histories. Most importantly, they were enthusiastic students of the broad and deep history of reggae. The band members' understanding of the jazz and R&B roots of Jamaican music was a key to their ability to play it. Drawing primary influences from the foundations of Coxson Dodd's Studio One label and Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label, Blue Riddim flourished by playing the same "rock steady" rhythms that became the basis for all subsequent Jamaican music. While other non-Jamaican reggae bands fell into the trap of trying to reproduce the polished, crossover sound of Bob Marley and The Wailers, Blue Riddim diversified itself into an outfit that could play ska, rock steady, and rockers reggae, and then deftly switch to the latest soukous or highlife from Africa, or soca and Zouk from the Caribbean. Despite having a full album shelved by Island Records in 1979 and stalling in negotiations with CBS/Epic in the early 80s, Blue Riddim persisted, releasing Restless Spirit on Flying Fish Records in 1981. The group also has a full unreleased album from sessions recorded during their visits to Channel One studios in Kingston. The group's other full length album, Alive in Jamaica, documents their triumphant Jamaican debut at Sunsplash in August of 1982. Blue Riddim was the first American reggae band to play at the prestigious annual festival. While the apprehension of performing Jamaican music in front of Jamaicans was present among the group members, none of them anticipated what would transpire. The Sunsplash audience went crazy for Blue Riddim. The band's success was due to the general absence of "oldies" ska and rock steady from Jamaican stage shows and dancehall in the early 80s. In addition, Blue Riddim's creative and soulful arrangements appealed to the average Jamaican's sensitivity to Black American music of the 1960s. Blue Riddim was unanimously acclaimed as the best performer at Reggae Sunsplash 82, and it seemed like the sky would be the limit for the band. Unfortunately, adversity was just around the corner. Bob Zohn's death in 1986 was a heavy blow to the Blue Riddim Band. In addition to writing much of the group's original material, Zohn had mastered the ska vocal stylings that gave Blue Riddim some of its authenticity. The group pressed on after Zohn's death, seldom pausing from its harsh touring schedule. The band did, however, pick up a strong new member in the personage of harmonica player Jimmy Becker. Becker, from Chicago, was a veteran of the Jamaican session scene in the late 70s, having played on hundreds of Jamaican records. He found a welcome home in Blue Riddim. Regrettably, a farcical managerial arrangement fell apart by the mid-80s and the Blue Riddim Band was forced to quit using its well-established name. Despite this adversity, the Alive In Jamaica album was nominated for the Grammy in 1986, and the band's hometown audiences remained feverishly loyal. Under the name S.D.I. (Strategic Dance Initiative), the group continued to perform in Kansas City to sold-out rooms for the next ten years (albeit without singer Scotty Korchak and Jimmy Becker). When the group was free to use the name Blue Riddim again without legal repercussions, they did so sparingly. A successful reunion in 1997 at Epiphany Artists' Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in California and subsequent concerts backing Big Youth and Junior Reid in 1998 sparked an unofficial revival of the Blue Riddim Band. In December 1999, the group, including Scotty and Jimmy, performed their old repertoire to packed houses at Kansas City's Grand Emporium and Lawrence's Liberty Hall. Blue Riddim's appearance in Lincoln on March 25th is its first since the Drumstick closed in 1987. Blue Riddim regularly played weekend stands in Lincoln and Omaha from the late-70s to the mid-80s and was one of the most popular regional acts ever to play in Nebraska. Their performance at the Royal Grove, 340 West Cornhusker Hwy., will begin at 9 p.m. The cover charge is $10.00. Attendees must be 19 or older.