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THE EASY STAR ALL-STARS ON THE ROAD

The Easy Star All-Stars—named the 13th best selling reggae act of 2003 by Billboard—are a collective family of some of the finest reggae musicians in the New York area. The band features a rotating cast drawn from a talented pool of players, meaning that every show has its own nuances and its own life. The masterminds behind the All-Stars are Easy Star musical director Michael Goldwasser (a.k.a. Michael G), his production partner Victor Axelrod (a.k.a. Ticklah), and his two Easy Star label partners Eric Smith and Lem Oppenheimer. These four were the team behind the album Dub Side of the Moon (2003), which was a complete reggae revisioning of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. That record has sold over 70,000 copies to date, making it one of the most successful reggae albums of the 21st century. It continues to sell, having just completed its 94th week on Billboard’s Top Reggae Chart.

The Easy Star All-Stars began as a studio ensemble when Michael G and Ticklah were producing and recording the music for Easy Star Records’ debut CD, Easy Star Volume One. With each successive recording, the two principal All-Stars worked with an ever widening group of musicians to help flesh out their visions. After the release of Dub Side of the Moon, there was intense demand to have the group tour, thanks to the record’s instant success. Ticklah was already committed to touring with one of his other projects (the critically acclaimed Afrobeat revivalists Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra), so Michael G called on many of the musicians they had been working with to make up the touring version of the Easy Star All-Stars. For the first outings, this included saxophonist/flautist Jenny Hill, vocalist Kirsty Rock, drummer Ivan Katz, keyboardist Jeremy Mage, bassist/vocalist Ras Iray, and trombonist Buford O’Sullivan. Completing the group was dub engineer Dave Hahn (also the leader of up-and-coming reggae act Dub Is A Weapon). This line-up debuted in July 2003 and earned rave reviews during a three-week tour of the East Coast that Fall.

In 2004, the Easy Star All-Stars family continued to grow and evolve, even while the band achieved more and more success playing major festivals and touring California and beyond. DJ Dollarman, who chatted on “Money” from the record, as well as on Easy Star Volume Two: Dancehall Culture, joined for the Fall 2003 dates and has been a fixture ever since. Reggae veteran Junior Jazz was added on vocals and guitar (at times playing with Michael G in a two-guitar line-up). When Kirsty Rock took time off to focus on her own band, Trumystic, the All-Stars happily called on singer Tamar-Kali to fill her spot. Tamar-Kali had also sung on the Dub Side of the Moon album, as well as on Ticklah’s first solo record, Polydemic (1998). Other members of the musical collective, such as Victor Rice (Victor Rice Octet, Version City All-Stars and bassist on Dub Side of the Moon) and Ticklah himself, join the All-Stars on specific gigs, adding their abilities to the already talented ensemble.

In 2004, the All-Stars—in any combination of members—were a resounding success. The band played at major festivals such as Northern California’s Reggae On The River, Providence’s New England Reggae Fest, and the U.K.’s Big Chill. They headlined their own shows in California (netting a cover story in the Metro Santa Cruz along the way), sold out shows in England, and played special one-off appearances in Miami, DC, Baltimore, Charlottesville (VA), and the Hamptons.

In 2005, The Beat Magazine said about the All-Stars performance at the Long Beach Ragga Muffins Festival: "Performed live, the music not only held up well but absolutely soared, thanks to the All-Stars' supremely skilled and tight lineup of singers and players. Hearing such familiar songs as "Breathe," "Money." "Us and Them" and "Brain Damage" played onstage inna true reggae style brought a kind of hypnotically giddy feeling. Subdued but clearly awestruck, the crowd hung on every note, every word.The Easy Star crew was a very tough act to follow....."

As individuals, the band’s vocalists and instrumentalists have toured and recorded with Gil-Scott-Heron, Burning Spear, Toots and the Maytals, The Toasters, The Meditations, Bernie Worrell, DJ Logic, MC Solaar, King Django, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, The Scofflaws, Diana King, Dennis Brown, Monty Alexander, Sister Carol, and many others. Each of these musicians gets a chance to shine in the typical Easy Star set, whether it is through their soloing, composing, or singing, or simply through playing an essential part in this tight-knit collective. Each line-up may result in slightly different sounds for this unique reggae band, but regardless of who plays, the one thing that never changes is that the Easy Star All-Stars deliver a fun, exciting, and different show every time out.

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