Celebrating the Roots of the Bob Marley Family Tree

"Reggae in California" poster from 1985g.c. by Laguna Beach CA/Sawdust Festival artist Brett Keast


The Stream of Conch-Us-ness with Sunny Sun-Downer (the "Un-edited Version" [only the part about the "Cave in Nepal" was cut out this time!] of the article published in the Feb. 11, 2010g.c. issue of the Desert Valley Star... Yes I En-Joy! -=0=-)
You have definitely been living in a “cave” for the past five or so decades if you have not heard of the Jamaican Legend Bob Marley and his band the Wailers’ music- and that would have to be a cave even farther out in the Himalayan Mountains than I was at in Nepal in the 1980’s, because that’s where and when I was surprised to find how far that his music had spread. He and his fellow Jamaican musicians’ spiritually-charged and revolutionary reggae music that calls for true equality, justice and freedom from oppression for all “Jah Children,” gained that kind of universal acceptance from its message of the spiritual one-love and human rights saddled with that infectious reggae rhythm, which Bob once called the “rhythm of the jungle.”
When he left us at the age of 36 in 1981, his fans were devastated to have his physical form taken from them at the height of his career, and there have always been the conspiracy theories in reggae circles that his fast-spreading brain cancer was planted by the CIA when he was hospitalized for a soccer-caused foot injury- “assassinated” as was Martin Luther King, for starting to unite the third world countries, and this from their fear that he would ignite a “revolution against the controlling powers that be.” What is true is that he and his band, the Wailers, were about to embark on a world tour with Stevie Wonder, and his message of revolution would have been heard world-wide.
As it is, his message has spread world-wide, just without the impact of the man physically imparting it for the past 29 years. Three years after his “Journey back to Zion,” a compilation album of his music titled “Legend” (released in 1984) is still reggae music’s best-selling album, going 10 times “Platinum” (or “Diamond”) in the U.S., and selling 20 million copies worldwide.
Also, not to mention, is his musical message being carried on not only by untold musicians performing his music, but by his off-spring as well. Bob’s religious tendency was Rastafari, and the Rastafarians take the Book of Genesis as gospel- as it said to “go forth and multiply,” he took the advice seriously, creating at least ten amazingly-talented children with his wife, Rita (one of his original “I-Threes” back up singers) and his various lovers. They are Cedella (named after Bob’s mother), David “Ziggy,” Stephen, Robert “Robbie,” Rohan, Karen, Julian, Ky-mani, Damian and Makeda. While Ziggy, accompanied by his brothers and sisters as “The Melody Makers,” turned on a whole new generation to the experience of their father’s musical and spiritual experience beginning in the mid 80’s, it was Damian who amazed people later, combining the styles of reggae and hip-hop. He is nick-named “Junior Gong,” after his father’s early nick-name, “Tuff Gong.” Bob’s nick-name became the name of a record label formed by the Wailers in 1970, which was in turn an echo of that nick-name given to the founder of the Rastafarian movement, Leonard “The Gong” Howell. While Stephen has won five Grammies, Ziggy and his Melody Makers four, Damian has won three. (Detailed bios of the Marley family, along with a plethora of info on Bob and his music are available at www.bobmarley.com).
Just about 29 years ago, Bob would ad-lib some lyrics to Curtis Mayfield’s song “Keep On Movin’:” “Tell Ziggy I’m fine, and to keep the dollar in line, ‘Cause we’re soon to move now, We are…” He would then sing the chorus line “Lord, I got to keep on movin, yeah, where I can’t be found…” at a sound check for a Wailers concert, singing that line over and over for about twenty minutes, bringing tears to the eyes of his band, as they knew it was his way of saying goodbye to his musical/spiritual family.
It was at about this same time that a group of reggae-lovers in Los Angeles decided to honor Bob’s Legacy with grass-roots produced reggae concerts they would offer to the people for free, called “Bob Marley Day.” I’ll always hold in my fondest memories, some of my friends from Laguna Beach, in bands aptly titled the “Friends Band,” “Jack Miller & the International Reggae All Stars,” and the “Rebel Rockers” (with dynamic performers that included Barbara Paige and Princess Morton who recorded with some of the Wailers, and Tony Chin and Fully Fullwood of the Soul Syndicate and Peter Tosh’s band, among others) playing at some of these early tributes at the Westwood Federal Building, come rain or shine.
So, it’s been quite a long haul for this dedicated (or, as the Rasta’s call it: “live-a-cated”) group to keep the tribute going over the decades, and the transformation from the old “Bob Marley Day” celebrations to the more recent “Ragga Muffins Festival” has been quite amazing to witness. Now these concerts that still honor (in every way except in name, for the inevitable legal reasons) Robert Nesta Marley in the month of his birth, end up selling out in their huge Long Beach and Oakland venues.
In this year’s Ragga Muffins Festival at the Long Beach Arena on Saturday, February 20th and Sunday the 21st, the musical line up with many LIVING LEGEND Reggae Stars is nothing short of “STELLAR.” Because of space limitations with this article, I must ask the reader to do some “home work” on the internet to find out the impact that these legends have made on World Music- unless of course you know what I mean when I give you names like Don Carlos, Frankie Paul, Yellowman, Big Youth, Barrington Levy, Gregory Isaacs, The Mighty Diamonds, Capleton, Cocoa Tea… Other performers of note are Shaggy, Gramps Morgan, Bajah & the Dry Eye Crew, the Mystic Roots Band, Yellow Wall Dub Squad, Taurus Riley, Alborosie, Konshens, David Kirton, the Lions, and Detour Posse, w/more to be announced! And of course, many of you desert-dwellers may have caught the reggae group “The Aggrolites” (performing on Sunday) “crucially moshing it up inna yard-style” at the Coachella Festival last year (and please know that the term “moshing it up,” that “reefers” to a “hard-driving dance beat” came from Jamaica long before the punkers adopted it into their physically harmful version!).
The concert’s doors open at 12 noon and you are going to want to get there early, as the festival offers “North America’s largest International Food and Crafts Fair!” Also, this “Family-Friendly Event” offers free admission to children 12 and under (when accompanied by a paid adult), and the kids-oriented activity space of the “What About the Children? Foundation” has become a welcome annual tradition, with its storytellers, face painting and other enriching activities. Ticket prices are a reasonable $38- to $60- (plus applicable service charges) and are available by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com and for more information you can call the Ragga Muffins Festival hotline at (310) 515-3322 or go to raggamuffinsfestival.com and myspace.com/raggamuffinsfestival
On the local front, don’t miss the combined celebration of Bob Marley’s and all other Aquarius (or “Aquari-I”) birthdays AND the HAALOS Healing Arts Center’s One Year Anniversary in the “Vortex Construction Zone” of Desert Hot Springs, on Bob’s actual birthday, Sat., Feb. 6, 8pm on, with a live “open mic reggae jam,” dancing, refreshments and fun! (12078 Palm Dr., DHS 92240)
-Sunny Sun-Downer can be contacted at conchustimes@yahoo.com and his articles for the Desert Valley Star are archived at www.conchustimes.blogspot.com as well as www.desertvalleystar.com

The Over the Hill Band Film Review

(The unedited version [which adds a couple of quite ah-muse-ing paragraphs at the end] of the article I just wrote for the current Desert Valley Star -=0=-)
The Over the Hill Band (Meisjes)
Film Review by Sunny Sun-Downer
The U.S. Premiere of the hit Belgian film “The Over the Hill Band” debuts as a “World Cinema Now Gala Screening” at the P.S. International Film Festival on Saturday evening, January 16 at 7 pm, with director Geoffrey Enthoven (The Only One) expected to attend, as well as lead actors Marilou Mermans, Jan van Looveren and Lea Couzin.
Also called, “Meisjes” (Dutch for “Girlfriends”) this film is hailed as in the tradition of “sassy social comedies” such as last year’s (Canne’s Critic Week Award Winner) Moscow, Belgium and plays like a combination of the British Calendar Girls and Young at Heart. (It is no coincidence then that one of the screenwriters of this film was Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem of Moscow, Belgium fame).
This charming comic drama is a “coming-of-old-age” story about a classy woman who rediscovers life and love before it’s almost too late. Recently widowed Claire (played magnificently by Marilou Mermans) seeks to resolve the issues between her and her two sons, Michel (Lucas van den Eynde) and Alex (Jan van Looveren)- issues that were not addressed while her husband was alive. While Michael is a successful businessman, Alex- who prefers to be called “Sid,” is a failed and frustrated R & B/Hip Hop musician who blames part of his failure on the lack of parental support, which he accuses all went to Michel. Admitting to herself that Sid was the child she loved most "in her gut", but that she had indeed paid more attention to Michel out of guilt-driven compensation to hide the fact, Claire decides to use the last of her money and her remaining years to support Sid's musical quest to finally grant him his long overdue share of affection. The manner in which she chooses to “heal the wound” leads to the great entertainment that is bestowed on the viewer of this delightful comedy. She flashes back to her teenage years singing in a band with her girlfriends Magda (Lea Couzin) and Lutgard (Lut Tomsin) as the popular trio, "The Sisters of Love" and then decides that as backup singers they can help Sid form a band and convinces her “girlfriends” to come out of retirement. Sid thinks it’s the most ridiculous idea he’s ever heard, but because he needs money so badly he reluctantly agrees to join his mother and her crazy friends. But he does so on one condition ... they will play HIS kind of music!
You get the feeling from the opening scene where Claire’s husband is chiding her for humming to herself, that his demise was going to be a blessing for her- in that it would release her of the repressive nature of his attitude toward life, which might allow her to rediscover hers- especially in creating an opening in the strained relationship with her son Alex (Sid). After all, wasn’t it her husband who found no worth in Sid’s musical ambitions? The film also questions the age-old traditional pattern of wives giving up their lives and dreams for their husbands. It also brings into focus our imminent sunset of old age and death. Watching Claire come to the realization of how she has unfairly treated her son Sid and how she can right it, and then observing how she gradually "loses her marbles" and experiences "butterflies in her head"-are heartfelt jewels within the unfolding whimsy.
By recognizing their mutual love for music, Claire and Sid slowly grow closer. But all is not rosy in her plan of action. As Sid and the re-incarnated “Sisters” form the new group and prepare for a battle of the bands, Claire’s older son, the “buttoned down” Michel attempts to intervene. He believes Sid is using their mother and taking advantage of her, and the two even come to blows over the issue. The band must overcome such nay-sayers as well as their age, doubts and insecurities to put on the show of their lives!
The “Sisters of Love” become reinvented as the “Over the Hill Band” with a play-list that ranges from the hip-hop anthem, “Pump Up the Jam” to a “pimped-out” version of Wallace Collection’s “Daydream.” You can’t help but laugh whole-heartedly as these elderly timeless performers get back in touch with their “inner vixen,” as Claire intones, "When I look in the mirror, I wonder who the old bat is that I can see. Because underneath this old skin, I'm still 17. That's how I feel."
Jan van Looveren transforms from a disheveled, unattractive and un-likeable Sid to the kid you can't help but like. Lut Tomsin also shines as the crotchety youth choir-director who learns to get a buzz off the bass. In one especially hilarious scene she mouths the lyrics to sexually-suggestive hip-hop music, while filling her shopping basket with rap CDs. And the mirthful, fun-spirited Lea Couzin earns a point for defending Jacques Brel as God.
From Director Enthoven’s daily writings of the shoot, comes this revelation- “Lut, Magda and Claire are singing the famous Jaques Brel song ‘Ne me quitte pas,’ accompanied by a church organ. Sid enters the church carrying a ghetto blaster boom box. The loud introduction of “his” music comes with vivid, shameless body movements- totally absorbed by the music. The confrontation between R & B-macho Sid and the three ladies ‘of a certain age,’ is the soul of our comedy. Sid’s song ‘Big Dick Jones’ has been composed by lyricist Pascal Garnier, who was so embarrassed by the juicy lyrics that he wrote the texts while his family was sleeping!” (Pascal Garnier and Stef Caers wrote the swinging R & B versions of the classic pop tunes featured in the film).
Well, if we have the “sex” and the “rock n’ roll,” let’s not forget the “drugs!” Also from Enthoven’s writings, “What a day! We’re shooting a scene with 10 actors. Sid’s lighting a joint, and passes it to Magda and Claire, who take a puff. Neither of them have smoked before, so it’s difficult for them to act this out in a convincing way. It took me a lot of pain to quit smoking nine years ago, and now I’m the one who has to show them how to inhale. Very tricky! But I’m a pro- I’ll do anything for the film!”
The film’s closing sequence is a thought-provoking merging of senile and cinematic fantasies with an unexpected twist. Northernstars’, Maurie Alioff says that while this film is mainstream fare, it’s also "the kind of movie festival-goers embrace for its feel-good vibe." Writing for the Montreal Gazette, John Griffin describes it as "funny, ribald, touching and inspirational comedy" and advises: "Take your pointers where you may, but this genuinely appealing tale does suggest that life is short. Live every day to the max." After receiving a standing ovation at the 28th International Film Festival of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Grand Prix Hydro-Quebec, the jury lauded the film for its "clear style and ability to subtly narrate a serene view on death."
Also, Juniors are warned that at the Palm Springs screenings, the Senior Demographic there might become a bit unruly while watching this film!
The Over the Hill Band screens once on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 7pm and once Sunday, Jan. 17 at 4:30pm.
For more info contact the Palm Springs International Film Festival at www.psfilmfest.org or call 760-778-8979

The Sun Behind the Clouds Controversy at Palm Springs Film Festival

The Sun Behind the Clouds- Tibet's Struggle for Freedom
The Controversy with the China Gov't "Interferring with Palm Springs' Internal Affairs"
by Sunny Sun-Downer (the unedited version of the article published in the current Desert Valley Star newspaper)
"With unusual intimate access, filmmakers Tenzin Sonam and his wife Ritu Sarin find a unique perspective on the Dalai Lama's trials and tribulations and follow him over an eventful year, including the 2008 protests in Tibet, the Long March in India, the Beijing Olympics and the breakdown of talks with China," reads the Palm Springs International Film Festival's description of a film that has unexpectedly created an international controversy between the governments of China and Tibet, "The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom."
Not only has the Chinese Government closed down one of the film industry's biggest marketing tools, IMDb.com (Internet Movie Database- a user-generated movie review website) in the past week, undoubtedly due to the controversy they created by "meddling in Palm Springs' internal affairs," but there is controversy within the controversy regarding the two Chinese films pulled out of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. In "protest" of the festival's inclusion of the Pro-Tibet film "The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom," the two films, "Quick, Quick, Slow" and "City of Life and Death" (also called "Nanjing! Nanjing!) were pulled in the festival's first week. The first film is a comedy about ordinary people taking part in a dance competition n China, while "City of Life and Death" is about the 1937 invasion of China by Japan (which is ironic in that "The Sun Behind the Clouds..." covers the Chinese Government's invasion of Tibet in the 1950's).
IMDb.com now joins Facebook, Youtube and Twitter as banned websites in China.
The "controversy in the controversy" regards the exposing of the Chinese government's withdrawing the films from the festival, and then attempting to spin the decision as having been taken by one of the Chinese film directors.

Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, reported that Lu Chuan, the director of “City of Life and Death," had himself made the decision to withdraw from the film festival. According to Xinhua, “Lu was informed Monday that ‘The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom’ would be screened during the festival and immediately notified his film's distributor in North America of his quitting, Lu's publicity assistant Wang Dan said. The India-produced documentary tells mainly of the Dalai Lama's "secessionist" activities in 2008. Lu Chuan said, ‘All activities overseas of my film should serve China's interests and safeguard the national sovereignty and territorial integrity.’”

The Xinhua report contradicts a report from The Hollywood Reporter saying “Chinese State-run 'China Film Group' had pulled ‘City of Life and Death’” from the Palm Springs International Film Festival to protest the event’s inclusion of a film about the Dalai Lama, director Lu Chuan said Wednesday.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lu said a “government department ... demanded China Film pull the movie.”

The Director of the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), which runs through January 18, Darryl Macdonald, released a formal statement that said: “After meeting with representatives from the Chinese government regarding their request to cancel our screenings of ‘The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom,’ we have respectfully declined their request. I’m saddened that the Chinese film authorities have chosen to withdraw their films from PSIFF, as the Festival is an international cultural event whose mandate is to present a wide cross section of perspectives and points of view. That said, we cannot allow the concerns of one country or community to dictate what films we should or should not play, based on their own cultural or political perspective. Freedom of expression is a concept that is integral both to the validity of artistic events, and indeed, to the ethos of this country.” Macdonald said he was also told by Chinese government officials that by including the Tibet film “he was going against the position of the U.S. government, which doesn’t recognize Tibet as independent of China, but Macdonald said he responded, ‘Sorry, this is an arts event and we believe in freedom of expression.’”

International Campaign for Tibet then issued a statement: "Government constraints on freedom of expression within China are entrenched. Those who would exercise this inalienable and fundamental freedom by saying things that the Chinese government or Communist Party objects to - whether in film, on the internet or any public platform – can face criminal charges of ‘inciting subversion’ and other serious consequences. In this context, it is especially gratifying that private citizens outside China so clearly understand what is at stake. By refusing to bow to Chinese government intimidation, they stand up for those who risk much to establish a free and more open society in China,” said Mary Beth Markey, ICT Vice President for International Advocacy.

In a written reaction, the directors of "The Sun Behind the Clouds...," Ritu Sarin and (Tibetan exile) Tenzing Sonam said: “It is clear that the directors of these films had no choice in the matter and were as much victims of their government’s authoritarian policies as we, the intended targets, were meant to be. As China now feels emboldened enough to attempt to impose its will on independent cultural events in a country as powerful and as symbolic of the right to free speech and expression as the United States of America, we can begin to understand the extent of repression within its own borders. It is not surprising that even as the Chinese government was putting pressure on PSIFF to remove our film from its line-up, it imposed a six-year sentence on Tibetan filmmaker, Dhondup Wangchen, (whose unsettling film, "Leaving Fear Behind" debuted at Urban Yoga in Palm Springs in 2008) for making a film that showed the true feelings of Tibetans in Tibet about their exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, and their situation under Chinese rule.” It has been reported that not only was he beaten and tortured for his truthful expose, he has also been infected with hepatitis in Chinese prison, and those interested in protesting his draconian sentence are encouraged to go to the Students for a Free Tibet website http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/dhondupwangchensentenced

Also, for those wanting facts that clearly refute China's claim that Tibet has always been a part of their country, which they use to justify their (far from) "peaceful liberation" of Tibet over 50 years ago, please go to such sites as the following: http://www.jamyangnorbu.com/blog/2009/02/25/a-losar-gift-for-rangzen-activists/

And finally, if you can make it, the Palm Springs Int. Film Festival added one more screening of this AH-mazing film, Sat. Jan. 16th, 10 am Annenburg Theater at the PS Art Museum-
http://www.psfilmfest.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=21166&FID=40
-= ~!~ =-