New twist on old classics
Band coming to festival puts a reggae spin on Talking Heads songs
If you’re waiting for a reunion of one of the most important bands of the punk and post-punk era, don’t hold your breath.
However, if you’d like to see a reggae version of the Talking Heads, then the Talking Dreads are for you.
The idea of reggae-fying classics from the Talking Heads’ songbook came to Mystic Bowie several years ago. At the time, the Jamaica-born singer was touring with Tom Tom Club, a band formed by the Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth (bass) and Chris Frantz (drums).
“I had the idea sitting in the back of my head for about eight years before I mentioned it to anybody,” said Bowie. “I was hoping the Talking Heads would get back together, because I have such passion and love for their music. And I realized that was not going to happen.
“So I figured, instead of letting this great piece of artwork go dormant, why not revive it my own style, Caribbean world music style. I mentioned it to Chris and Tina and they both said ‘Mystic, you should definitely do it.’ ”
Bowie’s Talking Dreads band is making its Canadian debut at the 2017 Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival. This year, the festival celebrates its 25th anniversary of bringing a wide range of music to the Shuswap.
Besides Talking Dreads, performers include bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs, folksinger Stephen Fearing, blues pianist Kenny Wayne, Vancouver singer/songwriter Frazey Ford, and many more.
For Kaia Kater, festivals like Salmon Arm are familiar, even if she’s playing it for the first time. The Toronto-based singer/banjo player’s mother was executive director of the Ottawa Folk Festival and, later, the Winnipeg Folk Festival.
“I grew up going to folk festivals,” the 23-year-old said. “I felt like folk music was something of a regular normal life as a young Canadian. I came to find out that a lot of my friends hadn’t gone to folk festivals and didn’t know about folk music.”
In addition to the mainstage concerts, the festival features daytime workshops, an international village, a fun zone for children, an artisan market and a campsite.
“Peter North (artistic director) has a really strong vision for the festival,” Kater said. “He has a lot of ideas about programming workshops and pairing artists together. So I’m really excited.”
For some younger festivalgoers, Talking Dreads’ versions of Burning Down the House, This Must Be the Place, Psycho Killer (the hand’s-down favourite, Bowie says, at the live show) and others will be their first exposure to the music of Talking Heads.
“In college towns, we find that a lot of kids just come out to the bar to drink,” he said. “After the first or second song they’re on the dance floor, they’re raging, and then they want to buy merchandise.
“They’re buying merch and they’re like, ‘Oh my God, we’ve never heard of you guys, we’ve never heard these songs, but this is amazing.’ That’s when I tell them the history, that I’m just transporting the music to them from the original.”
As for that reunion, Bowie can’t say much about why it’s not on the table.
“I’m friends with everyone, and I’ve seen the offers come in, and regrettably on my part I’ve seen the offers get turned away,” he said.
“That would be my dream, to be out there backup singing for the Talking Heads. But it is what it is.”