MUSIC: The Wailers Come to Pittsburgh - Danglin Talks Peace, Love and Tradition

The Wailers (photo by William Richards) 

Reggae music has come a long way since the days of the great Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer - better known as Bob Marley & The Wailers.   They took reggae music to new heights and today, The Wailers continue to keep the music alive. Outside of their work with Marley, The Wailers still  share the music with the world with a new lineup of Wailers including: Aston Barret (an orginal member - bass), Ernest Williams aka Ziggy (drums), Keith Sterling (keys), Onre Chisham (guitar), CG Victory and Roxanne Prince (background vocals), Danglin and Koolant (lead vocals).  The Wailers travel the world and spread the word of peace and love, and have also collaborated with artists such as Kenny Chesney, Eve, Jason Mraz, and Colbie Caillat.

On June 1st, The Wailers take on Pittsburgh and will be performing at the Three Rivers Arts Festival in the Cultural District. I was able to catch a quick conversation with lead singer Dwayne Anglin (aka Danglin) right before The Wailers left for Brazil. Here he talks about the messaging behind the music, a new project that The Wailers have gotten involved with, and how he feels about Pittsburgh!

Danglin (photo by Kit Chalberg)

PGHLOOK: So you guys are on tour right now, how is that going?

DANGLIN: Yes we're getting ready to start our tour - the first dates are in Brazil and then we get back from Brazil and we'll have tour dates in the US and in the UK and dates in Europe as well!

PL: Are you traveling with anyone or is it just the band?

DG: Well, it's  just us but we have a lot of shows with other acts in England and in the end of June/end of July, I'm not really sure what the other acts are but there's a lot of big acts in England that are gonna be on a few of the shows over there.

PL: So 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of The Wailers since the days of Bob Marley, and since then The Wailers have continued to perform, they're an imperative part of reggae music, how do you think the band has evolved from then til now?

DG: Well I mean, a lot of members have changed, of course certain members have passed on, other members have gotten ill and they're not able to perform, so that's where people like myself come in and try to fill that gap and carry on the tradition.  The music that was made is timeless because of the message in the music so you know I think that's one of the greater things about The Wailers - one of the most admirable things about The Wailers music. So it's only evolved in the form of faces and in a different kind of energy, but the message is still the same. It's still about positive vibrations, one-love and peace and unity.

The Wailers 

PL: How do you feel about the reggae scene today?

DG: The reggae scene has evolved, I mean you get younger and younger crowds, a lot of college kids, but you know the age ranges from 8 to 80.  You know Wailers fans are timeless and ageless, we get a lot of fans from different age groups. But it's just a younger community, younger people are aware of the message and a lot of younger people can appreciate that now, so we see a lot of younger crowds. So I think that's the only difference between then and now but the appreciation for the music is still the same and the message is still relevant; it's all about peace and love so our audiences come out to see The Wailers, that's the kind of mindset they come out with.

PL: If the band were to collaborate with any recent artist outside your genre who would you want that to be?

DG: The band has collaborated with a lot of artists: Kenny Chesney, in past days they've collaborated with Keith Richards and so many different people. For me, I think the days of collaborating for The Wailers is an ongoing thing - so as far as artists, I dunno maybe like Stevie Wonder, I think that would be a great thing to collaborate with Stevie Wonder.

PL: That would be amazing!  Tell us about the World Food Programme.

DG: In 2008, we collaborated with the United Nations World Food Programme and this is to support the effort to eradicate hunger across the globe.  So solving this problem of hunger is a responsibility for everybody not just one organization. But we've been honored and privileged to be able to play our part and provide the support through the medium of music.  It's a very admirable thing that they're doing, we just happen to be a part of it.

PL: So in June you're coming to Pittsburgh to perform at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, have you ever been to Pittsburgh and if so, what is your favorite thing about Pittsburgh?

DG: I've been to Pittsburgh a few times...I think the crowd, I love the crowd!  Pittsburgh has a traditional look to me, it has a - I wouldn't say old but - a cultured look; the buildings and just the armosphere.  It's very cultured and the people seem to appreciate the performance. So it's always a celebration with The Wailers and Pittsburgh! We're looking forward to it!!



***Special Thanks to Gorgeous PR!!!****