You might not expect to hear a host of original tunes at a tribute show, but David Higgins feels it’s a necessary part of the upcoming Railgarten event, Forever Loving Marley, on Saturday, February 4th.
“We incorporate our originals within the traditional Bob Marley songs. All the artists are going to be doing that at the show,” says Higgins, the guitarist for headliner Chinese Connection Dub Embassy (CCDE). Not only does he see it as being in the spirit of Marley’s creativity, he’s itching to perform the songs of the reggae band live again after several years of upheaval.
For both David and his brother Joseph, who plays keyboards in the group, the worst upheaval imaginable was losing their brother Omar in the spring of 2019, age 37, after he suffered a stroke and a staph infection. Throw in the pandemic, and it’s a miracle that CCDE made any music at all in recent years, especially given that Omar was the founder and driving force of the band. And yet they did, releasing the excellent Crew Vibez album, which marked a shift in their sound, mixing traditional reggae with hip-hop and dancehall. Still, there have been precious few live shows since Omar’s death.
“We’re gonna put our best foot forward with this music,” says Joseph. “It’s almost like we’re rebranding everything. Without Omar, we’ve had to start from scratch with a lot of stuff. This is the first official show of ours this year. What better way to kick off 2023 than with some positive, good vibes?”
And, as noted, original music. If any band has earned the right to put their own songs side by side with those of Marley, it’s CCDE. “I won’t be bought, I won’t be sold/We will decide how our story’s told,” they sing on “Dem A Callin’ (Flodgin),” and the band is deciding how their new tale will be told even now. Part of that means recapturing their initial approach to reggae.
“Crew Vibez was something nobody had ever heard from us, really,” says David. “And they loved it. We got invited to Afro Punk [Festival] and other places. So we want to continue that sound, but we’ve got to put the live instrumentation in it, too. Our sound is not going to be so digital.”
But the Higgins brothers stress that the Marley tribute is about more than CCDE; several other artists will be performing, including cameos from Kween Jasira and dancehall artist I-Sypha during CCDE’s set. And JParris from the Virgin Islands will bring his band, Carib Vibes, for some authentic Caribbean spirit. But, as David notes, the event will already have plenty of that. “When we do these Marley tributes, it doesn’t even feel like we’re in the Railgarten because we try to put that whole island aesthetic into the look, the sound, everything. From lights to palm trees and tapestries.”
Beyond that, there will be plenty of other local groups mixing Marley with their magic, including Yubu & the Ancient Youth, Black Cream, and Moses Crouch.
Meanwhile, David Higgins is deeply involved in Omar’s other musical legacy, the celebrated hardcore group known as Negro Terror. Given that their popularity once outstripped that of CCDE, carrying the torch of Negro Terror forward has been the greater burden for David, who always played guitar in the group, but now carries the extra duties of front man. But he wants people to know that Negro Terror will live on.
“People want product, product, product, and I felt like I left the fans in the dark,” David says of the time after his brother’s death. “I couldn’t respond to them because we were going through so much in the pandemic, and health-wise personally, I was going through a lot. But I never wanted to stop the band. I want all his projects to continue, especially CCDE and Negro Terror. I want them to keep growing, and I’m in the process of starting Negro Terror up again. I want to tell the fans, ‘Hey, it’s going on, guys! Calm down!’ Not only are you going to get the unreleased material; you’re going to get two new records that we’ve already started working on. With y’all’s support, we can get together and make some new memories, and keep the legacy going in a whole other way. That’s the goal, that’s the dream.”
Forever Loving Marley is at Railgarten, February 4th, 6 p.m., $20.
