Although I’ve been quite fortunate over the course of this Average Life like maybe a bunch of other artists I’ve lost (and sacrificed) a lot during this ‘Walkabout’. My first pause was in MadWiz, and during one of their coldest winters on record, that’s where I met multi-instrumentalist/composer, Junior Dan.
I’d been introduced into the Madison Rastafarian Community by Rasta Jim aka Dr. Jim Rutke, a brilliant man with multiple advanced degrees, a Rastafarian scholar highly respected in the community who could read any number of ancient languages, e.g. Amharic, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, etc.. As a NeKiT (New in Kid in Town). He knew the people to meet, and not meet. It just so happened that around this time the University had scheduled a big Reggae concert with Third World, Black Uhuru, Steel Pulse, Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff. It was to be the last concert performed by The Steppin’ Razor. Because of Rasta Jim’s deep connections to the community and UW he’d gotten me backstage access. This was actually my first major shoot ….. Reggae Legends, up until then all I’d shot was airplanes with sand and Arizona sunsets.
Post the concert hang I sent some of the images to Blackstar Photo Agency and the thought them good enough to suggest I go to Jamaica and shoot. So I decided to traipse off to Xamayca to photograph the Rastafarians. When I mentioned this to Rasta Jim he said to talk to Junior if I was heading ‘down Home’. We sat and vibed ending up with me agreeing to pick up Junior’s master tapes from Tough Gong Studios in Kingston. The trip to Guntown was me hanging off the back of a truck with goods of someone’s relative in the bed. When I arrived iMan was blessed to ‘sing Chalice’ with Sticky, Bob’s former drummer and body guard. For me the whole trip was magical beginning from the first day in Montego when I met the Rasta priest who said, “No man have to lock ‘im ‘air to be a Rasta. Rasta is in your Heart.” I was supposed to be there for 2 weeks it was 2 months before I returned, but that’s a tale for another time. And the negatives and positives from that era like a photo of Seaga and Manley (two of the Prime Ministers) shaking hands (absolutely RARE) are lost, but the Isitives remain.