High school students find that reggae beat - Inner Visions
by Ryan Davis, November 14, 2003
Picture courtesy of Kevin Gutting   Some students try crowd surfing during the reggae concert Friday. (left to right performing on stage: Ras Paul, Jupiter and Aswad on  drums)	(On November 13, 2003) Caribbean rhythms filled the  John M. Greene Hall on Elm Street last week as students from Northampton High School took in a performance by the Virgin Islands-based reggae band Inner Visions. The  performance, an all-school assembly for which the entire  student body trooped down Elm Street to the Smith concert  hall, was one of four arts events at the high week school  this year sponsored by the Daniel Stephen Goldstein Fund.   Inner Visions has been together for more than 20 years and  began releasing albums in 1995. All five members of the  band are originally from Jamaica and now live in St. Croix. Webmistress's note:  One member of the band, Ras Paul, is from  Jamaica.  The others are from St. John, Virgin Islands.   The performance was the band's third visit to Northampton  since they began touring the U.S. in 2001. They have also  appeared at Pearl Street Nightclub and the Iron Horse  Music Hall.   The Goldstein fund, established in honor of an artistically  inclined NHS graduate who died in 1989, has previously  funded only two events each year, but increased the  number to four this year to bolster arts offerings in the face  of budget cuts.   Performances sponsored by the fund are selected by a  committee that includes school administrators, teachers  and students.   The entire student body walked down Elm Street to the  performance.

The October 15, 2003 "Tennesseean" contained a big picture of Inner Visions in an article identifying their
concert as a "hot pick."  Not bad in Music City, USA!
www.tennessean.com/entertainment/music/hotspots/
Let the reggae raise your consciousness
Universal, feel-good vibes will be in effect when WFSK-FM's Smooth Side Up is host to a benefit concert featuring ''conscious  reggae'' act Inner Visions.   Inner Visions hails from tiny St. John of the U.S. Virgin Islands.  But its legacy is anything but tiny; the group has been going  strong for more than 20 years. The crew's latest album, Street  Corner Musicians, is widely considered the best conscious  reggae set of the year.   What is conscious reggae? It isn't dancehall music, whose  themes tend to revolve around more explicitly sexual and violent  material.  It's more like a music that concerns itself with  humanistic themes of love and spirituality.   What's more, concert proceeds will benefit Village Cultural Arts  Center, an educational and cultural community center in north Nashville.   The concert is at 7:30 tonight at Belcourt Theatre in Hillsboro  Village.  Tickets are $20 and are available at the Belcourt box  office. — A. Tacuma Roeback, Staff Writer

 

On July 17, 2003, Inner Visions appeared at the The Eldo, 215 Elk Ave., Crested Butte, CO.  This

article was on the www.crestedbuttenews.com website.

Experience Inner Visions at the Eldo by Zebuel Early

Attention all reggae aficionados: Inner Visions is bringing their unique style and fresh vibe right out of the Caribbean direct to the Eldo on Thursday, July 17. Inner Visions is a quintet led by Grasshopper Pickering on guitar and lead vocals, Ras Paul Samms on percussion and lead vocals, and Alvin “Jupiter” Pickering on bass and background vocals. Together they emit sweet harmonious vocals and bubbling rhythms combined with keen songwriting and a flair for production. And with a message unique to reggae music, it is no wonder they have endured for so many years. People like this band because they play roots reggae, and they do it well. They grew up listening to the Wailers, ASWAD, and Dennis Brown so they know the style.

"It seems most of the music coming out of Jamaica these days is Dance Hall,” says Grasshopper Pickering. “All of the youth are more interested in hip hop than the classic sounds. So people are looking to the islands for real roots rhythms.”

And that they provide. Inner Visions can switch from a Steel Pulse-like tune to something with an old ‘70s Wailers feel in a heartbeat. But unlike nearly every other reggae band in the world, you won’t hear Inner Visions praising Jah Rastafari in every song. “We don’t praise the father too much on stage. You can feel that we have religion, but we don’t push it on the people,” explains Grasshopper. “We believe that there are many different philosophies and religions that separate the people and create strife. We need to focus on the one fact that all the prophets gave us. ‘Love your brother.’ If you do this, you won’t steal or look at the color of skin.”

Inner Visions is also unique in that they are the only reggae band on the U.S. Virgin Island of St. John. They have been playing music there for over 20 years now, and the road has sometimes been foggy. When they began playing music in the ‘70s, the Rastafarian movement was on the rise and a lot of people turned their back on reggae music.  “It was seen as taboo,” says Grasshopper. “People looked at dreadlocks with scorn and nobody on the island gave reggae music a chance. Even today on St. John, 90 percent of the bands are either soca or calypso bands. Playing reggae music has been a long journey for us.” But as of recent the tides have been turning. The people of St. John and other Caribbean islands are joining the world population of reggae lovers and the band has found fans elsewhere. There is now even a radio station in St. John that devotes time slots specifically to reggae. In fact, Inner Visions has had a couple of noteworthy hits themselves.

"We had a number one hit for six weeks called “Shala-la” in the British Virgin Islands and we made it to number two here in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” says Grasshopper. “After that we began getting more jobs and more recognition.”

In fact, they eventually made their way up the ranks and opened for reggae pioneer, Bunny Wailer. They also have toured with the likes of Marcia Griffiths, Israel Vibrations, and the Wailing Souls.  The only thing keeping this band from Reggae on the Rocks is a Western fan base, so they have set out for Colorado to achieve this goal. So let’s help them out and check them out Thursday night, July 17 at the Eldo. This is an authentic Caribbean roots rock reggae quintet at its finest.

On June 25, 2003, Inner Visions performed at the Club Helsinki (www.clubhelsinkiweb.com),

284 Main St., Great Barrington, MA, from 9PM-Midnight.  Sheila Clinton, an avid fan of Inner Visions,

wrote this article about the international Reggae Masters and their visit to Great Barrington and how

they rocked the place out! Tracks from their new CD, STREET CORNER MUSICIANS, were

introduced that night to an appreciative crowd.

Go here for the article:

http://new.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News:Local&p=64753

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