Next Wednesday we share the stage once again with The Wailers at Neumos here in Seattle. After a late rehearsal last night at Monk’s Garage we started talking about our favorite Bob Marley & The Wailers songs and instantly began to reminisce about the past. As the songs facilitated the sharing of stories, our collective ionic bond was strengthened to a new level with a flood of memories and emotions. Bob’s songs are forever living, and just as relevant today as when he was rocking stages and uplifting the masses across the globe. Here’s our list of favorites:
“High Tide or Low Tide”
Songs of Freedom
“It wasn’t until I lost one of my close friends to a car accident in high school that I truly realized the power of friendship. A bunch of us gathered to support each other during this tough time, and we put on discs from the Songs of Freedom boxed set. It was the first time we had heard it. “High Tide or Low Tide” played, and a bunch of us immediately began to cry.”
- Kiley Sullivan, keyboards
“Forever Loving Jah”
Uprising
“I was in Ghana looking over a beachhead, feeling blissful looking at palm trees and islands. There were a couple of rasta brothers from the villages hanging out, and they started to play the song. Magical. Just magical. I can’t put it to words. Just one of those moments in life.”
- Ahkeenu Musa, percussion
“Buffalo Soldier”
Confrontation
“For me it was learning about a piece of history that I did not learn while I was in school and I wanted to learn more about history that we were not taught. Also, being part Tlingit I always wanted to be the Indian and not a cowboy. The Buffalo Soldiers related to Native Americans on a humanistic level and I think that’s why the song resonates with me.”
- Eric Yamada, management
“Concrete Jungle”
Catch A Fire
“It’s all about the themes of struggle and oppression, but still about perseverance. Fighting through the negatives to find the positive. A line in the song that always gets me is ‘I’ll be always laughing like a clown.’ I mean, if you can’t see any hope, then you’re stuck in a ‘Real Situation.’ Love that one too.”
- Brendan DeMelle, bass
“Is This Love”
Kaya
“It reminds me of when I listened to it as a kid with the fam at Hood Canal. Just hanging out in the cabin cooking and playing cards.”
- Kizamu Tsutakawa, management
“No Woman No Cry”
Live!
“It’s all about the guitar solo. It grounds the song from the middle and reiterates the main refrain and reminds me of a wailing woman. It reminds me of being in Hawai’i at Camp Pecusa on Maui for a high school marine biology trip. We stayed in these A-frame cabins, snorkeled every day, and explored the island. It was fun.”
- Charlie Mostow, booking
“Redemption Song”
Uprising
“When I was young my cousin Al said, ‘This is one of Bob Marley’s best,’ so I’ve loved the song ever since I was a kid. In 2004 I traveled to the Philippines to learn about the people’s struggle against U.S. imperialism and we would sing the song together. Everyone knew the words.”
- Brian Myers, management
“Waiting In Vain”
Exodus
“For two years in college I bumped this cut every day thinking about this one girl. She didn’t even like me. I mean, I bumped it EVERY day.”
- Owuor Arunga, trumpet
Kore Ionz perform with The Wailers at Neumos on Wednesday, January 18, 2012. Doors open at 8pm, show is 21+, and $20 advance tickets are available here.
