Lilting reggae conjures pictures of the Caribbean – sun-kissed sand, gentle cooling breeze, warm aquamarine seas.
Set to this tropical beat are Taj Weekes’ lyrics that examine darker issues in a world where “Me Generation” beliefs conflict with the Biblical notion of being “my brother’s keeper.”
“We’ve been pushing this individual thing for so long we don’t realize it’s a collective, we have to take a holistic approach to what we do,” says Weekes, who promotes, love, peace, freedom, truth and hope – in his life and in his music.
A musician, poet and humanitarian, Weekes grew up in the lush beauty of St. Lucia in a family that had a car, a house and parents who celebrated a marriage of more than 50 years.
“My mother always had something extra if someone came to the door,” he says. “We were taught from birth that we are our brothers’ keeper.”
And he puts his money where his mouth is.
Weekes, who will perform at this year’s Routes and Blues Festival, contributes to the well-being of his Caribbean home through his They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO), by launching a campaign to educate and deal with the diabetes crisis brought on by the Americanization of the island diet and lack of exercise.
TOCO’s Clothesline Project deals with domestic violence, particularly how it affects children physically, emotionally and psychologically. TOCO also supports soccer on St.Lucia by delivering equipment and gear to coaches and, through its My Backpack, My Future campaign, supplies essential school supplies to children across the Caribbean.
Weekes believes the human desire to help others is inborn, but something that is often unlearned through experience.
Such is the way of his song, Angry Language –
“Sad I am learning an angry language, and armed with the tools of rage, but it seems I am slowly forgetting all I learned from a Bible page.”
Weekes says he gets “outspiration” for his lyrics from what he sees around him. And though they often reflect dark issues, he is a happy man.
“I am so happy I can tell the stories of war. If I were sad, I don’t think I’d be able to articulate it,” he says, noting he observes the ‘human carnival.’ “Most of what we talk about is not what we see internally, but what we see on the outside.”
Weekes derives peace from meditation, something he calls the quiet time in the spaces between his thoughts.
“There’s so much information, and people are wanting so much,” he says. “If you don’t (meditate), you get lost in the confusion.”
In terms of his lyrics, Weekes says there are enough people singing about love, and that humankind has to somehow deal with the fact that the planet is on the brink – that global warming does exist.
He says conflicting messages imparted by corporate media are confusing people.
“Someone has to let us know about it, to say ‘listen, this is where we are and this is what we need to do,’” he says of global warming and its effect on the planet.
While the lyrics are thought-provoking and sometimes dark, they are delivered in an upbeat package.
“You can have a happy beat to the message – it wouldn’t be entertainment if you didn’t,” he says. “We’re gonna have a Routes reggae revival party.”
Weekes will also lead Watch us Watch You, with Alex Cuba, the Boom Booms and Shred Kelly in a workshop at the Barn Stage Saturday, Aug. 18 at 10:30 a.m.
“From Woodie Guthrie to Bob Marley and long before Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, the songwriter has provided the medium to inform the global community about issues that are local or international in scale,” says the program description. Watch Us Watch You is about writing music that makes a difference to our world culture.”
One of the most anticipated and well-attended events of the year, the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival opens Friday, Aug. 17 and plays until Sunday, Aug. 19.
And the music and fun go well beyond the gates in the week prior to the festival. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.rootsandblues.ca, or call 250-833-4096.
