Speaking His Peace : Raymond Myers Hopes to ‘Touch Our Souls’ and Evoke Change With His Reggae

Raymond Myers knows that when things get as ugly as they often have in his native Nicaragua, it’s vital to hold on to pride and hope to keep the spirit alive.

Myers, 31, is a reggae musician from Bluefields, on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast. He has long witnessed unemployment, crime and political unrest engulf his war-torn homeland. Like many before him, Myers has used music as an outlet for both his anger and longing for peace.

“It’s still a bad situation over there,” Myers said recently during a phone interview from Culver City, where he is living now. “We have a lot of problems, man, but we’ve got to hold tight, remain positive, and let music help soothe us from some of the stress and problems. I believe music can educate people . . . it has the power to reach out and touch our souls.”

Influenced by reggae legends Bob Marley and Peter Tosh (“They took simple little folk music and made it a worldwide phenomenon”), Myers has forged a style reflecting his culturally diverse native land, which is inhabited by English-speaking Creole, mestizo, Amerindian and Afro-Caribbean peoples. He blends reggae, salsa, soca (soul-calypso) and rock strains into his own mix, with lyrics in both English and Spanish.

He and his 10-piece band perform Wednesday as part of the Long Beach Museum of Art’s summer concert series.

Myers focused on politicized and roots reggae during his years as the lead singer, guitarist and composer of the Soul Vibrations band from 1986 to 1993. But creative differences within the band prompted Myers to go solo; he’s just finished recording some new material at Jackson Browne’s studio in Santa Monica.

Myers met Browne about eight years ago in Managua. Touched by Myers and his music, Browne said he would try to help Myers further his career.

A sampling of his new songs finds Myers in strong voice, physically and metaphorically. The infectious “Aviva el Corazon” (“Lively Up Your Heart”) is an ode to Bob Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself” and dances on a bed of catchy rhythms. The pulsating, horn-driven “Shame Guys” is a lighthearted knock at men who lag behind women on the dance floor. But it is “Latino Soy” (“I Am Latino”), sung with immense pride and joy, that highlights Myers’ new work.

“It’s a salsa song about Latin culture and our heritage,” Myers said. “I just wanted to express the richness and humility of the Nicaraguan people, and that there is a unification between us. Not everything is as negative as portrayed by the media and outsiders.”

Myers said he is optimistic about his new opportunities as a solo artist.

“I want to keep a musical tradition alive, but with a variety of roots reggae that is danceable, more commercial and less overtly political than the Soul Vibrations material,” he said. “On my own, it is more challenging, but it’s also more pleasing and comforting to me.”

*

Myers, who is married and has three children, is a believer in the notion of making the world a brighter place for his descendants. In that vein, he led a five-week music class last year for the Willie Gault Youth Enrichment Program at Jordan High School in Long Beach. Some 80 disadvantaged inner-city youths received free music, dance, voice, art and drama instruction.

“It was a great cultural experience for these kids,” Myers said. “Man, you have to keep going to school . . . you have to have an education today. I mean, these kids are prone to drop out, so we’ve got to urge them to continue and not give up.”

Through the power of his music, Myers hopes he can be a positive force for adults, too.

‘I just try to express my feelings through my music,” he said. “If I can capture the spirit of the people--right at that moment--it brings me such great joy. It reminds me of how I felt when I first started singing in the church choir when I was 14 years old.”

* Raymond Myers plays Wednesday at the Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, as part of the museum’s annual summer concert series. 7 p.m. $8 for museum members and seniors, $10 for others. Children under 12 are free. (310) 439-2119.