MUSIC : Wail of a Time in Santa Barbara : Reggae pioneers the Wailers top the Reggae Sunsplash bill at the County Bowl.

The Reggae Sunsplash concert unfolds for a few lazy hours Monday afternoon at the Santa Barbara County Bowl as California becomes a temporary territory of Jamaica. Every sentence will in end in mon and dreadlocks will be as ubiquitous as the pot smoke, while the Wailing Souls, Dennis Brown, Big Mountain and others entertain the slow dancers.

Lloyd (Bread) MacDonald and Winston (Pipe) Matthews are the head Wailers, reggae pioneers dating back to pre-fame Bob Marley. The Wailing Souls have 16 albums, including their latest, “Live On,” the follow-up to the Grammy-nominated “All Over The World.”

MacDonald and Matthews, supported by a revolving cast of top-notch studio musicians, sing songs about nonviolence, peace and unity.

Besides the call to be mellow, mon , the Wailing Souls’ new album also features a couple of recognizable covers, Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion” and Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye.”

The Bread with the dreadhead spoke recently from his Los Angeles home:

How long have you guys been wailing?

We’ve been doing this for about 20 years, or since school. We had our first big hit in 1978.

*

How did the band get going?

We were brought up in a place called Trench Town [in downtown Kingston], a place with a lot of musicians. It was sort of like Detroit, and there were guys like Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Joe Higgs--just a whole lot of great Jamaicans. As kids, we used to go out and play soccer and cricket, but then when it got dark, we’d go to a tenement yard where there was always some guys singing and preaching about Rasta.

Eventually, Pipe and I started singing and playing guitar also. Almost everyone was doing it, but we got so good at it that the older guys became interested in us. When we started, it was just a fun thing. We just did it, and we weren’t planning a career or anything.

*

Is the new album any different than your first album?

Our style hasn’t really changed; it’s a matter of growth. The more you do, the more you know. Now we know exactly what we want to do and how we want to do it. We’re always open to trying new things, to new innovations. We don’t want to be with the time, but ahead of it.

*

What is reggae music all about?

Basically, reggae is the name for all Jamaican music. In different times, it was ska or rock-steady, but the name encompasses everything. Reggae music is about truth, freedom, peace and unity. It started in this little, poor country with no support from anybody because it wasn’t like everything else. But then the tourists spread the word, and reggae is found the world over, on the radio, everywhere. Reggae is on the up, if you know what I mean.

*

Is Trench Town anything like L.A.?

I see some of Trench Town in parts of L.A. like Compton, Watts and the Crenshaw District. There’s lots of talented kids but little opportunity. You have to cling to the good guys like Bob Marley. Some that cling to the gunmen types are in prison now.

*

How did you come to choose those particular cover songs for the new album?

You know we grew up with that Steam song; we used to always sing it during rehearsal, and the Paul Simon song was recorded in Jamaica. The lyrics are as relevant right now as they were then. It’s just our type of song, a message song.

*

You guys used to hang out with Bob Marley?

We grew up with him. He was like a brother to us. We used to all hang out together--it was just like a little community. He influenced us a lot.

*

It seems like there’s a Reggae Sunsplash every week. What’s the deal with that?

The name is really owned by some Jamaican guys, but I think sometimes other people try to use the name. In Jamaica, it’s a big show that lasts for a week every year. Then there’s the world tour that goes through 42 states and then to Japan. That’s what we’re doing.

*

How can reggae survive with little airplay, and no MTV?

It’s very difficult. I think you have to be with a big label to get major airplay. We get lots of airplay on college radio, but we’re beating on the door of the major stations. That’s the next barrier. Right now, only one or two reggae artists get played, but that’s a start. It’s not because people don’t love it, it’s because of business.

*

So is business giving you the business?

Everyone in the world loves reggae, but big business doesn’t think it will sell here, and they don’t know how to promote it. Lots of reggae performers still live in Jamaica, and the companies are here. It’s the people that keep it going.

Details

* WHAT: Wailing Souls, Big Mountain, Dennis Brown, Sister Carol.

* WHEN: 3 p.m. Monday.

* WHERE: Santa Barbara County Bowl.

* HOW MUCH: $30, $23, $19.

* CALL: 568-2695.