Musician on a Mission

Sometimes there are so many reggae shows in the area that Southern California seems to have been secretly annexed by Jamaica. If more proof be needed, then look no further than the Lake Casitas World Beat Music Festival, which will unfold Saturday with 10 hours of fish-scaring music--mostly reggae.

Reggae acts at the wingding will include performances by Don Carlos (former lead singer of Black Uhuru), Isaac Haile Selassie, Jah Bone, the Reggae Angels, the Cannons and more. Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca will play Afro-salsa music, and Ojai resident Perla Batalla will probably sing better than all of the above.

Reggae is a generic term for an ever-changing variety of Jamaican music that has had its ups and downs in the United States since the mid-’60s. Part African rhythms, jazz and New Orleans R & B, reggae has less humor than the Jamaican bobsled team but a much better beat.

While the most famous reggae artists--Bob Marley and Peter Tosh--have died, reggae rolls on, and rolls its own, too. Many reggae musicians are Rastafarians, a religion among black Jamaicans that employs the ritual smoking of marijuana, forbids the cutting of hair and venerates Haile Selassie.

The Ethiopian connection for this gig is embodied in one Isaac Haile Selassie. Not only is the singer Ethiopian, but he was actually adopted by the late king. During the most serious road trip of his career, the singer walked from Ethiopia to Sudan, but he eventually ended up in Los Angeles, where he became just another 17-year overnight sensation. Selassie’s new album is “Unity,” which he discussed during a recent phone conversation.

So how’s “Unity” doing?

It’s doing really good here. We’re getting good responses from everybody. I humble myself for all the good things that are happening to me. “Unity” is all about human beings trying to realize [themselves] as a “we,” not an “I.” You see, humans have got to get to know one another, and once we see each other as a human being, we can forgive each other. We need to try to unite our own body and soul because the body’s drives are different from the soul’s drives. . . . It’s not about black or white, rich or poor. I’m trying to give hope to the hopeless.

So then, is reggae changing the world?

I’m just a messenger. Reggae music is very spiritual, positive and uplifting. It’s happy music--everybody’s music. I’ve been doing this for the last 17 years in L.A., and people talk like I’ve just been discovered. If I was doing this for the money, I’d be a dentist pulling teeth long ago.

How did you end up being adopted by Haile Selassie?

My father was a poor farmer living about 40 or 50 miles from Addis Ababa. My mother got some disease and died when I was 1 year old. Since I had a brother a few years older, my father couldn’t take care of us both, so he and my aunt carried me and walked three days to the city. They waited outside the palace until the emperor came out, and my father lay down in front of his car. My father didn’t even speak the same dialect, but the king gave him a phone number and I was assigned to a nurse, then adopted into an orphanage.

So, it was like a boarding school?

Yes. That was the happiest time of my life. I was studying in school--I was a trumpet player. I was playing American cover songs by studying records. I was making a name for myself singing in English, although I didn’t understand a word of it.

How did you end up in Khartoum?

Later, there were demonstrations and violence--it was a mess. When the situation got rough, I left my country. I walked to Sudan and got there with tattered clothes and no shoes. Later, I found a number of Ethiopians staying in a motel room listening to Bob Marley on the radio, who was singing “Get up, stand up for your rights.” I had no idea what he was singing about, but it sounded like he was speaking the truth. If he could speak the truth and get away with it, then it must be the truth.

What do Ethiopians want?

We want the whole world to understand our pain. . . . Civilization began in Ethiopia. Ethiopians are not bad people. Their land is not cursed.

What do you want?

My music is the praise of God and support for human beings. I want to know everyone as a human being. It’s time to come together, forgive each other, love each other. Be what you want to be, not what they want you to be. Travel light, man. It’s like all these aliens we see. Aliens are not from Mars, man, they are from our own ego. They’re here already. It’s a mirror--we’re looking at ourselves--big head and no heart.

Do people dance or stare when you play?

Are you kidding? When I play, people jump around like they never did before. Don’t give the credit to me--my head will get too big! I give God credit.

DETAILS

Lake Casitas World Beat Music Festival: Rhythms & Reggae with Don Carlos, Isaac Haile Selassie, Perla Batalla, Reggae Angels, the Cannons, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Conscious Souls, Ras Jimi Jaimin, Seabury & Garrett, Jafada & the Crew and Jah Bone, 11311 Santa Ana Road, Oak View, Saturday, noon-10 p.m. $27; $24 advance. 646-7230.

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They sure as heck don’t need the money, but the heart of Heart, those Wilson sisters, will be playing a duet at the Ventura Theatre on Saturday night. Ann and Nancy, doing way better than Sid and Nancy ever did, are in the middle of a 10-week tour. With just the two sisters on stage, logistics have to be much simpler than ever before.

Heart burst on the scene in the early ‘70s, helping to not only define women in rock but to inspire the singing females that followed. Fueled by the memorable voices of the Wilsons, Heart has sold more than 29 million records and has had more than a score of Top 40 hits.

The band has released three albums in the ‘90s, but lately each sister has been involved with solo projects. About the only thing they haven’t done--until now--is work exclusively with each other. Expect kinder, gentler (and quieter) versions of all their hits such as “These Dreams,” “Barracuda,” “Crazy on You,” “Magic Man” and all the rest. In addition to the hits, the sisters have more than a dozen new songs. According to Nancy on the latest bio, here’s the real deal:

“It’s exciting and scary--good scary, though. If you’re not putting yourself out on a limb, you’re not living. We want to make sure it’s interesting and enlightening and fun as well as emotional and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, too.”

Then again, selling 29 million albums can make going out on a limb somewhat less dangerous. Be that as it may, also traveling light is the opening act, singer-songwriter Jeffrey Gaines. Informed sources at the venue say this event may well sell out, so act accordingly.

DETAILS

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart and Jeffrey Gaines at the Ventura Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut St., Saturday, 8 p.m. $28. 653-0721.

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Local singer-songwriter Rain Perry is having a pair of CD release parties this weekend--one in her hometown at the Ojai Art Center tonight and the other, down Highway 150 a piece, at the Mill in Santa Paula on Saturday. Perry’s album is titled “Balance.”

Many locals know Perry from her song “Say Yes,” which was included on the recent “Sweet Reality: Music of Ojai,” a compilation also featuring the likes of Alan Thornhill, Dave Mason, Robben Ford, Perla Batalla and Jonathan McEuen. Perry’s album features several noted local players, among them Thornhill, Jim Calire and Patricia Cardinali.

Admission to both events is free. Tonight’s show begins at 7:30; Saturday’s show is at 7 p.m. The Ojai Art Center is at 113 S. Montgomery St., and the Mill can be found at 113 N. Mill St. To find out more, call 646-4706.