West Michigan’s Mystic Dub: Spreading reggae’s positive sounds and ‘heartbeat rhythm’

The Local Spins Artist Spotlight shines this week on a Grand Haven-area trio with a wildly diverse background and an uplifting message. Mystic Dub plays Odd Side Ales on Saturday.

 

Born overseas in Jordan, Reaiah True has since crisscrossed the United States, living in New York, California, Texas, Maryland and Maine before settling in West Michigan.

Reared on classical music, folk, soul and jazz, the singer and guitarist has worked in musical theater, toured with rock legend Neil Young as a dancer in his “Greendale” production and appeared in several under-the-radar movies, including 2009’s “Modus Operandi” with actor Danny Trejo.

But amid this cornucopia of life experiences, True has flourished and found her voice as a reggae musician in the group Mystic Dub, encouraged by her husband and bandmate, drummer Juan (John) Carlos.

“I was actually kind of resistant to it at first. But in time I really learned how to incorporate all of the various musical styles that I already loved,” she says. “I loved the facet of the spiritual inspiration that you can boogie to.”

Since 2005, Mystic Dub has gotten plenty of folks dancing as one of West Michigan’s few reggae groups. Now based in Nunica, where band members practice organic farming, the group brings its slice of Jamaican sunshine and uplifting messages to audiences through its concerts, a 2010 studio album produced by bluesman Donald Kinsey and a 2013 live recording.

THE JOURNEY FROM HEAVY METAL TO EASYGOING REGGAE

Even Carlos, a 1994 Grand Haven High School graduate, took a circuitous musical route before falling in love with reggae and its distinctive rhythms: He played in heavy metal, punk rock and bluegrass bands before answering a classified ad placed by a reggae musician from Trinidad.

“I played everything you can play in a basement in Grand Rapids. Every single style,” says Carlos, who met True after moving to Maine, where he joined a reggae band called Mystic Vibes and toured the East Coast. “I met a few guys from the island and learned every single Caribbean beat probably that you could come up with. It’s been an interesting journey. Reggae seems the most calm and easygoing, so that’s where I ended up.”

With bassist Erik Stoneburner, a 2004 graduate of Grand Haven High School, Mystic Dub continues to explore new beats and expand its repertoire in West Michigan with two new studio albums in the works. The band – which often performs with keyboardist Jim Prange, and occasionally, a horn section – hopes to release its next album, “Roots Trail,” later this year.

The band unveiled a new tune from that album this week during Local Spins Live on News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW), with the podcast found here. Check out an exclusive video of that performance of “Swapping Epiphanies” below, along with snippets of “Diligence” from a recent live show at Rockford Brewing Co.

Stoneburner jokes that Mystic Dub churns out “ice road reggae” for Michigan’s winter-time audiences.

“It comes with a message, that and the beats are kind of friendly to your heartbeat rhythm,” Carlos says of reggae’s magnetic appeal. “I just think it’s a positive sound. Compared to some of the stuff out there today, it’s just a different light.”

JAH LOVE AND ‘BECOMING IN TUNE WITH WHAT IS TRUE’

True says it’s all about “Jah love,” something referenced in many reggae songs. “The crowd that loves reggae understands the vibe, and the crowd that’s not used to reggae can feel the vibe, so it really does turn a lot of ears,” she says, citing everyone from Bob Marley to Fela Kuti to Israel Vibration as band influences. “It is just becoming in tune with what is true and what is good is true.”

Stoneburner says band members often come up with new rhythms and material while practicing during sound checks, with all of it and their live shows recorded so they can re-visit their favorite riffs while building new songs. And True collects snippets of lyrics and ideas in “multiple ways” that later get incorporated into Mystic Dub tunes.

The band’s audience of devoted fans has grown, Carlos says, as Mystic Dub continues to carve out its place in West Michigan’s music scene. At 8 p.m. Saturday, the trio plays Odd Side Ales at 41 Washington Ave. in Grand Haven.

“We do intend and hope to tour worldwide, but we can shine and do what we do where we are,” True offers. “Everyone needs to keep uplifted. Even though there’s not a huge scene, we’ve got to keep it rolling.”

For more about the band, a complete listing of upcoming shows and to purchase its music, visit Mystic Dub’s official website.

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2014, Spins on Music