Return of the Light
10 Year Reunion Show
June 21, 2008
The
Plain Dealer Pavilion (Nautica)
Roots And Rock
Volume 15, Issue 59
Published June 18th, 2008
When Reggae Ruled Cleveland
By Anastasia Pantsios
I-TAL in later years (with Dave Smeltz, center reaR) The first reggae
band to make an impact in Cleveland.
1988.
On the national record charts, metal bands like Def Leppard and Guns N'
Roses, post-new wavers like INXS, pop stars like Whitney Houston and
George Michael and flashes in the pan like Tiffany and Expose ruled the
charts. In Cleveland clubs, Richard Marx lookalikes with lounge mullets
and proto-alternative bands playing spirited originals beloved by
scenesters struggled to draw crowds.
Though it was rarely
mentioned in anyone's recitation of the hottest buzz bands in
Cleveland, there was one band that had the buzz where it counted: on
the street. Outside Peabody's DownUnder in the Flats, the city's top
concert club at the time, a line snaked down Old River Road whenever
Cleveland's First Light had one of its two-night stands there.
College-age kids in cargo shorts, tie-dyed T-shirts and sandals mingled
with older blue-collar types in jeans, both a contrast to the sorority
girls and men on the make flocking into the surrounding dance clubs.
1988
was the year First Light began to surge to its prime. The group, at
that point seven members strong, had soft-released its first
full-length album, Reggae Meltdown, at the beginning of the
year, sneaking some cassettes into peoples' hands before releasing it
officially in June, one of the first local bands to release a CD. By
then, most of the band's fans were already familiar with songs like
"Situation," "Island Time," "Unity of Conscience" and "The Light," from
the live shows.
On the momentum created by that album, which
eventually became the best-selling self-released album by a Cleveland
artist until Mushroomhead eclipsed it in the mid-'90s, First Light
toured constantly, built a strong college following and showcased at
the top industry music conference South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.
It self-released a couple more albums, but never signed to a major
label and it broke up in 1998, a victim of burnout, changing life
priorities and singer/guitarist/percussionist Carlos Jones' desire to
play a purer form of roots reggae than the hybrid First Light had
developed.
Now, 10 years after its breakup and 20 years after the release
of Reggae Meltdown,
the Light will shine again at a headlining concert at the Plain Dealer
Pavilion in the Flats at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 21, bringing the core
members — Jones, guitarist/bassist Mike "Chopper" Wasson,
guitarist/bassist/vocalist Gino Long, percussionist Bob Caruso,
keyboardist Ed Marthey and drummer Rod Reisman — back together for the
first time in a decade.
How did a reggae band become Cleveland's
top band for nearly 15 years? Rewind to the mid-'70s: A small clique of
out-of-town rock critics have dubbed the city "the new Liverpool,"
although resident music fans can't quite fathom why. On one hand, the
big bar bands are fighting the rust-belt gloom by wearing satin and
velvet and playing theatrical glitter rock. On the other, a tiny cadre
of underground bands are celebrating that same decay in clamorous,
mostly unheard music. And off to the side, some bands are playing what
we'd call roots music now, preferring the timeless sounds of blues,
folk, country and jazz.
FIRST LIGHT in the '80s. Their hybrid sound attracted a wide range of
fans.
Meanwhile,
over 1,600 miles away in Jamaica, a sound was catching on that would
soon touch Cleveland, in the wake of the 1972 film The Harder They
Come, starring Jimmy Cliff as an ill-fated reggae singer, and the
international release the following year of the Wailers' debut album,
Catch a Fire, featuring Wailer Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" (a
huge hit for Eric Clapton in 1974).
Here and there in Cleveland,
ears started perking up. Chris Dunmore first heard it when he was
working at Record Revolution in Athens and then its parent branch on
Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights in 1974. Shaker Heights High
classmates Dave Smeltz and Bob Caruso saw The Harder They Come while
visiting friends in Boston, friends who kept playing the album during
their stay.
Dave Valentine opened a bar in University Circle
called the Coach House in mid-1977. He was booking an eclectic
assortment of bands and also playing in a blues band fronted by Gair
Linhart, who lived upstairs. In early 1978 he took a trip to Key West
and was blown away by a Bob Marley album a guy at another campsite kept
playing.
These were some of the Clevelanders who planted the roots of
Cleveland's reggae scene.
"When
I got back to Cleveland [after the Florida trip]," Valentine recalls,
"I started stocking the jukebox with reggae songs. I was the first bar
in Cleveland to stock reggae songs. Word started spreading that this
little bar in the circle had a reggae jukebox and people started coming
to be near the jukebox. Not large crowds, a few dozen or so. Most
people at that time had no idea what reggae was."
Meanwhile, Dave
Smeltz had been hanging out at Dailey's on East 116th, a recently
opened hub for the local Jamaican scene, and got bitten by the bug.
"Around
1978, I wanted to start playing the stuff," he recalls. "We tried to
start a band, myself, Bob [Caruso] and a guy named Ralph Tubbs. On 71st
and Euclid there were some lofts you could rent out. We rented a loft
out and began practicing there. We had been going to Dailey's and they
had a whole bunch of reggae records there and we started hanging around
Jamaican folks more. They had chicken patties and curried goat, and
overproof rum was a draw also. They had 12-inch records for sale, long
versions of reggae songs. While we're there we met a couple of guys,
Jamaican guys, named Beebo and Shadow who had a band called Black Lion.
That was the first reggae band I know of in Cleveland."
SATTA One of the better-known Cleveland reggae bands among the many in
late '80s.
He
also stopped by the Sunday night jam sessions he'd heard about at the
Coach House. Out of that emerged I-Tal, the band that kicked off the
area's non-Jamaican reggae scene. "It was an amazing thing at the Coach
House," says Caruso. "It was so laid back. They made hamburgers in the
back. They had beer and wine, no hard liquor. Valentine said if we can
get some kind of thing together, we'll play every Friday and Saturday
so we had a guaranteed gig on weekends. And it took off, American guys
playing reggae."
Ron Jarvis, who replaced Valentine on bass after the band's
first year, recalls the sound that drew in a diverse audience.
"I-Tal
itself brought its own sensiblity to music. They were very rootsy, very
knowledgable, but being from Shaker Heights and around Cleveland, I
believe everybody's heart still beat to that rock 'n' roll feel. We did
what reggae was meant to do but did it with midwestern rock 'n' roll
attitude, kicked the energy and excitement up a couple of notches. I
think that was key to our success."
After establishing themselves
as the Coach House's de facto house band, I-Tal started playing other
clubs, opening up their nights for other bands which grew up in their
wake. Soon Peabody's DownUnder was booking reggae shows and Peabody's
in Cleveland Heights at the corner of Cedar and Taylor roads (now
Platinum Dreams) established its Wednesday night reggae nights, which
ran for 15 years.
"We started playing Peabody's Café," recalls
Dunmore, who became I-Tal's drummer and booker. "A hundred, 150 people
on a Wednesday night and it grew from there. That's what really pulled
the scene together. It gave other bands a chance to play — Jah
Messenger, Black Scorpio. We started playing Mother's in Kent, going
down to Swanky's in Athens. We used to play Mother's in Kent upstairs
in this absolute sweat box. Those nights used to be absolutely packed.
It was a fire hazard. First of all it was upstairs, and the stage was
all the way back in the back corner. It was a big college type of
crowd. Then people would come home for the holidays and it slowly grew
that way."
After Bob Marley died of cancer in 1981, his
reputation grew to mythical proportions. His posthumous album Legend
was released in 1984 and went on to become the biggest-selling reggae
album of all time. Reggae wasn't a closely kept secret anymore. But at
the same time there was turmoil in the ranks of I-Tal and early that
year the group splintered, leaving Smeltz and a couple of other members
on one side, and Dunmore, Caruso, Jones, Long and Chopper on the other.
They soon formed the new ensemble First Light, while I-Tal continued,
led by Smeltz, with various other members, into the early '90s, playing
mostly outside Northeast Ohio.
Propelled by Marley's exploding
popularity and the resulting increased familiarity of white audiences
with reggae, and the band's own propensity for blending rock, soul,
funk, pop and even jazz into their reggae base, First Light soon
eclipsed I-Tal and piggybacked onto the same circuit I-Tal had started
to play, with Dunmore now acting as their manager. Rod Reisman came on
board to play drums and Ed Marthey joined on keyboards. With soundman
Larry Rhodes, they formed the core of the band for virtually its entire
existence.
Caribbean flavor in Euclid - A newer hotspot for reggae music.
"We
had people coming out immediately," recalls Reisman. "I don't know if
it was buzz from I-Tal or because the band knew so many people and so
many different kinds of people. This music would have people who love
heavy guitar to the best-looking women who came to see any band I was
in, maybe because the guys in front had an exotic look for that time."
But
more importantly, they had a sound that cut across genres and
especially appealed to the growing legion of young jam-band fans turned
on by musical hybrids. Certainly, they led with reggae: It was there in
their name, their album title, their logo, the dreadlocks on their
three frontmen. But their appeal to a wide cross-section of audiences
earned them slots opening for Meat Loaf, the Clash and Living Colour as
well as the more predictable shows with Toots & the Maytals, Steel
Pulse and the Wailers.
"We played Pink Floyd's "Time' and it's
not reggae but our influences would filter through," says Reisman.
"Some rock is going to come through and some reggae is going to come
through and some soul is going to come through. The audience would see
dreadlocks and assume it was a reggae band. Even if we had become a
different band, the reggae's always there because no matter what you
do, you have to have a starting point and that was our starting point."
He explains how the band's modus operandi appealed to the
nascent jam-band nation.
"We
played together all the time and when you do that you're able to
improvise. You can rehearse until your head falls off but it's not the
same. We were just playing all the time and letting the music morph. I
think "Situation' really encompassed a lot because Chopper, Gino,
Carlos love that sound - Manhattans, Dramatics, the male vocal groups
of the '70s. You'll hear that in that song, but it's also technically
what they'd call lover's rock. If we were supposed to be a reggae band,
that song encompasses a lot. I think on Meltdown we captured it well. I
even dropped my stick on the take but I wouldn't stop playing, the feel
was so good."
As First Light's popularity grew, other bands such
as the Champion Bubblers and Satta, featuring early First Light bassist
Chellis, sprang up. National reggae tours stopped in town more
frequently. Packy Malley, who, like Dave Valentine, discovered reggae
while on a camping trip listening to a Bob Marley tape over and over
while it rained, started promoting concerts in Columbus while attending
Ohio State and launched his Midwest Reggae Fest in 1993. And college
radio, which underpins so many scenes in Cleveland, buoyed this one
too. Rich Lowe, whose show Night of the Living Dread is heard on WRUW
91.1 FM from 7-9 p.m. Fridays, debuted his show on John Carroll's radio
station in 1982.
He first heard reggae on Don Kirschner's Rock
Concert television program. "They had Bob Marley on. I said wow, this
is so unusual. I'd never seen anything like that. The dreads, the whole
vibe. I started to go see I-Tal, Jah Messengers. I started going to
Dailey's Mountain Inn and got a radio show when I was up at John
Carroll. It was '78-'79 when I started listening to the music."
FIRST LIGHT TODAY Ready for their June 21 reunion show in the Flats.
Like
Lowe, Tommy Fox, whose program, Rudie's Hi-Fi, is heard on WCSB-89.3 FM
from 2-4 p.m. Saturdays, is a Cleveland white boy who became deeply
immersed in Jamaican music. Although a rocker (known for his lengthy
stint with the Mice), he'd been "mesmerized" by DJ Prince on WRUW and
bought a lot of reggae records as a result. He briefly played with a
local reggae band, Riddim Fish, in the late '80s. When he went back to
school in 1999, a friend who was WCSB's program director suggested he
get a program.
"I thought, I have all these great reggae records
that no one else plays and I've been obsessed with it ever since. I
started really embracing reggae in mid-to-late '80s and I've been going
to shows ever since. In the '80s it was all roots music. Everybody
wanted to be Bob Marley, everybody wanted to be Peter Tosh. Now more
people are into Sizzla, Lovota, Capleton. There's a wider variety of
reggae music out there. But the two paths never seem to intersect."
Fox
is referring to a split in reggae in the '80s. While the older
generation loved the politically and socially aware roots reggae of
Marley that the white rockers had discovered, younger Jamaicans were
listening to a raunchier version of reggae, dubbed dancehall or
bashment. That music came to be embraced in Cleveland's Jamaican
community about the same time First Light was packing clubs with Phish
fans, creating two separate, parallel scenes that both Lowe and Fox
traversed.
"When I started doing my radio show a friend of mine
named Trevor came up to the station and he introduced me to the real
Jamaican scene," says Lowe. "He introduced me to the sound systems and
selectors — DJs. You'd go to clubs and the whole crowd would be
Jamaican. It would be dark and everyone would dance until the floor got
wet. It was slippery like someone spilled water but it was sweat. They
played at a place called Playhouse East on Miles. They had dances at
the Spectrum, they played reggae music at the Plush. They would have
house parties in peoples' basements."
"Reggae music is always
evolving and doing something different," he continues. "It's always
moving ahead. I play music in clubs and you have the people that want
to hear old rock-steady music and people that want to hear brand new
Sizzla Kalonji and you have to kind of appeal to everybody and it's
challenging."
Today, there's plenty of reggae, both old and new,
on college radio, with about a dozen shows at any given time. "From
about 1981 it's been just solid reggae music," says Lowe. "Radio has
always pumped out good Jamaican music."
The Midwest Reggae Fest
has grown into a three-day event at Nelsons Ledges Quarry Park in
August. Dailey's is still the place to go for Jamaican food, music and
culture. The Caribbean Flavor on Babbitt Road in Euclid joined the
scene about five years ago. And although the plethora of live bands
that played the clubs in the '80s and early '90s is gone, Carlos
Jones's P.L.U.S. band is a reliable favorable at nearly every festival
in town.
Rich
Lowe looks back to that peak of the live-band reggae scene and First
Light's role in it. "There were about 12 to 14 different bands. Splash
in the Flats was around, Peabody's DownUnder. I would go to Peabody's
at Taylor and Cedar with 8 to 10 friends. You had some smaller clubs
here and there. Brothers Lounge, once in a while. You had First Light,
Harambe, Satta. They stretched it, they were something that was very
appealing to the masses. First Light were able to get into a lot of
clubs and broadcast out. They used to jam, and it was a lot of fun.
They made the music cross barriers and borders."
"First Light's
rock and reggae reunion probably a one-shot' deal"
Friday, June 20, 2008
John Benson
Special to The Plain Dealer
Exactly a decade after First Light's last gig at The
Odeon, the rock 'n'reggae act is traveling down memory lane for its
first reunion show. It has been a long wait for diehard fans, who spent
the '80s and '90s asking "I Want to Know Where Reggae Comes From." So
what is it exactly about this Northeast Ohio act that created such a
large following? "I kind of think that First Light may have been one of
the pioneers of the rock and reggae sound," said First Light co-founder
and erstwhile I-Tal percussionist Carlos Jones. "We were pre-Sublime
and pre-311, and all of that music became popular with the kids today.
We were really one of the first bands to bring that rock-reggae hybrid
out. I think that's why we appealed to a broad cross-section of people.
And as far as we're concerned right now, this [reunion] is a one-shot
deal." Jones, who remains busy with his own Peace Love Unity Syndicate
(P.L.U.S.) Band, said First Light will be cherry-picking its fan
favorites ("Apartment Living," "Running" and "Where Reggae Comes
From"), as well as playing its popular cover of Pink Floyd's "Time" at
the reunion gig. First Light -- Jones, Chopper (guitar), Rod Reisman
(drums), Ed Marthey (keyboards), Gino Long (guitar) and Bob Caruso
(congas) -- performs at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Plain Dealer Pavilion,
2014 Sycamore St., Cleveland. Tickets are $19.50 to $27.50, on sale at
all Ticketmaster locations.
"First Light reunion
brings
founder Carlos Jones full circle Reunion
brings founder Carlos
Jones full circle"
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Michael HeatonPlain Dealer
Reporter
Cleveland's Mr. Reggae, Carlos
Jones, will be 50 this August. He is
celebrating a 30-year musical journey that spans three bands: I-tal,
First Light and Jones' current outfit, the P.L.U.S. Band (Peace Love
Unity Syndicate).
"Carlos is a great ambassador
of the Cleveland music scene," said Packy
Malley, a local reggae promoter. "He is an excellent musician and is
one of the coolest cats you will ever meet. He always treats everyone
with respect -- fellow musicians, club owners and even embarrassing
fans. He makes everyone feel better. He gives respect and gets
respect."
That sentiment will be put to
the test when First Light comes together
for a reunion show Saturday night at The Plain Dealer Pavilion in
Cleveland's Flats.
"This has the feeling of coming
full circle," Jones said recently,
while rehearsing with First Light bandmates at the Audio Kreme studio
on East 185th Street in Cleveland amid Persian rugs, stacked amps and
stray musical instruments.
"I'm both amazed and amused."
Jones grew up an Army brat. His
family settled in 1969 in Maple
Heights, when his mom told his dad she was done rambling around the
country with three kids. His dad took a job at a Veterans
Administration hospital.
Jones has an older brother,
Ngoki, now a street musician in Santa
Barbara, Calif., and a younger brother, Norm, who teaches percussion
music to children in Los Angeles. As kids, the Jones boys jammed with
other musicians in the neighborhood.
In 1978, Carlos saw Bob Marley
and the Wailers at the Music Hall in
downtown Cleveland. "It was a life-changing experience," Jones said.
"It felt like a church more than anything else.
"The stage was ablaze with
flames and incense and colored lights and
flags and banners. Everyone in the place was moving wall to wall and
corner to corner, while one skinny little guy had the whole scene in
the palm of his hand. My whole life took a left turn after that night."
That same year, he began
frequenting a place in University Circle
called The Coach House (which later became Club Isabella's), where he
could see his favorite band -- Cleveland's only American reggae band at
the time -- I-tal.
The band's leader was Dave
Smeltz, who worked at Record Revolution on
Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights.
"Carlos would sit by the side
of the stage and play his bongos right
along with the band," Smeltz remembers. "Eventually, I asked him up on
the stage -- and shortly after that, he just became part of the band."
I-tal had a growing following
playing at the Euclid Tavern, Peabody's
Cafe and Mother's in Kent. Jones was 20 when he quit his job as an auto
mechanic in Bedford to pursue music full time. He has never had a day
job since.
The nine-piece band played four
to five shows a week. Jones was making
$500 a week and sharing a house with a couple of other guys.
In 1984, I-tal split up over
creative differences (and a girl). Jones
wanted to write more songs and sing more lead. The next year, he and
four other guys formed First Light. The band had more rock and
rhythm-and-blues influences.
"We were saying to each other
that it was a new day for our band. A new
dawn. Then somebody said First Light, and it stuck. We covered Marley,
Peter Tosh and Third World tunes mixed in with our own originals,"
Jones said.
"I give Dave [Smeltz] credit.
He paved the way. We had a built-in
following because of the popularity of I-tal."
The first First Light
performance was in 1985, when they opened for the
Clash. The band worked steadily from 1985 to 1998. Because of the I-tal
roots -- and because three of the five band members wore their hair in
dreadlocks -- they became known as a reggae band. Their cult classic
album "Reggae Meltdown" sold more than 12,000 copies without a record
label.
But First Light was more than
just reggae.
"We crashed musical
boundaries," Jones said with glee. "We played pop,
funk, country, gospel. We had a rehearsal gig at the Grog Shop last
week. We still play the pants off that stuff."
Ed Marthey is First Light's
keyboard player.
"From the time I auditioned for
the band," Marthey said, "Carlos was
always the assumed leader. He always had this aura of impartiality that
good leaders use to keep things together. He has a calming influence on
some of the more nervous members of the band. Including myself. Without
him, the band would have imploded much earlier than it did."
In 1997, Jones gave First Light
a year's notice. It was the same year
he married his wife, Dori. She works at an accounting firm.
"She sacrificed herself to the
office gods so I can do my thing," Jones
said with love and gratitude.
The beginning of the end of the
band and his getting married were both
part of a natural evolution for Jones.
The life of a party band on the
road was getting to him. The drugs, the
alcohol and the women were combining to create a self-destructive
lifestyle. His focus had shifted to family. It was time to come off the
road. He also began caring for his mother, Mary, who was in the early
stages of Alzheimer's disease. She died in 2005.
"It was all about coming to
know who I am and what I wanted to say with
my music," Jones said of his current project, the P.L.U.S. Band.
"I turned toward spirituality
after my mom passed on. It was a
milestone and rite of passage for me. It led me to seek a higher
understanding."
The P.L.U.S. Band has a more
spiritual, roots-reggae flavor than First
Light. Today, Jones is an enthusiastic biker, hiker and
environmentalist. Though he still enjoys a shot of Cuervo tequila after
a show.
"Exercising and being healthy
is my drug of choice now," he said.
He recently took his daughter,
Soraya, 18, for a tour of the Kent State
University campus, where she will attend college in the fall. He has
another daughter, Rachel, 20, from a previous relationship.
Last year, all the members of
First Light came together at the funeral
of Larry Rhodes, their former soundman. There, the reunion seed was
planted.
"We thought it might be a good
idea for us to get together for another
show," said Jones. "You know . . . before it's too late."
I
just wanted to put this call out to anyone who has a story, anecdote, recollection, photo
or just a comment in general about their days of going to see
First Light. We'd like to hear from you. Let us know what it meant to
you, how it felt and how it affected your life. We'll be putting up
a special section on my website, www.carlosjones.com where we'll
feature your
comments and photos. If you'd like to send shout outs
to friends you used to hang out with back in the day that you've
lost touch with, send 'em our way and let's have a big ol' reunion online.
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:14:42 -0700
From: losplus@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Notes on the Reunion...
To: losplus@hotmail.com
Notes on the Reunion:
Well, who would have ever thought...?
When we said our final goodbyes at The Odeon 10 years
ago, after nearly 15 years of making music and memories, that we would
ever again have the opportunity to get together with a few friends and
re-live some of the best times of our lives - to take that familiar
ride that always left us breathless and exhilarated. True, we were all
younger then, fearless and foolish, fewer worries, maybe a few less
pounds and a little more hair, and had our whole lives ahead of us. On
those nights it seemed like anything was possible and we partied like
tomorrow would never come. Yet, this year, on the night of the summer
solstice, for a brief moment, time seemed to turn on itself and we were
all magically transported together back to those heady days and nights
of joyous abandon, before jobs and kids and mortgages became our
reality.
I can hardly find the
words to describe the feeling of looking out from the stage at Nautica
(I still call it that) okay, PDP if you must, and seeing so many happy,
smiling, familiar faces and hearing so many of you singing along to
songs we hadn't played for so long. And not only that, but seeing
younger folks, who I know weren't even around back then, totally
digging it and singing too. It blew me away, folks. And I think it
would be safe to say on behalf of my bandmates, my brothers, that we
were all moved by the ecstatic outpouring of love and support that came
at us in wave after wave the whole night, which, by the way, seemed to
go by in like, a half an hour. The whole thing seemed very surreal,
like a lucid dream where you can't tell if you're asleep or awake. Yet,
for me there were some very vivid moments that would break through the
dream state and hit me like a photon phaser blast that made the hair on
my arms stand up. In those moments I was very aware that "Wow! this is
real - it's really happening." I wonder if anyone else felt that too.
I've been told that there were many smaller reunions going on within
the big one: college roommates and high school sweethearts, frat
brothers and sorority sisters, neighborhood friends who had moved away
and lost touch, and folks who had simply moved on with their lives and
didn't get out much any more. Then there were the couples who had met
at one of our shows, who are now married and whose families may have
started as a direct result of
one of those nights. I know some of those kids were there in the
audience too. It truly seemed like a huge family reunion or birthday
party or something like that. I can't wait to see all the photos that
were taken. Anybody who wants to send their pictures in can do so and
we'll post them on the site. (www.carlosjones.com) They don't even have to be photos of the band, just
memories from the night. Of course, the monsoon that blew through just
a couple hours earlier was a nice touch; classic Cleveland weather –
sunny and beautiful one minute, then all hell breaks loose. I thought
the Nautica might actually break free and set sail down the river. And
then, as if on cue, it cleared up and the sun came out just in time to
paint the sky with spectacular colors as Mifune
played the soundtrack to the transformation. I’m pretty sure there was
a rainbow. I may have even seen a unicorn. The rest of the evening was
near-perfect, aside from the fact that we had to scramble to figure out
what songs to cut from the set after finding out we had to stop a half
hour sooner than we were originally told. From the first note on, it
seemed to take on a life of its own, and everything just worked out.
One of the greatest moments for me was when The Prayer Warriors
joined us for the encore, along with longtime friend, Arlene
Bowie. It was both magical and spiritual.
Playing with the guys
again was a tremendous pleasure. It was a rediscovery. It made me
remember what it was that brought us all together in the first place
and made it all work so well. Much has been made of my role as founder
of this band, when in all reality it was so much more a collective
effort. It can't be overstated that Chopper was just
as much, if not even more so, instrumental in forging the band's sound
and creative direction, and was just as much a mentor to me as he was a
partner. He is also one of the most gifted musicians this town has ever
seen. I think a whole new generation is discovering that now. All the
guys: Rod, Bob, Eddie, Gino, and Joe
have that level of musicianship that was easy to take for granted at
the time because they made it look so effortless. But hearing them now,
it just takes on a whole new meaning. Even though our years of
experience separately may have changed us in various ways, that
chemistry, that primal fire is still there. After the initial shaking
off of rust and barnacles, clearing the cobwebs and dust that had
settled over time, the engines fired and the old ship was found
seaworthy. What a gift we've been given; the chance to appreciate with
a new perspective, the talents that each one brings individually to
create the whole, and not have the added baggage of past personal
issues, demons, egos and drama drag it all down and drain its power.
That is the truly amazing thing, and for that I am so grateful to have
been able to experience it. I never thought I'd see the day come all
those years ago. A special
recognition goes out to Kenny LeGrande, who stepped
in at the last minute and performed the impossible feat of learning all
those songs with only one rehearsal.
So now we find ourselves celebrating what we've achieved
and pondering our present and possibly even future. Realistically, I
know it can never be like it was, and that's okay. I feel that I'm
doing what I am supposed to be doing right now, and I'm lucky to have a
great group of very talented and dedicated guys with me, helping me to
keep it going (BIG UPS to the
PLUS Posse!) I gotta say though that I'm glad we had what we had
and that we all (well, almost - R.I.P. Larry "D") survived to tell the
tale, and that we even got the chance to re-visit that place one more
time. It's a part of our shared history, and for good or bad, it
helped to shape who we
are today. It's a bond that will never be broken. I am proud to have
been a part of something that meant and still means a lot to many
people, and has affected their lives as it has affected mine. So, a
big, big thank you goes out to my brothers in music, to our families,
friends, fans and supporters, and to this town which has embraced us
all along and has always made us feel like one of its own. How did we
get so blessed?
We'd like to thank by name:
Chris
Dunmore
Dan Kemer
Michael
Belkin
Barry
Gabel
Marcy
Szabados
Regis
Sedlock
Carrie
Samek
Matt
Korona
Maria
Lamphier
Kathy
Simkoff & Grog Shop
Nautica
(PDP) crew
Jim
Burley
Larry
Dolan
Pauly
Joe
Miller
Kenny
LeGrande
Herb
Thomas & The Prayer Warriors
Arlene
Bowie
Mifune
Anastasia
Pantsios - Free Times
John
Benson - News Herald/Plain Dealer
Pete
Chakerian - News Herald
Michael
Heaton - Plain Dealer
Sage
Satori - NorthCoast Voice
Mark
"Munch" Bishop - WKNR
Michael
Stanley - WNCX
Dee
Perry - WCPN
Dave
DeOreo - WCPN
"Papa"
Dave Smeltz
Dave
Valentine
Packy
Malley
Scott
Landry
Dewey Forward
Larry
Koval - Cross Track Music/Little Fish Records
Woody
Robison - Cross Track Music/Little Fish Records
In
Memoriam:
Larry "D"
Rhodes
Modesta
Wasson
Mary
Jones
Inez
Smeltz
Oscar
Dunmore
_____________
Thanks
again Cleveland!
Much
love,
Carlos
First
Light
Here are a few shots from the reunion show
from Bob Urban:
Here are a few shots
from Light keyoardist Ed Marthey's Camera from the Reunion Show and a
great memory from his days on the road with the band in response to
"what makes Carlos a good band leader?"...
i don't know if i can cite a specific
incident without
dragging up some long- buried disagreement, but from the time i
auditioned for
the band in March 1984, it was always assumed that Carlos was the
leader.
Most of our original songs were written by him, and he has this aura of
calm
impartiality that good leaders need to keep things together.
Without his calming influence on some
of the more
nervous people in the group, me included, First Light would have
imploded
sometime around April, 1984.
Which is not to say that Los doesn't have a forceful
personality, and we've seen his ire get roused...
One time at a frat party at DennisonCollege,
the kids set up a bunch of connected low tables, set out platters of
ribs,
fruit and other foods, and reclined on the floor in sheets. While they
had
their little Roman feast we were across the room playing reggae, it was
very
odd. The kids were already drunk, and, predicatably, a food fight
erupted. An
apple got through and hit my amp. i picked it up and threw it back with
all my
might, connecting with a gigantic cup of draft beer and exploding it
all over
its owner.
Then, a slimy piece of banana sailed
across the room
and hit Carlos' guitar (i think it was sitting on a stand if i remember
right)-- a collective gasp went up from the band, while the kids
continued to
trash the room.
Carlos walked purposefully over to where the kids were
going apeshit and stepped up on a table. i remember thinking,
"Carlos
is about to wear a fruit suit" when he yelled "Stop!"
(Once again, i think he shouted "Stop!", but
it could have been something else.) The kids stopped and looked up at
Los,
shock registering on their food-smeared faces. He proceeded to tell
them that
if they continued, we would pack up and leave, and that we would still
get
paid, and that if any equipment was damaged they would pay for that as
well.
Incredibly, no more food was hurled, a few of the kids
even apologized. i sure couldn't have pulled that off, i'd
have been a
food mummy in several seconds.
Carlos,
the
show was perfect last night. Incredible musicianship, best vibes, a
really sweet crowd and finally clear skies.
And
I got some amazing photos :)
thank
you,
Anita
p.s.
there's lots more, if you haven't seen enough. please use anything you
might like for whatever
I
knew, from a long time ago, the difference between notes and life.
My husband and I were at the reunion last night in the
Plain Dealer Pavillion. You all really brought the LIGHT and the
sun and more ways than one! .... I had to be at work at 5:00 a.m, but
now at 7:30 p.m I am still talking about the concert to everyone and
reliving the night. All I can say, it should have been able to last
another hour. You guys had the youth of 20 years ago and so did
all of us alumnis, reunited there, wrinkles and all! Don't
separate again!
My memory of one night at Peabody's Cafe: A February night
and it was a blizzard outside. I kept shouting for you guys to play ON
THE BEACH, my favorite! Carlos you shouted back, It's too
cold to be on the beach." But you played it and with all your
heart! What a special memory for me!
Paz,
Sylvia
Hi Carlos,
I was so glad to see
you over my big five-oh birthday/Memorial Day weekend at
McCarthy's in the Flats. I'm happy that my sister had a
chance to see you again while she was visiting from New Jersey too.
It doesn't happen so
often, but sometimes I meet someone who is a reggae person. I have
actually met a few of these people at my job at Medical Mutual. One
person is my new boss. Turns out she is a reggae fan and she
gave me a copy of the article about First Light from The
Plain Dealer and the one in The Scene.
Reading them took me
back to the time that I first heard reggae.....it was in 1979, I just
graduated nursing school and was living at home, I was vacuuming and I
heard Ital on WMMS, I think it was a Coffee Break Concert. I
instantly fell in love with that music. (why I remember I was
vacuuming then, I don't know-it's kind of like remembering what you
were doing when you heard that President Kennedy was shot-I was in
afternoon kindergarten then) I didn't see Ital until later that
summer, they were playing downtown at the Terminal Tower, I'm not
sure what the event was though.
After that,
I brought all kinds of people with me to hear Ital, and First
Light, and now, your band. I look back on those days and think of some of the happiest
times in my life, surely the most fun. I made some wonderful friends.
Even though I don't see them often, I absolutely love Nettie and Andra
and Feather (and you guys of course). Sometimes I wonder what happened
to some people, like those 2 chicks-Rita & Corrine, or Cole and
Summer and Jan or Sandy or Geri Caruso, or that tall fellow-Jerry
Stewart-though I think he spelled Jah-rey. He gave me something
that has been my most prized posession. He made a cassette of
Ital's coffee break concert, sometime from the early 80's. The day of the concert I was
working at Deaconess and trying to listen
to the concert on my little radio at the nurses station.
Of course, the bedpans were calling me so I couldn't listen to the
whole concert, so I was thrilled that he made me the cassette. I
remember when I went to Detroit with Jah-rey to see you
guys open for Steel Pulse. I attached a picture that I had
of you and me taken before the concert. Gosh we looked young!
I have also included a cute picture that I found of you and your
brother at Mother's one year at Halloween. I hope you can open the
files. I was also thinking about the time that Feather and
I drove to hear you guys play in Cincinnati. And then there
was Black Uhuru-that was in Ann Arbor I think. So many memories of
Mother's and Peabodys and Tommys and Cheers, The Coventry
Street Fair...I could go on and on...
Anyway, the reason for
my email is that I wanted to wish you and all of First Light
well for your reunion concert tomorrow. I wanted to be there, but
our nephew is getting married tomorrow, so we won't be able
to attend. Please give everyone my love. Best of luck to you all. I'm
sure you'll be great. I thank you all for being a part of some of my
best memories. And if you see Dave, please give him my love as
well. Ya know, you should have him sing with your band
some time. If you do, be sure to let me know about it. I don't get to
hear him much now, other than the occasional Reggaefest or Ital
reunion, and I miss his pretty voice. (you have a pretty voice,
too)
Again, have a wonderful reunion
tomorrow. (I hope
you can offer a copy of that concert on your website, that way I won't
totally miss it)
I look forward to
seeing the PLUS band at the Reggaefest. That's my favorite day of
the year. I count down the weeks on my calendar until the Reggaefest.
Thanks
for everything.
Much
love,
Patti
Los,
What a fabulous evening! It was magical to watch your rehearsal
and to see you put it all together on Saturday night.
I was jonesed to see you guys cut three songs,
but I should not complain.
Thanks again.
Tony Shaker
P.S. Looking forward to your August 2nd
date for Krusty's.
THEY’RE BACK!
The reunited members of First Light played a
secret gig at The Grog Shop on May 29th as a dry run rehearsal for
their reunion gig at The Plain Dealer Pavilion in June under the false
name "Buck". Check out these photos from Bob Urban of the
event. By all accounts the band looks and sounds great!
Carlos,
On the occasion of First
Light's 10 year reunion, I just wanted to take a moment and let
you know how much your music has meant to me, over these last 20 +
years. Circa Winter 1986, a friend of mine asked me to go and see this
"awesome reggae band" @ the Phantasy Theater in Lakewood. I knew what
reggae music was, primarily from hearing Bob Marley "Jamming", yet had
never heard it performed live. That was an incredible night for me
and the genesis of my love for live reggae music and the
style in which you convey it. I remember you working the bongo's
and jammin' guitar with your dreads flying all over, Gino
wearing a tee shirt that said "Reggaecise", Chopper had his shades
on playing incredible bass lines, Ed with a smoke in mouth on the
keyboards, Rob on the conga's, and a very hip addition to the sound,
Charlie ( I think was his name? ) on the sax. It was like going on
vacation for a few hours, in fact it's pretty much always
like that for me, when I get the chance to hear you play live. From
there, I followed you guys around through the years, Peabody's Cafe
& Downunder, Ray's in Kent, Rock & Reggae Fest in Hunstburg,
all the old places and then your final gig @ The Odeon. ALWAYS, a great
time & good food for the soul.
Some other great memories;
a few years back my Daughter followed me along to a PLUS Band show
behind the Rock Hall and got into it, so much so that she repeatedly
asked me to "play that song about the children dad" (referring to
"Children Unite" ) anytime we went for a car ride! The first time
I met you ( @ The LaSalle Theater) you were walking up the aisle and
just said "hey, thanks for coming" and shook my hand. I thought that
was really cool of you to take the second and do that. Course
you've always been that way Carlos. Still my favorite memory was
turning my best friend, Tim Morison ( he comes to a bunch of your shows
and always talks with you on break ), on to your music. We caught your
PLUS Band gig @ The Beachland, must have been 4 years ago or so and Tim
just dove into the pool head first. He TOTALLY dug your sound and has
been WAY into your music since. The next time we saw you & the
Plus Band, over @ A.J. Rocco's, Tim wanted to meet you; of course we
had our share of tequila's & cerveza's that night and he
was a bit apprehensive at first. I said "dude, he's super cool,
let's go say hello". We came over, of course you were very cordial and
then Tim said to you something to you that we have tossed back and
forth every time we're planning on coming to see one of your gig's; he
goes "Carlos, you're an inspiration, an inspiration to me every day",
albeit slightly slurred on the "inssssssspiration" part of it. We've
laughed about that moment a lot, but the truth of it is that he
nailed it. You really are an inspiration to so many,
with your style of music and the positive vibes that you bring with it,
every time. When you play, it not just music, it's the
whole experience of being there; how alive it feels to be
there and listen and feel the positive flow of
energy. We're all fortunate to have the chance to hear you play
and share in the positivity that is inherent in the music
that you make. All of you, both the members of First Light and The
PLUS Band, truly make living life here in Cleveland, that much better.
The attached photo is from
a First Light gig 9/30/87 @ the "Chicken Out" @ Nautica, west bank of
the Flats. I blanked out my face in an attempt to hid my late 80's
dorkyness.........real good shot of you guys, another great memory,
beautiful day, sunny & real nice out. Enjoy!
With sincere thanks,
Mike Albright
Hey Everybody-
Don't even know where to start,
Had to be a good 15 or so years ago, I moved back from going to school
in Florida, When my good friend Darren said "I have to take you to see
this band, 'First Light', UNREAL".
After a good year or so of
having the very distinct pleasure of being a 'roadie' for these guys,
watching people in Boston, New York, D.C., Cinci, Ann Harbor, Kent,
just come out in droves to see these guys perform was mind blowing. As
you watched people from all walks of life, young, old, black or white,
sing word for word as Carlos belted out each song was truly magical.
You felt like you were part of history, loading it in, loading it out,
day after day. I got to tell, to this day, I have MUCH LOVE, for each
and every one of you guys, Carlos, Gino, Rod, Eddie, Chopper and Bob,
and God rest his soul Larry D. Although I can't post any 'stories'
on this sight, many of which, illegal (haha), one story that me and
Darren still talk about is the time at Ann Harbor, we snuck in the
bottle of Jeager, proceeded to inhale it on a break, found ourselves
passed out the next morning, in my car, wearing Choppers Sony t-shirt
on, and wearing most of the bottle on the logo!!! Sorry Chop. Can't
wait to come see all of you guys, it will truly bring a tear to my eye,
and if you need a hand with the equipment, you know I got your back.
With thanks and praises,
Doug Fulton - Crowd Control 2
What up Los?
Where do I begin! The first light family, the first light posse,
whatever you choose to call it! I feel like I grew up w/you
guys. We used to go to Peabody’s Café in Cleve., Hts. On
College i.d. night and it was the bomb. I think that place packed
something like 100+ peop’s tops, and sometimes, well pretty much
all of the time, you couldn’t even move by the time first light took
the stage. Peabody’s had that huge mirror hangin above, so
that you could look down and see the band, that was nice, thank god
that thing never fell down…whew! Growing up in Cleveland
and going to college in Kent was nice, cuz you guys would play at
Mother’s Junction (Owner-Charlie Ray Thomas) in Kent as well as all
over in Cleve.,as well as Ital and Satta. At the time,
Mother’s sold $1.50 draft beers in mason jars, that sh*t was the
bomb!!! My buddy and I would stand in the Corner at Mother’s off to the
side getting niced up the entire show. Gino, Chopper and Bob
would let me hang out in the back room and get niced up w/everybody, I
would crack a couple of jokes and talk smack w/the band. Nobody
was stuck up or anything like that, it was all love, and some ball
bustin…Gino said to me one time, “Geno, I’m gonna dedicate a song to
you”, Chop started laughing, and when you guys took the stage, the song
that Gino dedicated to me was, “Slap you in the Face” I
never laughed so hard, in fact, you guys were laughing while singing
it, I still laugh about to this very day. Boy, do I
miss the first light days!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait for the
re-up!!!!!!!! I also remember seeing you guys at a private
party in Akron, somehow I got in there too. I didn’t know anyone
there, and I really didn’t care, it was all about the muzak, you and I
were talking about something, and you said to me, “I got some new tunes
I been workin on, do you wanna take a listen.” I must’ve
spent an ½-hr. 45min. sitting in your van listening to new first
light music…That meant a lot to me, because that made me feel as though
you trusted my ear, as far as reggae, and what the people like.
Bottom line is, good dudes, good music. One Love! Peace Out!
Geno Booker
I have three
stories about the strong impact First Light made on me
growing up in northeastern Ohio that stuck with me
forever.....it was 1987-88-ish and by an amazing stroke of luck
First Light played our high school theater. by then music
engrossed me and reggae was the promised land. one
moment i'm standing there and realize quite strongly that
this slow rolling drumming is building & has gotten
really heady. there's a higher energy to what i'm
hearing and i'm engrossed in a meditative sort of way.
it keeps rolling along and boom, unfolds beautifully into pink
floyd's time. whoa, fully blown away. supremely well
done. it was the first experience i had with well-played soul
music making powerful magic & taking me somewhere else.
i've heard a lot of amazing music throughout the past 2+
decades, including floyd, and i still tell the story about the
night in high school when this reggae band from cleveland took me to
other worlds. our whole school was hugely appreciative and were big
fans. the best graduation party during my era, bar none, was
the one where First Light played the back yard.....i
picked up a ReggaeMeltdown t-shirt
at that first show. i was a competitive swimmer and for the
next 6-8 years, on the day of my big event at the
championship meet, i'd wear the Meltdown. super powers. i
literally wore that shirt thin. maybe to this day my favorite
t shirt ever.....but what i didn't pick up was the Meltdown
cd. i bought the shirt and felt adding the cd was extravagant. i
spent the next year or two with Meltdown on my list of cds to
buy when found at cheapest price. i left Ohio for college and
never heard much from First Light outside of Ohio. i would ask around
but not much at all. i couldn't find the cd anywhere. (nor could i find
any I-Tal, which i also wanted). as each year passed i'd get
more anxious to find anything about First Light. i have a few
songs on mix tapes that i still listen to and tonight i drove
home with First Light jamming. i decided to give the google a try
and see if i could connect to anything about First Light. so here i sit
today in January 2008. it's been 20+ years after i first heard the
Light, and i finally have completed the quest. i
just ordered Meltdown & Groove Telepathy. thus
ends the longest search for a specific cd of my
lifetime.
with so much
Light energy flowing, you asked me to share any stories, so there you
go. I love First Light & it played a huge role in my life.
it's always stood out as something quality & serious- the
whole First Light vibe with way more going on than national recognition
suggests. way to go Ohio. give thanks & praises.
much peace
& love,
dinger
WRA '89
founder,
RNC Philanthropy
Even in Steamboat they
know you...
So, I'm at this party, and there's reggae music
playing, and the hostess and I are awkwardly trying to get to know each
other better because our husbands work together, and the conversation
goes something like this ...
Her: Actually, I grew up in Shaker Heights,
Ohio.
Me: Really? I lived in Cleveland
for a few years, a long time ago.
Her: Why?
Me: I was married to a guy in a reggae band based there.
Her: Was it First Light? I used to go see them all the
time at Peabody's.
Needless to say, we bonded. She was floored to
discover that I'm not as "conservative" as she thought I was.
Hope you are well. And that the new year brings you all
good things.
love,
Shawn in Colorado
I attended OhioUniv. 1984 - 1991.Graduated in 91.
My friends and Iuse to check out Ital and First Light at the
Baker Center Front Room back in the day.
When First Light would come we would spend that day on
the wall outside of the Front Room and pound pitchers of beer all day
and get ready to skank at night. Carlos and the gang use to jam to the
classics:
Reggae Meltdown
Running
Apartment Living
Legalize It
Dock of the Bay
And the cover of Pink Floyd's Time was excellent!
And during Springfest, the day after Ital and First Light use to play
at LakeSnowden for Bob Marley day!Incredible fun!Partying
in the sun all day, playing hacky sack, frisbee, skanking and cooking
out!What a time to reflect.
Carlos has been playing music and I have been listening to his music
the most of my adult life. His music is playedevery
where I go. When I see and hear him perform, it takes me back to the
wonderful times and the friends I made at OU and that will stay with me
forever. Carlos, you are the Reggae Master!
You keep jammin and we will keep smilin!
One Love,
Mark (from South Carolina)
Hey Los,
I just wanted to tell
you how much you, First Light and the PLUS Band has meant to me.
I truly cannot put into words how much I have enjoyed seeing you
perform throughout the last 15 years. Can you believe it has been
that long??? You are so charismatic and fun to see. You
always have so much energy and easily draw in the crowd. Besides
the fact you are one of the nicest men I have ever met your music is
incredible. My husband told me he thinks your voice is better
than Bob Marley's. I would have to agree. I started seeing
you in High School (Junior year when I moved to Cleveland). We used to go to Peabody,
Shooters, Euclid Tavern, etc. Then you would occasionally come to
Columbus
when I was at OSU. I don't recall ever missing a show in
C-town. I would bring all of my friends out with me and can
remember all of the compliments I got on how great you and the
band were awesome; let alone the requests to bring them the next
time. I remember specifically telling a boyfriend that seeing you
is one of the only times I am truly on cloud 9 and then I would refuse
to have anything get in the way of that. : )
I remember the first
time we talked at Chelsie's. I always thought it was so special
that you talked with your fans during the entire break at every
show. No lead singers I have seen do that. I can
tell you genuinely care about your fans.
Remember when I had you
play at my sorority date party? What a night! I think we
all had a bit too much to drink. Or the time I brought my family
to meet you at shooters and how my brother was just infatuated with
you. How about the time recently when I came from Raleigh and
completely surprised you at the show? That was a kodak moment if
I have ever had one. I have a TON of memories however. Listing
them all would take hours. I can honestly say your music
inspires me and truly touches my heart. I don't think I’ve enjoyed
anything as much as seeing you play. You are truly gifted and ALWAYS
put a smile on my face.
Having you and the
PLUS band at my wedding was truly the highlight of the night (and one
of the most special memories in my life). I cannot tell you
how many people complimented me on what a great band we had.
Thank you Carlos for being you and please always know I will NEVER
forget you. You will always have a special place in my heart. .
. I genuinely mean that!
With Love, Catherine
"ahh it is lovely to
think about First Light...
I've had the pleasure of meeting numerous First Light fans at the PLUS
shows. They ask me about hanging out with the band and what my
favorites are. Often the conversation revolves around... do they play
'Apartment Living' or this song or that song... Although I have yet to
see First Light perform live, one of my all time favorite Carlos songs
is titled 'Running' on my First Light CD. Talking about getting into it
when you're around, being free just you and me... hmmm, and that beat!
It just makes me want to twirl with my girls. First Light, Carlos
Jones, Peace Love and Unity Syndicate: The spirit moves us all. The
Irie vibes move and guide us to peace and joy.
Thank you Carlos for the many Inspiring Moments and Irie Vibes.
Peace and Much Love to you
Julia
Hey Carlos,
I forget what year, but
you were playing at The Farm for Midwest
Fest & I like many others that day -
had waaaay toooo much to drink. You guys came on and I started yelling
& annoying I'm sure for you to play your version of Pink Floyd's “Time”. First Light left the
stage to burn one down behind & then came back and played it -
toooo coool. I first saw you play the tune at The Cleveland Reggae Fest
in the Harbor & wanted to hear it again. Sorry if I annoyed you
guys that day, not sure if you remember… hell, not sure how I do. But
thanks for the music Bro!
See ya soon,
Marcus
Happy 2008 to you too!
Well, I've told you this story before but I'll tell it again: It was
1987 and First Light was playing at the Zoo. My parents and neighbors
took us to see you play and I was mesmerized! I was 11 at the time;
from that point on I wanted to be a reggae musician. Thank you from the
bottom of my heart for the inspiration.
Jahlove
Los,
My memories of First Light have to include Lazlo Czin. Lazlo was my
soccer coach as a little kid. He got a bunch of First Light t-shirts
and thus was born the First Light soccer team. Oh yes, we represented
and like the band, we were winners. We would come and watch shows after
games sometimes, and I am sure that it contributed (in a big way) to
many of us loving reggae (and you Carlos).
Peace and Love, Kabir
(p.s. tune in to
Ishence on WCSB 89.3 every Tues 5:30-7pm)
Idris Kabir
I REMEMBER
ONE
PARTICULAR SHOW AT THE PHANTASY NIGHT CLUB IN LAKEWOOD 19 YEARS AGO THIS SUMMER.MY
OLDEST SUN NATHAN WAS JUST A BABY AND I BROUGHT HIM WITH ME TO SEE
FIRST LIGHT. WE WERE IN THE BACK DANCIN' AND EVEN AS A BABY HE JUST
SMILED AND LOVED THE MUSIC. POSITIVE VIBRATIONS
LOVE
TOM & DREW.
Hi Carlos,
I have had a lot of First Light memories or non-memories in some cases
when I drank too much to remember everything :) But my best
memories of First Light were your shows at The Dugout in Athens, Ohio,
Chelsie's in Columbus and Ludlow's in Columbus where my friend Katie and I
did a few shots with the band. I still listen to the CD's, Reggae
Meltdown and Groove Telepathy and it takes me back to my college days
and the best times of my life! Thanks for all the great music and
memories, there will never be a time like that again.
Take care,
Lori
Carlos,
Do you remember playing on Cedar and Taylor one warm June night when the
fire marshal shut the place down in mid show? I think somebody had
poured beer on him from the upstairs and he was really angry! The
Mother's Junction days with I-Tal and the blonde bouncing keyboard girl
were awesome too.
Peace,
Tom Lally
First
Light 20th Anniversary 1984 - 2004
Believe it or not
it has been 20 years since First Light first hit the streets. As
Ed
Marthey remembers:
"...our
1st show
was @ the Variety Theater in Lakewood... i don't remember
too much about it except that a lot of Cleveland high muckety mucks
were there... jane Scott from the PD, Alex Bevan, a bunch of press
& musicians. i met guitarist Mike Balas that night, which was
ironic because he's from Wayne County too. it was 4/4/84, reason i
recall that was 'cause the next day was my 26th b-day ... @ midnite i
was @ a Bob's Big Boy & a bunch of people i'd just met were singing
Happy Birthday to me. it's strange what the mind chooses to remember
about long-past occurences... the next night was our 1st road gig, @
the Underground Railway in Morgantown WV.
those early daze were tough but full of
promise. we were making
$20 per gig, & sleeping 4 guys to a motel room. peole went gaga
over us! i didn't know how to take it. still don't.
in may '84 we opened for the Clash @ Public Hall, that was
just about the coolest gig we ever played.
in our 1st several months
we
were on the road a lot. everywhere we went
we were billed as "first light- rankin' reggae... FEATURING ORIGINAL
MEMBERS OF I-TAL!!!!!!!" we spent a lot of time in Bob's basement
writing & learning songs, sometimes i went to Cleveland &
didn't get home for a week. at the time our bass player was Ron "Uncle
Wiggily" Jarvis, who was also from Orrville, so i rode w/ him in his
small pickup. after a year he quit & the guys insisted i move to
Cleve... i was in the band over 13 years but i never did move out of
Orrville. Cleveland's a great place to visit, but...
we got a letter from Arista just before the Musical
Uprising EP was finished, asking us to send them some product...we
never heard from them again. maybe we weren't orange enough or
something.
"we played about 250 dates a year in the 1st decade,
got us thru the Reagan- Bush I era...
there were no jobs in ohio
in
those days, but people packed
our shows. to me that proves the old axiom about people during hard
times scrimping on everything but entertainment... who knows, maybe we
wouldn't have been able to make a living as musicians if we hadn't been
under a brutal fundamentalist dictatorship (which is not to minimize
the dictatorship we live under now!)..."
I always had the idea to put a "Where Are They Now" page together for
First Light. Many thanks to Ed Marthey for the logos and art you see
here
and the help getting the page together. All of our hard work paid
off! First Light Reunited June 21, 2008 at the Nautica Stage (now
called The Plain Dealer Pavillion).
First Light
On Stage at a Late 80's
Midwest Reggae Fest - Photo: Rob Young
Bob Caruso Bob
still plays
out with Carlos from time to time and is a member of PLUS Band.
He also plays out with Ital which supposedly played its last show in
late 2007. Bob is a registered nurse.
Chopper Chopper has played with his band Sammy's Good Eye doing
contemporary
rock music and has also has a band called Nappy Habitz. Chop's
daytime gig is at Guitar Center on Mayfield
Rd. in
Lyndhurst, OH. Chopper resides in
Cleveland Hts.
Carlos Jones If you have made it this far you have figured out that
Carlos busy with his new project Carlos Jones and PLUS Band. He
worked a day job for a few years at a warehouse out in Chagrin Falls
and quit in late 2004 to get back to music full time.
Just check out the web site here to see where you can catch him live or
to find out more about his new CD "Roots With Culture". Carlos
also plays out from time to time with Papa Dave and Ital. He
lives with his wife and daughter in Woodmere, Ohio. The photo
here is a bit dated, Soraya is planning on attending college in the
fall of 2008.
You can get a hold of Carlos via e-mail by Clicking
Here.
Gino
Long Gino was working just down the road from Chopper at Sam
Ash in
Lyndhurst and
still plays out with Chopper from time to time. I saw Gino at the
House of Blues show in late 2005 and he was looking and playing
great. He, Rod, Bob, and Carlos played an encore set of
"Apartment Living", "Running", and "One Love" along with Rod's new
project The Prayer Warriors. More recently he earned his BA
degree and may no longer be at Sam Ash. The photo below was from
the HOB
show:
Ed Marthey Ed continued to live in Orrville where he recorded and
played
with his Light side project The Visitors as well as with The Mike Balas
Project. He also played solo piano for a few years at restaurants
and
coffee houses while working at the Schantz Pipe Organ Co.
In 2000 Ed moved out to Boulder,
Colorado. While out in the Rocky Mountain State Ed has continued
to do some solo
playing and has been in a few bands. His day job is at
Kinko's. He
still plays and records with The Visitors along with Rod.
In Fall 2006 Ed moved back to Northeast Ohio. He is working at
the Kinko's in Downtown Akron.
You can get a hold of Ed via e-mail by Clicking
Here.
Larry
"D" Rhodes "Amazing
Larry 'D' is on the mix. When it comes to dubbing he's a terrorist.
Blows you away just to get his kicks." Larry
was the Light's soundman and the band's seventh member. Larry
passed
away in January of 2007 after suffering from poor health for some
time. Our thoughts and prayers are with Larry's family.
Larry Vern Rhodes
01/31/2007
LORAIN -- Larry
Vern Rhodes, 53, of Lorain, died Friday, Jan. 26, 2007, at Community
Regional Medical Center, Lorain, following a long illness.
He
was born Sept.
27, 1953, in Asheville, N.C. He moved to Lorain 30 years ago from
Arizona.
Rhodes was a music engineer for several local bands. He recently had
been manager of the St. Joseph Overnight Shelter in Lorain.
He enjoyed electronics and music and was a member of St. Joseph Church,
Lorain.
Survivors include his daughters Melissa Rhodes and Genevieve Rhodes,
both of Avon Lake; stepdaughter, Chandra Meesig of Springfield, Mass.;
stepson, George Meesig of Cleveland Heights; sisters Paula West of
Dearborn, Mich., and Diane Lislk of Wenonah, N.J.; and brothers George
Taylor of Sacramento, Calif., and Albert Rhodes of Flagstaff, Ariz. He
was preceded in death by his by his parents, Lee and Geneva Rhodes.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph Overnight Shelter, 317
W. 15th St., Lorain, OH 44052.
Rod
Reisman I found some information on Rod at the following web site: http://www.stebaldrums.com/bios.htm
The
information appears to be a few
years old, so I'm not too sure if he's still involved. Rod still
plays with Ed in The Visitors.
In late 2005 the band which Rod has been playing out with, The
Prayer
Warriors, opened a PLUS show at the Cleveland House of Blues.
Rod, Gino, Bob, and Carlos played a great encore set together.
Another FL reunion of sorts took place at Tangiers around Thanksgiving
2005. Rod has also played out with Cats on Holiday and The Cletus
Black Review. That's Rod way up in the left hand corner of this
photo
from the House of Blues 2005 show:
There were many others who played with the band over the years.
If you have any other information or old photos you'd like to
contribute you can
e-mail me by Clicking Here.
·
Click
Here
to See A Slide Show from the personal scrapbook of First Light
keyboard player Ed Marthey.