Bedouin Soundclash Interrogate Bad Brains

05/28/09 12:43pm

Bedouin Soundclash and hardcore punk/reggae legends Bad Brains have a fruitful history together. After all, it was the Brains' Darryl Jenifer who produced Bedouin's Sounding A Mosaic breakthrough album. The Soundclash fellows returned the favour by getting Bad Brains to be part of their Rogers Picnic festival in Toronto. We got singer Jay Malinowski and bassist Eon Sinclair to pry into the mind of Jenifer.

JAY MALINOWSKI VS. DARRYL JENIFER

Jay: Bad Brains are put in a category beyond "hardcore." You've had an influence that transcends that once very narrow listenership into the realms of hip-hop, electronic, reggae and beyond. Have you ever thought about what made the Brains stand alone?
Darryl: It wasn't that the Brains stood alone, but we were inspired by the great spirit to spread a message of peace, love and positive mental attitude through our newly Jah-inspired brand of progressive punk rock, a sound that, at that time, was mainly a gutter British form of protest rock with no positive vibes.

The term "hardcore" has become an extremely trendy hyphenation for young bands currently — like "emo-hardcore," or "dance-hardcore." So what does the spirit of hardcore mean to you?
I never knew what hardcore was or meant. I always really thought it was a brand of porno. I guess it's an early '80s tag for punk rock. I was always a punk rock cat.

I've heard that you guys opened for a dancing pig in middle America and have done time for MC Hammer in Japan. Who has better stage banter?
Dat's ight! I seen y'all playing in the middle of a football game on YouTube. Tha CFL at that!! We did a show with a dancing pig and Melle Mel at the old 9:30 Club back in the day — and we were graciously invited to perform with De La Soul and Hammer live in Tokyo. Shit, we played on a flatbed truck going up 5th Ave., surrounded by hippies smoking weed. We also played to all Jamaicans sitting in designated seating opening for Peter Tosh in Long Island.

You've spoken to us a lot about P.M.A. — positive mental attitude. I know that I use it a lot on the road now. What is P.M.A.?
P.M.A is what it says — positive mental attitude. Without it negativity would surely hinder, but love will lead the way and conquer. Jah-Jah a de conqueror P.M.A. baby!

Who, if anyone, do you think is carrying on the traditional sound and philosophy of Bad Brains?
I don't really hear a lot of bands these days, but I'm positive that the punky reggae party lives on in the hearts of many a rebel musician... like Bedouin Jay, E and P!

EON SINCLAIR VS. DARRYL JENIFER

Eon: People still have a hard time separating ethnicity from certain types of music. With our band, people sometimes assume that I'm the singer. And when they do see us they're shocked to find out that it's Jay that rocks the mic. Did the four of you — and do you still — have a lot of experiences like that, being black hardcore musicians?
Darryl: We were blessed to be "Youthman," "Jah Yout" — the racial runnings just become a blur when you are in the struggle, the fight of good over evil through the gift of Jah music. To recognize, as you say Eon, such foolishness, only lends to it ignorance, know what I mean? Youth man runnings no pigment business.

We cut some tracks with you in your infamous Soldier Studios in Woodstock, New York for the Bedouin vs. Brains mash-up album we're working on, and I gotta say, it's like no other studio I've been to. What makes it different than anything else out there?
The reason why it is called Soldier is because when you work here I don't want to hear no crying about this and that, no vocalist clearing dey throat, no guitar players tuning their shit and asking for CDs to work with at home. In Soldier, when DJ says it's rolling you got to execute yo shit, son!

When I was at Soldier, I was fortunate enough to lay hands on the infamous Green Monster that you've used for most, if not all of your career, and the bass looks like it has plenty of stories to tell. What do you think its favourite story would be?
I never was a gear dude. I didn't really give a fuck about new hot guitars. I always wanted a punk rock workhorse bass that could get bounced on its ass, thrown on its back and even bleed and could still feel new and ready for the business. Every time I pick it up it feels like the first day I got it. Through 27 years of Bad Brains with maybe four broken strings, I'm still rocking the Monster. The bass would definitely tell the story about the time I used the E and A string for bondage purposes.

You've been boys with the Beastie Boys since before they were the Beastie Boys, and I heard for your new album, Build A Nation, you guys got Adam Yauch to produce. What's he like to work with in the studio?
Yauch has been a friend and fan for many years before the Beastie Boys. It was a natural progression. He had the heart, energy and paper to make it happen. He got us to play a few extra songs when we wanted to chill and talk shit with each other about D.C and the old days... shit, who wants to play punk rock when you ain't seen a ni' in a minute?

We'll both be playing the Rogers Picnic a week before the fete of the year, Caribana, and I know you love food as much as me. So if you had to eat one of the following with your curry fish, what would you choose? Cook-up rice, rice and peas, white rice or roti?
Yard-style escovitch snapper rice and peas and six shots of Patron with 12 cold Pacificos and it's on like popcorn!

The following feature is from the July 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. To purchase the issue, go to the CHARTattack Shop.