by LORRAINE CARPENTER

With a good-time grab bag of ska, punk and hip hop sounds, high-fi reggae collective Trip the Off are waiting to exhale their sophomore joint, Bong Sessions, the first release on their budding Clark Street label. Apart from core members Kristin Daniel, Tim Dobbs, Paul Caldwell, Chris Stewart and “Eastcoast,” Trip the Off encompasses an extended family of local players from the Kingpins, Planet Smashers and Rhythm Mercenaries, part of a long list of frequent collaborators, dropping in on their records and their bouncing, blowout live shows. The Mirror spoke to smokin’ frontman Daniel, son of a 35-year reggae vet, about his herb, his guys and his chief bassist.

Mirror: I heard your original bassist, Owen Brown, had to go to Jamaica when his dad died to take over the family business, so to speak.

Kristin Daniel: Yeah, he’s the chief. He’s in charge of three villages, a coconut plantation, a beach, and part of Blue Mountain, where they make the coffee. We imported one ton of Blue Mountain coffee and roasted it in our living room. It was wicked cool.

M: Is he still playing music there?

KD: Yes, and there will come a day when we take some gear down there, kick up a jam and record it.

M: Your brand of reggae is huge in Montreal, but you’re not from here, right?

KD: Yeah, I’m from the fuckin’ country, man. I had to wipe my bed with a hot frying pan ’cause we didn’t have heat in the winter. I had to ski to get to my school bus. I am not joking. So I wasn’t aware of the music that went on here, all I had was musicians from Africa and Jamaica who would pass through the recording studio in the house. I grew up where the drum booth was. When I hit 15, I fell in love with punk rock and when I started writing songs, they always picked up a reggae feel.

M: Your songs also have that political edge that’s always been a part of reggae.

KD: It’s dust on your shoes, it’s walking the streets and collecting that vibe. Some people walk with blinders, other people are very open and intuitive and that’s what punk did, that’s what reggae did, and that’s how they came together. If you get that rhythm going and it just cooks and cooks, next thing you know, it’s oom-ch-pack! oom-ch-pack! It’s easy to get emotional and drop lyrics over that, and same with punk, you’re rocking as hard as you can to find these words. It’s very similar music, it’s just sheer emotion.

GUYS AND BLOKES

M: So you have a big francophone fan base.

KD: Fuck yeah, my guys, they’re fuckin’ wicked! We’ve hooked up with Local Distribution and everybody there’s been really cool with us. I’m not usually as confident in my French but I’m trying really hard. We even recorded a song in French for the 2Tongue3 compilation.

M: Anglo bands typically play outside the province, whereas French bands are practically confined here. Do you see that starting to break down?

KD: For sure, they’re bustin’ out, check out les Marmottes Applaties, you know, good music brings people together, regardless of politics. The politicians and the newspapers fuel the fire like crazy—check out “Fences” on our album—but on the streets, people are cool with one another, that’s what we’ve gotta remember. The only time people aren’t cool is when there hasn’t been enough contact, so fuckin’ mix it up, guys, everybody’s different, everybody’s the same.

M: Tell me about your new studio.

KD: It’s right on the border of Ontario and Quebec, just past Rigaud, and it’s a blast. Most of Bong Sessions was recorded there, outside of the city, no static. We mixed it ourselves, mastered it ourselves, we also make our own posters, our drummer Stew did our graphics, we take care of it from one end to the other, and whatever we don’t know, we’ll learn. The first album was learning how to record, with this one we were using that knowledge, smoking a lot of herb and getting the mix down.

M: Weed is so central to your whole vibe, lyrically and visually. Will non-smokers be turned off?

KD: I really hope not. You know, if you get in tune with your body and take a moment to reflect, you’re gonna know what’s good for you and how you function best. Once people start realizing this, what you smoke or don’t smoke shouldn’t matter so much, as long as everybody’s cool with each other… but goddammit, I love smokin’ herb! :

With Rhythm Mercenaries, DJ Maysr and Great White Hype at
Café Campus tonight, Thursday, Oct. 3, 7:30pm (early!), free

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