And that wasn’t the end of it. In thefollowing years, Blowtorch and his shifting cast of local collaborators haverecorded with acclaimed reggae session players Keith Sterling and Bagga Walkeralong with Rico Rodriguez and Prince Jazzbo and the late Roland Alphonso andCoxsone Dodd.
“The stereotype of Jamaican musicians isthat they’ve been screwed at every turn and are very conscious of money. I’vefound Jamaican musicians to be willing to work for little or no money if theylike the project, ” Blowtorch says. “I’ve found working with them to be agracious experience.”
A prolific recording artist alwayswilling to share the microphone with guest stars, Blowtorch’s musical endeavorshave been more a vocation in the traditional sense than a career. He hasreached a new height on his latest album with his band the Welders, The Alphabet. The disc was inspired inpart by his experience working as a volunteer in 2007 at Kingston’s Alpha Boys’ School, an institutionthat has nurtured many fine musicians.
“I got involved with the school band bychance,” Blowtorch recalls. “I was playing melodica in the field one eveningand a crowd of students gathered around. We just started playing together everyevening. I was honored to play with the Alpha Boys’ Band at a school assemblyand at a church across the road. It was the most nervous I’ve ever been onstage. The Alpha Boys’ Band has a reputation to protect!”
Milwaukee’sShane Olivo recorded The Alphabet inhis home studio with long-distance contributions by Rico Rodriguez from London and Prince Jazzbo from Kingston’s famed Tuff Gong studio. Voices andbits of sonic ambience recorded by Blowtorch during his Jamaican sojourn aresprinkled in the mix. The tempos swing between the easygoing reggae of “LivingLarger Than Life” to the insistent Motown pulse of “12,000 Criminals” and themerry backbeat of “Sidewalk Soul Connection.”
Blowtorch and the Welders share a giftfor melody as well as social criticism. “Eric usually has the big picture ofthe song and the nuances were added by the guys,” says Blowtorch’s longtimepercussionist Nate Vest, describing the collaboration. Many songs amount to amusical history tour of Milwaukee, from nods toJames Cameron of the Black Holocaust Museumand the rich legacy of the Socialist Party to the city’s infrastructure andquality of life.
The lyrical tone is upbeat. “Radicaloptimism is the truly punk rock gesture of today,” Blowtorch says. “There’s nopoint in always complaining and complaining,” he adds, perhaps alluding to thehopeful, spiritual dimension behind the political anger that was always thestrength of the reggae music he loves.
EricBlowtorch & the Welders (and a roomful of guest stars) perform Friday, Dec.11, at Y-Not III.
