Next week’s Feedback column spends a bit of time with Lem Oppenheimer, a co-founder of the Easy Star record label and manager of the Easy Star All-Stars (who had their first gig at the defunct and de-funked Starr Hill Music Hall, and return to Is on Friday, June 5). Oppenheimer may be the only person in the city to make a career out of reggae music—no easy feat, if you consider that Charlottesville’s reggae scene imported a lot of acts from Harrisonburg (The Greg Ward Project, Stable Roots), and any regular gigs (Stable Roots’ shows at Outback Lodge, Oppenheimer’s own "Reggae Mondays" at Blue Moon Diner) seemed to be short-lived.
Oppenheimer, a former Music Today employee who moved here in 1997 and now works full-time on Easy Star projects, seemed like a good person to ask about the State of the Local Reggae Union. "In terms of live reggae, it’s not a particularly strong town. And that’s understandable," explaind Oppenheimer. "To have the best players, you’re going to [need] more of a D.C., or New York, or Los Angeles, where you have more direct influences, more opportunities to see true Jamaican artists coming through."
So, what’s your best bet for local reggae? "Goldfinger has been the standard-bearer for Charlottesville [reggae] for years," said Oppenheimer, referencing the WTJU DJ who has held a regular time slot on Fridays from 2-4pm. "That’s always been one of the key things happening." Check out details on Goldfinger’s show here, and watch the video below for details on the latest Easy Star All-Stars release, Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band, the latest of the group’s well-executed covers albums after Dub Side of the Moon and Radiodread. (I recommend the cover of "Within You, Without You.")*
Also, can Charlottesville sustain a reggae scene? Let me hear your thoughts.
*As a bonus, I tried to dig up a video of Sonic Youth’s excellent cover of "Within You, Without You," included on 2007’s Daydream Nation reissue. No such video exists, but nobody should be denied a tasty Sonic Youth cover; I recommend that you give a listen to their covers of "Superstar" (a classic, and a great Carpenters video spoof) and "I’m Not There."