viernes, 24 de agosto de 2012

Ziggy Marley continues dad's musical, political legacy

Grammy-winning reggae artist Ziggy Marley, the son of Bob Marley, performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at Mount Baker Theatre on his "Wild and Free" world tour, in support of his fourth studio album of the same title.

Since he's on tour, I was fortunate to have an opportunity to email Ziggy a few questions.
Here's what he wrote (MB: Margaret Bikman, ZM: Ziggy Marley):

MB: What was your childhood like, musically, with your dad and siblings?

ZM: Well, music was always around the house. But our education was the most important thing when we were younger, and schooling.

MB: Were you encouraged to pursue music as a profession?

ZM: No, I wasn't necessarily encouraged to pursue it because as I said education was first. We didn't really have to pursue it because it was in us and we had to pursue the things that weren't in us; schooling was very important.

MB: How is your dad's legacy continuing with you?

ZM: In terms of legacy, we continue it by being good people, trying to be good people; that's how the legacy is continued.

MB: What is the importance of a professional musician becoming involved with issues of social and/or political significance?

ZM: Music is a vehicle! It is in important if the individual finds it important. Music can be a valuable tool and can influence society.

MB: What causes do you personally support?

ZM: I personally support love.

MB: Who are some of the musicians, famous or not, friends of your dad's or not, who have had an impact on your music and your career, and also on your personal philosophy?

ZM: Dennis Brown, Toots Hilbert, Delroy Wilson, Fela Kuti. ... Hmm who else? Everybody! My personal philosophy is I gather information from all of the other artists but it is unique to me as my own philosophy.

MB: What's fun for you while you tour?

ZM: For fun on tour we laugh and joke with each other!

MB: What have been some of the highlights or special memories so far in this tour?

ZM: The people! The people enjoying the show!

MB: Any other projects that you've done that you are proud of?

ZM: Marijuana Man is another creative project I've done and creating it was special in itself.

Source: The Bellingham Herald by Margaret Bikman