On The White Wall - Session #8

He's a fierce patriot. A great sportsman, great calypsonian/musician, beloved teacher and an extremely fine artist.This week in part one of an exclusive two part session, My Montserrat's JMaCwell sits down with a true Montserratian icon, the other enigma from Paran, Mr Kelvin Duberry or as he's known to his legion of admirers world-wide.

Tabu
This week...

On The White Wall

De Ahtist ^ Self-Portrait

My Montserrat:
Welcome to My Montserrat and The White Wall Tabu. Which part of the Island are you from?

Tabu:
Greetings my brother. I am from the north of Montserrat. A village called St.Johns. We also call it Dread Johns.

My Montserrat:
What was St Johns like when you were growing up?

Tabu:
St Johns was a place where everything existed from scholars to fishermen, musicians to artist, architects to builders, law abiding citizens to clairvoyants. It was a place where the fittest of the fittest survived. A village that produced rainbows of talent and also men who had run-ins with the law at times. Anyway we loved it growing up although it was hard to break the cycle of wants and needs. Remember, most of our parents had migrated to England or the USA and so we had to survive thus becoming street smart. We channeled our wants into music and creative thinking anyway. We were also quite determined to make it out of this want zone and so we multiplied 0 x 0 and made 1. Looking back I have no regrets from growing up in St.Johns.

My Montserrat:
You attended MSS (Montserrat Secondary School) and as I recall you were a "big" sportsman on campus.
Which house were you in?

Tabu:
I was a proud member of Orange House, a former House captain. Yeah man, Orange House to the bone.

My Montserrat:
Tell us a little about the sports you were involved with at MSS and some of your accomplishments.

Tabu:
I got involved with all aspects of sports there. I played cricket, took part in all athletic and extra-curricular activities. In general, nothing missed me. At one point I was champion boy with the most wins, that included Cross Country and the Mile race. I also had the 800 meter record, won pole vault, throwing the cricket ball, swimming, I conquered most events except the 100 and 200 meters. I didn't want to be a sprinter. Under my watch we also won the march past and relays too. Orange house had good athletes and we also had a good rivalry from Blue House and Green.This brought out the best in our crew. Later they added red House. We were warriors then and now

My Montserrat:
Were you in the Cadets or Defense force?

Tabu:
Yes I was in the Cadets and we were attached to the Defence Force at that time. I had three stripes in the cadets - you know what that meant - and as a result of my attitude towards the army I was lucky to be trained in St.Kitts with the Springfield Regiment.

My Montserrat:
How did you feel the first time you got selected to the national cricket team and who were some of the guys on that team with you.

Tabu:
That was a very good day. I remember it was like a celebrity moment in Secondary School. At that time I felt real proud to see that all the walking back home to the country at night after practice did pay off. I was selected at a time when Austin White, Lowel Mason, Kharl Markham, John Skerritt, Keith Greaves, and others were still at school and so it was an honor for me to represent my country while I was still at school.
I played alongside Jim Allen, Haycene Ryan, George Allen, Edrick Frye, Vendel Moore, Kingsley Howe, Fitzroy Buffonge, Howard Meade, Austin White, Kenroy Hyman, Joseph Buffonge, and many others.

My Montserrat:
I heard that you played league cricket in England and was a fairly successful medium pace swing bowler. Which team or teams did you play for, what was it like playing under English conditions and was it a good experience for you?

Tabu:
Yes after I won the most outstanding player award in the Leeward Islands tournament, I got a contract through Jim Allen and Richard Aspin to play in the Central Lancashire League. It was with a club called Hayside Cricket Club and It was a different experience then. It was so cold that I had to be wearing inners and playing cricket. It was the first time in my life that I was playing cricket and snow was falling. Also it was the first time I saw hail stones, so it was pretty uncomfortable for me not to mention I didn't get much money at that time. I was lucky to have stayed with arguably the fastest West Indian bowler of all time, ROY GILCHRIST. I lived with him in Rochdale Lancashire and he gave me a lot of tips. Conditions Up North favored me as I was a swing bowler and good all round cricketer. I did well but didn't want to live in dem parts of the world. I was born in the sun and wanted to be in the sun. However over-all it was a good experience for me.

My Montserrat:
Let's move on to the music. You were still at MSS the first time you entered the Calypso show.
What was that like and what was the name of the first tune you put out?

Tabu:
It was a dream come through for me, especially as you know coming from the north where all we did at night was play music and make songs.Then to add to that I grew up amongst artist like my cousins, Fisher, Attacker, Rhadyo, Black prince and also Reality, Organizer, Rabo, Maverick, Chipser, Supreme, Al Cox, etc. Music was my escape route from poverty. In school we had a little band with musicians like Kharl Markham, Melvin Galloway, Pops Morris, Walton Fenton, and quite often thanks to Mr. Peter white we were able to use the hall room to practice. That was good. The Invincible, Supreme, Rabo, Ratamba, and others tried but only Supreme, The Invincible and myself made it to the finals. That was wicked.
Then we had Sledge Incorporated playing in school that year end, just wicked iah, don't forget that Desmond Daley was the band leader and he was a student at school the same time.
The first tune I did was a song called Jouvert Morning that was in 1978 and then I made it to the finals in 1979 with E Mahd and A Great One Gone Again. Those were the two songs which started my assault on my adversaries. All praise to the almighty and Dr. Kharl Markham my arranger at that time, Mr.Hodge Daley and Desmond Daley

My Montserrat:
What made you want to get into Calypso?

Tabu:
That was the only way to get my music out there. Calypso was an in thing at that time and I was from a musical family as I mentioned before. Growing up and seeing the accomplishments of Fisher etc, I had to sing Calypso. I was in the church at that time and that was where I started the music. I was playing guitar there and was in the Victory leaders band.
As I grew Rhadyo became an inspiration to me. Reality and Organizer were there too and they lived a stone's throw away from me. I was also playing in a string band owned by the late Thomas Harris and that gave me the rhythm. The late IRUN was my key brethren and was also in the string band with me and we used to go up in the hills, find life and make music. That was a daily runnings.
It was cool. We'd we sit in St. Johns and listen to Attacker, Fisher, Black Prince and Al Cox sing Sparrow songs. The competition was so fierce, everyone wanted to be the calypso king of St.Johns. That's what made me sing calypso. Today I don't have any regrets as I have conquered all foes. The only Calypsonian to have won all three major crowns. Calypso, Soca Monarch and Road March King. My legacy is thirty years old and counting.

My Montserrat:
You are not just a Calypsonian you're an all-around musician. Play several instruments as well as write, ar range and produce your own music. Tell us, what was it like for a kid from St John's trying to learn the craft and who were some of the people who influenced you and helped you out in the early days.

Tabu:
It was hard to get instruments to play and so I favored the church. That was where the instruments were. My uncles Hensie and Pope were players of instruments in the church and so I used to learn from them. I was not privileged to have my own instrument and had to make my own guitar from sardine cans.
Having talent I went to saxophone lessons with Mr. Skerritt from Salem.They call him Parpa Skerritt. While attending the Junior Secondary School I was taught piano lessons by the late Mr. Leslie Thomas and also a teacher from Trinidad, Miss Catherine Ryan. After entering Secondary school, I met Kharl and I picked up some things from him as he was very gifted.
My teacher Mr Randy Greenaway had a band called Mantis and I learned a bit there. However it all came together at Studio Z in town where people like Gus white, Rick Tyson, Roland Richards and others would gather to record. I use to frequent there. That's where we made Punk Rock, one of my early hits. I also did some time hanging around Hammer International and Sledge Incorporated, also a Reggae band called Rockers Iration. That was where Kitaka and I began writing songs together.
I searched for music and was everywhere that musicians were. I used to be in town more often than in the country in my search for music.

My Montserrat:
The Calypso competition was very tight in those days, with a lot really good Calypsonians vying for the crown. Give us an idea of what it was like and who were some of the guys you were competing against?

Tabu:
Yes that was so. I had to contend with the likes of Reality, Hero, Organizer, Rhadyo , Falcon, Dodger, Ragga, The Invincible , Supreme, Rabo, Accident, Etc . Later on came King Kenzie, King Bear, Wrangler, Hustler, Cepeeke, Candie, Cupid, etc The early 80's was harder cause there were more intense battles fought and in the presence of more people at Sturge Park. Those days were wicked and we had more and much better bands.

My Montserrat:
Which instrument did you start playing first?

Tabu:
I started playing the guitar first,rhythm and then went on to saxophone, keyboards etc. Today I play many but I prefer the bass guitar.

My Montserrat:
You just mentioned that there were a lot of good bands on the Island back in those days. Did you play in any bands back then?

Tabu:
I played for a while with Burnt Edges. Arnold Tuitt was an inspiration to me. I did a lot of time with Kitaka in Chad and was in and out of many others.

My Montserrat:
Which band or bands did you play in after you migrated and where did you play?

Tabu:
When I moved to England I played mostly with a band called Nomadic Roots in London. I was the up front man playing rhythm guitar and was the main song writer there. We played many venues in England and Wales to include Notting Hill Carnival, Forum Kentish Town, Dawns Night Club - Southend, WKD Club in London etc. We got a forward from Dread City Promotions. Mr. Rommie Stairs and that saw us reaching into Europe- Switzerland, we played Zurich, Rebstein, Southern France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Germany, Isle Of White. It was not easy on the road.

My Montserrat:
You were very excited about your last album which you titled Dragon Slayer - Holding Firm.
It's an album with a variety of sounds on it and one of our faves here, tell us about the title and some of the music you included on it.

Tabu:
Well the title Dragon Slayer came as an inspiration from Wayne Dyer. Whilst holidaying in New York I ran into this enlightened brother and quickly realised his depth. While looking at his poems I stumbled across one, a love story about a warrior on a destined mission to avenge a lost love which started by saying, "I see the sun coming up, pulled my blade from the sand,cover my natty dreadlocks" and those words were enough to tell me that this was the type of poem that would make a good song.
We spoke about it and since that stone was moved I then created the music at ZionReign Studios and the rest was history. I also wanted to do an album which could stand the test of time and could be played anywhere out of Montserrat. Dragon Slayer which began as a poem became the title track and since I was celebrating thirty years "Holding Firm" in the Kaiso/Soca biz, I also included my two songs for the competition last year. The visionary We Come To warn You and We Need To Do Something.
I know that there are many mouths to feed and so I could'nt make one type of song on the album, so I ventured into depths of music- dance tracks "Wild & Wassy" , educational , reality, and also roots. It's not often you find a soca artist singing roots. I do. It's all about education. Rock Of Jah a work of art and tribute to the Almighty and another collaboration penned by Wayne and arranged by the I was also included.
Dragon Slayer an album which celebrates thirty years is also an inspiration. It shows the depth of the individual and those around him that made this possible and a must to have in your collection.
I am Holding Firm in my works and leaning on the Rock Of Jah, we can achieve anything concieved.Thealbum was produced and arranged by Kelvin Tabu Duberry and mixed at Banana Studios by Darkman. Included are the works of the Dragonslaya - JM and THE I.
Muzik is my life and my occupation. It has grown in me and my works can attest to that. Special thanks today to Eddie Prynze Duberry, Greg Hunt, King Kenzie, Darkman, Bimshaw, and all who are creating music with me presently. Respect to you The White Wall Crew and last but most respected THE WORD & THE TRUTH.
The I AM

My Montserrat:
We are grateful for the opportunity to share your story and on behalf of the crew here at My Montserrat and Strats Finest as well as the fans,thanks for coming on The White Wall my friend.

Stay tuned for part two of our exclusive interview with the legend Tabu.
You can buy the album DragonSlayer- Holding Firm from his site www.de-ahtist.com

Check out his fan page on Facebook
My Montserrat can be reached via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

"Oh the power of the word, a call only I have heard
echoes from a distant tree, Jah the almighty..." cont...

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