Into The Mystic

May 30, 2011

Into the Mystic: Dub aims for the ‘True Reggae’
By Kristi Kates
Formed six years ago in the Muskegon area, the reggae powerhouse known as
Mystic Dub - comprised of Raya True (vocals/keyboards), William Jeannot
(guitar), Kosta Karis (bass), and Juan Carlos (vocals/drums) began their
musical journey by playing regional venues.
“We primarily played clubs such as Blue Note and Captain Jack’s in
Muskegon, and Billy’s Lounge in Eastown Grand Rapids,” explains frontwoman
True, “now, we hope to expand our touring radius with each season.”
Now hitting the road from Michigan all the way to Tennessee and New York
every year (the band’s been touring out of Michigan for the past four
years), they’ll be performing in Traverse City this Friday, bringing their
hybrid reggae-pop sound to Northern Michigan.

MARLEY TO MYSTIC
“Blend the sounds of Bob Marley, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Sade, and The Police
in a blender, and you’d get a style similar to Mystic Dub,” True says.
“Although we are not entirely settled in our sound - it’s always changing
and developing.”
In addition to a diverse roster of reggae musicians including Augustus
Pablo, Israel Vibration, Luciano, Culture, Midnite, and Desiree, the
Marley camp has definitely been a big influence on the band.
In August of last year, True and Mystic Dub released their debut album,
Have No Fear, which True explains was actually produced and accompanied by
one of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh’s own guitarists, Donald Kinsey.
“The album was recorded at Soundfield Studios,” she says, “prior to that,
we released a single, “Dis Hook,” which was recorded at River City Studios
for the Grand Rapids Compilation CD Volume 3, which was released in 2008.”

RECORDINGS TO REUNIONS
Inspired by “life, love, faith, hope, vision, struggles, and the
instruments themselves,” as True puts it, Mystic Dub write about 60
percent of the music
they perform live, with plenty more waiting on deck.
“We have about 1,000 times 100 percent of original material either written
and waiting to be recorded, or waiting to be discovered and written,” True
says,
“all of our released CD recordings are original music.”
Sometimes the mere germ of a song
is what True says will help the tune
“find its life.”
“Sometimes, hearing the piece in my mind as a finished song inspires me to
get it down or figure it out in order to be able to play it,” she
explains.
What Mystic Dub finds inspiring as far as their live performances, are the
responses they get from their audiences
“We are believers in the One Love vibe,” True says, “and we chose reggae
for its uplifting message. We like the positive vibes we get reciprocated
when we play live - the reunions of repeat audiences at shows, meeting new
people, jamming at new venues and cities, and the energy that the crowd
brings.”

Mystic Dub will perform at The
Loading Dock in TC on Friday, June
3. Info: www.facebook.com/mysticdub,
www.myspace.com/mysticdub, and www.reverbnation.com/mysticdub. Their album
is available at cdbaby.com.