Saturday 9 November 2013

(We are) The Rizla Family

We hadn’t seen each other since the Benefit Gig for Aron B
But when we got together we got along so famously.
Yet there were times, it must be said, when we disagreed.
But if one of us pulled out we’d pull him back... eventually.

Sometimes others saw us as lazy, no-good thugs:
We smoked too much and drank too much and took too many drugs.
Fair enough, that may be true, but open up your eyes:
A deeper truth comes shining through: the Rizlas were such beautiful guys!

Aron played the drums at first and Mick was his successor;
The drummer’s role was later claimed by an Ayur Vedic professor.
And when Geoff Rizla left the band, as drummers sometimes do,
We found the perfect replacement. Last name: Brenham. First name: Hugh.

Tim Rizla rocked the hall on bass; he’d fill your soul with wonder.
His bass sound was the quintessential boom of mountain thunder.
When Georgie Rizla joined us she sounded like a songbird.
Her backing vocals were the sweetest we had ever heard.

Jo Rizla was our heartbeat, a glamorous keyboard diva.
As steady as a rock on stage; a true ‘One Love’ believer.
Then Russ Rizla played the keys. He’d leave you wanting more.
He sold his prized Ensoniq (but don’t ask him how much for).
When Russ had moved to Sussex, to be closer to the sea,
The keyboard whizz who took his place was diamond geezer: Lee.

Robbie Rizla sang some songs and strummed his old guitar.
He was our wacky natural born King Rizla superstar.
Pete Rizla played the power chords that fed back through your brain.
He always had a chair on stage (standing up was such a pain).

Marcus, Mountain Man on Herb, a musician all year long,
Played a mean melodica and sang the Skin Up song.
And Dennis was the vocalist whose voice was sweet as honey.
We thought that if we kept him sweet he’d make us loads of money.

Oh well, so much for that idea!

Dedicated to Aron Lake and Peter Dimmock; to my amazing friends and fellow Rizlas: Mick, Geoff, Hugh, Tim, Georgie, Jo, Lee, Rob, Sir Marcus, and Dennis; and to honorary members of the Rizla Family: Nuzz, Andy Davies & Tony Pettitt, and that guy who used to work behind the bar at The Klub Wiv No Name...

Saturday 2 November 2013

Aron B

Aron B (real name Aron Lake) was a founder member of King Rizla. He was a poet and a much-loved friend. We read, and were critical of, each other's poetry; we respected each other's opinions.

Aron also worked as a sound engineer on the local gig circuit. I accompanied him on one assignment - Foxes and Rats at the Civic Hall, Dunstable. Aron took me back stage to meet Paul Fox (The Ruts) and Rat Scabies (The Damned). It was all in a day's work for Aron but I was in awe! I chatted with Rat Scabies and was impressed to note that he smoked Players No. 6. A real working class hero!

I recall going for a walk with Aron one summer, through the woods and fields of rural North Hertfordshire. My hay fever, at the time, was quite severe. Aron said, "it's all in your mind, man". I think I responded with some off the cuff remark like, "Fuck off Aron, you twat!" He looked at me with those penetrating eyes of his and simply smiled. I remember thinking, "actually, he may be right!" Aron had a way of cutting through the baggage and bullshit and communicating with you on a profoundly deep level. Hard to explain but those of you who knew him will know what I mean.

Sometime in late 1991 I was at home alone in my flat. I hadn't really seen Aron for a couple of years. We had gone our separate ways: he had started a family and I was engrossed in my latest musical adventure and half way through a tempestuous love affair that was destined to end in tears. It did. There was an unexpected knock at the door. It was Aron. I don't recall too much of our conversation that evening but I do remember reading my latest poem to him. He looked at me, smiled, and said, "It's not your best, is it Russ?" That was the last time I saw him.

A few weeks later I received a phone call from Tim. "Russ", he said, "I've got some bad news..."

Aron had had enough. I don't know why. In his late twenties he had decided to end his life. When Tim broke the news to me I was angry. Aron, you bastard, how can you do this? I spoke at Aron's funeral. One of the hardest things I've ever done. Standing behind the lectern, before me a sea of sad, tearful faces. Aron's family and friends. I declared that Aron had gone to a place where there was no anxiety and no suffering, then read a poem I had written called 'The Spirit Lives'.

What I took away with me from that terribly sad occasion was the germ of an idea that Aron had made a choice, that he had chosen his fate and that I should respect his decision. It has taken a long, long time for that idea to germinate.

Aron, you twat, I miss you brother.


A Brief History

The music of the 1980s reggae band King Rizla not only tipped a hat towards roots reggae and lovers' rock but later - during the early 90s - towards punk, psychedelic rock and the genre of the singer-songwriter. King Rizla should have been signed up, snapped up, produced by George Martin and/or Lee Perry and been headlining at Glastonbury and Reggae Sunsplash, instead of being consigned to the footnotes of the annals of independently produced music of the late 20th century. Those of you who heard them, bought their CDs, went to their gigs, felt the love and felt the vibe will know that you witnessed something special. Something uniquely 'Rizla'. 

King Rizla came into being sometime in 1986, in the sleepy North Hertfordshire village of Aston End: an unlikely location for the creation of a reggae band! The original line up comprised Marcus Downbeat (Studio 6, Dub Factory, The Upsetters), Tim Fisher, Rob and Jo Hill, and the poet, Aron B (Aron Lake). The band were joined on stage by Dennis Daly on lead guitar and backing vocals, and dreadlock-flailing, bongo-wielding Kwesi Zebediah Genesis.When Aron left the band he was replaced by half-human, half-drum machine Mick Simmons.

Marcus recalls that King Rizla actually began life when Aron - a monitor engineer he had met on the local gigging circuit - approached him and said that he and some friends were thinking of getting a band together and wanted him to teach them how to play reggae. Marcus had recently been working with Lee 'Scratch' Perry and was between bands so the timing couldn’t have been better. 

Marcus: “Aron took me to Tim Fisher's house in Aston End and we jammed a few tunes in Tim's bedroom. Aron was playing penny whistle but intended to play drums; Tim played bass, Rob and Jo played guitar and keyboards, respectively, and I was on melodica and vocals. I remember jamming “Highwood Soldier” and “One Day Soon” – originally poems by Aron, pictured below.


 
Marcus’ life at this time was pretty chaotic – his marriage was disintegrating and so little progress was made musically. When he moved to Hitchin however, he had more time and more freedom to channel his creative flair into his music. He recalls the inchoate band’s first proper rehearsal: “Rob and Jo had hardly played before so they had to be taught from scratch. I began with the basics. I showed them the chords of G and A minor. Tim was on bass; Aron on drums. The first song we played was just a chant around the two chords: "King Rizla, King Rizla" over which I played a melodica melody. 

“I wrote the next song around the same two chords, giving Tim a new bass line. I told the boys to sing, repeatedly, "Everybody wants to skin up, everybody wants to pipe it up, everybody wants to toke it up, everybody wants to smoke it up" over which I sang the lyrics to my original song, 'Skin Up'".

‘Skin Up’, in fact, was first recorded on a reel to reel in Jo’s front room in Hitchin, where she lived just round the corner from Marcus. Jo remembers singing the chant but no one could get it right! “We kept giggling,” she recalls, “and on the original recording you can still hear Aron holding back his laughter as he gets it wrong!” This simple but infectious song was destined to become a concert staple and audience favourite throughout the band’s illustrious career.

Marcus had set up a little four track recording studio in his living room and over the next few weeks the band recorded a number of songs, incorporating Tim’s bass lines and Marcus’ lyrics. Aron also had some lyrics which were set to music. Those early recordings included the first takes of ‘King Rizla’, ‘Mountain Thunder’, ‘Long Walk’, and Aron's ‘One Day Soon’ and ‘Highwood Soldier’. These home-spun recordings formed the origins of the first set. A handful of rehearsals later and a gigging unit had been formed.

King Rizla came into being.

Marcus later took the band to an eight track recording studio where a number of new songs were recorded. Some of those songs (Skin Up, Create A Storm, Mountain Thunder, City Woman , Slippin' Away) were transferred to cassette and used in the production of the 'on location' videos featured on Marcus' You Tube channel: MrDubMaster Those recordings can also be heard on Rob Hill’s You Tube channel - Robert Hill

 
King Rizla certainly seemed to be 'creating a storm' in the late 80s. They even attracted the attention of BBC Radio Bedfordshire DJ, The Man Ezeke , who invited them to appear on his 'Sunshine Show'. Somewhere, I am sure, there exists a recording of King Rizla's appearance on The Man Ezeke's Sunshine Show. Watch this space!

By the time the 1990s had arrived the line up had changed dramatically. Marcus, Jo and Mick had departed and Tim, Rob and Dennis had been joined by Geoff and Pete (on drums and guitar, respectively) and a former band mate of Marcus from Studio 6, Dub Factory and The Upsetters, Russ, on keyboards:


 

Russ: "I clearly recall turning up to 'audition' for the band during a midweek rehearsal. My keyboard of choice at that time was the Ensoniq Esq 1.  In all the other bands I'd played in the keyboard parts were always strictly defined. These guys let me do what ever I wanted. On one song, 'Clacaig', they even let me use a bagpipe sound - this was definitely the band for me!"

The band’s repertoire was brash, lively and largely undeveloped. Nonetheless, the spontaneity and humour with which their performances would later become associated was unmistakably present, even then.

In March 1991, during a performance at a typical village Pub in Hertfordshire, the band held a raffle. Prizes included King Rizla Tee-shirts and several bottles of vodka, generously donated by a gullible but good-natured landlord. After the prizes had been claimed dozens of packs of King Size Rizlas were flung from the stage as the band lurched dramatically into the second half of the show.

The following year the band gave just two performances. Both were at the Klub Wiv No Name and both featured the more than capable support of sub-pop heroes, Scum of Toytown , and at least one featured Mark 'Nuzz' Nussey and his indescribable band, Drug Prowling Wolves. The first concert, a tribute to former drummer and songwriter, Aron Lake, whose recent death had shocked and saddened us all, showcased guest appearances by original Rizlas Marcus and Jo, and concluded with a thirty minute rendition of ‘Skin Up’. 

During this epic, intoxicating finale the band were joined on stage by a motley collection of friends and lunatics culled from the ranks of the supporting acts and the somewhat less self-conscious members of the ecstatic capacity audience. 

The second and final event in 1992 was the ‘King Rizla Christmas Spectacular’, in which a developing sense of self-confidence and a mood of experimentation found expression in a crisper, more coherent sound. The on-stage antics, meanwhile, plummeted to new depths of inspired lunacy. Happy days!

By early 1993, founder member Rob Hill had left the band and had taken with him his Arthur Askey-esque, music-hall, "Fank you very much" with which he closed each rendition of every song the band played on stage. The remaining Rizlas – Geoff, Tim, Russ, Pete and Dennis - decided to go to the pub to plan the next step. ("Don't worry, Pete, I'll stand you the price of a round" was an oft heard utterance back in those days). Several pints of Guiness Extra Cold later and they had reached a decision: it was time to go home and sleep.

Over the following months, however, they became a creative, tightly-knit unit, and the music they produced, a viable commodity. (Or so they imagined!) It was captured and skilfully produced by Andy Davies at Damajive Studios, Hitchin, and promised to be a precocious and original debut release. Alas, the money ran out, heralding the onset of a series of personal and financial crises. A limited number of CDs were made available but, eventually, The “TimeForANewDay” project was shelved. (Happily, today, those recordings are available for all to enjoy on The King Rizla Channel  on You Tube).


A year or two later, the band re-convened. A trimmed-down, four-piece version of the band, yes, but unmistakably Rizla! A Rizla for the 1990s – eclectic, energetic and enigmatic, producing music you could dance to and really listen to!

Returning to Damajive Studios, Hugh, Tim, Russ and Dennis recorded a dozen new songs, engineered and produced by Fields of The Nephilim bass guitarist, Tony Pettitt. Four of those songs, featuring backing vocalist Georgie Fisher, were released on an EP – Hole in My Soul – and, like TimeForANewDay, can be found on The King Rizla You Tube Channel.

Some commentators have suggested that during this period the band had somehow lost direction. For the band, though, this was a period of experimentation, exploration and, yes, sometimes even excess. They seemed to be saying: this is where we're going. You can come with us or stay behind. And off they went...

They never owned a van and didn’t even have a mike-stand to call their own. They smoked too much and drank too much because they liked to and made music for much the same reason. This is not to say their love of music was superficial; on the contrary, they took music very seriously indeed – it was themselves they refused to take seriously and this was an endearing and important part of their appeal...

2010 saw the King Rizla Reunion Concert, at  Club 85 in Hitchin. Mick played the drums, Tim played the bass guitar, Lee played the keyboards, Rob played guitar, Dennis played guitar and sang. The band performed songs from the 1990s live set before being joined on stage by Mark to perform the original 80s reggae material. It was emotional! It was awesome! The audience – including former members Jo, Geoff and Russ – loved every minute.



From left to right: Mick, Tim, Marcus, Rob, Dennis, and Lee.

Epilogue

After King Rizla, Marcus went on to play with The Cosmics, The Agitators, Prince Buster, Rico's Allstar Ska Band, and The Trojans. He toured the world with Lee Perry and the Mad Professor, and eventually formed No.1 Station.

Russ became a teacher and occasionally writes blogs. He still has a keyboard but doesn't play it much these days.

You can read about the contribution made to Anglo-Caribbean music (pre King Rizla) by Marcus and Russ in  People Funny Boy by David Katz.

Rob took a degree in Fine Art and is now an acclaimed artist. Jo is a physiotherapist.

Geoff is now an accredited practitioner of Ayur Vedic medicine.

Sadly, Pete died of cancer in 2011. Rest in Peace, buddy.


Pete Dimmock
(Optional Extras, Chron Gen, Chelsea, King Rizla)

Hugh, Tim and Dennis are currently recording new material, soon to be available on digital download.

King Rizla is Dead. Long Live King Rizla.