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When Doug Bautista recorded "Good Lord, Thank You ..." in 1996 it was a garage band effort. Reggae musician
‘Humble Soul’ aims to
stay that wayBy John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin"We had a couple of friends come in for a guitar part or something like that but we were the brain behind it, " Bautista explained of his work with musician/engineer Sayan M, recorded in the latter's garage.
Bautista aka Humble Soul is one of seven announced performers who'll share the stage Saturday as Scott Nunotani and Crucial Runnings presents the 2nd Annual Ohana Hotels Bob Marley Tribute Concert in Blaisdell Arena. Marley, who died in 1981, would have been 56 this month.
Aswad returns to Hawaii from London to headline the show. Mikey Dread is representing Jamaica, while Brooklyn's Rocker T upholds the honor of the Eastern United States. Also on the bill are the Fully Fullwood Band, local reggae pioneer Maacho, and Ooklah the Moc.
Bautista, who grew up in Kahaluu and is "just Doug" off stage, opted out of the local reggae/Jawaiian scene in 1995 to try his luck with a purer "roots reggae" sound on the mainland.
ON STAGE
What: Bob Marley Tribute Concert starring Aswad, Mikey Dread, Rocker T, Fully Fullwood Band, Humble Soul, Maacho, Ooklah the Moc and special guests
"I wanted to see if I could do it there. I figured I'd give it a shot and when I got up there it wasn't as difficult as I thought. All you have to do is be true in your music no matter where you go.
"So I did the album up there, but when my son was born I wanted him to grow up here.
"Some people (in the music business) have told me I shouldn't mention my family but that's not me."
Since returning to Hawaii, Bautista has generally maintained a low profile by avoiding club work while sharing reggae concert stages with Don Carlos, Eek-A-Mouse, Damian and Julian Marley, and Shinehead. He has continued to write pure roots reggae music and released his second Humble Soul album, "Jah Love Supreme," in conjunction with Nunotani's Crucial Running Productions label on Tuesday.
"When I came back here for the first time in '98 and played, the local audience didn't know what to expect because I was 'from L.A.' and I flew in for a show -- "the local boy back from L.A.!" -- so they thought maybe I was going to play like a more Jawaiian or Hawaiian-influenced reggae and when the first chords came out it was strictly roots!
"I think that opened their eyes and I kind of tripped them out. In California, reggae audiences expect roots reggae. Humble Soul is strictly international reggae and now they expect that here too."Bautista adds that he performs as Humble Soul, "to check myself everyday."
"If I'm gonna carry that name I want to stay that way no matter how big I get or if I fall off the charts. It's a reminder for me to look in the mirror every day and do my best every day, to be humble and cool about everything."
Thus far, fortune has favored Bautista. He was using Ooklah the Moc as his backing band when he was invited to play a Kauai reggae concert. Reggae "dub king" The Scientist (a k a Overton Brown) was there working with the concert headliner, Don Carlos, and later contacted Bautista with an offer to share his expertise on a new Humble Soul album.
"I couldn't believe it! He was like my biggest hero, and he said, 'Let's hook you up with a good band' and he called Peter Tosh's band, and we've been a little team ever since."
Bautista and the musicians are planning to hit the mainland reggae festivals this summer. By that time, "Jah Love Supreme" should be a major hit on Hawaii's reggae-friendly radio stations.
In the meantime, Bautista is already working on material for his third Humble Soul album.
"I want to attack it from a different angle. Instead of being in a big band in a big studio, I want to go back to my roots like the first album and go back into the garage again.
"But the first one was in Sayan's garage. It was almost like a tool shed. This time it'll be in mine."
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