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"We're up around five figures
now", says selector Daddy Stevo
of Comanche High Power,
referring to the sheer number of
reggae vinyl records in his
archive, amassed over the last
25 years.
This ever-expanding collection,
which spans the musical history
of Jamaica and 'anywhere good
reggae comes from', forms the
basis of the sound's
message-driven musical mission.
Seeking to educate and uplift
the community, Comanche
selectors dig deep into the
music to find and bring to light
the many highly underrated and
unsung artists both in reggae
history and modern roots and
cultural dancehall music - as
well as more well-known
selections - all on original
vinyl records.
"We're fortunate to have such a
great festival so close to where
we live because it enables us to
bring as many records as we like
to the festival to be heard. I
brought a couple thousand of my
best last year, just in
case..." Comanche is also
honored to be the builder and
engineer of SNWMF's dancehall
sound system for the second
straight year, pushing an
'undisclosed number' of watts
through Comanche's custom set
for your maximum musical
pleasure.
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Stevo's 'sound education' began
at an early age, experimenting
with his parents' beloved reverb
amp & 8-track tape/record
changer setup "when they weren't
around, of course". A few years
as an apprentice and technician
at a TV & stereo repair shop in
San Francisco confirmed his
passion for sound (and
manipulating it).
Stevo explains how the
sound got its name:
"Some years ago when my
grandmother's health
started to deteriorate,
she began to tell
stories of how her
husband (my grandfather,
who passed in 1956) was
forced by 'cultural
circumstances' to
conceal his true Plains
Indian heritage and live
his life in Texas and
Arizona as a 'swarthy,
dark-haired Irishman'."
"When I first heard of
this,it was around the
time that I was trying
to imagine what I might
name the sound, and it
just seemed natural to
honor his and my own
heritage, no matter how
long it was hidden, so I
figured I'd put the name
front and center:
Comanche." |
