Ryan ChartrandZiggy Marley may have a voice that sounds a lot like his father’s, legendary reggae musician Bob Marley, but his music speaks a language all his own.
Ziggy’s songs are vastly influenced by his personal spiritual journey.
“My experiences I believe, most of it lies within the journey to find spirituality, to find the truth . and contemplation, meditation, coming out of confusion you know,” he said. “I believe that spiritual experience has shaped me as a musician, the realization of consciousness, the realization of life beyond material existence.”
Ziggy’s latest work, his album “Love Is My Religion,” is a testament to his spiritual journey.
“It’s inspired by love, love in the different aspects of it. Expressing love whether it be as a person . on the level of humanity you know, and finding love to be a true way to spirituality and a true message of God is love,” he said. “We find love needs to replace Christianity, Judaism and Islam, love is a replacement for all, all these religions that mislead people.”
Some of the songs on the album were written by Ziggy as a youth, but songs like “Still The Storms” which has a geo-political and historical focus, were written more recently.
“It’s a song that kind of reflects my view of how Africa is neglected . In the coming years, Africa will be the place, you know, Africa will once again take its rightful place among the nations of the Earth. As it was in the beginning, so it shall be in the end. And Africa is the beginning of life for all humanity and was the most important, so, I see the future of Africa as becoming once again the most important continent on Earth.”
In another song on the album, Ziggy sings, “I stopped the deputy, now you know, momma don’t try, you see, I got to go.” When asked how those lines connect to Bob’s “I Shot The Sheriff” and what they mean to him, Ziggy responded, “You know, really now, my father didn’t shoot the deputy, but somebody had to do something about that, you know, because the sheriff gets shot but then the deputy take over the sheriff’s job, so we still have to stop the deputy – we don’t have to shoot him, but we have to stop him. And you know, our mother is, usually mothers care about their children and they don’t want they children to get into trouble you know but, we have to do what we have to do no matter how momma feel.”
This is the sort of connection to Bob’s musical legacy that Ziggy neither denies nor exploits.
When asked what types of experiences he had with Bob and Rita that helped to influence his music, Ziggy said that, “The main experience is just seeing how my father and my mother work hard you know, and the discipline they put into making music, and that is a lesson that I learned very well.”
Ziggy said that he does not prefer the recording process over playing live or vice versa.
“Well you can’t prefer either you know, everything work together, everything has its purpose,” he said. “Recording is a creative process; it is a spiritual process of making music, creating music. Playing live is a communication, it is a real communication, people to people, communicating with each other, and that is important also.”
Currently playing shows with Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Ziggy said of the show, “Judging from the reaction of other audiences, it’s a very exciting show, and it’s a show that make you move, show that make you groove; consciousness. It should be a very good experience for people.”
When asked how touring with Robert Randolph and the Family Band is going, Ziggy responded, “Robert, them is cool you know, Robert is a cooliote, and everything is good.”
Ziggy said that though he and Robert Randolph and The Family Band have discussed collaborating onstage, they “haven’t gotten around to doing anything yet.”
Ziggy Marley and Robert Randolph and The Family Band will be playing at Avila Beach Resort today with opening acts The New Longview and Resination. Gates will open at 3 p.m. and the show will start at 4:45 p.m.