Larry McDonald is a well-known and highly accomplished percussionist in the Jamaican music scene. I've seen him sit in with the Slackers (one of my favorite ska bands) more than once, as well as performing with the modern iteration of the Jamaican ska band that really defined the genre, the Skatalites. Hailing from Jamaica, McDonald has played with many of the greats that have defined the sound of the island nation where he was born (not to mention blues legend Taj Mahal) and should definitely be considered among their ranks himself (he is a member of the Jamaica Music Museum's Hall of Fame). And...as he was born in 1937...I'll just say that I hope I can be as active and creative as he is when I'm in my 80s. (If you're interested, you can go here for a great article about his journey.)
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| (86 years young here, from a 2023 Slackers show...) |
When we saw him with the Skatalites, I found out there's another aspect of McDonald's musical pursuits: He sings! And he's great at it. Earlier this year, McDonald released a ska version of the song "The Shadow of Your Smile," taking the vocal lead himself. Marching forward with the virtuosic backing of guitarist Natty Frenchy and saxophonist Zem Audu, the tune even has a cool video with some scenic shots around the city. Check it out below!
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Now, to make this SKAturday truly Geeky, let me talk a little bit about how this applies to the Agents of SKA, the time-traveling, ska-sharing protectors of the ever-branching multiverse. I figure there needs to be at least one "elder statesman" among the SKA crew, so I think I'll make one as a little tribute to Mr. McDonald. So, let's go with...Don Lawrence...he's been at this for a while and has unparalleled wisdom not just from the time he's spent living, but all of the times he's experienced as a SKA agent.
With McDonald's history of setting a rhythmic foundation for his musical colleagues, I could imagine Don Lawrence's character class might be some sort of support role. However, Mr. McDonald's killer vocals have made me go in a different direction...at heart, Don Lawrence (like Haruto Suzuki) is a star and probably needs to have the Three Minute Hero class.
And...it looks like I haven't even shared the details of the Three Minute Hero class on the blog yet. It's about time for me to start logging the classes I've been thinking about for my little Monstrous Heartbreaker and its compatible games and minigames...so that'll be a post for this week...!
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