Collegiate Times

Outside Squires, a man with dreadlocks jams to his CD player. He sports a vintage black Bob Marley T-shirt and has a contented aura about him. His blue and black Rollerblades make anyone who passes smile. As he blissfully blades to the beat of his own drum ? literally ? I come to realize ? this is no fan ? this is Drummie Zeb, legendary drummer of The Wailers.

With an enigmatic smile, he carefully climbs up the stage steps ?rollerblades and all ? of Squires Commonwealth Ballroom and takes a seat where he is most comfortable: in front of his drums. The light hum of reggae beats plays from his headphones ? he?s constantly listening to tracks from the Wailers? huge library of songs.

The Wailers have played all over the world, so why after four generations of sold-out concerts and devoted fans would they bless Virginia Tech with their presence?

?Somewhere out there, someone felt the energy and invited us to come. We want to be where all the leaders of tomorrow are,? said Zeb, his head nodding in rhythm, his voice managing to be equally sing-song and inspirational.

While the band?s foundation is in Jamaica, the 11 musicians reside all over the world, Zeb said, from London to Amsterdam. Zeb is a Virginia native, currently living in Richmond.

Feeling the music is something that comes naturally to Zeb. He?s loved Bob Marley since he was a youngster and his music career took off from there.

?I grew up on this side of the world (United States East Coast). Growing up in the late ?70s and getting into Bob Marley, I knew that he was going to be the biggest thing not only for America but for the world to experience. It was like God giving me a heads-up on it, I felt it then,? Zeb said.

He began his career as a member of the band Awareness Art Ensemble and often played at Tech during the ?80s. Soon after, he met many influential people from Jamaica and his music began to take him all over the world. Admittedly, Zeb is an old-school Virginia musician. He knew the members of Dave Matthews Band before they made their millions.

?When you think Drummie Zeb think of a piece of Virginia that?s a part of music that?s been around for 20 years,? he said.

Zeb is a self-proclaimed true Rasta man and a family man, with two daughters and four sons. Reggae music is often felt with a ?family kind of vibe, it?s for everybody,? Zeb said. ?Marley?s band brings all generations together; four generations these bloods have played to now. From the ?60s, ?70s, ?80s, ?90s, and here we are now, the new millennium and it?s getting stronger,? Zeb said. ?From Russia to Thailand we rock all of those worlds.?

Vibrant and purely optimistic, Zeb?s source of energy goes way back to his ancestral roots.

?One of the greatest things I learned coming from Virginia through the historical part, the very much rootsy part ? Williamsburg and Jamestown ? years and years ago the first thing that happened to a lot of the early slaves was their drums were taken away,? he said.

Zeb continued, ?I knew this since I was a young kid and if anything could happen within my power I would learn this drum and they would all be able to play through me, and that is what has happened now.?

So every time you see Zeb up on the drum set, know that you are seeing all of the ancestors coming through as a vehicle, and that?s the power of the Creator, he said.

Zeb loves to tour, and enjoys the experience of moving through different worlds such as going over to Europe and touching a sixth century church, seeing Athens and rocking through Spain.

?Most musicians that you see in a band of this caliber, it?s (touring) all we do 24/7. If it?s not tour, it?s studio, it?s recording, it?s always trying to bring something forward,? Zeb said. ?I think that?s the quest you start on when you start this journey, and I?ve been there over 24 years of my life and I still feel fresh. The road and the live stage give me energy.?

Zeb considers his day fairly easy-going. He?s a strong believer in routine, and thinks it?s very important for an artist to have a routine so they can control their own schedule. ?You have to find a rhythm in your day. Planning is the biggest part of an artist?s life because if you don?t plan, you plan to fail,? Zeb said.

As given away by his Rollerblades, Zeb loves to exercise and has a black belt in both Tae Kwan Do and Akido. One thing he does every single day of his life is pray. Zeb says praying is greatest thing he?s learned from the Rasta Man lifestyle.

Zeb has a new album coming out in 2007 called ?Double-delic.?

Genesis ?Jah-I-Witness? Osagboro of True Sound, a local favorite band, will be a guest lyricist on the album. Zeb and Osagboro go way back, he said. In fact, Zeb recalls when Osagboro was only five years old and now they reunite after many years, catching up as they sit on the stage together.

Zeb and his band, called Drummie Zeb and the razor posse, recently contributed to a reggae compilation of Bob Dylan songs. The album, ?It?s Rolling Bob? includes all of Jamaica?s greatest artists.

Happy to be alive and happy to be performing, Zeb leaves with a few words of inspiration, ?Live clean, just let your works be seen.?