Jay Malinowski - singer/guitarist - Vancouver, BC

Warped Tour 2005.  It's hot.  It's sweaty.  You want to light the Truth booth into oblivion.  Most of all Warped Tour entails the all day festivities of bad food, porta-potty stench, and a sea of hormonal teens, but it also entails the hopes to see some really amazing bands play live.  Granted, the sound at outdoor festivals usually sucks for the most part.  There are some bands that make you want to pull the singer from the stage and gag him forever  Then there's the disappointment of seeing your favorite CD being performed live and hearing what it really sounds like minus the fancy digital amendments made in the studio.  All this sounds very negative, I know, but there comes good as well.  The good is being able to witness a band in greatness that actually has some skill.  That band for me at this year's Warped Tour was none other than...Bedouin Soundclash.  Although there is no relevance, they are reminiscent of the Clash.  They also remind me of this reggae singer by the name of Pato Banton.  They weren't your typical Warped Tour band.  No image gimmicks, no bullshit, just really amazing music, pure and honest and they blew it the fuck away.  Side One Dummy is doing something right!  The best part is that they are a band with no boundaries of genre.  They say it best  when I asked them to describe their music..  Eon responded with, "...street punk reggae soul world band."  I have to say this says it all.  I encourage everyone highly to own this record and I look forward to the future records this band is going to put out because unlike the bands that are being played right now, this one actually has staying power.  Bassist, Eon was very obliging in answering my questions while on tour in London. 

What was your first Warped Tour experience like?  

Yeah, this summer was our first time on Warped Tour. It was an amazing experience, but an exhausting one for sure. We were a band that was very different from most of what was going on this summer, and I think that helped us to stand out a little bit more.

Do you consider your self a reggae band or do you categorize yourself  otherwise, if at all?

We really don't like the idea of categorizing music in genres, but everything should be classified as music you like and understand or music you don't. We like to say that we're a street punk reggae soul world band, because that's as close to a genre that we can come to, in all honesty.
 
When you all are touring are you playing with same genre of musicians? Who would you most like to tour with?

We've toured the US, Canada, and the UK, and in every territory, we've been told by many people that there are no other bands making music in a similar style as us, so we've never had the opportunity to tour with a band that is in the same genre. On the other hand, we've been fortunate enough to appeal to many different types of music lover, so we've toured with ska bands, rock bands, world bands, reggae bands, punk bands, and pop rock bands. We'd love to tour with The Roots or with The Slackers again.
 
You have a song called "Jeb Rand" are you aware that Jeb Rand is a >figure skater? Would you enlighten our audience as to who Jeb Rand (your  song) is about?

Jay writes all the lyrics and melodies for Bedouin, and I don't think he was aware that a figure skater named Jeb Rand existed. The lyric was based on a 1950's western called "Pursued" starring Robert Mitchum, who played the lead character, Jeb Rand. The movie was about how he awakened in a town with no recollection of how he got there or the people around him, and how
due to his amnesia, he had to figure out why certain people were chasing him and trying to kill him. The song is also a reference to George W. Bush and his foreign policy, as he acted in the Middle East based on histories that he really seemed to know very little about, and how he was probably unsure why so many people disagreed with his actions.
 
Do you feel being from Canada has benefited your musical endeavors? Do you feel it's audiences are different than American audiences and if so how?

I think that because we all grew up in Canada, we grew up in communities and environments, and institutions that celebrated the cultural diversity of our nation, and as a result, we were all exposed to many different types of music and performance that definitely benefited our sound and approach towards music. Canadian audiences seem to be a little more reluctant to show
you their appreciation immediately than American audiences, although it's tough to say because we've had a 5 year history in Canada, and have always had a really positive response. Warped Tour was really our only experience in America, save for a few shows with Streetlight Manifesto, but it's tough to compare the two situations

Favorite place to play so far?

I love playing most places in Canada, but especially Waterloo, ON.

Worst show or show where something out of the ordinary happened?

We played Sudbury, ON once, opening for a band called General Rudie, and there was only 7 people at the show. What was worse, was that we couldn't leave our van unattended outside because the area was so sketchy. That was pretty bad.

Do you feel as though music is evolving from a retro standpoint or do you feel that something new is to be created soon?

I think anything new that is ever created is based on an older idea that came before it. The newest forms of music (drum & bass, UK garage [grime], even hip hop) all seem to have stemmed from electronic forms, but your can easily look back to prog or experimental rock and jazz for the inspiration there. I think the newest forms of music come out of the synthesis of older
forms with the addition of current technologies and/or ideas. There are currently a lot of things being hailed as new that are simply re-hash of old forms of music, but as long as the artists involved are bringing them to new audiences, no one should take issue with that.

How long have you been playing together?

We've been playing for just about 5 years now.

Where did the name come from (I know this is a boring question but hey at least your name is different)

"Bedouin Soundclash" is the name of an album by an artist named Badawi. Jay had the record, which is mostly electronic dub reggae, and he liked the album name as a band name, and once we chose it, it stuck. It was fitting at the time, and I still think it is based on our sound. We never had another name!

Are you currently touring and if not when will you be?

We are just wrapping up a tour in the UK opening for The Ordinary Boys, and will going straight from London, England to Vancouver, BC, Canada, to start a 38-date headlining Canadian tour with The Junction supporting us.

Influences (yes I know another boring question)

We have too many influences to really cite, but the major influences we share as a band are The Clash, The Wailers, The Specials, The Motown Sound (in general) and Paul Simon. Bob Dylan, Toots and The Maytlas, lots of Soca,
Calypso, Soul, Jazz, Electronic, and pop, all influence our sound
 
What does the future hold for Bedouin?

We will continue to tour, and try to expose our music to as many people as possible as time goes on. We also finished recording a new record called "Street Gospels" this February, which will probably come out late 2006. We'll also be doing some b-sides this year and next, so watch out for those! We'll also be heading to as many festivals around North America and Europe as possible.

Favorite Desserts?

I love chocolate in almost any form, especially mousse or freshly baked, soft cookies, or soft serve ice cream. I also love black cake, which is a Guyanese delicacy made from fruits and rum. it's a Christmas treat I live for!
 

Intelligent, Sweet, Honest, and really freakin' good.  Check them out at www.bedouinsoundclash.com or on trusty MySpace at www.myspace.com/bedouin

***All photos used from www.bedouinsoundclash.com and have been amended by Anti-Mag.com

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