Chinna, blessings and, first and foremost, congratulations on the success of the whole Inna De Yard project.
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "Yeah man, I'm glad to see I&I seed is finally starting to blossom. Although I don't think it's quit bearing fruit yet, the Inna De Yard project is definitely rooted now. But this kind of music is about sacrifice too; you have to love it because there's no money in it. It's a spiritual movement!"
How did that project eventually start? How did you hook up with Nicolas (Maslowski, red.) and Romain (Germa, red.) from Makasound?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "That was through Winston McAnuff. We go way back, so he understands the direction I want to go in with my music. At the time when he approached me, I had grown weary from touring year in year out, backing all different kinds of artists. It was just getting boring and I felt the music business was becoming far too materialistic; there's no substance in it anymore. Rastaman vibration is positive, but after Bob (Marley, red.) died, everything shifted. Nuff artists are just running up and down the stage shouting: "Hail Rastafari!" or "Selassie I!", but once they leave the stage it's a whole different thing. I&I love music; I love to play my guitar. The best place to play is in a relaxed environment and which place is more relaxed than your own home? No one can come and tell me I can't do this or that there. It's that relaxed atmosphere that I wanted to communicate to the world with this project. I like to smoke a spliff when I play my guitar, because I like to feel what I'm playing and in my own yard there's no one who can stop me. It's a freedom thing. I respected these guys from Makasound, because they had the vision and courage to try something different instead of just repeating the same old thing."
You must be one of, if not the most famous guitar player in reggae history...
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "Well, I don't look at things like that; I just play music you know."
When did that love for the guitar start?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "I grew up having parents that owned their own sound system, so music was always around me from ever since. My love for the guitar was almost an instant thing; from the first time I saw the instrument until today, I can't see a guitar lying around without picking it up and playing it."
Do you have a preference for the acoustic guitar over the electric version?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "I do, yeah. I prefer the acoustic guitar because it's natural; you don't need anything to play it, it's just wood and strings. The sound of the electric guitar lacks a certain organic quality, but in certain occasions you just need it to create the right vibe or just play a little louder."
Do you own an entire collection or do you always stick with the same instrument?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "Oh man, if you ever come to Jamaica, come check out my place! Other people spend their money on cars or shoes, I just collect guitars. What guitar I'm going to use depends on the session or the occasion and the sound that is required. The sound of a Gibson is different to that of a Strat (Fender Stratocaster, red.), and nylon strings sound different than steel strings. All these differences colour the sound in a way. Any decent guitar player will know exactly what I am talking about."
A big chapter of your musical career was the time you spent with the Soul Syndicate band. How exactly did you come to play with them?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "I grew up in an area called Greenwich Town. Soul Syndicate was formed somewhere in the mid-sixties. I used to live on East Avenue, above the train line, and the band used to rehearse on Ninth Street. Fully's (George 'Fully' Fullwood, bass player and leader of Soul Syndicate, red.) father was the manager of the band, because he owned all the instruments they played. As a youth I already loved music, but I didn't have the means to buy an instrument so I just sang. I often went to watch Soul Syndicate rehearse and, when at a certain stage I got my hands on a guitar, I just start copying the Soul Syndicate's guitar player. That's how I slowly got to know how to play really. I didn't even realize you had to tune your instrument at that time! (laughs) When you're trying to learn something you love, you try to absorb everything they tell you though. Now at one stage the first guitarist of Soul Syndicate, a man called Cleon Douglas, decided to leave, and because I attended all their rehearsals anyway and knew how to play the songs, the asked me to join the band. From that point I really started to focus on music more seriously."
"Word, Sound & Power", a documentary shot in 1980, was re-released on DVD recently. That footage shows that at one stage Soul Syndicate even had its own fan club and even a dance squad.
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "Yeah man, it was a whole movement, but like with a lot of great movements for various reasons it just fell apart after a while. I'm still into that mind frame though; that's one of the reasons why I've always lived in Jamaica."
Can you clear up the history of the tune 'Fade Away', a song that became most famous in the version of Jr. Byles, but that you apparently composed?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "I was the one who wrote and produced that song. If you don't believe me you can always ask Jo Jo Hoo Kim (Joseph 'Jo Jo' Hoo Kim, founder of Channel One studios and the Channel One label, red.), because he's the one who first released that tune on his label (Eagle, 1976, red.). It was also me who asked Jr. Byles to sing the track."
You're now finally taking the Inna De Yard project on the road and it's been a huge success, all concerts selling out in no time. Did that surprise you?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "No man, because I knew the people were hungry for the real thing. They're tired of all this fake idiocy of artists asking too much money and disrespecting their audience. Things are changing and righteousness will come to govern the earth. If you are supporting truths and rights, you don't have to worry; just keep on doing what you are doing. Praise Jah and live, curse H.I.M. and die!"
One guy who was with you on that project from the very beginning was Kiddus I. How would you describe your relationship with him?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "Kiddus is my brethren. A brethren is different from a friend; you are your brother's keeper you know."
You both also starred in the "Natural Mystic" documentary...
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "Well, it's good that you mention that, because I was tricked in doing that whole thing. Although I'm still quite upset about the whole thing, I'm still glad we were able to do something positive. The thing is they presented this project to me as if it was something for television, when eventually it turned out to be a DVD production. I took these guys into areas where they normally wouldn't be able to set foot, because you have to realize Jamaica is a fucked-up place in some ways. I did that because I was convinced the project they were doing wasn't anything commercial. I still get upset talking about it, because I'm tired of all these pirates of the Caribbean coming down to Jamaica to make money on our backs. I don't have a problem doing these kinds of things, but I like people to be straight with me from the start. Man to man is so unjust, in the end you don't even know who to trust! My word is my word, so that is what I expect from other people as well."
You're the most well-known guitar player in reggae music and you are featured on an almost endless list of recordings. When a musician has played on that many recordings over the course of his career, are there still albums that stick out? Are there albums that you're especially fond of?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "I would say it's more about moments than about specific albums. In Jamaica, music is so naturally omnipresent that you're almost as used to it as having rice and peas on Sundays. Every thing, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, has its purpose and that's what I've also learned to do what my musical career is concerned. I don't see the purpose in saying this is better than that. It's like when they ask me about my favourite Bob Marley song. I don't have a favourite Bob Marley song. I like 'Three Little Birds' because of its simplicity and purity, because it doesn't talk about struggle, strife or revolution. I guess that's what I look for most in music: purity, simplicity and love."
True beautiful music is simple music?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "Yeah, absolutely; try to keep everything simple. The simpler the song, the easier it is to relate to."
Do you try to pass on your love for the guitar and music and general to the future generation?
Earl 'Chinna' Smith: "That is also part of what the Ina De Yard project is all about! Brethren pass by in my yard every day. I don't adhere to this commercial way of people paying me for this or that amount of time, it's a 24/7 thing. Even when I'm not there, people know there's a piano, a drum set and a p.a.-system on my veranda they can use. I don't have burglar bars on my house, nor do I own a vicious dog, so any time, night and day, you can just come to my place and play music!"