KING DJANGO
King Django is internationally loved and respected as an important proponent of roots music. With a diverse career now spanning nearly three decades he has made his mark as an influential bandleader, singer, songwriter, arranger, engineer, producer and musician, especially in the genres of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, rhythm & blues, soul, klezmer and even hardcore/punk rock. He has toured many times throughout the US, Europe, Canada, and Japan as the leader of Stubborn All-Stars, Skinnerbox and the King Django band and as a sideman with such renowned acts as Rancid, Murphy’s Law, The Slackers and the Toasters. He is also widely known and respected as an influential mentor of younger musicians, sharing and spreading his deep knowledge of Jamaican and American music. He currently performs regularly leading the King Django Band and Bad Luck Dice, and as a sideman with Predator Dub Assassins.
In late May/early June of 2013, Django led the second outing of his Version City Tour through 27 east-coast shows in 25 days. Version City Tour #2 featured a compact and versatile quartet, with Django joined by Brian Hill of NC’s Regatta 69 on bass and vocals, guitarist/vocalist John DeCarlo of hard-touring Boston ska group Westbound Train. Ranging from 45 minutes to three hours, the tour showcased the songs of these three veteran performers, along with drummer Anthony Vito Fraccalvieri of Long Island bands Broadcaster and Royal City Riot, who had just come off of a six-week US tour with The Toasters.
In February of 2013. Django was invited to perform in Kingston, Jamaica at the Institute of Jamaica’s Jamaica Music Museum, taking the stage accompanying such musical dignitaries as Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, Ras Michael, Nambo Robinson, Big Youth, Junior Reid and Bongo Herman.
In late 2012/early 2013, Django took his popular, long-standing New York City, Rocksteady and Ska “Version City” party (active in various forms since 1997, most notably at prestigious NYC venue The Knitting Factory) on the road, leading the first Version City Tour through 30 dates in 10 states. Playing piano and trombone, supported and backed by young PA group The Snails, Django performed a wide selection of his own material as well as a number of classic reggae and ska tunes.
In 2012 he celebrated the 20th anniversary of his independent label, Stubborn Records and the 5th year anniversary of his “Version City” vinyl label based in Kingston, Jamaica.
In late 2011, Django was a headlining performer on the month-long “Echo Mix” tour along with Konrad Kuechenmeister (Berlin, Germany) and Brian Hill of Regatta 69. In June of the same year, Django set out alone for the Florida performing a string of shows with several different backing bands.
In 1997 he assembled the Version City recording studio which rapidly became the hub of the NYC ska and reggae scene. Django moved the studio to New Brunswick, NJ in 2000, where he continues his engineering and production work for a wide roster of international clients.
DR. RING DING
Dr. Ring Ding a.k.a. Richie Senior was born in 1970 in Münster, Germany to a multi-cultural and musical household. His introduction to music began with singing along with his family and learning the recorder (deathly boring) but he soon switched to more interesting instruments such as the trombone. From 1987 on he played in the horn section of El Bosso & die Ping Pongs, one of Germany‘s most famous Ska bands and the only one of its time which sang in German. From this experience he came to love Jamaican music.
Around Christmas of 1992 Richie formed his own band, Dr. Ring-Ding & the Senior Allstars. Over the next ten years they would release five albums, numerous singles and two albums as the backing band for Doreen Shaffer (JA) and Lord Tanamo (JA), and in doing so made their mark on the international Ska scene.
Dr. Ring Ding is a popular live performer, studio musician, arranger and producer in many different music genres such as Swing, Rhythm & Blues, Chanson, Hip Hop, Rumba-Soukouss and Punk, but, above all, in Reggae, Dancehall and Ska.
Richie‘s cooperation with German Reggae producer HP Setter was immortalized on the solo dub album Big T‘ings and on the compilation Riddim In Exile. His work with the Rock crossover band H-Blockx secured him a hit with the tune Ring Of Fire, which went to number 13 on the German charts in the summer of 2000. Further collaborations with H-Blockx followed; among others on the title track of their album Get In The Ring (2002), which boxing world champion Sven Ottke selected as his entrance music.
Dr. Ring Ding has also made spectacular contributions to single selections for national and international producers: Doctor‘s Darling (Germaica Records) went to the top 20 of the German Black Music Charts at the end of 2002 and the German language Vom Vatter (Germaica Records) appeared on numerous Reggae compilations.
Dr. Ring Ding has performed live all over Europe and North America. He has appeared alongside many veterans of Jamaican music (Bob Andy, Doreen Shaffer, Phyllis Dillon, Hopeton Lewis, Derrick Morgan and Dennis Alcapone, just to name a few), and has played in the horn section of the New York Ska band The Toasters, most recently during their 1998 “Independents Day” tour in the US.
Television and radio appearances in Germany, Spain, France and the US have helped spread the positive vibes that emanate from Dr. Ring Ding. As a Deejay, singer and/or trombonist, he has appeared on a number of albums from international Ska, Reggae and Hip Hop artists, such as: Stubborn Allstars (New York)
Soul Kid Click (New York)
Curse (Germany)
Adjusters (Chicago)
Toasters (New York)
Spook & the Guay (France)
and many more
Additionally he has appeared as Deejay or MC with famous sound systems all over Germany, as well as in Rome, Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Granada, Barcelona, Madrid, Budapest, Szczecin and New York City, such as:
Crazy Baldhead (USA),
Rude (Italy),
Culture Rock,
Natural Mystic,
Small Axe,
Lucky Punch,
Kingstone,
Pow Pow Movement,
Ba Ba Boom Sound
and many more
In brief, Dr. Ring Ding lives music, particularly the music of Jamaica! As one of the first performers in Germany who bridge the Ska and Reggae scenes, he has opened many ears and hearts for the “Good Vibes” of his favorite sounds.
DJ CHUCK WREN (Jump Up Records)
DJ Chuck Wren has hosted the ska radio show “Everything Off-Beat” across the Chicago dial since 1989, currently airing Sundays at 9 PM on WLUW-FM 88.7. Since 1993, his label JUMP UP RECORDS ( www.jumpuprecords.com ) has released over 100 albums including ones by local faves Deal’s Gone Bad, The Drastics, and Green Room Rockers. His monthly night at Delialh’s is Chicago’s longest running ska/reggae night at 18 years, and when he spins you see piles of piles of original Jamaican 45s sprawled all over the place.