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Dr. Ring Ding
The interview you are gonna read is really the fruit of a forbidden embrace on the Internet. The guys of Ruds Style have made half of this, then SkabadiP made another half by return of e-post, and the photos have been sent by email from Tommaso Collini. Dasvidania.
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What does Dr. Ring Ding mean exactly?
Dr. Ring Ding (the bell toll) is a very popular game among jamaican kids and, at the same time, is used to define an exciting sensation. It is also a 1964 song from Roland Alphonso. I chose it because of the latter reason, but soon I discovered it had several other meanings…
Tell us something about your musical experience…
I started playing Ska at the age of 17/18 with a band called "El Bosso und die Ping-Pongs"…
A great band: who hasn't danced to Mafia Tanz?
I am glad to see that some of you know it!!! At the time I used to play the trombone there and I sang background. When we broke up, I think it was 1992, I formed my band christening it"Dr. Ring Ding & The Senior All Stars" with some members from El Bosso and some more I found on the way.
Have you stopped singing in German from the days of El Bosso?
We started as a cover band playing version of classic Jamaican Ska from the ‘60s.
A little after, we approached some Reggae and Raggamuffin sound. I really like the original style and I don’t think it’s good to mix it with a German lyrics. I try to respect the traditional style and play it as authentically as possible.
So, is your band different from others bands of your country, like The Busters?
The Busters have a quite different style from ours, which is closer to the ‘60s, to the traditional Ska.
When we play Reggae songs, it’s a different thing. Than we try to play some "dancehall" like Raggamuffin, and sometimes Dub. To make it short, I can say that we stress on the traditional side of Ska, while we allow more modern influences in the Reggae we play.
Which are the differences you find in "Dandimite" and in your latest work?
For sure the way we play, our playing is a little more "mature" now. Also, Dandimite contained mostly covers and the new record [Ram Di Dance] does not.
Which are your projects for the near future?
We’ll play a lot and we’ll come back to Italy, soon…we have six Italian shows on the next tour…We are also recording a new album with Lord Tanamo. He is the vocalist for this work, and we have laid down some tracks already. We will see each others soon!
Since we know you got a French mother, than you speak English, a little bit of Italian, you are German and you know also Patois...are you gonna do some Russian Ska song next time? For real...where did you learn such a wonderful Jamaican pronunciation?
We did a russian Ska song...(instrumental). It can be heard on the "My Sound" Cd-single [The doctor never ceases to surprise us!].
I've learned the patois listening to the records, talking to the people, and I also read some books about Jamaican language, culture etc.
In an other web-interview you talk about Desmond Dekker. What do you think of him and why do you think he has not manage to become as famous as other Reggae stars though being such a great singer? Why do you like him so much?
To me, he is one of, if not "THE" greatest singer in Reggae music. He was very successful in the early seventies, a real pop star. I think many people know him still and appreciate his craft. Desmond Dekker was the first Ska/Reggae show that I saw when I was 17 years old...
You play Ragga, Dub, Ska, Rocksteady...when are you going to give us even some Ska-Jazz?
There is Ska Jazz on the 'Ram Di Dance' album ('Song For My Father' by Horace Silver) There might be more on the next album to come.
You played a lot in Italy recently, do you have a special feeling with us or why is that? For sure we are really glad you & the Seniors came here so often...
Oh yes, I like Italy very much - especially the food ;-)
I'm sorry we couldn't make it in September [1998] (we had to cancel the 4 shows), but we will be back in December.
How you got the idea of Big T'ings? Who is H.P.Setter?
It was the producer's idea (H.P.Setter), to put an album together with tracks from different Ska and Reggae bands and feature me as the performing artist on these Dub tracks.
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Web Site: www.ringding.de
11 July - 25 September 1998
by Igi from Ruds Style and Alessandro Melazzini
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