Equalites /// Reggae - Roots - Rock - Dub - Ska - R&B 

History of the Equalites
Equalites (eek-ual-ights)

In the beginning

Somewhere in the middle of the winter of 1987 several friends got together at a cozy duplex on Juggler Meadow road in Leverett, MA to play some music. Most were friendly from their days coming up in Cambridge MA. Cambridge hosted a burgeoning reggae scene in the late 70’s and early to mid 80’s that centered on clubs like Jonathan Swifts and The Western Front. Many of the friends that started playing music together in Leverett with the intention of starting a reggae band were from this scene.

The participants included Adam Bauer(bass), Tony Beckwith (keys), Conrad (vox), B (toasting) and Eddie Modestini (percussion). The momentum generated by these five friends playing together picked up and started to attract other musicians eager to play reggae music in a new style. New arrivals on the scene, landing during the mud season of 1987 at Juggler Meadow were David Noonan (drums) and Edward Redonnet (guitar). Together these seven musicians started the wave that eventually became the Equalites, long standing original reggae powerhouse of the Pioneer Valley.

The Roots Penetrators Line up
Spring, 1987
Adam Bauer, bass guitar
Eddie Modestini, percussion
Edward Redonnet, guitar, vox
Tony Beckwith, keys
Dave Noonan, drums
With the Cambridge crew: B, vox, and Conrad, vox

Originally, the band was known as “The Roots Penetrators”, a band designed to bring you to your root through music. The band focused on writing original dubs and songs for this very purpose. The Roots Penetrators practiced regularly and focused on their first couple of gigs, a late semester party at Amherst College (organized by Karen B.) and a summer solstice party held at the Juggler Meadow house on 6/21/87. Conveniently, that day was the birthday of Adam’s friend Gerard, a stalwart Cambridge comrade renowned for his interest and collection of classic comic books. A recording of the solstice show exists still, and the music recorded reveals the promise in the work still to be done.

The Roots Penetrators took a Halloween gig in Belchertown, MA at Paul Hughes annual All Hallow’s Eve bash and rose to the challenge. This gig was a two-hour extravaganza for the Penetrators, and with a great musical evening came most notably the introduction of percussionist William “Boo” Pearson to the fold. Boo, former percussionist for the Wendell, MA based reggae band Loose Caboose, was searching for the next big thing when he came across the Roots Penetrators in full flower. He arrived with two female back up singers and two horn players, all adding their spice and flavor to the unfolding.

The Roots Penetrators however, were not without the internal divisiveness that can rout a band from its comfortable beginnings. The Cambridge posse (and reggae purists) of the Penetrators, Tony, B, and Conrad, grew uncomfortable with the rhythm section’s tendency towards long jams, expressive dynamics, and psychedelic tendencies. Adam, Eddie, David, and Edward were and still are long time fans of the Grateful Dead. For reggae musicians unaccustomed to or not interested in the experimental style of music the Grateful Dead pioneered, playing with Deadheads who openly and with valor rode the bus was frustrating, to say the least. So, after a series of smoky discussions, they left, and the Roots Penetrators were a five-piece band.

Next to come along was a guitar player with an elf like persona and good-natured demeanor in the form of Jim Folan. Jim played a smooth rhythm guitar skank that complimented Edward’s choppy leads and fit hand in glove with the ethos now being actively perpetuated by the Penetrators.

Unfortunately, popular opinion again reared its ugly head as several female friends and family became offended by an incorrect interpretation of the band’s name, The Roots Penetrators. A meeting was called at the band’s rehearsal studio up at Jim Folan’s Shelburne, MA recording facility. Interestingly enough, Boo came forth with his horn section and One People reggae band expatriate lead singer Stone Montgomery. Again, after a couple of hours of smoky discussions, the name The Equalites was decided upon as a worthy replacement to the Penetrator’s moniker.

In the Iyaric language of the Rastafarians of Jamaica, “ites” means “heights”, and is used as a greeting or a parting between brethren as they wish each other the attainment of the absolute heights of consciousness, the highest regions, to better behold the glory of Jah. By paring “equal” with “ites”, the Penetrator’s wished all of humanity the equal opportunity to realize this level of consciousness and lent it’s collective musical contribution to the cause.
The Equalites were born.

The Equalites started to rehearse in Jim Folan’s recording studio. The Equalites were short of a consistent vocalist, and Stone was able to start and fill that void. He gave the rhythm section some pointers on hitting the rhythms harder, and was an absolute powerhouse on the mike. Stone, Kenny, and Larry did a few gigs with the band, and then faded from the band in early 1988. The Equalites played at the Northampton Center for the Arts, a benefit for the Rainbow Gathering, a show whose highlight was the return of B to lend a crisp vocal to his classic “Ride On”. Another Cambridge alum, Rob, joined the EQ’s on vocals for a few shows around this time.

A new keyboardist had come on the scene, Andrew Dickinson, another Loose Caboose expatriate and avid partaker of the Hammond/Lesley sound. Andrew lent the EQ’s a classic funky sound with his organ, a signature of the band for several years to come.

By the early spring of 1988, the Cambridge crew had again retreated to their more traditional environs, and the Equalites were again searching for a full time vocalist.

Equalites Line up
Spring, 1988
Adam, bass
Edward, guitar
Dave, drums
Boo, percussion
Eddie, percussion
Jim, guitar
Andrew, organ
Additional vocalists/horns/keys as available:
Stone, Mentos, Larry, Kenny, B, Rob, Tony

Boo had mentioned that his former Loose Caboose band mate David Boatwright was interested in the band. David mixed sound for the Penetrator’s at a Wendell Town Hall gig in late 1987 alongside Creed Dew, and was familiar with the band. Adam, David, Dave, Andrew, and Boo met at David’s house in Wendell Depot to jam and reason the beginnings of a new line up. Instantly the group jelled, and there were several more jams to solidify the line up. The big gig for the new group was Eddie’s wedding, held in Montague MA on 6/22/88. The band originally was to back up the roots reggae vocal trio Israel Vibration for the occasion, but that fell through.

The line up for this show was Adam - bass, David - guitar & vox, Dave - drums, Andrew - organ, Tony - keys, Boo - percussion & background vox (his first foray into singing, one that has held to this day). Edward was not on this gig, and neither was Jim, who had effectively left the band by this point, though he did do sound. Eddie was busy getting married, so he didn’t play either. A decent tape of this show still exists. This was the last gig until September, when Adam returned from a cross-country trip, and Dave returned from Framingham, MA. Eddie Modestini withdrew from the group soon after the fall began, leaving Boo as the sole percussionist.

The band started to rehearse regularly, and began to get work at local colleges and clubs, including Twister’s in downtown Amherst, a haunt the EQ’s would inhabit for years. The EQ’s also continued working at the Wendell Town Hall, packing it with fans of the new sound. Steady work flowed to the band, and in return the band gave their heartfelt interpretation of reggae music as best they could. More original music began to flow into the active repertoire at this time. Even during the band’s earliest days, original tunes were important to the band, and they were performed as they were ready. These tunes were mostly instrumentals, and still exist on tapes. The band, particularly Adam, recorded as much as possible, and from these recordings we have a record of early Equalites music, originals like, “Creation dub”, “Golden dub”, “Ride On”, “Do you like that?” and “First time I met you” were strong tunes that were fun to play.

David Boatwright brought a plethora of new original and cover material to the group. He had recently finished a solo effort of original music, recorded at Sound Design in Brattleboro, VT with Michael Miller on bass and Mwoli on drums. Some of the tunes on this recording date made it into the Equalites show list, including “Spices and Trade” and “That’s ’Something”.

Equalites Line up
Fall, 1988
Adam, bass
David, guitar/vox
Dave, drums
Edward, guitar
Andrew, organ
Boo, percussion

Sample set list from '88 era:
Party Time - Mighty Diamonds
Do the Reggae - Toots and the Maytalls
Lively up yourself - Bob Marley and the Wailers
Baby we got a date - BMW
Love’s got a hold on me - Dennis Brown
Better must come - Delroy Wilson
Armageddon time - Willie Williams
Drifter - Dennis Brown
That’s Sayin’Something - David Boatwright
Spices and Trade - David Boatwright
Skylarkin’
Marcus Garvey
Rub a dub Partner - Jimmy Cliff
Bellyfull - BMW
Throw me Corn - Larry Marshall
Modern Girl

The Equalites continued playing throughout the fall of ’88 and spring ’89, coalescing as a unit. Regular rehearsals at David’s Wendell Depot home yielded new originals and cover tunes. One of the early and only Equalites songs to directly quote an international crisis, “Crackdown”, appeared in the set lists by early summer. “Crackdown”(mp3), written in response to the Tiamannen Square student protests that were quashed violently by the Chinese government during the Spring of ‘89, is a hard rocker with funk beat under a steady reggae bass line. The song was the genesis for the band to consider recording an album together.

New originals were starting to flow into the set list, including the important “Make a Difference”, “It’s Real”, “Choice of Worlds”, the Junior English composition “High Society”, and ultimately “Woman on the Edge of Time”. The summer and fall of ’89 saw the Equalites playing at several new venues, including Pearl Street in Northampton MA, The Common Ground Restaurant in Brattleboro VT, Katina’s in Hadley MA, and more colleges, like Mount Holyoke College and Hampshire College. The Red Barn at Hampshire was the scene of numerous wild maelstroms with the EQ’s at the center providing musical support.

At this time the Equalites started to open for national and international reggae bands coming through town, the first being a show with Andrew Tosh and the Word, Sound and Power band. The Equalites brought in the new decade at the Center for the Arts in Northampton, MA. Soon afterwards, the band began rehearsals for a new album at Dave’s cabin in Leverett, MA. The song list for the album was hashed out over several meetings, and included songs by Boo, Andrew and Adam, in addition to David’s steady contributions. Because the band was working steadily, including a weekly gig on Wednesdays at Twister’s, money was available for recording. In mid-January of 1990 the band journeyed to Dreamland Recording Studio in Bearsville, NY to lay down rough tracks. Traveling to Dreamland with the band was producer/guitarist Michael Gregory. Michael was hired by the band to produce it’s first recorded effort, and the results are excellent. Rough tracks were laid down 1/21/90-1/23/90, with David Cook engineering. The songs completed were:

It’s Real
Make a Difference
Choice of Worlds
Woman on the Edge of Time
Long Way From Trenchtown
That’s Sayin’ Something
Fool in Love
Crackdown
High Society
Keeper of the Star

Guitar, keyboard, and background vocal overdubs were laid down 2/90 at Longview Farm Recording Studio, North Brookfield, MA. Additional overdubs were done at Sound Design Studio, Brattleboro, VT. The band had its requisite good time in all these studios, (the fire department was called only once) and challenged themselves to rise to Michael Gregory’s expectations. The resulting rough tracks, once completed, were destined for something great. No ordinary mix down process would suffice; something out of the ordinary was required.

Michael Gregory had a connection to a studio in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and the Equalites soon had studio time booked at Grove Recording Studios.

Notable reggae musician/producer/engineer Stephen Stewart was hired to mix down the album. In late March of 1990 David Boatwright, Dave Noonan, Adam Bauer, and Michael Gregory traveled to NYC to catch a flight to Kingston, JA. If it were not for friend of the band Mary G., everyone would have missed the flight. She hooked the EQ’s up with a crucial ride to the city real early in the morning.

The band landed in Jamaica and after a lengthy wait at the airport for transportation settled into some nice digs by the ocean. The band was in JA for almost 10 days, and worked every single one of them in the studio. Stephen and Michael bonded over the mix down process, and soon a professional set of tracks, mixed by the hands and ears of one of JA’s most respected engineers, was on a plane back to the states. Re-entering the states from Jamaica can be quite a process, and anyone who is even thinking of turning their head more than a little bit to the right or left will be searched. David Boatwright, travelling with a bottle of clove oil, qualified for a free luggage search by the authorities, complete with a luggage-sniffing dog. Eventually, the band cleared customs, tapes in hand, and headed home. The Equalites were preparing for the next level.

The end of part 1

History of The Equalites
Part2