PULLMAN, Wash. — Raggs and Bush Docktor, a three-member reggae band, will perform June 11 from noon-1 p.m. on Glenn Terrell Mall at Washington State University. The performance is part of the Music on the Mall concert series sponsored by Campus Involvement.
In 1975, Benville Alexander Gustaffe (Raggs) heard the Bob Marley and the Wailers album Catch a Fire and decided, “I wanna play reggae. I was really impressed, it moved me.” He remembers growing up in Jamaica, listening to American radio beaming out such singers as Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and all of the Motown groups. He was influenced by the sounds of The Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival and later by the Steve Miller Band. “These groups were very consistent. When I heard their albums, I said to myself, ‘when I do an album, I want every song to be good like theirs,’ and that has been my goal ever since I started recording.”
Raggs began his career in 1979 as a singer and drummer in the parks of Kingston, Jamaica. He then went on to play with a band that entertained the local hotel circuit. Later Raggs moved to Germany to experiment with his musical talents with International Rockers, a Berlin-based Reggae band. While with them he toured England, Belgium, Amsterdam and Paris.
In 1988 Raggs began singing and playing drums on board Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. He moved to the United States in 1990 and played with a Seattle based reggae band where he played for audiences in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, California and Canada. After completing an Asian tour in 1994, Raggs formed his current band, Raggs and Bush Docktor.
Raggs has opened concerts for Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, Big Mountain, the Mighty Diamonds, Chalice and Wailing Soul. He has also played with legendary drummer Sly Dunbar, who performed on several tracks of Raggs past albums and considered to be reggae’s best drummer.
A barbeque, catered by the Compton Union Building, will be available during the concert. In case of rain the performance will be moved to the CUB Lair.
For more information, contact Campus Involvement at 509/335-9667 or getinvolved@wsu.edu.
