Andru Branch & Halfway Tree germinated in 1995. Clockwise, from left to right: Art Gold (trombone), Ras Kawintseb Sellassie (lead guitar and backing vocals), David Slater (saxophone), Mike Goodridge (drums), Tomaz "Moose" Jardim (rhythm guitar), Andru Branch (vocals, keyboards and…

After cutting my teeth with Toronto bands Jericho, Solid Foundation and Rockstone in the late 80s and early 90s, I went out on my own. This was the cover of my 'demo' cassette aptly entitled "Branchin' Out", shot by reggae…

The human condition forces us all to consider our ultimate demise. I have come to terms with the one guarantee in life; that we will all one day return to the place from whence we came. I believe that accepting…

Throughout the 1970s most 7” 45 rpm singles manufactured in Jamaica included a B-side instrumental version of the A side, simply titled “VERSION”. This was in response the rapidly growing popularity of ‘toasters’ aka mic MCs, who would speak over…

As a young teenager growing up in Toronto in the early 80s one couldn’t help but be lured by the infectious music that became known as “two-tone ska”. UK band The Specials embodied the multi-racial sound and look for which…

With all of its similarities to reggae, I have never been particularly drawn to country music. For some reason however, my infatuation with a beautiful young art student at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design inspired this little…

Immediately following my Mom’s funeral I went to visit my Dad in Fredericton. Saddened by the passing of his former wife, he tried but failed to comfort me. My Mom had been my closest person. Living alone together for over…

This song opens with a familiar expression in Jamaican patios, roughly translated: “What the @#$% is going on?” These were words uttered on a regular basis by the Jamaican studio owner who signed me with his independent label at Kingston…

Reggae music crept into the streets of Kingston in the mid-1960s as the voice of the oppressed; Jamaica’s underprivileged in a society in civil unrest. The island struggled with poverty but the former British colony had bred an industrious and…

Being an artist has its challenges; believing in the value of creating to start; having the discipline to bring oneself to the practice room, for the sculptor to bring her iron to the fire, for the writer to bring his…

Before the world came to know Bob Marley, the teenaged Robert Nesta Marley comprised one third of a singing trio called The Wailing Wailers. Alongside his Trenchtown neighbours Winston (McIn) Tosh and Neville Livingston aka “Bunny Wailer”, all three would…

A major influence on my spiritual development was my friend Chris Hatton. We met early on in our respective music careers, converging at the point where reggae music began to inspire youths in ‘foreign’ to look to Rastafari for spiritual…