I've spent many years listening to Bob Marley sing "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Buffalo Soldier." I thought that the black experience in the American West had been told. For me, Marley's showdown in the street or his exploration of dreadlock rastas who fought the war for America seemed to be enough. For me, Robert Nesta Marley said it all, until I saw the Reggae Cowboys live.

I caught the Reggae Cowboys at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on July 24th on tour behind their second CD, "Rock Steady Rodeo." "Rock Steady Rodeo" is their second CD on the band's Tumbleweed Records label, distributed in the U.S. by Rykodisc.

Toronto's Reggae Cowboys have a unique sound, reggae by way of the Caribbean island nation of Dominica in the British West Indies. Dominica is home to Reggae Cowboys songwriters and co-founders Bird "Stone Ranger" Bellony and Algernon "Click Masta Sync" Rabess.

The Reggae Cowboys bring their own brand of reggae, flavored with Caribbean, Old West, Spaghetti Western and, yes, even traditional reggae spices. They've been around a while, having formed in Toronto seven years ago by Stone Ranger and Click Masta Sync. At the Kennedy Center, they were joined by new touring Cowboys: The Hitman on drums and Wild Donovan Westney on bass. This four-piece rocked, as in rock steady, for well over an hour in the gilded Grand Foyer of one of America's greatest performing arts facilities. Down the hall, the National Opera was conducting auditions for its upcoming season, but I was there to experience reggae, Reggae Cowboys-style.

The Reggae Cowboys took the stage with an uptempo version of "Hang 'Em High" from the Clint Eastwood move of the same name. Both Eastwood and Ennico Morricone defined Spaghetti Westerns with soundtracks that seemed to capture every nuance of the mountains and the plains of the American West, although many were filmed throughout Italy. I'm confident they would've joined these Rastas in jeans, vests and Stetsons. Reggae Cowboys' originals "Road Show" and "Cowboy Riddim" followed, and the rhythm section of Wild Dononvan Westney on bass and The Hitman powered the band with a mixture of reggae, country twang, and a little bit of jazz behind the bass and the drums.

Stone Ranger and Click Masta Sync clicked on several cuts, including the upbeat "Lighten Up" and "Reggae Rodeo," both from "Rock Steady Rodeo." Stone's guitar solos soared, particularly when he traded leads with Click on a powerful reggae version of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode." I had heard Peter Tosh do this one live several times in the 70's, and the Steppin' Razor would be mighty, mighty proud of the Reggae Cowboys' version of this Chuck Berry rock and roll standard.

"Searchin' for the Outlaw," one of the more popular cuts from the band's first LP titled "Tell the Truth," got the audience up and moving and their cover of The Eagle's "Outlaw Man" made me wish for "Hotel California," Reggae Cowboys-style.

I caught up with the band, and their manager, Nancy Bowman, after the show. That's one of the neat things about Millenium Stage shows at the Kennedy Center: artists tend to hang out in the lobby to sign autographs and sell CDs.

I like to think I "get" the Reggae Cowboys, Stetsons and all. I asked the band why they went down such a difficult path, telling the stories of cowboys of color, as it seems to be such a small, niche market. Not that I mind, of course.

"This is part of my heritage, "said Hitman. "It's more than that, really. I really enjoy playing this music."

Westley on bass told me "this is a great band and I just want to give back to the audience the great vibes that I'm feeling up on stage. It's a great feeling to be here and I just hope people enjoy our music as much as we enjoy playing it."

Lead Singer Stone Ranger laughed a little at my question: "We try to put a little history into the mix." That's particularly true when the Cowboys did "Geronimo," his ballad honoring the great American Indian warrior.

Click Master Sync added that "we try to add as many influences as possible. I'm from the Caribbean and I enjoy what the Reggae Cowboys are all about."

Did I mention that the Reggae Cowboys show was free? Every night on the Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Center, there's a free concert every night and the line up features some first class music, no matter what your taste. These free, nightly performances showcase emerging and established musical, theatre and dance from all over the world. Every night, these shows are netcast live at 6:00 PM EST and the Reggae Cowboys' July 24th show's captured live on the Kennedy Center website, www.kennedy-center.org in the Millennium Stage archives.

Don't take my word for it, though. Check the Reggae Cowboys out online at www.reggaecowboys.com. You'll be ready to saddle up down the trail, Rasta-style!

(C) 2000 - Eric Steiner