ENTITY · GROUP / CREW / BAND
DownStairs
Well supported
Kingston rock band formed in 1994 by schoolfriends from Kingston College and Wolmer's with no prior musical training: Brian "Giako-Ma" Jones (vocals), Andrew Campbell (bass), Alvin Peart (drums), joined a year in by guitarist Bas. Their 1999 album gave the mission its name, Reggae Metal, and the band carried Jamaican hard rock through Rockfest, the Tastee Talent Show and the 2005 Global Battle of the Bands, still releasing on Bandcamp decades later. Influences run Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead.
At a glance
- Confidence
- Well supported
- Sources
- Jamaica Gleaner (28 Aug 2005, "DOWNSTAIRS"); MusicBrainz artist c75b7db2-f760-4034-91b5-a084877571e5; downstairs1.bandcamp.com; Birdimus Presents mini-documentary.
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Debate & reception
What people argued about this record — two documented positions each time, kept apart from verified fact. Browse every argument in the archive →
Aren't we Jamaican too? Rock bands and the authenticity question
One side
Rock played by Jamaicans is foreign imitation, not Jamaican music
The other
Born-and-raised musicians say Jamaican identity is not bound to one genre
“Some say we don't write Jamaican music, but we are all born and raised in Jamaica, so aren't we Jamaican too?”
The recurring charge against Jamaica's home-grown rock bands is that what they play is not Jamaican music. DownStairs bassist Andrew Campbell gave the scene's standing answer in a 2005 Gleaner profile, and the alternative circuit's advocates have repeated the point since: the musicians are as Jamaican as the audience doubting them.
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