Mark Patterson, Cymbalholic

This week, we released the title track from our 2nd album, Against the Current. It’s our 2nd-to-last “Reggae Wednesday” release, and it’s one that represents where we’ve been and how far we’ve come over the last few years since the formation of Steppin’ Razor. You can read all about that in this previous blog post. If you haven’t heard the song yet, give it a listen right meow…

James “P. Dub” Hoy wrote the music for “Against the Current,” and both Johnny and B. Hold (that’s me!) wrote the lyrics. Then it sat on the back burner for a couple of years while we contemplated becoming a Pete Townsend tribute band, trying to learn as many of his songs as we could. Eventually, we realized that it was inevitable: we were meant to play reggae, even if none of us had the hot surfer bods, the bleached rent-a-locks, or the cute nasal vocal capabilities typical of the genre. That’s when we decided to add “Against the Current” to our repertoire and make our comeback to the world of reggae music. Like most drummers, Mark isn’t usually mentioned in terms of songwriting; but the solid, steady 4-on-the-floor riddim and the percussive accents throughout this track are but a small taste of the creativity with which he complements the other Razors.

Mark wasn’t always such a talented and meticulous drummer, however. In fact, when he was born, he was completely incapable of playing drums. It is hard to believe after all these years, but Mark was born with no arms, and only a stump, and two legs. His mother, presidential candidate Joanne Huntsman, recalls that heartbreaking day:

After hours of pointless labor, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! How did that thing come out of me? I begged and begged the doctor to take it back, to keep it there at the hospital. I couldn’t take it home with me – what would my family think? I lay there in my hospital bed for years, wishing it were just another horrible stump-baby nightmare. And all of a sudden came a miracle that changed everything.

That miracle she’s referring to was none other than Mark’s fairy godmother, who granted unto the child not just one arm, but two, and the most state-of-the-art stump extension treatment in the history of treatments. Glorious day! But the gift of a somewhat normal body did not come without certain stipulations. Before leaving the maternity ward that day, the fairy godmother said unto him, “Yea, child, thou must go forth into the world with good vibes of comfort and joy, spreading reggae unto all nations. But beware – do not play ‘No Woman, No Cry’ for any audience, unless you have been paid at least $5000 (US) in advance, lest thine arms be withered and thine stump forever rancid.”

Mark heeded the words of his fairy godmother, and has since lived a relatively happy life, considering he suffers from chronic cynicism and athlete’s foot on all three feet. He lives in an unpronounceably-named village in Chester County, Pennsylvania, blessed by a matrimonial connection to one of the world’s sweetest women, Allyson. They have a dog, Izzie, and upwards of 300 cats, all named Joshua. “It’s a lot of fun, really,” he explains. “I get a sort of sick pleasure yelling at the cats all day long. ‘Joshua, Joshua, Joshua….’ It’s kinda like counting triplets on a hi-hat: ‘Trip-el-et, Trip-el-et, Trip-el-et… Jo-shu-a, Jo-shu-a, Jo-shu-a….’ I know, I’m silly.”

Silly, yes. That describes Mark to a T. But T is just one letter, and without all of the other letters of the alphabet – letters that stand for awesome, percussive, funny, highly intelligent, thoughtful, business savvy, loyal – you wouldn’t have enough letters to make up the one word that describes him best: Mark Patterson.

Here's a picture of Mark playing his instruments. Johnny's son Jonah calls him "Gark," but Mark secretly hates that.

Johnny Myers, Melodica Master

You may have heard a song we released two days ago. It’s called “All Dem Have,” and it’s from our 2nd album, …Against the Current, which is currently on its way to the North Pole for duplication. Pretty exciting, eh? Haven’t heard the new track yet? Here…

You may have noticed an unfamiliar instrument in this song, something that one of my friends described as “reminiscent of Italian folk ballads.” Though it is related to the Italian vibrandoneon, what you’re hearing is a melodica, a 20th-century Hohner invention that combines the reed technology of woodwind instruments with a miniature piano keyboard. You may have heard it before in Bob Marley’s “Sun is Shining,” anything by reggae legend Augustus Pablo, or the theme song from Perfect Strangers. It was also featured on “Jah Herb,” from our first album, Gold in Rule.

Our very own John Myers played it for “All Dem Have,” as well as “Things,” another one of my (B. Hold’s) songs from …Against the Current. Myers studied music performance at West Chester University, where he mastered over 83 instruments each semester. Though his primary concentration was the jaw harp, he also got pretty good on the bass guitar, clavichord, trombone, flugelhorn, and fundeh, all of which he played for both of our albums. The blow organ (another name for melodica) is one of his favorite instruments to play, as it reminds him of long nights in the conservatory during his WCU days.

Johnny is married to a woman (believe it or not) named Stacy, and they have a most adorable 2-year-old son named Jonah. True fact (unlike some of the things I’ve written above) – Jonah can already identify reggae music, and when his daddy’s music comes on, he recognizes it right away. Some experts believe that this is due, in part, to an experimental indoctrination process that John and Stacy have developed together; but I think the boy just inherited an ear for reggae.

Until recently, Myers had a head full of long dreadlocks that he had grown for about 7 years or so. While battling the evil Lord Sarlaac Jay in the Daalsbeep quadrant of the Blabalonn Galaxy, a puuh fighter shot a corrosive fluid into Johnny’s hair, leaving the melodica master with no choice but to chop off all of his locks with a high E string. Here are before and after pictures, in no particular order:

Meet James Hoy

I (B. Hold) need to get some creative juices flowing, so I decided to do a very brief write-up of each band member over the next couple of weeks. Get to know Steppin’ Razor a little bit better with these random facts about your four favorite reggae rockers. Some of these statements might not even be true, but they are guaranteed to give you some valuable insight into the inner workings of this band.

I decided to start with our lead guitarist, James Hoy, because we just released one of his songs from the upcoming album. If you didn’t catch “Rise Up” on Wednesday, check the Soundcloud link below.

James is a 29-year-old finger ninja from Intercourse, Pennsylvania. He says the most random things to strangers, and occasionally writes down his thoughts in a collection called Deep Thoughts by P. Dub (we hope this will be released in hardback someday, after some serious editing… because James is a terrible speller). Why “P. Dub”? Well, that has been James’s nickname since the summer of 2006, the first summer that Steppin’ Razor occupied the Jersey shore. It’s a long story, but James earned the “P. Dub” title because of beer pong (or was it beer pool?) and Venus Williams. Let’s just say Hoy has one mean sinker.

James Hoy (left) walks through his field of dreams. A modern-day Kevin Costner in his own right, James "Sacrifical Lambchops" Hoy would like to be your best friend. (Photo by Brett Schoen)

James’s bragging rights: he once survived a fall down 500 stairs (he got to ride to the hospital in a helicopter that night!). He invented whiskey thousands of years ago. He can play really fast. He makes really good chocolate chip cookies. His girlfriend, “Double-N,” is one groovy chick. He fashions things out of recycled rubber, saving thousands of lives every day. It’s true.

Most importantly and pertinently, however, James Hoy has contributed some brilliant songwriting to Steppin’ Razor over the years. He doesn’t write a lot of songs, but his tunes are always crowd favorites. Take “Guidance,” for example. Featured on our 2009 debut album, Gold in Rule, this song consists of a simple but captivating riddim over which Hoy glides, whammies, and spanks notes up and down the fretboard. As we did with the title track on our upcoming 2nd album, …Against the Current, Johnny and I put lyrics over the “Guidance” riddim, a fun basis for such a collaboration. Originally, I rapped a verse, and then I remembered that I’m a dork, so I wrote some simple lyrics I could sing, which fit the song much better. Hoy’s music is a lot of fun to sing over, because it’s not complicated – it’s catchy and in-your-face, and it’s repetition doesn’t wear on you, as long as you’re willing to let go, feel the groove, and dance (or whatever your body does when music comes on). He’s also that way in person: he doesn’t say a whole lot, but when he talks, he’s to-the-point, honest, and often sidesplittingly hilarious.

Here’s one of his greats, “Rise Up” (lyrics by John Myers), from …Against the Current (coming next month).