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| Photo courtesy of Dwayne Danglin's Facebook. |
Dwayne Danglin, of Jamaica, is the lead singer of the Wailers, formally known as Bob Marley and the Wailers, a reggae band that influenced his life and his musical career thus far.
February of 2010, Danglin became the lead singer of the Wailers after his first single, "Excuse Me Miss" that was released in Jamaica. Danglin said that the Wailers called him and asked him to join them on tour, and he met up with them in Utah. He graciously mentioned how honored and privileged he is to be working with the band that he grew up listening to.
"It's a great thing, and a great honor to be able to say I'm apart of this legacy now."
Music has been a part of Danglin's life for a long time. He said that his career got started professionally in 2002 while he was stationed in Japan by the U.S. Navy. Danglin said he joined the Navy right after high school. One of his favorite instruments, he added, is the bass.
Danglin said "music isn't something you can choose to make a career." He said that music has to choose you. "I found out, three years into music, that I was chosen to do it. ... From the outside lookin' in, it looks like a lot, but on the inside it's never too much."
Bob Marley and the Wailers weren't the only thing that had an influence on Danglin. He surprisingly stated that he likes all kinds of music. Danglin mentioned a few genres that he likes: country, R & B, classic rock, and what most people consider as "oldies." Although, Danglin said he loves a wide variety of music. According to Danglin, Bob Marley and the Wailers used to listen to a varieties of music as well, to broaden their horizons. According to Danglin the Wailers have worked with a lot of artists like Matisyahu, 311, and Carlos Santana.
I asked Danglin what music meant to him and his career. He simply replied that music is his life; Danglin compared music to being as essential as the next breath he would take. Danglin said that he doesn't have any "free time" currently because he is a father and a lifetime musician. He is always trying to better himself musically.
"Music itself is my life. But life is so unbalanced. ... Once you get into music and you start to identify your life with it, it's hard to do anything else."
Danglin isn't just a vocalist for the Wailers. Danglin is currently learning to play the guitar and has been for almost a year. This will be his first instrument to learn to play he mentioned. Danglin is determined to be "on stage by next year" playing the guitar. He is constantly working with music and "perfecting his craft," he said. Danglin believes that it's important for every musician to know how to play at least one instrument.
"It makes it that much easier when I'm surrounded by positive people. ... I need to play (the guitar). Hopefully one day when I perfect this, I'll learn to pick up the keyboard. ...I want to learn to play as many instruments as I can."
Danglin, and his fellow band mates of the Wailers, are currently on their North American Winter Tour 2011. At the time of the phone interview with Danglin, he said that he and the Wailers were going to start the tour the following week. When I asked Danglin where his favorite places to tour were, he said the he loves touring anywhere. "Everywhere you have different fans, everywhere you have different energy and vibes." He said every place he tours is unique.
The Wailers (Present)
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| Photo by: Bob Scott; courtesy of the Wailers' Facebook. |
It was such an honor to get to talk to someone that is part of something that I grew up on. We also share the same love for music a good vibes. My husband and I just saw the Wailers play a few months ago at The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina. They absolutely brought the house down. It's so easy to be inspired by Dwayne Danglin and influenced by the power of the Wailer's music.
Special thanks to Dwayne Danglin and everyone who made this interview possible.
You can find Dwayne Danglin and the Wailers on their website, Facebook, or Twitter.
Interview and article by Rebekah Frye of Beyond Good Vibes.
You can listen to a snippet from the phone interview with Dwayne Danglin. This is his message to everyone involved with BGV, especially the readers:
"All the people you're affiliated with, and for all your readers: Keep supporting Beyond Good Vibes Music. And talk about it, and be excited about it so other people will be apart of it; this exciting movement of positive messages and people who are guided to the right path. So to all you readers, be excited about love, prosperity, and equality and about life itself. And that's what the Wailer's music embodies. It embodies positive vibrations and positive energy." - Dwayne Danglin
