Dean Irwin - ProfilesArchive

About Me

12+ years playing bass guitar (on a regular basis).
Extensive Broadcasting Experience with emphasis on Audio Production, Recording, Editing and Sound Reinforcement.
Born in Mandeville, Jamaica, but lived all over in St. Elizabeth, St. Ann and mainly Clarendon. Started performing at an early age, primarily in school plays (Glenmuir Preparatory School).
Participated in Festival once, winning a Silver Medal in Regional (Clarendon) competition (Poetry).
First major musical performance with a band (Melodica)-Glenmuir High School at a talent show.
The first "FOR REAL" band I played bass in was Manchester High School Band (1982-1983).
Left for the U.S. in 1983 where I played bass very infrequently until returning to NC and hooking up with Jamrock Reggae Band in 1995. Since then, I have been lucky enough to gain experience and work with other local NC artists. Here are a few:
Jamrock Reggae Band- Raleigh, NC- Reggae, R&B. On MySpace.
dub Addis- Durham, NC- Ethiopian Reggae. On MySpace.
Charmaine Radcliffe- Durham, NC- Reggae, Reggae Soul. Recorded on her self-produced album "Reggae Soul" and second project"Here's To Love". On MySpace.
Rosa Russ- R&B -Raleigh, NC
Donovan and the Posse- Raleigh NC.
Mickey Mills & Steel- Durham, NC- Reggae, Soca, Calypso.
Good Question- Morrisville, NC- Classic Rock.
Crucial Fiya- Durham, NC- Reggae. On MySpace.
Positively Nelsons- Raleigh, NC- Reggae. On MySpace.
dub Axxess- Charlotte, NC- Reggae.
Jah Daniel in the Lion's Den- NC- Reggae. On MySpace.
King Ayoola- Reggae. On MySpace.
The Amateurs-Raleigh, NC- Reggae
My basses and accompanying equipment are as follows:
Series 10 4-string P-Bass Replica with genuine passive Fender P-Bass pickups - bolt on neck and GHS Boomer Strings.
Hohner B-Bass V (5-string)-active preamp with EMG Select pickups - neck thru construction and DR Strings.
G&L L2000 4-string bass-active/passive modes-pickup selector and eq.
Main Rig
Crown XTi2000 amp.
BBE Bmax Bass Preamplifier.
Ampeg-BSE115 cabinet with horn.
Backup
Peavey MarkIII bass amplifier
Zoom BFX708II bass effects pedal.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 2/8/2007
Band Members:
Influences: I'm influenced by many people. Here are some that I consider significant for me: There are others....
1. Randy Jackson- (Yes, Mr. American Idol Judge is a WICKED, bassie and one of my main influences).
2. Mark Adams- Slave. THE Funk Group of the '70's and early 80's (another very influential player).
3. Meshell N'degeocello- TOO funky.
4. Marcus Miller- Nothing needs to be said here...
5. Aston "Family Man" Barrett- (Main reggae influence. One of the most musical reggae bassists, IMO). Had the honor of meeting him in NC once...
6. George "Fully" Fullwood- Met him also.
7. Benjy Myaz- Wicked Vibe for reggae. NUFF skillz..
8. Robbie Shakespear. (Grew up listening to him. His basslines were some of the first reggae basslines I learned).
9. Many of the bass players that played for Salsoul Orchestra, MFSB, records on the Prelude, West End and other NYC labels are people I enjoy listening to. They were able to really PLAY, and not just play a line by rote.

My goal is to be able to work with and gain experience from these and other musicians in the industry.
Sounds Like: Me
Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Heres To Love

So while I’m a bit biased, I have to say that the new album, "Here’s To Love" by Cha’maine, is an album that to my ears, is what’s been missing in reggae music for sometime now...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:35:00 PST

Development

Sometimes, the process of development can be slow and sometimes painful. Nothing ever happens quickly enough. Such is the situation that I have to remind myself of when we play certain venues.In the c...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:04:00 PST

Busy, busy, busy.

At the mid-point of March, it’s looking pretty busy for me. My time this month has been occupied with gigs for Crucial Fiya and Jamrock. I have three shows with Crucial Fiya this week (opening f...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Sun, 16 Mar 2008 11:30:00 PST

Bad Feelings

We have those feelings that really get us down somwtimes. One that I'll put up as one of the worst is when you have to miss a gig (or two). Because of my illness, I decided to pass on a Jamrock Gig an...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:44:00 PST

Sick like a mug!!!

So somebody at the Cat's Cradle Saturday night, passed their foul, stinky flu virus on to me. Mi go di doctor todeh, an' 'im tell me fi nobaddah go back a wuk dis week. What rass ting!!If there's one ...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 03:47:00 PST

Back to the Cradle!!!

LOL. I feel like I'm putting on a pair of old but comfortable shoes. I'm back at the Cat's Cradle this Saturday with dub Addis, Jamrock Reggae Band, and helping out fellow bassie, Ralph as we all part...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:19:00 PST

My Bass Cab (the Old and the New)

I picked up my bass cab from Mad Science Works on New Year's Eve. From an earlier blog, you'll remember that I got happy with the G&L and blew the voice coil on the 15" at a gig. I was not able to...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:44:00 PST

Winter Reggae Jam (12/28/2007) and the year in General

So the Winter Reggae Jam is done, and from my POV, I'd say it was a very successful show. Three bands, three different styles, all good musicians. Farenheits House made their debut, and dub Addis and ...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:42:00 PST

More Work

I got carried away and blew the speaker in my Ampeg cab Thursday night. I was playing with the "new" (to me) G&L L2000 I acquired not too long ago (the blue one) at a gig. That thing has guts, and...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Sun, 16 Dec 2007 06:42:00 PST

Double Duty

If you plan to be in RDU on 12/28, and you want to hear some good reggae music, put that date in your planner to be at the Cat's Cradle where dub Addis and Jamrock Reggae Band will put out nuff reggae...
Posted by Dean Irwin on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:04:00 PST