Val Douglas Talks About Bob Marley and the Legacy of the Skatalites

Val Douglas recently chatted with Alex Stedman at the Columbia Chronicle while in Chicago about the band’s past, Bob Marley and bringing in new members. Here are a couple of good quotes from the interview.

For me, it’s an honor to carry on this heritage. It’s really good music. Like I said, I grew up on the music. I used to dance to that music as a kid, and these are my heroes. To be carrying on their stuff is really amazing to me.

Actually, it’s kind of hard to say Bob Marley influenced our work. It can even be the other way around, because when Bob Marley was recording with The Skatalites, they were the hot new thing. When Bob Marley came in, he would sing his song, but he would tell them all to play their stuff. So technically, The Skatalites actually influenced him.

Head over to the website for more on his thoughts on how Reggae has changed over the years, will the band ever stop making new music, more on the influence of Bob Marley, his thoughts on how he feels about playing in the band now and more.

Here is a little clip of the band performing at Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago on October 20.