Black Star Band seeks to boost St Thomas

The members of reggae group Black Star Band said they are hoping that their latest business venture, a state-of-the-art recording studio, will give St Thomas an economic boost.

According to guitarist Lance Brown, although they have called Mexico City, Mexico, home for almost two decades, they would want to see major improvements being made in their home town of Trinityville.

"It's no secret that St Thomas is labelled as the poorest parish in Jamaica, so instead of just sitting back and watching, we decided to step in and try and make a difference. We hope that this studio will not only produce hits, but attract a lot of tourists to the area," he said.

He stated that having been in the island for the past six weeks, they have used the opportunity to record a string of upcoming talents and promote the studio via live interviews.

"The studio is located in front of a river, and that in itself will attract tourists. We want people to have a good time when they get here. We have done a lot of promotions in Mexico City as well, and we recently had an opening in St Thomas, which attracted more than 500 persons. We also aim at bringing awareness to the people and encouraging them not to dump garbage in the river. The fishes are not running away anymore as we are feeding them," he said.

In addition to promoting their studio, the band is also laying tracks for its upcoming album, which will feature tracks like Shake You Down and Kingston Town.

"This will be our fifth album. We have recorded albums and singles in both Spanish and English before because while roots reggae is very much appreciated in Mexico, there is still a language barrier that needs to be broken," he said.

Brown said Black Star Band was formed in 2000. In addition to Brown, the band comprises lead singer and keyboard player King Marathon, bass player Mardon Brown, and percussionist Felix Ikpide.