By Richard Johnson—
THE relationship between an artist and manager is an intense bond.
During his short but fruitful career, conscious reggae singer Garnet Silk built a strong relationship with manager Bridgett Anderson. So strong was this bond that, even today, 20 years since his transition, she speaks with the utmost respect and admiration for her former charge.
“There are artists and then there are artists. Garnet was clearly among the higher level of reggae acts. His songs of hope among the filth that existed at the time — this was the height of the slackness era in local dancehall — gave rise to a whole new level of consciousness. A lot of what we are experiencing today is because of the work put in by Garnet Silk. I am so blessed to have been part of that movement,” said Anderson.
She recalls clearly the day she met Garnet Silk. At the time, she was road manager for reggae singer Judy Mowatt and she had journeyed to the Eastern Consciousness stage show in Port Antonio. On her way back, she stopped at a dance at the Goodyear Oval in St Thomas, which was organised by the sound system Lees Unlimited. As is to be the case when industry people get together, she was introduced to Anthony Rochester, who at the time was an associate of Garnet Silk, and he, in turn, introduced Anderson to the budding act. The year was 1992.
“I had seen Garnet perform in Port Antonio earlier and then at this dance in St Thomas, and he had a presence that you couldn’t help but feel. So when Rochester said to me ‘is somebody like you we want to manage the artist’ I was already sold. He had already made his name in the dances, having done a lot of work for Conquering Lion, so now he wanted to take his career to the world of stage shows and tours overseas … that was my mission.”
Anderson recalls that among the first matters was having a backing band of his own; a band who would know his music inside out, could go on tours, and help him transition from the sound system artist to a bona fide reggae act. That happened one night as he got ready to perform at the Acropolis nightclub at an event organised by the late disc jock Mighty Mike.
“We were all waiting backstage and Garnet was being introduced. Without a rehearsal, the band struck up the opening chords of his music in a medley they had created. Garnet instantly fell in love with the sound. He was so excited by what he heard that he literally jumped from backstage onto the stage and gave a blistering performance. That night, Jahpostles became Garnet Silk’s backing band.”
At the time, Anderson was new to the music business, but was determined to learn quickly and guided her charge through performances here in Jamaica, the wider Caribbean, and on both sides of the Atlantic. The performances were both many and varied. She recalls shows at the CV Smith Park in Miami, an event in Birmingham, England, another in Bermuda, and a show in New Jersey. On the local scene, it was a performance at the White River Reggae Bash which stands out for her. She recalled at all these events the audience just stood transfixed as they listened to what the artist had to deliver.
“Garnet had a saying whenever we were leaving for a show. He would say: ‘Manager, we going to look some souls.’ I want to meet the next act, whose business is about souls and not just the money, the fame and the bling,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
Her voice drops when she recalls with equal detail where she was when she heard Garnet Silk and his mother, Etiga Gray, died in a fire at her home in Manchester on December 9, 1994.
“I had just come home from Mikey Bennett’s Christmas party when I got a call from my friend, Sister Jessie…it was about 3:00 am and I went into shock. I composed myself and drove to Mandeville. Over the years, it has gotten easier, but for years I cried on his birthday and the anniversary of his death.”
Part of Anderson’s healing has been what she described as the “passing of the baton”.
“What young Garnet and his brother, Duece Kalipha, have been doing with the music makes me proud… I know their father is smiling down at them. Their mother, Lovie, has done a great job as a single mother raising four children. I am so proud of her, too.”
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