Predator Dub Assassins

Until last Sunday, I had never heard of a band with the somewhat fearsome sounding name Predator Dub Assassins. I had seen them billed as a reggae outfit to perform at a free summer concert in the park type of event in Ocean Branch, N.J. Listening to Jamaican grooves on a lovely summer evening sounded like a great proposition, so I went there together with my wife.
We arrived a bit late and ended up sitting on a park bench a good deal away from the stage where it almost felt like listening to background music. At some point, I recognized Stir It Up and thought the lead vocalist sounded pretty similar to the great Bob Marley himself – pretty cool! We kept listening, and I liked the singer’s voice, as well as the sound and groove of the band, though I didn’t recognize any of the songs.
About 10 to 15 minutes prior to the end of the concert, we got up and moved a little closer toward the stage. Suddenly, the band started playing a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Miss You. While admittedly it’s not my favorite Stones tune, I thought giving it a reggae groove was a brilliant idea – frankly, to me it sounded better than the disco-influenced original! Finally, these guys had my full attention – I wish this would have happened a bit earlier, but between chatting with my wife and slurping an iced coffee, I guess I was a bit distracted!


Before the band finished, the vocalist mentioned something about a new CD. So I looked them up in iTunes. And, there it was, Songs In The Key Of Sea (clever title!), along with numerous older albums and singles, going all the way back to 2005. Obviously, this meant I had just listened to a band that wasn’t exactly a newcomer. Now I was really curious!
It turns out that Predator Dub Assassins is one of the bands of Timothy Boyce, a.k.a. P-Dub. There isn’t exactly a ton of public information out on this artist, especially given how long he has been around. His Facebook page doesn’t reveal much. According to his website, P-Dub’s unique brand of reggae music fuses classic rock and pop elements with contemporary island sounds. Not only has he released more than 12 full-length albums since 2005, but he has also worked as an instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer with numerous other artists like Akon, Sean Kingston and Paul Wall – pretty much all names I admittedly don’t know.

According to a recent interview he gave to Irie magazine, P-Dub initially got into music by working as a sound engineer at a local recording studio close to his home town of Sea Bright, N.J. The owner, a 55-year-old Kingstonian named George, attracted many musicians from the West Indies. Eventually, George ended up forming a band with P-Dub as the core member on vocals and guitar.
While I’ve listened to Bob Marley since my teenage years and always liked his music, I still wouldn’t consider reggae to be part of my core wheelhouse. So P-Dub is not the type of music I usually listen to. But once I started doing so, there was something that drew me in immediately. I think it’s his great voice and songs with seductive melodies and nice grooves – to me it’s the perfect summer music!
Unlike on most of P-Dub’s previous records, the material on Songs In The Key Of Sea goes beyond reggae and is a fusion of various styles. In a related note on his website, he explains, “I did things a lot differently this time. Instead of sticking to the musical rules of the reggae genre, I just let the songs do whatever they wanted. If a song popped out sounding funky, I let it. If a waltz popped its head in the door, I welcomed it in and this eclectic album resulted. The reggae is definitely in there. Its one of the main elements of the stew but you may have to look harder to find it on some tunes, while on others it’s more than obvious.”
Time for some music.
Things start off with Pleasant Picnic, which has a clear reggae feel to it – pretty much what I expected, based on the above concert and from listening into some of P-Dub’s earlier records.

Next up: Special. I like the funky groove. The beginning reminds me a bit of Listen To The Music by The Doobie Brothers, perhaps in part since I’m going to see these guys next week, so I guess they are on my mind.

Another tune I like is Good Day, a more acoustic-oriented song.

Chico Was The Man has an interesting groove. I also like the flute, which is a bit reminiscent of Jethro Tull.

On Your Prayer things become a more rock-oriented. To me this tune has a Lenny Kravitz vibe.

The last track I’d like to highlight is Rockets Are Supposed To Fly. In this song, P-Dub’s reggae influence becomes more obvious again.

Songs In The Key Of Sea was released on June 1. It is available on iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp. According to P-Dub’s website, he wanted to create a 60s garage band approach to recording a reggae band. ” While some tracks are certainly more layered than others on this album, every single song was cut live in the studio, with the band playing together. I only used three mics on the drums and I let it bleed. I wound up loving the results and I think you will too.” Indeed! - Christian's Music Musings