FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO SOUNBWOY BASS

I hail from Jamaica, West Indies with almost 25 years of music experience in several music genres, including Reggae, R&B/Funk, Trop Rock, Contemporary Jazz, and Country Music.

I taught myself to play using my father’s six string acoustic guitar, then started playing bass in school band. Later, I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to attend first Shaw University and then St. Augustine's University. Bass was put aside to concentrate on undergraduate and graduate studies in Broadcasting, Journalism, and Mass Communications. After graduate school at Iowa State University, I returned to Raleigh, NC to teach Broadcasting at my Alma Mater, St. Augustine’s University.

In 1995, I was approached by a friend about playing in a Reggae band which became known as Jamrock Reggae Band. Jamrock Reggae Band was one of the first consistent reggae bands in the Triangle area and enjoyed quite a following and is still performs occasionally in and around the Triangle area.
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I’ve always prided myself on being cognizant of the demands of performance and take pains to provide exceptional service when hired to perform with other artists.

QUESTIONS FOR DEAN

What type of music do you create?
I combine as many elements of multiple genres of music tastefully to create music that grooves and is relatable to anyone who listens. It is a journey, and the music will hopefully reflect not only my experience, but the joy I feel when I create it. The joy also includes using live musicians wherever possible to create a “human” feeling to music, which I believe is missing from many songs today.
 
Who has inspired you musically?
My parents listened to a wide variety of music but leaned to Jazz (Big Band and some Fusion, as well as Classical, R&B, Reggae and Soca. I grew to like many of those genres but as a teenager, I was firmly in the Disco and Reggae camp, and that is the music I used to teach myself how to play.
Even now, I’m still drawn to the “Old School” music of R&B, Disco and Reggae music. There is a certain spirit or feeling of how those songs were played and recorded that I enjoy hearing, and it’s always fun to re-learn basslines and develop new approaches to playing them.

Where do you perform?
Mostly North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and other states as needed

picture by Wanda Mulvaney

Who are your favorite artists?
Slave (Funk)
Sly and Robbie (Reggae)
Bob Marley and the Wailers (Reggae)
George Benson (R&B/Jazz)

What bands/artists have you performed with:
​The Ray Band (R&B, Soul, Funk, Beach)
Johnny White and The Elite Band (R&B, Soul, Funk, Beach)
Dub Addis (Reggae/Ethiopian)
Crucial Fiya (Reggae/R&B)
Jamrock Reggae Band (Reggae)
​Ashley Larue Band (Reggae)
Wade Hill and The Revival (Country)
Ivan Hampden Jr. (R&B/Jazz/Funk)
City Jazz Trio (Jazz)
Leah Hinton (R&B, Soul, Neo-Soul)
Scott Marvill (Smooth Jazz)
​Greg (Sinsay) Gray (House)
Cha’Maine (Reggae Soul)
Donnie Howard (TropRock/Beach/Country)
Encore Band (R&B/Soul)
Everton Blender (Reggae)
Frankie Paul (Reggae)
Mickey Mills and Steel (Reggae/Calypso)
​Rohan Da Great MC (Reggae; Dancehall)
Rosa Russ (R&B/Soul)
Sensory Expressions (Reggae/Soca)
The Amateurs (Reggae/Rock)
​Donovan and The Posse (Reggae)
The Nigel Experience (R&B, Soul, Funk, Beach)
Rush Street (Blues/Rock)

Thanks & love to my family, Brenda and Corey Irwin!!!