Experience bringing wealth of knowledge to live music
Coming up with a name for a band can be challenging, but there were no problems for O’Niel Walters when he started Experience, Sound And Music eight years ago. It was inspired by his 30 years in the music business.
Recently, the band played on The Chronicles Of Love Vol II, an EP by singer Auraiya Hope. Walters, who has toured with Byron Lee and The Dragonaires and Lloyd Parks and We The People bands, produced that four-song project.
“I chose to name the band Experience because of the wealth of experience and knowledge I have of the music industry and I wanted people to experience live music in its best form, and in the way I knew it was intended from a producer to be heard by the audience,” he told Observer Online. “I sought the best available musicians to accompany me on this journey.”
Most of those musicians have done the jazz and reggae rounds for many years. They include keyboardists Christopher McDonald and Franklyn “Bubbla” Waul, and guitarist Rajae “G Sharp” Rochester.
Emerging bassist Joshua Jones, son of drummer Desi Jones, completes Experience, Sound And Music’s core lineup.
Walters said Hope’s EP release at Footprints Cafe in Kingston in January, was the perfect launch for the band as a backing and production unit.
“We were happy to come on board for her launch as we knew that we would reproduce live on stage what we had created for her in the studio. We knew that live productions are costly, especially for an upcoming artiste,” he explained. “By sponsoring the launch we helped to alleviate some of those expenses, providing the backing band, the backline, the PA system, sound engineer and lighting.”
Walters began playing drums as a boy in August Town, St Andrew. He was recruited for the Panoriddim Steel Orchestra with whom he played at the University of the West Indies and Trinidad carnivals for many years.
He moved on to other bands including Ruption, The Dragonaires and We The People before forming Warrior Love, which backed a number of artistes on major shows such as Reggae Sumfest, Rebel Salute and Sting.
