DERECK ROSE's Latest Blog Entry
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REST IN PEACE
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MOTHER SAID I WAS BORN WICKED, Life In a rhyme, Page 39
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Mother said I was born wicked, Life in a rhyme, Page 48
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Mother said I was born wicked, Life in a rhyme, Page 47
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Mother said I was born wicked, Life In a rhyme, Page 46
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I AM A JAMAICAN BORN SINGER/SONGWRITER/MULTI-INSTRUMENTAL MUSICIAN, I WAS FIRST INSPIRED BY MUSIC WAY BACK IN JAMAICA WHEN MY UNCLE MADE A FLUTE FROM A BAMBOO REED AND BLEW IT. I ARRIVED IN ENGLAND AT A LATE AGE AND THE AUTHORITIES COULD NOT UNDERSTAND ME SO THEY SENT ME TO A SCHOOL FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN THEN LATER TO A SPECIAL BOARDING SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY. I LEFT SCHOOL WITH NO EDUCATION AND ATTENDED MY MOTHER'S PENTECOSTAL CHURCH. WHILE I WAS IN THE CHURCH I STARTED PLAYING THE GUITAR UNTIL AGAINST ALL ODDS I LEARNED TO MASTER IT. I TAUGHT MYSELF TO PLAY CLASSICAL MUSIC AND VARIOUS DIFFERENT STYLES FROM BOOKS. LATER ON IN LIFE I LEFT THE CHURCH AND WENT ON TO PLAY WITH A FEW BANDS IN MY LOCAL AREA UNTIL ONE DAY I MET SOMEONE AT A GIG WHO ASKED ME IF I KNEW A GUITARIST WHO WANTED TO PLAY WITH A BAND IN SWITZERLAND. I WAS THAT GUITARIST WHO ENDED UP FLYING TO ZURICH PLAYING WITH THAT BAND. WE TOURED ALL AROUND SWITZERLAND,GERMANY,DENMARK,ITALY,NORWAY. AFTER 2 YEARS I FELT LIKE QUITTING SO I CAME BACK TO LONDON AND THOUGHT IT WAS ALL OVER UNTIL I WAS LATER INVITED BACK TO SWITZERLAND BY ANOTHER BAND. WE WERE PLAYING IN ALL THE AMERICAN ARMY BASES AND CLUB CIRCUIT UNTIL AFTER 3 MONTHS I REALLY WAS FED UP, SO I CAME BACK TO LONDON. I MANAGED TO STAY IN ENGLAND FOR 12 YEARS DOING DIFFERENT KIND OF THINGS LIKE SCULPTURE AND ART EXHIBITING MY WORK IN THE UK DOING WORKSHOPS,SELLING THINGS AND ALSO KEEPING THE MUSIC GOING DOING THE ODD GIG HERE AND THERE. EVENTUALLY I MOVED DOWN TO THE SOUTH WEST OF ENGLAND IN THE DEEP RURAL COUNTRY SIDE AND I LIVED THERE FOR ALMOST 7 YEARS UNTIL I HEARD A VOICE WITHIN ME SAY; "GO TO ISRAEL" I GAVE AWAY MY VAN AND ALL MY LITTLE POSSESSIONS UNTIL ALL I HAD WAS MY GUITAR,BAG AND A PORTO-STUDIO. I WENT UP TO LONDON AND BUSKED FOR A WEEK OR SO UNTIL I HAD MY FARE. I BOUGHT A YEAR OPEN TICKET AND TOLD MY GIRLFRIEND THAT I WAS ONLY GOING FOR 3 MONTHS. SOON I WAS ON THE PLANE TO ISRAEL AND WAS MET BY A FRIEND WHO TOOK ME UP TO THE NORTH OF THE COUNTRY. I STAYED THERE UNTIL I COULD TAKE IT NO MORE, ONE NIGHT AT 12 MIDNIGHT I JUST PACKED MY BAG AND WENT OUT INTO THE NIGHT. I TOOK A BUS TO TEL-AVIV, BUSKED, BOUGHT A TENT AND LIVED ON THE BEACH FOR
3 MONTHS. ONE DAY SOMEONE TOLD ME OF A BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN JERUSALEM CALLED "LIFTA" THEY SAID THAT ITS A PLACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY GET THERE BY FOOT OR A DONKEY, IT SOUNDED GREAT...AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS I PACKED UP MY TENT AND WENT TO JERUSALEM, AGAIN IT WAS AT NIGHT TIME. WHEN I GOT THERE I ASKED WHERE LIFTA WAS AND SOMEONE TOLD ME. WHEN I GOT TO THE ENTRANCE I STOPPED AND LOOKED DOWN THIS VERY STEEP,DARK PLACE. I MET SOMEONE WHO WAS GOING DOWN AND HE INVITED ME TO COME TO HIS PLACE FOR A TURKISH COFFEE. WHEN WE GOT TO HIS PLACE HE MADE A OPEN FIRE AND WE HAD COFFEE AND STARTED JAMMING. WHEN I GOT TIRED I WENT OUTSIDE AND FOUND A PLACE TO PUT UP MY TENT AND I WAS SO TIRED THAT I JUST CRAWLED INSIDE AND FELL ASLEEP. THE NEXT MORNING WHEN I CAME OUT OF MY TENT...IT WAS BEAUTIFUL,PEACEFUL,BIRDS WHISTLING,FIG TREES,AMAZING PALESTINIAN ABONDONED STONE BUILDINGS, AT LAST I FOUND TRUE PEACE AND VIBES. I FOUND A NICE SPOT NEAR WHERE I WAS AND PUT UP MY TENT, AND I LIVED THERE FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR. BY THIS TIME I WAS 3 MONTHS IN ISRAEL, SO I WROTE MY GIRLFRIEND AND TOLD HER THAT THE BOOK WAS JUST BEGINNING TO OPEN AND THAT I WANTED TO STAY LONGER.I MET SOME GUYS WHO WANTED TO FORM A BAND WITH ME, WE FORMED A BAND CALLED "ROOTS AFRICA" WHICH LATER WENT ON TO RELEASING AN ALBUM, TOURED AROUND ISRAEL DOING GIGS AND LIVE TV SHOWS AND ALSO BIG FESTIVALS. I REMEMBER ALL THE OTHER BAND MEMBERS GOING BACK HOME TO THEIR COMFORTABLE MODERN HOMES..AND ME GOING DOWN THE VALLEY AT 5 IN THE MORNINGS AFTER BIG SHOWS TO SLEEP IN MY TENT, IT WAS ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS. THERE WAS A POOL THAT I BATHED IN, LOVELY SPRING WATER, WILD FRUITS AND THINGS. I USED TO GO INTO THE OLD CITY TO BUY SUGAR,OATS, AND OTHER THINGS BUT EVERYTHING WAS THERE,SOMETIMES I'D STAY THERE FOR DAYS WRITING SONGS AND CHILLING OUT. MANY OF MY SONGS WERE WRITTEN IN JERUSALEM. AFTER 6 MONTHS MY GIRLFRIEND WROTE AND TOLD ME THAT IT WAS BEST FOR US TO PART FOR GOOD, AND I THOUGHT SO TOO, SO SOON BOTH BECAME HISTORY.THESE DAYS I HAVE MADE ISRAEL MY HOME SOMETIMES TRAVELING BACK AND FORTH TO ENGLAND AS I HAVE SOME FAMILY HERE.
