Preview: The Cliftones / Casa Nueva
By Alexa Smith, News Editor
Casa Nueva / Friday, Sept. 12
“Yeah mon! Yeah mon! Yeah mon!” says Diedrich Jones, the fearless leader of The Cliftones.
Reggae music, commonly linked with Rastafarian religion, is arguably one style of music that has one of the most dedicated fan bases out there, not to mention the most dedicated musicians. An example of such musicians are The Cliftones, a Cincinnati-based roots rock reggae band.
The Cliftones caught the reggae fever back in 2010, but Diedrich Jones, the band’s lead singer, caught that fever a bit earlier in life, and the fever has never come down. At about the age of 11, Jones was introduced to the sounds of reggae on mix tapes by his older cousin, Walker, a music mentor of sorts.
“I was at my cousin’s house, my aunt’s trailer at the time, and they had a Bob Marley documentary on the TV. I looked at it, and I remember this specific moment. I was about 10 or 11 years old, I saw the dreadlocks and heard the reggae and it just changed my life completely. It was pretty much over from there,” said Jones
Once Jones made that connection with reggae music, he slowly became aware of the culture and way of life that surrounds it. Raised in a family with no firm religious beliefs, Jones was free to discover spirituality for himself, finding a home with Rastafarianism.
“The first link I ever had to any concept of spirituality was through the Rastafari in their music,” said Jones. “Initially, I didn’t really know what was going on, but as I got older, I started to wonder what they were talking about. Then I heard the name Haile Selassie. Before the internet days, my dad would take me when I was in junior high, seventh grade downtown to these little culture reggae shops and I would buy books about Rasta, and Haile Selassie speeches and that was the first time I ever understood a concept of spirituality.”
As it is said in Rastafarian culture, you do not become a Rasta but are born one when you come on this Earth. But, as a Rasta, you are constantly doing the work of the creator, whether it be one sole being or the universe entirely.
“You’re doing the work of Rastafari, which literally translates to “the head creator,” so whether it’s a bird flying or a tree growing, the tree might not know it as a purpose, but it understands what the universe wants it to do. As long as you’re spreading positivity through your actions, you can be a Rasta man,” said Jones.
And through their music, Diedrich Jones and The Cliftones spread love and positivity to those who will listen.
“I spread love and do what I’m supposed to do through singing songs and bringing people together. I don’t even think about it particularly, it’s just what it is, being a vessel for that vibe to come through,” said Jones.
A firm Rasta doctrine is the foundation of all Cliftones music, and the band strives to connect with their audience and bring people together to listen to and love music together.
“Our band has played many times in front of people where you have these older Rastafarians and these yuppie white kids. And you’ll have these Asian guys and these people from India and you’ll have old people, young people, women and men, boys and girls all together just rocking out to the sounds, to the music. And that, to me, is probably the single most important thing that we can do as musicians. It is one of the most fulfilling things in my life. It’s beautiful. It’s a true blessing to be able to make that happen. What else does that? It’s unbelievable. It’s crazy, actually,” said Jones.
According to Jones, the Cliftones’ live shows are “a party.” Oftentimes, The Cliftones will improvise tunes during a set. With a hip-hop drumbeat from Tim Hensley to help them along, they play a good bit of songs for the first time at their shows. Also, the band enjoys having a good time with their audience, so they’ll frequently bring people up on stage to jam with them.
Their sound is certainly reggae, but it does have a rock influence, occasionally busting out a heavy metal riff, but always maintaining a deep groove beat. Their setlist moves from hip-hop rhythms to Johnny Cash to a reggaed-out Ozzy Ozborne song. Who knows? But come find out.
“Come on out to the show at Casa Nueva. It’s gonna be cool. We’re the coolest. You’ll definitely have fun, I’ll tell you that much. Positive Vibrations. One Love. Rasta,” encourages Jones.
