To Marshall McLuhan, the medium is the message. But to Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, it's the music, specifically a message of peace, love and understanding.
"If people don't take anything else out of our music, I hope they realize that we're telling them to love one another - and that hate is the most destructive act in the world," backing vocalist Sharon Marley said in a telephone interview from New York City.Marley said she and her three siblings in the band - brothers David (Ziggy) and Stephen and sister Cedella - consider themselves to be musical missionaries who spread the word of God's love to the masses.
"We are teachers in our own way," she said. "Music is a universal language. In places like Bonn (Germany), many of the people cannot understand our lyrics. But they can understand and appreciate our jamming and the good-will sentiments we send out. Hopefully that will make them look for the meanings to our songs."
And "Fallen is Babylon," the pop/reggae act's newest album, is filled with meaningful messages. "Everyone Wants to Be," a rap/reggae fusion that featuresi guest vocals from Wyclef (the Fugees), is meant to inform young, would-be badboys that inner strength, especially through spirituality, is the way to become strong.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers are currently touring the United States for "Fallen is Babylon." That tour will bring them to Utah Tuesday for a concert at The Canyons (formerly Wolf Mountain) in Park City.
Sharon Marley said that creating the records can be as religious an experience as hearing them. Though usually only Ziggy and/or Stephen are credited as the songwriters, the three female backup vocalists - both Sharon and Cedella, joined by Erica Newell - sometimes craft the harmonies by singing them aloud on the tour bus, a la old spiritual songs.
"They gain an almost mystical quality - almost a life of their own - when we do it that way. And usually those are our best songs. I know (Ziggy) feels that way as well," she explained. "There's a real feeling of community and family in the band - and not just among the actual family members - because of the way we do things."
Sharon Marley and her bandmates were indirectly charged by their father - the late, legendary reggae artist Bob Marley - to become musical ambassadors to the world. Their career began in earnest in 1985 with "Play the Game Right," when most of the members were barely in their teens.
"There was never any pressure from him, when we were growing up, to become musicians. Yet his music - such powerful music - was always around the household, to give us guidance even after he was gone," she said. "So his legacy is so powerful that we would be letting him - and God - down if we weren't doing this."
Not all members of the Marley clan are involved in the Melody Makers, however. Bob's wife, Rita Marley (formerly of the I-Threes), has her own solo career, while the youngest siblings, Julian and Damian ("Jr. Gong"), split off from the Melody Makers when they were old enough to write their own songs.
"When we began, Rita was always on the road with us, as our manager," she said. "But when we got old enough to take care of ourselves, she went off on her own again. We really miss her - she's our mother, after all."