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A Musical Life: Brian Tiemeyer

Brian Tiemeyer is a Kansas-based musician who focuses on acoustic soul and reggae music. Here, he discusses one of the difficulties some musicians discover when playing reggae.

“The basic rhythm is called a skank. I think the reason it’s confusing for a lot of people is that many musicians are traditionally trained. The beat is a standard 1,2,3,4. Most reggae has an emphasis on the offbeat, a hard three. The syncopation’s really different. It can throw a lot of players, even really good players. Luckily, for me, punk rock, reggae, ska, that was the first stuff I learned, so it wasn’t as difficult for me.”

Jedd Beaudoin is host/producer of the nationally syndicated program Strange Currency. He has also served as an arts reporter, a producer of A Musical Life and a founding member of the KMUW Movie Club. As a music journalist, his work has appeared in Pop Matters, Vox, No Depression and Keyboard Magazine.