Reggae star Ziggy Marley plays the Sonoma Mountain Village Event Center in Rohnert Park on Aug. 12, with Steel Pulse opening, as part of his Fly Rasta Tour. We spoke with him about the tour, his music, organic food, love and ganja.
What are you looking forward to about your North Bay show?
I’m very excited about coming up to your spot there, you know. I like playing music and spreading this message that we have to spread, and hopefully inspiring some people. I’m always happy about doing that.
What is your favorite part of touring?
Playing the music and meeting different people and seeing different parts of the country and the world. I really enjoy that.
How did it feel to win the Grammy this last year for best reggae album?
It felt good, but that is not the purpose [of my music]. But it was nice.
What messages are you trying to convey through your music?
My main message is love, and that is the most important message the world needs, you know, so I want and hope when people come they leave with more love and spread that love all around—spread that love to other people and keep it spreading until one day there will be so much love in the world that there is no way that war and hate or violence can take hold. That’s the objective to spread love, you know.
Do you have any new projects you are excited about?
After we finish this tour I’m going straight into the studio to work on the next album. So I am excited about that. Putting out new music and writing songs, experimenting with ideas in the studio and seeing how we can come up with a different sound than the last record, and keep things exciting. I’m looking forward to that.
Why did you start Ziggy Marley Organics?
I like food. I like cooking. I make breakfast and dinner for the kids. It turned into an extension of who I am, but also it gives me a chance to talk about health, nutrition and that we should eat properly and be aware of what we are putting into our bodies, especially since a lot of the processed food in America is manufactured and manipulated and has been genetically modified. We should be aware of these things, and this is a platform to talk about that and make people be aware. Food does affect us. Food affects the world.
How do you feel about the legalization of marijuana?
It’s going in the right direction and it’s a positive thing for society. Obviously, there’s the medical value of it, which helps everybody, and then there is the recreational value of it, which can help people, too. Being conscious of its use and educating people about it and educating children and making sure that it is used in a proper way and not abused. Even though we support it, we still have to be conscious that if not used properly it can be destructive, just like anything else.
