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Love is the message Ziggy Marley wants to send with his album, "Love is My Religion."
"It's not more complicated than that," he said.
A loving and peaceful vibe drifted through the crowd as Marley spread his religion of love in the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium on Thursday. A crowd made up of the young and old swayed together as Marley jammed to his newest songs and some old favorites.
Marley's album, released in July 2006, has been popular among fans and critics. It won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album, an award special to him because the album was produced independently and under his creative control.
"I'm most proud that it's my own music," Marley said.
The newest album is an emotional one that has reoccurring themes of love and optimism. From the politically charged single "Be Free" to the smooth love song "Make Some Music," there is a cheerful essence in every tune.
To Marley, this album is about the evolution of the mind to grasp higher concepts and apply the philosophy of love to all aspects of life. He has found peace and God in love and has since been spreading the message.
His advice for utilizing this concept in everyday life: Lighten up and smile.
"Stop looking for more; love is the answer," Marley said. "When you find love, you find everything, and everything becomes clear."
Marley's album has sold well despite its limited distribution. The album was released exclusively to Target for one year with practically no marketing or mass media to promote it, he said.
"The big money and big companies use a lot of media to get their music out," Marley said. "My type of music, and others like me, have to go on the road and get our music out by touring and being in front of the people because we don't always have the support of TV and radio."
So Marley has been on the road a lot, recently ending a tour through Europe and the United States, with even more international dates planned. Thursday was his second visit to Chico. He was here in 2004 and was glad to see people in Chico still like his music, he said.
Marley, his band and backup singers blew the crowd away with a performance that was vocally and acoustically solid. His long dreads swayed as lights danced against a huge sign of the letters l-o-v-e on the back screen.
The reggae singer played songs from past and present. He even did an upbeat rendition of his father's famous hit, "I Want to Love You."
The band stayed up the tempo, barley taking time to breathe in between songs. After the performance, the crowd begged for an encore and Marley obliged with three more songs, including the hit "Dragonfly."
Marley said that the atmosphere in the auditorium was a calm one.
"It was a spiritual vibe," he said.
He signed autographs and greeted about 15 lucky fans after the show.
Kenneth Coverdell, a student at Butte College, was mesmerized by the solo guitar rips and planned to steal some of Marley's dance moves, he said.
"This was my first Ziggy concert, and it won't be my last," he said adding that he "didn't want the music to stop."
And Marley's musical voyage is far from over. He has big aspirations for his record label, Tuff Gong Worldwide, a branch from his father's company.
"As a young artist, I looked up to all the great artists like my father, Miles Davis and Marvin Gaye, whose music transcended their lifetimes to other lifetimes," he said.
The standard he sets for his label is to make music that will mean something and be relevant 100 years from now. Marley wants to make music that lifts people up and spreads a positive message, he said. He advises the students of Chico State to "keep an open mind and keep evolving."
He warns young and up-and-coming musicians who are on the path to create real art and express themselves that creatively is a long road.
"It's a harder road, but if you're a true artist, it's the one you have to take," he said. "It's the road of a rebel, the road of an adventurer, the road of a searcher who might not appreciated at the time."
As for everyone else, "My advice to people is don't ever stop traveling 'cause life is a journey."
Laura Hauser can be reached at lhauser@theorion.com
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