Christafari: Mark Mohr talks about their new album and Bob Marley's conversion

Sunday 3rd January 2010

Mike Rimmer met up with Mark Mohr of CHRISTAFARI and quizzed him about a wide variety of subjects



Continued from page 1

Mike: So it's like Reggae Allstars?

Mark: It's Reggae Allstars, it's "We Are The World" meets gospel reggae - and for a cause. I don't think if there's any other cause that all the gospel reggae artists would unite on. I was scared every time I asked them, "How do you feel about abortion?" They were like, "I can't stand it, I hate it." It united us all.

Mike: You and your wife are in Christafari, but it has a history of having a fluid lineup of musicians. The first lineup quit, didn't they?

Mark: Actually, the first lineup was me and the worship team from the camp. Then I brought in friends - and they learned how to play, they got secondhand instruments and taught themselves. That kind of evolved into the reggae worship lineup. We brought in guys from the club scene, who had just come to Christ. But they still had one foot in the club, and that meant for some shady issues in our personal walks with God. It evolved into the Valley, and so on. Shortly thereafter some of the guys left to form a band called Temple Yard that released one album and then split. That gave me the opportunity to rebuild the band from the ground up - back to the basics of what it was when I first started it - and we released 'Word Sound & Power', which most say is our best album. Hopefully this next album will give it a run for its money, but each album I do is the best that I can do at the time. 'Word Sound & Power' kind of set the standard for gospel reggae in many ways; since then we've done quite a few albums. The biggest challenge with our lineup is that we like to tour: in the last year we've done 80 shows in 20 countries, and returned to many countries sometimes as many as four times. You just can't do that when you have a wife that has a kid, or you have a job that you're trying to keep also. So it's been a real challenge, but it's been a real blessing, all the different people that I've played with throughout the years. But it's more of a mission than it is a group of specific members.

Mike: But it's always got you and Avion.

Mark: Yes. Myself and my wife. There's other key band members that I wouldn't go anywhere without. We just did Brazil, and ended up having to last minute fill in with some local band members down there that were actually in Christafari cover bands. But they didn't come close.

Mike: Christafari cover bands?

Mark: We've met them in the Czech Republic, in Belize, they're in the Philippines, there's a bunch in Brazil. All over the world we see them, and it's a trip to see them.

Mike: Who's going to do a Mark Mohr?

Mark and Avion
Mark and Avion

Mark: Believe me, they try, and it's horrible. It's interesting, though. We'll go to church - my wife and I are on vacation in Hawaii and we hear about this church and we call the pastor and we say, "Hey, can Avion sing 'Yeshua'?" They're like, "Okay." We come in and the worship leader is like, "I have no idea what's going on, I just heard some girl's going to sing. So who are you?" "Avion Blackman." "So what do you do?" "We tour with Christafari." He's like, "I love those guys! How are they?" We're like, "We are those guys!" "We just covered their song last week in church!" What a small world.

Mike: "Gwaan Natty". What does that mean?

Mark: It means "go on". It's an encouragement. Bob Marley did a song, "Natty Dread", singing about, "Dreadlocks conga bonga". I love dreads and I love people that have dreads. But the reality is so much of the dread thing associated with Rastafarianism. This song addresses the true issue of the man Rastafari, Heile Salassie. He was just that, a man, who called himself a sinner; who said that he was mortal and that he would be replaced by the next generation - and he was; who denied being Christ. One of my favourite quotes of his is, "Let us labour to lead our sisters and brothers to our saviour, Jesus Christ." He was a Christian. So this song talks about how Salassie actually sent out ambassadors of the faith of Christianity to try and reach Rastas. He actually sent a missionary to Jamaica to reach the Rastas!

Mike: Set up an Ethiopian church.

Mark: Yeah, Ethiopian Orthodox parish down there, and sent Bishop Yesehaq down there to do that. This song is a reasoning. I'm singing it with Troy Anthony, one of the hotest new voices in gospel reggae. He's from Bermuda. It's just an encouragement to those who love roots music and who are sympathisers with Rastafarianism.

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Reader Comments

Posted by D'Mor in Pickerington, Ohio @ 14:43 on Sep 2 2013

Love, love Christafari. Just introduced to them this Labor Day weekend my older sister.
Beautifully done. Keep walking with God on the straight and narrow and keep winning souls for His Kingdom.



Posted by Ranking Deezed in Kaduna,Nigeria @ 01:35 on Mar 24 2010

Nuff respect to you Mark.The interview is an eye opener into your personality. Why you do what you are good at. One Love Idren.



Posted by Andrew Spry in Plymouth, Devon @ 21:57 on Jan 3 2010

Very good article/interview. I love reggae music, especially Bob Marley, and it's refreshing to hear a real Christian voice commenting on these issues. God bless!



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