ELAN
Interview and photos by Annette Ovanessian

Editor's note: The writer and photographer met with Elan while at a recent performance at Hollywood's legendary Roxy Theatre.

Thirty-year old Los Angeles native, Elan has been making music for over 10 years and could be considered as the next big reggae star of today's generation. His pulsating new album, TOGETHER AS ONE was released in May 2006 on Tony Kanal's (No Doubt) new imprint label, Kingsbury Studios. The album puts forth a fine blending of up-beat reggae tracks that will make you shake your booty at the clubs as well as smooth flowing love songs that will make your heart flutter.

A wide range of musicians from many different genres have influenced Elan; Bob Marley in reggae, Shabba Ranks in dancehall, The Skatalites in ska, The Smiths in new wave, Otis Redding in R&B and Fela Kuti in African music.

Check out Elan's website for tour dates: www.elanmusic.com

ANNETTE: Your music incorporates a lot of different sounds of music mixed all together. Was that the intention for you, to incorporate all your influences in one? ELAN: Yes! That's why I named the album, TOGETHER AS ONE. Bringing in all the influences. You've got to understand, I mean, one song I speak about consciousness and love, but then another song, I speak about going out to club with a girl and we're grinding, "Feel My Pressure," you know what I mean? There's a time and place for everything, when you go to the club, you don't want to hear roots. I mean, it depends on what club you're going to, but if you're going to a nightclub with hip hop and dancehall, you want to get winding. That's what a guy and girl is thinking about. They don't want to think about consciousness. But everybody has a different state of mind at different times. That's why I spread out. And then, obviously no one just listens to one style of music. Dancehall lends from hip hop. Hip hop changed and evolved. TOGETHER AS ONE is like a dream, all the different vibes and influences, everything you feel, all the different nationalities. You can see all the different people in the audience from the stage tonight: Whites, Blacks, Mexicans, Hawaiians, Polynesians, Persians, Armenians, etc.

A: Bringing people together- Is that the overall message your album coveys?

E: Yeah, when shit comes to you- about God, about praising, and feeling for the people who are less fortunate... people who don't have what most of us take for granted everyday... it hurts sometimes when you see it. You feel like you can't do nothing... but everybody can do something, if everybody gave a little bit.

A: What have you learned from people that you've worked with musically and mentally?

E: The music is the easiest part about this business. It's because the business side takes over and engulfs you and you can get locked in a spiral that you just... trust me, you don't know, the only thing that keeps you sane is the music. I've learned from Carlos [Santana], he used to be on the phone with me for hours when I was like 19. He used to say keep your domestic life right, do this, don't do this, don't do that, and he basically was guiding me. And The Wailers, I learned so much from them. Mentally, I learned that I could learn from mistakes and other people's mistakes. I've been very blessed. One word to describe my whole life is, "fortunate." To be able to be around different experiences at such a young age, I mean I've played with everyone, from The Stones to Santana, with The Wailers, etc. My second show ever being with any band ever was with The Wailers. I was headlining with all my idols opening up for me all the people I listened to as a kid, The Skatalites, Toots and The Maytals, The Itals, Abyssinians, Dennis Brown, Barrington Levy... they all opened up for me that day.

A: Have your experiences provided you with more motivation to pursue your music career?

E: Yes, 100%. Some people tonight came up to me and said, "Man, I closed my eyes and I can swear that Bob [Marley] was here," and I was like, "Woah!"

A: Describe the process of putting together the album, Together As One?

E: It's been a long collective... a year and a half. But it was being worked on for years before. We've broken down 60 songs, and picked 11. I have so much material. It's good, I can keep writing. I write everyday. Everything is just inspired by everything around me. As long as I'm alive I'll be able to write as much as I can. I guess it came together. Most of it with Tony [Kanal of No Doubt] was just fucking around and not having any expectations.

It was around 9:30 at night in the hospital where I work. I had finished my last rounds and my patients were all quiet. I had a headache so I went to the lounge to rest, but it was filled with loud gossiping nurses. I was exhausted from carrying a heavy patient workload at the hospital and from a weekend of rough-housing with my friends. So I went up to the seventh floor waiting room to kick back and rest.

When the elevator door opened I was pleased to see that it was quiet there. Only the sound of the rain, the television and a homeless man snoring could possibly interrupt my break. I looked out the rain soaked sliding glass door to the left of the TV, and noticed the lights of the city. I thought to myself, "when this shift started it was dark outside and it will be dark when I leave". I sat down and tried to find a comfortable position in an uncomfortable chair. As I rustled around using newspapers as a pillow to brace my tired head against the wall, I was sure I'd finally found my moment of peace and quiet. My eyes had been closed for about a minute and I had finally blocked out the fluorescent lighting that had intensified my headache. My ears were ringing from a day of continuous alarms and pagers, but I had successfully drowned out the sound of the documentary on the public access channel and was just beginning to hear my own breathing.

Suddenly, I heard a low grumbling voice, "Do you believe this? Do you believe this?" I pulled the good housekeeping magazine off of my face to see who was speaking. As my eyes began to focus on the man who was speaking, I noticed an unforgettable ear to ear smile. He spoke again, "I'm sorry to have woke ya up!" "No problem", I replied as I frantically looked for the clock to see how long I'd been asleep. To my surprise, it had only been about an hour. Rubbing my eyes, I started to focus on the man who had awakened me. "Do you believe this?" he said again as he was staring at the TV. Then I stretched my aching, stiff neck and sat up in my chair to get a better look. It was a documentary based on a conspiracy theory about the U.S.A. moon landing being a lie. I watched it with him as it ended. I turned to him and replied, "Well, you can't believe everything you see!" His eyes lit up and his grin widened as if he'd found an ally. He immediately outstretched his long arm across the coffee table, his hand unfolding out of his overcoat like an old wooden expansion bridge. "I'm Elmo Henderson. Nice to meet 'cha. My friends call me 'TEX'. Tex Henderson, on account of me being from Texas."

After shaking his hand and introducing myself, he asked me why I was moving about so slow? I told him I had been backyard boxing with my friends over the weekend. He laughed and then asked, "Is that right?"... a question I later heard often when speaking with Elmo. After explaining to him that backyard boxing is a non-violent way to entertain drunk friends, he asked if he could share a story with me. Curious to hear what he was about to say, I listened as intently as he had. He sat upright in his chair, placed his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. He looked around as if he was sharing top secret information, then exclaimed, "I was once a professional boxer and I beat Ali!" "Muhammad Ali?", I interrupted. "Why yes!" he said as he smiled like the Cheshire cat. I won't tell you that I believed him immediately, but he caught my attention.

He went on to tell me his life story, including the little known historical fact that he once fought Muhammad Ali and beat him. He spoke of his relationships, his faults, and of course, his accomplishments. I found Elmo "Tex" Henderson to be one of the most engaging and authentic men I had ever met.

As I got up to answer my pager, he stood up and shook my hand. I told him it was a privilege to meet him. He replied, "Son, the privilege was all mine. Here, we found ourselves engaged in a wonderful conversation. We were kept dry and warm. We had an interesting television program to watch and a top story view overlooking the lights of the city. In many ways we had the best seat in the house." It was this grateful attitude that best represented Elmo Henderson to me. He made such an impression on me. In upcoming articles I will share his story with you and I hope it will inspire you as well. I truly had the best seat in the house.

Love, peace, and prosperity, James Curt

Passionate for human rights and politics, bourgeoning writer Curt Byrum keeps his readers abreast of current news events. In addition to being a writer, he is a Respiratory Therapist residing in California. Curt also has a passion for music of all genres, writes experimental music and is a poet/lyricist. Click here to email Curt.

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