Jam Tyme – USVI

By Dustin P. Prudhomme

The Untied States Virgin Islands, better known as “America’s Paradise,” has a hip band performing three nights a week at multiple locations throughout St John, St Thomas, and St Croix. Jam Tyme, carries a group of several hundred at each of their performances. While many people think of West Indian Culture Music as Steel Pan, Jam Tyme has brought the styles of steel pan, Calypso, and Hip Pop to create a Virgin Island specialty revered by many as one of the best bands in the Caribbean.

Jam Tyme band members got together and formed the group for the 2007 St Thomas Carnival. Forming the band was to hold true to the memory of Nicholas “Daddy” Friday. “Daddy” was the lead vocalist for The Real Jam Band and entertained crowds for years in St Thomas, St John, St Croix, and other Caribbean countries by bridging the ages. In doing so, The Real Jam Band really struck a note with the community. Jam Tyme keeps the tradition alive and well by performing around the Caribbean and the United States. After playing in most islands, Jam Tyme has also performed in Atlanta, Miami, New York, and Orlando. This band has rocked with sold out performances both internationally and in the USVI.

With the recent release of “De Real Thing”, featuring many of classic songs from The Real Jam Band and Jam Tyme themselves, the band has been able to bring both young and old groups to performances. This very note could be the reason for their rapid success throughout the Caribbean.

Jam Tyme’s members are Darcy “Duncan” Thomas – Vocalist, Halvor “Soca” Heart – Lead Vocalist, Danny "Kyat" Dermia - Guitar/Vocal, Eustace "Country" Hamilton – Keyboard, Kevin "Akai" Hodge – Bass, Lucien "Daddy Harry" England – Drum Machine Programmer, David "DDJ" Dawson – Trombone, Kashief “City” Hamilton – Road Crew, WYO – Trumpet, Nyere "Cocky" Francis – DRUMS. With the collection of these ten band members, Jam Tyme has been a great success. This success can be attributed to the mix of band members. From the vocals to the sound technicians Jam Tyme is sure to please all ages with its mix of musical performance elements.

I recently was able to chat with Jam Tyme bass player Kevin “Akai” Hodge about how music has been his passion and life long goal. Akai has been playing the bass with Jam Tyme for the past two years and with other startups for most of his life. Jam Tyme has been playing together for the past two years with some of the best success stories not only in the Caribbean but also throughout the music industry.

Akai also stated how he enjoyed playing with his fellow band members. As he puts it, “…the most memorable experience has been playing in Orlando, FL. This event beat out Carnival.” Carnival is nearly a week long event starting with a food show leading up to the parade in which bands roll down the street playing all types of local music. The energy level that can be achieved during Carnival has truly helped in the success of Jam Tyme. Akai added, “Playing for large crowds has an adrenaline rush that no one can ever match. Being in front of a crowd, feeling the music, see everyone on their feet, has truly made playing with the band a great success and personal accomplishment.”

While Jam Tyme has truly been able to achieve results that many startup bands cannot, one must wonder how long can this current success trend last? When looking into Caribbean history, one can see that while most of the World and United States economies play heavily on the current status; The Caribbean has a culture of fellowship, family, and hospitality that can not be matched anywhere else. What does this have to do with Jam Tyme’s future success one might ask? This sense of family and fellowship will be what helps to escalate the current status quo of Jam Tyme. The local venues will continue to play throughout the current economic times with local bands that draw strong crowds and followers. Jam Tyme is one of the few bands that are guaranteed to bring the necessary success to a venue each and every time they play.

Given the size of the band, it surely seems as if this band will continue to grow over the next several years to be one of the best bands in the Caribbean. Speaking with many residents of the Virgin Islands, they feel as if this band has what it takes to continue to be a true success story for the local scene for years to come. With a band that has been able to capture multiple generations, current trends truly shows the level of experience this band has shown and will continue to show. With the future of Jam Tyme unknown, the masses will have to wait and see what this band will grow to be. With the mix of age, songs, culture, and traditions, Jam Tyme truly has an open door to be one of the best bands. Playing in the mainland and down island, time is the only thing that will tell of their success. So the next time you are in the Caribbean and looking for some great local music from a band that knows what the people want, look up Jam Tyme’s current schedule and get ready to rock as this band is sure to please.

(Dustin P. Prudhomme is a contributor to Island Vibes Magazine and writes about Caribbean culture, business, and entertainment. For comments, please feel free to contact him at dustin@islandvibesmag.com.)