We had the good fortune of connecting with BRIAN WARD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi BRIAN, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Im from Belfast Northern Ireland. I have lived in Los Angeles since 1987.
When I was young in Belfast it was a time of religious divide and troubles. I always found an escape from the drama in music and especially the music of Reggae which always seemed to have a message of uprising and protest for the underdog. I found a strange similarity in the message of the songs and what I was experiencing at hpme in Belfast.
When I arrived in Los Angeles there was obviously a bigger circle of friends with similar interests so it drove my dream of forming a Reggae band here.
We formed Dread Daze many years ago I have been one of the front men and writers from the beginning
We have toured all over the States and played with all the bands I grew up inspired by.
It has been quite a surreal situation from the posters of the bands on my bedroom wall in Belfast to actually sharing the stage with many of them to this very day.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been a musician for most of my life. The band that I have played and toured with the most are Dread Daze.
We have traveled far and wide gigging throughout the years and there have been some tough travels and some very satisfying ones.
Playing to live audiences has always been the rush that keeps us on the road together.
We have always intended on spreading our message of love and unity throughout our concerts and recordings.
We are currently in the process of releasing some great new material and videos for the near future and hope that it builds our fan base even more….

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many great places to see in California. Its amazing that you can go from sunshine to snow in a couple of hours drive.
When family come here I usually do the drive up PCH towards San Francisco and all the great views along the way.
Off course there are the familiar sites such as Hollywood and Venice etc that most visitors should see at least once.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Id like to give a Shout out to my family who encouraged and tolerated the noise I made while I practiced my guitar years ago in Belfast.

Also to the musicians that I have worked with throughout the years. Especially Steel Pulse a band that took me into their trust way back and let me see the insides and outs of band life and touring etc.

Also a big shout out to Doug Wimbish who has helped us on our latest recordings. Doug is the original bass player of White Lines and many ground breaking hits of the late 70s etc. and the current Bass player of Living Color. His brother Victor is an old friend and helped bring the collaboration together.

Website: DREADDAZE.COM

Facebook: BELFASTBRIAN

Image Credits
SUSAN RAIMES

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