By Chaos, Freelance Writer 
Madden
DAVID MADDEN and the Cyber-Tix band played at Redbones the Blues Cafe last Saturday night, and they had a ball.
With Helen Bromley on violin, Errol Seaton on bass, Reginald 'Chappie' Mills playing rhythm guitar, Cliff Bond on drums and Audley Searchwell playing the keyboard, David Madden, on both vocals and the trumpet, played his version of 'Cyber-charged ska', updating the reggae pre-cursor on the small but well-lit stage at the 21 Braemar Avenue venue.
Starting at 10 p.m. instead of the slated 9:30, Madden began with the words Forget your troubles before moving into an energetic solo on the trumpet for the Skatalites' Freedom Sound before telling the then subdued audience that they should 'Dance if you waan dance, jump if you waan jump, light you lighter if you waan light you lighter...', arms extended in the night air as if trying to embrace the entire audience at once.
Energetic on-stage, he played his instrument with gusto and his vocals almost did not need the help of the microphone as he told the large crowd on hand that "This is Cyber-ska. Anything I say, can I get the audience saying it?
"Sounding the trumpet loud and clear..." he began with and some of the audience half-heartedly responded, while others laughed. Madden did not let the response stop him, as he launched into a capella, singing Devil find work for idle hands, which one woman was kind enough to echo.
Then the music kicked in. Helen Bromley was spotlighted with a solo on her instrument as she danced behind her microphone stand, Madden's trumpet soon took over as they blended their musical notes, underpinned by the other band members, something which was to occur a number of times over the course of the night.
Occupation followed, a song with original lyrics done for a Skattalites rhythm and then Madden declared I need a fat girl, a statement which had the audience in stitches. The song was Money Maker, with words penned by the band to the 'Fattie Fattie' rhythm, originally done by, who else, the Skatalites. The song featured another solo by Bromley, who frankly enough was a marvel for the night as she wrung notes from an instrument that, unless you are Mark Stephenson, you do not normally associate with any genre of Jamaican music.
Things got even more risqué with the dual-meaning Horny Horny as Madden asked a now-enlivened crowd "A wha dem call me? Horny horny man,", mixing in trumpet solos as one man in the crowd held a lighter aloft, flame on high, as the ever faithful bass player, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist underpinned the antics of the trumpet and the violin.
Another original, Hold You Forever, followed, and here Cliff Bond's drums had the chance to come to the fore over a solid bass riff as Madden, with Bromley and 'Chappie' providing back-up, sang Long time we no have no nice time, with the bandleader throwing in some pseudo-crying for good measure.
A cover of the Skattalites' Confucius followed and the Cyber-Tix band got the audience fully involved, singing along with the refrain 'Hey! Hey!' gustily as Madden thrust an arm into the air vigorously with each shout. With a shout of 'Riddim!' the keyboardist had the time to shine as Seaton on bass seemed to be in a world all of his own, playing with his eyes half-shut in his own little corner of the stage and moving his body to the rhythm.
After the original Road Running, 'Chappie' drew applause with a guitar solo, as did Helen - again, who did not seem able to stop her body from undulating throughout - on Resisting.
After a short break, David Madden and the Cyber-Tix band went into a set that was a bit more vocal as opposed to instrument-oriented. Things were slowed down on Mystic Mood, before the audience complied with a request to 'move your hands from side to side' to the words C'mon, let the whole world see it's changing times for Changing Times.
The next song, Ball A Fire, had an electrifying introduction, with all the instruments involved emitting notes at a frenetic pace. The song, introduced as having been famous by ska, was, according to Madden "...recorded for the Discovery Channel, so in or around November you should be seeing us on the Discovery Channel."
Chappie shared lead vocals on JR's Party before the band moved into Candid Eye (Love I Can Feel), which, as the trumpet and the violin again made love, borrowed from Mallory William's Boom She Boom and Beres Hammond's Tempted To Touch, with even drummer Cliff Bond having a go, successfully, at the vocals.
Schooling The Duke and Yippee followed, as did Eastern Standard Time. Chained, which the band said was in the process of being recorded, preceded This is Reggae Music. This song was prefaced by the words "You know they say all good things come to an end, and the final number is coming up..."
Helen Bromley took lead on her violin, playing with a vim and vigour which practically gave the song a rock music feel, backed by an up tempo bass and lively drum beats as Madden sang -so recognise your brothers and peace will come to stay. All that was left was the introduction of the band members and the energetic applause, as the audience began filing out of Redbones musically satisfied.
