WORDS Tara Crutchfield
PHOTOGRAPH Amy Sexson
Eddie‘Smoke’Jackson Fourth-grade teacher and Fire Light Reggae frontman Eddie ‘Smoke’ Jackson uses music to make a positive change in his classroom and community. The drummer and vocalist grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. In 2003 he and his wife Jaime decided they needed a change. He told his boss at the Guitar Center that he and his wife would travel down the east coast, and he’d transfer jobs wherever they landed. They stayed with family in Winter Haven towards the end of their trip. “We liked the area. We realized that it was a place we could affect some change. We saw some bits of progress popping up and thought, ‘We can be a part of this and help push it forward,’” said Jackson.
journalism. “But it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to be involved in music,” he said. Hartup connected him with a personal friend of hers, a drum instructor who waived lesson fees for the promising young musician. Hartup’s husband was a professional musician, giving Jackson marimba lessons so he could ace his melodic instrument auditions. Though he didn’t end up going to school for percussion, Jackson said, “She was right there supporting me, no matter what I wanted to do.” Jackson and his high school drama club teacher remain friends. Mrs. Hartup even attended his wedding. Her influence reached beyond his time as a student and into his work as a teacher himself. “She let me know teachers have to connect, and they shouldn’t be afraid to do it. So, I try to make those kinds of connections with my kids as often as possible.”
He and Jaime have lived here for 18 years and have two daughters, Juliana, 16, and Jalah, 15. Jackson is a fourth-grade math and science teacher at Sikes Elementary School. Jaime, a jewelry and fiber artist, owns a local business called Jaime Jay Handmade.
FIRE LIGHT FRONTMAN
TAKING CENTER STAGE
Following high school, Jackson attended the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he studied studio engineering. After his studies, Jackson’s love of reggae transferred into a ska band. “We had a nine-piece group, full horn section, enthusiastic kids jumping around stage in these crazy shows at the local punk rock clubs,” he said. Using his studio engineering background, at just 19-years-old Jackson recorded, engineered, and produced his band’s album.
Music has been central to Jackson’s life. The soundtrack to his childhood was plentiful with Jamaican reggae music from the likes of Bob Marley and Barrington Levy. As a teen in the mid- to late90s he jammed out to Super Cat, Buju Banton, Garnett Silk, and Morgan Heritage who he said “were creating some of the best reggae and dancehall music at the time.” “They started to influence the way that I played and the way that I wrote. Those were some of my big influences on the reggae side, but I also grew up listening to Gospel, to punk rock music,” said Jackson. “One of my favorite artists of all time is Prince. His work ethic and ability to play every instrument and touch on every type of genre of music and make it his own influenced the way I approach and appreciate music. He’s my biggest influence.”
After the younger kids in the band graduated and went off to college, he was recruited for a reggae band in the area called Holy Smoke. The band eventually went their separate ways, and Jackson began DJing with Thomas Dubee (who later started record label, Upsetta Records, for whom Jackson has recorded) for the few years leading up to his move from Connecticut to Florida. “I packed up my drums, packed up the house, packed up my records. Jaime packed up all her jewelry supplies, and we hit the road.”
He played drums and sang in the church choir as a kid, eventually singing and performing in high school. Jackson penned his first original song during his senior year.
When the couple arrived and settled in Polk County, Jackson was one of the few people DJing reggae music in local bars and clubs. Tanner’s then-owner Debbie Tennick gave Jackson his first gig. When he formed The Burn Dem Band, she invited them to play there as well. The Burn Dem Band, led by frontmen Eddie ‘Smoke’ Jackson and Everton ‘Aqua’ Hill, would play throughout Lakeland and Ybor City. “We were super high-energy. On any given night, you probably see one of us jumping up on a table or running across a bar and getting people hyped up,” said Jackson.
His high school drama teacher, Hope Hartup, had perhaps the most profound impact on his early musical life. Jackson remembers playing Conrad Birdie in his senior production of “Bye Bye Birdie.” “That was probably the first time I was front and center entertaining in that way,” he said. “She saw something in me that other people didn’t and encouraged it.” One of the most significant opportunities Hartup gave Jackson was a spot on a drama club trip to London when another student had to back out. “She said, ‘Eddie, there’s a ticket, there’s room for you. [...] You’re going to come on this trip with us.’”
Fire Light Reggae, Jackson’s current band, ‘ignited’ from The Burn Dem Band. Able to sing and play drums, he and keyboard player Pablo Mastodon would book smaller venues and private parties as a duo. The name Fire Light alludes to the scaled-down version of the original band. Eventually, they started doing all their gigs as a duo, adding members here and there for larger sets. Fire Light’s current iteration consists of Eddie ‘Smoke’ Jackson, Pablo Mastodon, and female vocalist Syreeda Battle. The vocalist and drummer acknowledged his appreciation for his Fire Light bandmates for the chemistry they share both on stage and off.
Jackson described the transformative trip abroad as “absolutely amazing.” He remembers, “We went to theater productions in London, got to take a train trip out to Stratford-upon-Avon. [...] I got to explore the city and ride the Underground. My last day there was a completely free day.” Hartup told her students to walk around, have some fun, and explore on their last day in London. “And I did. It was one of the best experiences of my life.” Jackson lit up as he talked, his energy filling up the room.
Fire Light Reggae is a “roots reggae band with influences from soul, hip hop, and dancehall all mixed together,” according to Jackson. “Some of the songs I write don’t always fit right into that reggae vein because my influences are so varied.” Like the
As his high school career came to a close, teachers and guidance counselors nudged Jackson to go to school for writing or
- CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 -
havenmagazines.com
42
