Learning From Scratch

Put another way, Perry was beginning to resent being cast in the shadows of artists he put on the map in the first place.

"I thought I was buildin' up the Lee 'Scratch' Perry studio," he allows. "But it wasn't the Lee 'Scratch' Perry studio. It was the Bob Marley studio and the dreads' studio, and the Congos', the Meditations', Max Romeo's studio. I was creating a dread thing that was too dreadful for me. And I didn't remember that I was a soul man. I thought I was dread. So after I remove it, I remember that I am a soul man."

For a while, Perry all but disappeared from the reggae scene. Bizarrely, he resurfaced in Zurich, Switzerland and married a minor royal in a Hare Krishna ceremony. Before long, he set up a studio that he calls "my extraterrestrial laboratory" -- a term he seems to mean literally. "In Jamaica, I was depending on the blacks and make Black Ark," he offers. "They takes all the tapes of everything. But before they get the Ark, I burn down the Ark, and then I'm not depending on the blacks anymore -- I'm depending on the extraterrestrials."

Also assisting Perry is Mad Professor, a contemporary dub genius in his own right. The two have helped each other on a series of projects for the RAS/Ariwa imprint, including the upcoming disc Dub Fire. Predictably, Perry's description of the latter is curious but intriguing. "It's something real heavy," he asserts. "It's like a megaton. It's heavier than reggae; it's called 'meggae.' It take and make reggae look like it's small. Put that reggae into reincarnation -- so reggae pray and clear the rain, for I am coming with the meggae. Dub 'President of Fire' Perry with Mad Professor and the Robotic -- heavier than lead."

In the meantime, Perry is looking forward to his return to San Francisco where last year's rare show at the Maritime Hall left a decidedly positive impression on him. "I am the real Peter Pan, and they are all my jungle fans," he says of that crowd. "So I know the plans and I give them my song, and my song is heard from the east to the west, from the north to the south, from the North Pole to the South Pole. As Father Christmas I come with their presents and say 'You are on my side, welcome to heaven!' "

What on earth is Perry talking about? Even he might not know -- but he knows who he is. "It is I," he exclaims, "in the name of one love, Jah Rastafari -- his one and only son, Lee 'Scratch' Perry: the upsetting, blazing ball of fire.