This is the story of the first time I met Ziggy Marley.

In 2009,
Ziggy was coming to Honolulu to perform a show in August at the Waikiki
Shell. I was working for Hawaii Public Radio, and had just started
there. In addition to Bob & Rita Marley's eldest and best known son
doing a concert in Honolulu at the venue his parents performed at
together in 1979, he was appearing at an event having to do with kids,
and making a press conference appearance at The Hard Rock Cafe.

That is where the pic is from: we
caught up with the Rastaman at the Hard Rock appearance. It was a hot
August morning. We went down early for this 10am press conference.
Getting my stuff all set, Ziggy was due there for this early am thing,
and then was moving on to the children event at another Honolulu
location, before finally performing that evening at the Waikiki Shell.
After plugging in my gear and grabbing seats, we waited until he showed
up, and there was a flurry of activity. It seemed like quite a few press
people were there to either grab quickie questions at the press
conference, or film brief segments about his arrival. During the
question and answer session, he answered my question about the recent B
Is For Bob kids record he'd done with a quality answer, and was
otherwise cordial as he was asked a few questions by others. At the end
of the event, several of us were fortunate to get photos with the great
Ziggy Marley, and I was very very lucky to grab a shot with him too. He
and I spoke little if at all aside from the questions during the press
conference (video included), and then I gave him a lei and grabbed a
pic.

I have to say, he was pleasant, and since then, I've gotten to know him much
better, doing two long interviews, both in excess of thirty minutes, and
one including live performance at our Honolulu studios. Through these
experiences, I feel much more connected to him, and have a high regard
for this artist. He is a fine example of many many great things. Ziggy
Marley is one of my all-time favorite artists to have gotten to know,
and I feel blessed to have had the experiences with him every time I
reflect on them.

I'm a media personality and radio broadcaster in Honolulu, Hawaii,
and news anchor with Hawaii Public Radio, the voice of NPR statewide in
the islands. You can hear me most weekdays on the KHPR/statewide feed at http://hawaiipublicradio.org
on NPR's award-winning show All Things Considered.

I anchor local news and features, including many fun interviews with
major music acts.

Follow the HPR News link at http://hawaiipublicradio.org
for my Dave Lawrence Reports page, where you can hear extended interview
segments with artists I've interviewed this year for HPR, including
Ziggy Marley, Tower Of Power, filmmaker David Lynch, 311, Grateful Dead's Bill Kreutzmann, comedian David
Spade, Jack Johnson, Julio Iglesias, Boz Scaggs and many other acts.