Broad Ripple’s weekly reggae party turns 20

The ceiling is low and the lights are even lower on "Reggae Revolution" nights at Broad Ripple's Casba nightclub.

The scene suits this basement dance party, where attendees slap the ceiling and fire up lighters to show appreciation for a DJ's song selections.

It's the same way parties get rolling in Jamaica, home to the reggae style that originated in the 1960s and surged faster as "dancehall" music in subsequent decades.

"Any kind of noise or flame in a dancehall party is generally a good thing," said Max Glazer, a recent Casba performer who worked as Rihanna's DJ/musical director for four years.

Reggae Revolution is a multicultural, multinational tradition that radiates good vibes every Sunday night. Dancehall has been going strong since June 1997 at the Casba, where a white DJ from the heart of the Midwest has won over countless skeptics who come to dance to Caribbean sounds.

The party will wrap its monthlong 20th anniversary celebration June 25 with an appearance by Jamaican musician Serani.

The weekly theme night won't stop at two decades. Pulsating beats beneath the Vanguard restaurant will continue to attract celebrities such as actor Idris Elba, R&B singer Mayer Hawthorne and NBA players (despite the low ceiling).

Revolution wouldn't be a party without its repeat customers, the Indianapolis residents who migrated from Jamaica, Haiti and beyond.

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One of the night's prominent dancers, Errol "Scooby" Edmond, worked as a cliff diver at a restaurant in Negril, Jamaica, before moving to Indianapolis in 2001.

"On Sunday night, this is where everybody meets: African, Barbadian, Trinidadian, Jamaican, Haitian, American," Edmond said of the Casba's clientele. "This is the place to be. You don’t want to miss out on it."

A traditional reggae enthusiast known as "King Juice" spent his first seven years of life in Haiti before moving to Brooklyn and eventually to Indianapolis.

"It’s really a community world get-together," he said of Reggae Revolution. "Because once you get downstairs, you’ll find it doesn’t matter where you come from in the world, there will be somebody down there from there."

The host and co-founder of this world party downplays his role, but he can't be overlooked.

Ron "DJ Indiana Jones" Miner is fortysomething, white and an alum of Ben Davis High School. 

Heard daily mixing old-school hip-hop songs on radio station 93.9 the Beat, Miner became an expert on the connection between reggae and rap styles when he worked in radio promotion for record labels in New York City during the mid-90s.

Miner now makes frequent trips to Jamaica to spin dancehall jams where the music was born.

"We got a light-skinned brother," Edmond said.

Miner said he and Reggae Revolution co-founder Philip Mitchell had a dual vision for the night they launched on the first Sunday after the 1997 edition of the Indianapolis 500.

"(Mitchell) was more of a live-guitarist reggae guy, and I was a DJ," Miner said.

The DJ format became the model that endured, partly because the subterranean space was too small to be practical for live performances. Mitchell exited before the night reached its first birthday.

"When we started, it was just me and a few of my friends," Miner said. "A couple of hippies. Then a couple of Haitians came down. Then some Jamaicans started coming. Africans started coming. It became a real international underground dance party."

Florida native Marina Armstead said she has missed just one or two Sundays since learning about the series two years ago.

"It's the closest thing I can get to having Caribbean nights in Florida," she said.

Armstead admits, however, to being skeptical about Miner's credentials.

"I came downstairs, and I loved the way the music sounded," she said. "And I was looking for the DJ. I was looking everywhere for this DJ. And then I saw him. I thought, ‘That’s not the DJ. He’s just watching the turntables.’ But then I saw him, and I saw his passion in his eyes. I always see that passion. Every Sunday night he’s got that same reggae passion. I knew he had to be the DJ behind that music. He’s just Indiana Jones now. No race, no color, no creed. He’s reggae."

Said Miner: "The beautiful thing about music is that it has that ability to break down all those walls and barriers."

Casba management has removed literal walls to accommodate Sunday night crowds.

Avery Preddie, who first met Miner when they were teenagers, recalled the early days of Reggae Revolution: "We were in a little 300-square-foot area with a bar. It was packed where you couldn’t move then. It's packed where you can’t move now."

Dancers form tight circles near Miner's DJ station to execute moves known as "Signal di Plane" and "Pon di River." Serani, whose discography includes dancehall hits "Skip to my Luu" and "No Games," will follow Mr. Vegas and Christopher Martin as high-profile performers at Reggae Revolution.

The 20-year roster of Miner's fellow song selectors at Reggae Revolution includes DJ Virus, a native of Jamaica who developed a dancehall scene in South Bend; Charles "Danger" Byfield, who moved to Virginia in 2015 after more than a decade of Revolution Sundays; and Mpozi Tolbert, the late IndyStar photographer who is pictured in murals in Broad Ripple and Fountain Square.

Miner said Reggae Revolution attendees turn in misplaced cellphones and are quick to help fellow dancers to their feet if someone tumbles.

"The crowd we have at the Casba is the best of the best," he said.

Thierry Baptiste is a lifelong Broad Ripple resident who said he has attended Reggae Revolution for the past 15 years.

"The Casba is one of those clubs where regardless of your lifestyle, your ethnicity or your social status, people come together and have a great time," Baptiste said. "No one’s ever mad at the reggae club. It’s fun and happiness, and we need more love."

King Juice mentioned multiple times Miner has raised money for Haiti, including a benefit that followed 2010's earthquake and the loss of 100,000 lives. 

"Indiana Jones is a pure and honest guy," King Juice said.

Miner said it makes sense to maintain international connections.

"Being that I’m a Hoosier Caucasian, whenever there’s trouble in the Caribbean or in Africa I feel like it’s important for us to do our part," Miner said. "We should do our part to begin with, but if we’re profiting off the culture of these people, we need to stick up for them when the chips are down."

Serani at ‘Reggae Revolution’

WHEN: 10 p.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Casba, 6319 N. Guilford Ave.

ADMISSION: $20, or $15 if tickets are purchased in advance.

INFO: Visit Eventbrite.com or call (317) 254-1147.

Contact IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.