~48 Hours of Fame in Aguas Calientes, Mexico with Barry Ashworth-

My favorite Dub Pistol

By: Tanya Brooks

My flight to Puerta Vallarta was delayed by 5 hours. The airport was full of angry frustrated faces and two babies were crying in unison. I had just begun my long journey to the center of Mexico to go meet my best friend Lisa in Aguas Calientes. We would arrive there at different times so I was solo for the first part of my trip. Lisa had some connections from previously living in Mexico and also from being a wicked cool Dj, so she managed to set up a gig with a friend of ours from Mexico, Arturo. He was throwing a huge party with some other music production people in the city and I had my “in” since Lisa is my best friend. I was to be a part of it all!

The special guest was Mr. Barry Ashworth from the infamous Dub Pistols! Don’t know who the Dub Pistols and Barry Ashworth are?

“Dub Pistols are a London based dub music, hip hop and big beat band founded by Barry Ashworth in 1996. The other members of the band were record producer and bassist Jason O’Bryan, Brooklyn producer and lyricist, T. K. Lawrence on vocals, Jap Slut guitarist John King, and DJ Stix / Steve Hunt. Guest songwriters and vocalists include Blade, James Dewes Sheffield (JMS), Rodney King and Terry Hall. In 2008 Jack Cowens joined the band on drums.”

Thanks, Wikipedia!

We were totally stoked! This was the plan:

I was to arrive in Sayulita by bus from PV

stay there with our friend Nuri for two nights and then catch a 10-hour bus ride from Puerta Vallarta to Aguas Calientes. Arturo was then supposed to pick me up from the bus station and get me a hotel room. Barry was to be picked up from the Airport in Aguas the next day while Lisa was coming into a different airport around the same time. Then we would put together the party, entertain Barry and Lisa would stay in the hotel with me for a few nights. Seemed like it would be pretty easy to coordinate.

Well, as I was saying in the beginning:

my flight was delayed 5 hours from Vancouver so I didn’t arrive in Sayulita until late at night. I ended up sleeping most of the time I was there. I did manage to hit the beach for a few hours but didn’t see too much sun. After the next day’s bus ride, which took a grueling 10 hours… in this direction:

Arturo finally picked me up in Aguas Calientes… but didn’t have a room for me.

The trip started out just wonderful.

Finally, after 3 places denied us, we found a room on the complete opposite side of Aguas Calientes from where I was supposed to be. The rest of the plan worked out pretty well, though. The following night my chaperone drove me to the airport to get Barry. He was flying in from The UK.

We met up with Lisa and went out on the town. That’s when the fun began! 🙂

Barry’s face was all over Aguas Calientes. We saw posters and big huge banners as we walked around from place to place. People kept looking over at us and pointing. Suddenly as we entered Yambak (the bar hosting the show) locals started taking pictures of us and tapping us on the shoulder to get a look at Barry. I felt a soft touch on my arm as we sat down with our beers and I turned around to see an Asian girl standing next to me.

“Can we have a photo?” she asked with a huge grin on her face.

She must have thought I was Barry’s agent or something. All of a sudden a line up of people formed around us as more and more locals joined in our spontaneous photo shoot with Barry. People were laughing at clapping and shaking Barry’s hand. Some people didn’t even know who he was but they saw his blown up face on a huge banner outside the bar so they just had to get in on the action. I think Barry probably signed some autographs that night too. It was so much fun!

   

Bright flashes and big crowds engulfed us as we struck a pose and boasted about the upcoming show. Everyone was so excited and I felt like a total rock star! As the warm air saturated my skin the sweat started to drip down my face. Hours had eventually gone by and we were getting pretty exhausted. Lisa and I started discussing the ride situation to get back to our room and Barry overheard our dilemma.

He kindly offered us a place to stay in the king sized bed in his big huge hotel room… which was much nicer than ours AND right down the street from where the party was going to be. So the next day we moved in with Barry and the three of us crashed in the gigantic bed. Barry was an absolute gentleman and a riot too. He was so fun and energetic. All we did was laugh and have fun with him. It didn’t matter where we were we stuck together and made the trip one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. We even managed to go see a bit of the city and grab a few trinkets along the way.

  

Then, before we knew it… it was time to PARTY!

Armed with our backstage passes we dressed up and pulled our dancing shoes on!

We grabbed a couple of drinks while people started showing up and the stage slowly started making some noise. A bit of background Mariachi music played while the sound system was being tested.

The first DJ was on, pounding some heavy bass and people started bobbing their heads and moving around.

 

Then… the lights came on for Barry!

As soon as the announcer introduced Barry, the entire place went crazy! Strobe lights were pulsing, people’s hands were in the air and Barry instantly destroyed the decks! Pure joy pulsated through my veins as Barry threw on:

“Mucky Weekend” 2012- from Worshipping the Dollar

Lisa and I looked at each other and began screaming the lyrics at the tops of our lungs while we ripped up the backstage with our killer moves and flailed around howling up towards the stars.

“Oh, no here we go again,
I’m off my face another mucky weekend
One day I’m gonna have some kids and a wife
But until then I just wanna live my life.”

Barry blew everyone away with his sweet tracks and epic mixes that dropped atomic bombs!!

We jumped up on stage to bust a move as Barry grabbed a bottle of Vodka, took a swig and then spit it all over the crowd. The smoke machine intensified the drops of liquid spraying out onto the dance floor making them look like little beads falling from the sky.

We danced until we couldn’t dance anymore. The night was a hit. So much fun… so many memories.

The following day we just relaxed and recouped from the night’s festivities. After a short run in with a weird after party in the wee hours of the morning and a snippy little dog that almost chewed Barry’s leg off… we managed to get some rest. Other than some ripped pants no one was hurt in the party process 🙂

Barry became an automatic awesome good friend and I am so lucky to have met him.

He even came over to Victoria recently to do a small show here at Rehab bar after his big Canadian tour!

What a great guy… and a visit with Barry Ashworth always makes for a great story! Here’s to you, Tio Barrio!!  We love ya xo

Dub Pistols! Check em out!

http://dubpistolsmusic.co.uk/