Watcha gonna do?

One of the great Jamaican bands to have a big impact in the US and Europe in the wake of Bob Marley's rise, Inner Circle is headlining this Saturday's World Reggae 2009 on Bang Saen Beach on Chonburi.

Best known for the global hit "Bad Boys", which became the theme song for the American TV reality show "Cops", Inner Circle also had a hit with 1992's "Sweat (A La La La La Long)".

They'll cap a night packed with roots rhythm, including fellow Jamaican Diana King and Big Mountain from the US and local favourites like Teddy Ska Band, Joey Boy and T-Bone.

Inner Circle founding guitarist Roger Lewis tapped out some answers to our e-mail.

You're coming here as part of a tour, right?

We're promoting our new album "State of Da World", which was released in September, our first album in five years. It has collaborations with Damien and Stephen Marley, Junior Reid, Luciano, Mutabaruka, David Hinds and Steel Pulse.

We've played the east coast of America, Venezuela and Bolivia. We'll come to the great country of Thailand, and then finish the year in the Philippines and the US west coast.

Does reggae belong to Jamaicans?

We love all non-Jamaicans who do reggae. It's a music fraternity, and we're all musicians first and foremost, no matter what the genre, so we respect all musicians.

We do have a special place for Ali Campbell of [British band] UB40 - he and the group did a lot to get exposure for songs written by Jamaicans.

Which of your hits is your favourite?

"Bad Boys" - it has a great message, especially to our youth, who are so troubled today and very prone to violence.

When we sing "when they come for you", it doesn't have to mean "when the police come for you". Our main meaning is when life catches up to you, like karma. So try and do good all the time, not just on Sundays, and good karma will come back to you a hundred times.

Has the band's new lead singer brought a change in musical direction?

Junior Jazz, who we call "the reggae warrior", has been with the band for about two years now, but the musical direction hasn't changed very much. With the new album, I think we've gone back to our roots a bit.

What do the fans on Bang Saen Beach have in store?

We came to Bangkok about 15 years ago. It was a great experience and we've always wanted to go back. So we are very happy to be coming to play for the reggae fans there again.

Don't be bad

The festival runs from noon on Saturday to 4 Sunday morning.

Grab a pass for Bt1,500 from www.ThaiTicketMajor.com or (02) 262 3456.