When Irish eyes be jammin'

WHEN JERRY O'Brien's ancestors came to America from County Clare in the Emerald Isle, there's no way they could have seen this coming - that one day one of their own would be broadcasting and podcasting reggae music to listeners around the world from a college radio station in Burlington County.

The affable 49-year-old O'Brien (a/k/a Selecta Jerry) hosts "Sounds of the Caribbean" on Z889 FM out of Rowan College of Burlington County (formerly Burlington County College).

He got hooked on the sounds of Jamaica during a trip to Hawaii, of all places, then moved up from frequent listener on WRTI, WHYY, and WPRB to frequent request-line caller on Z889. When former DJ Keith Rowe left the region, O'Brien got the call to host.

Now, thanks to the Internet, a worldwide audience tunes in each Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m. for a mix of new and classic reggae and a full hour of dub music (heavy on the bass, and best listened to with headphones). O'Brien grew up in Tabernacle, listening to Philadelphia rock stations. Among his influences as a DJ - or, in reggae terms, the "selecta" who chooses the music - are England's David Rodigan and Philly's own Michael Tearson. He got in touch with his family roots last year on his first trip to Ireland, where he spent about 200 euros on reggae vinyls and CDs.

Selecta Jerry recently sat down over breakfast with Deborah Woodell to discuss his passion for reggae, his global audience, and his completely unexpected career path.

Q On your show, you give shout-outs to your listeners, and they are literally around the world.

That's awesome. Just to know that they're spending time on their Saturday tuning in live, I'm just blown away. I'm very humbled by that.

And then the podcast is just a whole other crazy thing. I get 3,000 downloads each week. I have a family from St. Helena Island, a tiny little island off the coast of Africa, that listens to the podcast. It definitely blows me away.

Q How did you land your gig?

I was working a part-time job driving for a garden center, making all these deliveries, and I was flipping around the dial and came across the station, and I thought, "This is awesome."

Every Saturday, I would call in and say, "Hey, Keith, give me a request." After a couple of years, I volunteered my services.

Another two years go by and I don't get any response. But I call back, do my weekly request, and [one day] he says, "Uh, Jerry, remember a while back you asked if you could help?"

I said, "Yeah, but it's kind of run its course. I don't think it's for me."

So I hung up the phone. I'm working at the garden center. And the girl that was working there said, "Did I just hear that conversation right? That the guy you listen to every Saturday in the truck, in the store, just offered you to work on the radio station and you turned it down?"

So, quick, I picked up the phone and called Keith back and said, "Keith, I'll be there next Saturday." And I quit that job right on the spot.

Q You're a self-taught reggae fan, but you sound as if you've known the music all your life. What's the most fun about learning about the old stuff?

Jamaican music just never stops coming. It goes back to the 1960s, when Jamaica got its independence, all the way through now.

It's a constant flow of music coming out of there, so if you think you know everything, there's always another story or legend.

Q Marlon James'A Brief History of Seven Killings opened my eyes to the political nature of reggae music.

I say that all the time.People always say it's party good-time music, and it's really not - it's sufferers' music, because people in Jamaica are really bound by the system and the politicians and the corruptness of the police. If you step out of line just a little, you might not just get a ticket, you might get thrown in the slammer or get beat to hell.

Q Is there a Western counterpart that stays true to those roots, or does it have to come from Jamaica?

In my view, I stay true to the roots of the music from Jamaica. I try not to go too far off course on that. The music of Jamaica always has that special heartbeat that the American reggae, and even some of the stuff that's coming out of Europe these days, just doesn't have.

Q So, did you grit your teeth when you played Joss Stone's record last year?

No. That album had true Jamaican roots to it, with the artists she performed with. So, I hit on that album a few times. But I don't want to go overboard, either.

Q I have to ask. Why do you pronounce it Ca-ri-BE-an, when other people say Ca-RIB-ean?

I don't know. Deb, you've got me stumped.