Santa, the name of the first band you ever played with, the Saint Peter Claver Drum Corps, won't ring any bells with most people.
Carlton 'Santa' Davis:
"Well it was a sort of a youth organization run by the Catholic Church and the Saint Peter Claver Drum Corps was like a marching band. That's where I really developed a liking for music. I actually got involved in the drum corps to keep out of trouble; I need something to do after school. It was my way of keeping on track and not getting into mischief. After school I would usually go home, do my chores and then go to band practice."

Starting out as a musician it's not always easy to get your hands on a decent instrument; I guess that goes double from drummers?
Carlton 'Santa' Davis:
"I never had the luxury of having my own drum kit, but the church owned a lot of the pieces you would also find in a drum kit, so I would just assemble my own mock version from the different size drums I could find there. After I left the drum corps, I joined a band (Kofi Kali and The Graduates, red.) and they already owned a drum kit, so that's when it really kicked off for me. The thing is, because I didn't have a drum kit to practice on at home, I used to drum on virtually anything I could get my hands on. We just had to make do in those days."

The first big outfit you were a part of was The Soul Syndicate, the legendary band led by bass man George 'Fully' Fulwood.
Carlton 'Santa' Davis:
"Fully's father used to work for my father, well my stepfather actually, and they were friends from ever since, so whenever my parents had to go somewhere, they usually left me at Fully's. We grew up together and almost treated each other as family."

For the longest time you also backed Peter Tosh with whom you developed a longstanding friendship. You were even at his house when he was shot and killed back in 1987. How do you remember him?
Carlton 'Santa' Davis:
"Peter was a very loving individual concerned with the plight and situation of mankind. You just have to listen to his songs to hear he was always talking about justice, righteousness and equality. He truly cared about people and not just one set of people, but people in general. He was also a man with a great sense of humour; oftentimes we'd just sit around and crack jokes, but he was very serious about his music, though. I still often run into people who tell me things like: "Peter was kind of harsh, you know!", but you should really have known the man before you can judge him. I want people to remember Peter as a man who stood for justice for the people. He was a man of the people."

It was when you were with another legendary formation, The Roots Radics, that you developed a new drumming technique that would revolutionize the sound of reggae: the flying cymbal sound.
Carlton 'Santa' Davis:
"Let me tell you the full story of how that came about. I didn't really create that flying cymbal riff; it was already done by a guy called Hugh Malcolm in the late sixties or early seventies in a song called 'Moonlight Lover'. For some reason, though, at that moment in time it didn't really seem to catch on as yet, but as time moved on, the rhythm became the focal part of reggae music. Now one day I was doing a session for Bunny Lee at Treasure Isle studio. We were about to record a song called 'None Shall Escape The Judgement' and I felt like trying something different. I didn't think nothing of it at the time, because for me it was just another recording, but next thing I know people started coming up to me telling me things like: "Man, that flying cymbal sound is wicked!" and all of a sudden it took off; the people just embraced it and everybody started to ask me to do it for them as well. Jamaica was clearly looking for something new, so I guess my timing was just right!"

Over the years you've played with just about everyone in reggae music. Are there any records that hold a special place in your heart?
Carlton 'Santa' Davis:
"I definitely have to mention 'Mama Africa' (EMI, 1983, red.) with Peter Tosh and the tracks I did with Bob Marley for his 'Confrontation' and 'Uprising' albums: 'Coming In From The Cold', 'Chant Down Babylon' and 'Africa Unite'. These are memorable albums because they both contain songs that are now classics, but I'm just mentioning them because you ask me and going over the entire list of albums I've played on would take weeks! (laughs)"

As you just mentioned, you played with Bob Marley back in the day and now, so many years later, you've hooked up with his son Ziggy. One might say you've come full circle.
Carlton 'Santa' Davis:
"You know what it is? As it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end! Working with Bob was an honour and a privilege and now working with his son Ziggy is like going from working with the king to go and work with the princes, because I even did a tour with all the Marley brothers at one stage (Roots Rock Reggae festival, red.). Everything has come full circle, as you said."

In conclusion, tell us the story of how you got your nickname 'Santa'.
Carlton 'Santa' Davis:
"In Jamaica you'll get a nickname for the stupidest reasons; you might do something or like to eat a certain food and before you know it you're named after that. When I got that nickname it was right around Christmas time. Now back in those days we used to make our own makeshift skateboards to play with. I was riding along on my board one day when suddenly one of my wheels got stuck on a pebble in the ground causing me to fall off and scratch my face. I went to the clinic and they put some iodine and bandages on my face and when one of my friends saw me like that he said laughingly: "You know what, now you look just like Santa Claus!" Now when you get a nickname like that as a kid, you never really like it at first, so I used to get in a lot of fights at first because I kept getting upset until someone told me: "If you keep getting upset every time someone calls you that, the name is definitely going to stick!" and that's exactly what happened!"