Def: c-dub: pronounced ceedub - short for country fried dub or C n’ Dubya, it is the name given to the dub and dj side of the ghost town movement, where dj’s and selectors strip down ghost town music to its drum and bass essentials, then flavour it with echo and reverb drenched western guitar, dj vocals, foot stompin’ and a whole range of other-worldly sounds


C-DUB is a genre of music pioneered by Daniel Orlick. Defined in the deserts of southern California, USA in 2003, C-DUB had a small following until its emergence onto the international music scene in December 2005.

The roots of C-DUB can be seen in reggae dub and old time western music, utilising the fat deep bass rifts of reggae and the simple chord structures and instrumentation of traditional country music.

C-DUB is played on a soundlab (short for sound laboratory) (the most famous being The C-DUB Soundlab) and, as well as spinning the music, the DJ utlises his voice using a range of instruments and vintage equipment to create surreal special effects. The soundlab is a portable unit, designed by the DJ for performance purposes. It is similar, in theory, to the soundsystems of Jamaica, the difference being that DJ's incorporate a range of equipment and personal effects within their 'sound laboratory'. The C-DUB Soundlab includes a coyote whistle, rattle snake, gyro, echo reverb unit, and even a model train!!!

Fans of C-DUB are also fans of reggae, ska, dub, punk, country and folk (Urban Folk and Folk punk) music.

History of C-DUB

In the spring of 2001, Daniel Orlick left his hometown of Chicago, USA, and took a greyhound bus to the sunnier climate of California, with the hopes of being discovered by a record label. He arrived in Los Angeles, with just a few hundred dollars, a backpack, skateboard, and a dream that burned through his very soul. Unprepared for the harsh realities of life in L.A. (especially with little money and no place to stay), Daniel Orlick moved down the coast to San Diego where he stayed for approximately six months, singing on the beach and on the streets, earning enough money to provide him with a bed at a local travellers hostel.

A lover of nature, and the colours and climates of the West, Daniel Orlick started to venture out to the desert regions, sometimes spending two to three days just camping out and listening to the wildlife of the deserts. It was here that his fascination with the sound of coyotes first took hold, waking one night to see a coyote stood on the edge of a large rock, staring down at him. It was an eerie feeling, but something that left an imprint on his spirit.

Life in San Diego was good for Daniel Orlick, but he realised he needed to take himself back to L.A. if he was ever going to 'make-it' with his music. A more confident Daniel Orlick arrived this time in L.A. and soon settled into the life of a homeless singer/songwriter, taking his place on the world famous Venice Beach, eating at homeless shelters and earning enough for the bare necessities of life.

Home was a friends' VW camper van, accessible to Daniel Orlick for the night only. The remaining hours were spent singing on, walking or skating the Venice Beach boardwalk, and it was here that he met the Native American Little Eagle, a street seller who traded in hand made products from the Navajo reservation, the tribe to which he belonged. A friendship started, and many hours were spent talking - spiritual based conversations from which they both benefitted, sharing each others' beliefs, philosophies and teaching each other about their respective upbringings. After several months, Little Eagle extended an invite to Daniel Orlick: that of going on a visit to the Navajo reservation, to meet his family and enjoy some of the ways of the Native American. It was during this first visit that the seeds of C-DUB were planted.


Reservation Reggae
A lover of reggae, especially the music and lyrics of Bob Marley, Daniel Orlick found he had much in common with the people of the Navajo reservation. To his surprise, reggae had been embodied as the music of the Native American youth, and he soon found himself indulging his passion with the groups of Native American teenagers and young adults. Never without his guitar, Daniel Orlick entertained his guests, forming friendships and discussing music, with some live acoustic performances on the reservation radio station. Over the next few months, Daniel Orlick made several more visits to the reservation, and it was during one of these visits that he met Sebastian de la Raza (bass player) and Solomon Stone (drummer). The three of them jammed until the early hours, creating new music and playing with the old.

Influenced by the guitar style of Luther Perkins, Daniel Orlick started to experiment, breaking away from the traditional reggae off beat, and incorporating simple western style guitar rifts into the music. With a harmonica for flavouring, the call of coyotes in the background, and the emptiness of the reservation as a backdrop, Daniel Orlick, Solomon Stone and Sebastian de la Roza hit on a sound they knew was something very special. A new genre was realised. C-DUB was born.

How The West Was Dubbed

With basic recording equipment, Daniel Orlick, Sebastian de la Raza, and Solomon Stone transferred the sound of C-DUB to CD's, and the first official bootleg, aptly titled C-DUB Soundlab, started trading on Venice Beach boardwalk. The music became especially popular amongst the boardwalk skateboarders, and could regularly be heard at beachfront skater gatherings.

Because of its popularity, Daniel Orlick started to organise C-DUB evenings, seeing this as a way of promoting the music and his cause. Remembering the nights he spent in the desert, he posted flyers in local cafes, newsletters, shops and hostels, giving times and meeting points at places in the surrounding desert under the name of How the West was Dubbed. The first gathering drew a small group - less than ten in total. The second event, one month later, saw the crowd meet at an abandoned ghost town, and numbers doubled. Within six months, How the West was Dubbed! was attracting up to a hundred people. Groups would meet at designated places in the desert, then the convoy would descend upon an adandoned ghost town, the location of which became known only at the time of meeting. To avoid detection and interest from 'the powers that be', How the West was Dubbed! music goers developed a language of code known affectionately as Lasso Lingo. It was during an evening of C-DUB that Daniel Orlick met his english wife, Joanne St.Clair, marrying her at the L.A. courthouse nine days after meeting her.

Record Deal

Although the music of Daniel Orlick and the sound of C-DUB was spreading, he still had not signed a record deal, and hence he felt his music could not progress to the professional standards he required. Money was scarce, and up until this point, all musical output had been done purely for the passion of creating music. Sebastian de la Raza and Solomon Stone had no intention of leaving their homeland reservation, causing Daniel Orlick to think about his future. Joanne St.Clair, on a six month vacation, was due to return to the U.K. A shrewd business woman, she saw the potential for C-DUB on the European market, and on her return started the record label Ghost Town Records.

Daniel Orlick arrived in the U.K. in March 2005, embarking on an acoustic U.K. tour, culminating with a performance at the Glastonbury Festival. In November 2005, he returned to the States and, with the aid of Sebastian de la Raza and Solomon Stone, professionally recorded many tracks from their vast collection of C-DUB.

Ghost Towns

The How the West was Dubbed! events remain active in California, with gatherings held at secret desert locations and abandoned ghost towns throughout the West.