The House that 'Fams' built

THEIR father is legendary Wailers bass player Aston 'Family Man' Barrett. Siblings Kevin, Floyd and Aston Jr are carrying on his musical legacy.

The Barrett Boys have looked to production as their contribution to the continuation of that tradition.

According to Floyd, better known in music circles as 'John GQ', the brothers decided to start the studio known as Fams House back in 2004.

"My brother and I had just returned to Jamaica from the US and we just decided to convert our father's music room into a recording studio," he explains.

For the Fams House family, it was a natural progression to get into the production and management side of the business as opposed to becoming an artiste or musician.

While John played the bass as a child, his strength lies in studio engineering. However, it is the youngest of the siblings, Aston Jr, who has inherited his father's traits as he plays a wide range of instruments.

Their biggest success to date has come with artiste Gee Whizz, now known as Garland Rowe, who in 2009 had commercial and critical success with the song Life.

"That track was recorded at Fams House," John GQ explains. "Although we were not the producers of the track, I was the studio engineer -- It was just me and Gee Whizz in the studio when we laid down that track."

He added that while they do not seek to exploit their father's fame, they do get a certain level of respect in the business, especially from older artistes.

And what does the younger Barrett think of his father's recent Lifetime Award from Bass Player Magazine?

"It is truly an honour and we really appreciate it. Afterall, he is a living legend."

(from Jamaica Observer)