On the home stretch
Posted: Friday, February 28, 2003
by Peter Blood
For the 20th occasion, I am putting my neck on the line predicting which soca hit will win the Road March title. Having done so successfully on 18 previous occasions, I am hoping that I get it right once more.
Scrunter who broke out at the starting eventually slipped out of contention. If Carnival Tuesday was on Boxing Day, "Jumbie" would have been an odds-on Road March winner.
Some, including myself, also saw Militant's "Passion" and the Rudder-Jacobs "Trini to the Bone" also as early contenders. But, with the finishing line just mere days off, there's no denying that the most likely winner will come from among "Ah Home" (Iwer George); "Display" (Fay-Ann Lyons); or, the fast galloping "Is Carnival", by Machel and Destra.
The NLCB International Soca Monarch is on tonight with joint 2002 champion Iwer and Bunji Garlin expected to pull out all stops to become a solo champion.
I feel that by 6 am tomorrow, however, Iwer would have done enough to be crowned the 2003 International Soca Monarch, with Bunji, Maximus Dan and Fay-Ann in close contention.
THE ROAD MARCH DERBY
1. Ah Home — Iwer George
2. Display — Fay-Ann Lyons
3. Is Carnival — Destra and Machel Montano
4. Rags — KMC
5. Kick It Way — Maximus Dan
6. Mash Up — Sean Caruth
7. Mad Man — Machel Montano
8. Trini to the Bone — David Rudder and Carl Jacob
9. Passion — Militant
10.Jumbie — Scrunter
Band meet band
No result was reached following last week's Band Meet Band "contest" at Jean Pierre Complex.
One of the most innovative productions staged for Carnival 2003, and produced by Spektakula Promotions International, the event attracted a large crowd, no doubt an incentive for its producers to establish it as an annual event.
Band Meet Band featured three top local soca bands and El A Crew of Antigua, in what was supposed to be a winner-take-all $25,000 blow out. The local bands were Traffik, Invazion and Roy Cape All Stars. Each band was required to perform for one hour, not repeating any selection played by another.
Unlike all soca fetes, participants stuck to the rules, treating patrons to fresh and exciting repertoires, including some retro items and non-soca selections.
When the smoke cleared, shortly after 1 am, it was obvious that Roy Cape All Stars had done enough to be announced as the winner. But, the announcement of a winner is still pending.
Notwithstanding this mystery, I strongly recommend that Spektakula makes Band Meet Band a permanent fixture on its annual Carnival itinerary.
Carnival is dying
At one point in time, I would have been the last person to even whisper that Trinidad and Tobago Carnival could ever be dying. Sadly, I am left with no choice but to admit this.
The evidence to support this prognosis is based on solid fact and unless those in authority do something real quick, the level of participation in the annual festival will soon diminish to nothing and no one.
For instance, I wasted hours of valuable night rest last week Thursday by attending the preliminaries of the King and Queen of Carnival competitions. I have attended this competition each year since 1963 and I can tell you this year was the pits.
It is like our mas designers have gone brain dead, producing regurgitated costumes, while relying on cheap, tacky gimmicks like pyrotechnics and coloured lighting to make any impression on judges and audience.
For the judges, it must have been a greater challenge trying to select the worse from among the worst, than looking for the best 16 semi-finalists from among the year's best designs.
If those in charge are unable to increase the incentives and rewards to designer and masquerader in these contests, they should just scrap them altogether.
The other symptom of a dying Carnival is the low patronage to calypso tents this year. Tent managers and financiers will probably have to take all of 2003 to repay creditors for the losses suffered this Carnival.
Several factors have caused the lack of interest in the calypso tent this year, and I am not prepared to buy into the high incidence of crime theory.
I feel that too many calypso composers and artistes simply didn't do enough homework this past year, not to mention the public being denied hearing the few outstanding compositions by radio stations which prefer the party stuff.
Carnival 2003 will be remembered as the one for sampling and copying of old melodies; duplication of old mas ideas; and the damblaying of old arrangements for Panorama. In short, this year's festival has been bereft of creativity, originality or innovation in every aspect.
Until we become more serious about our Carnival and its components, and appreciate that besides its expressions being legitimate art and business, we will continue to see more people opting to go to Maracas beach or Barbados for Carnival, instead of going to the tents or being bored to death at the shows.
With thanks
Before ending I wish to thank Mayor Murchison Brown and the members of the Port-of-Spain City Corporation for recognising and rewarding the contribution I have made to indigenous culture through the media for the past 23 years. I was humbled by being honoured last week along with more renowned Carnival personalities Syl Dopson and Alvin Daniell.
Thanks also to Tony Chow Lin On and Link Up Productions for the music. Like that pretty actress in the old Tatil TV ad, "Yuh know wha' I mean."
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Pan Trinbago reverts to east-to-west route
Posted: Wednesday, February 26, 2003
By Terry Joseph
Queen's Park Savannah vendors and members of the public who joined in protest over a decision by Pan Trinbago to move bands across the performance stage in a west-to-east direction can now rest easy.
Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold yesterday announced his decision to revert to the east-to-west routing for bands participating at Saturday's National Panorama competition final. "Although it was an executive decision, I felt we should approach this particular conflict in a conciliatory manner and reverse the directional flow for the final," Arnold said.
"It is important to us, though, that the public knows this is not a response to the Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) head Khafra Kambon (who last week pilloried Pan Trinbago for the new arrangement). He could have approached us with his comments instead of seeking media mileage.
"Clearly, the only value of our relationship with him is when he wants steelbands to play for free in his Emancipation Village, even while he pays calypsonians for their musical effort," Arnold said.
"We saw his intervention as an attempt to put Pan Trinbago in a bad light and we object to this behaviour.
"The very vendors gave us their support in writing, so we don't know what he is talking about and who he is really representing.
"We however understand the point about them losing money and we have reverted to the east-to-west routing for bands at Saturday night's Panorama final," Arnold said.
He insisted that the project had not been abandoned but suspended.
The $20 payment for liming on the track is however still in effect.
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Calypsonians blank Kitchener tribute
Posted: Wednesday, February 26, 2003
By Terry Joseph
The 1982 national calypso monarch, Scrunter almost single-handedly rescued Monday night's planned tribute in song to Grandmaster Kitchener, when three members of the art-form's royalty failed to show up Under the Trees at Hotel Normandie.
Recently crowned (joint) Young King and social commentary monarch Roger George, defending national calypso monarch Sugar Aloes and former queen Denyse Plummer, all billed for the Normandie tribute, simply failed to appear, leaving the night's work to Kitchener's son Kernel Roberts, Funny, Pink Panther and Scrunter.
Both in narrative and song, Panther was magnificent as the opening act.
Funny was up next but that was where the trouble started. He reportedly did not attend rehearsals with house-band Roots and evidently planned to wing it through only two songs, in a programme that listed him as performing four pieces.
It was during his attempt at the second piece, "Dr Kitch" that all hell broke loose, as the band—for all its musical ability—could not match Funny's attempts to locate the song's key. According to one irate patron:
"While the band was in A-flat, Funny was apparently in a condominium somewhere else on the scale."
Valiant efforts by guitarist Tony Voisin met with little success. A suggestion that Funny try the song in the key of G brought out the singer's knowledge of the subject, the latter suggesting it was only a half-tone difference and demanding instead that the band play in F; a key that made Funny sound like parang-band character Papa Ghoul.
The show was forced into premature intermission just one hour after its punctual 8.30 pm start. According to the programme, Aloes was supposed to close the first half.
Denyse Plummer and Roger George had called (the latter only that morning) saying they were unable to learn any of Kitchener's songs for the tribute; George's offer to do two of his current hits in lieu was turned down by The Normandie who felt it an insult to the occasion.
It was during this extended period that Scrunter, who was not scheduled to take the stage until 11 pm arrived, saying he got wind of the fiasco (it was carried live on TTT) and rushed to The Normandie to help salvage the disaster.
Kernel Roberts, who was forever "on the road" each time show officials and his mother Valerie Green made telephone contact, arrived during the Roots mini-set and Scrunter, demonstrating even greater magnanimity, agreed to wait while Kitchener's son performed three songs. Among Roberts' better-received pieces was the bounce "12 Bar Joan".
Finally, Scrunter took the stage and delivered a dynamic performance, opening with "The Will", the song that won him the 1982 title .
Indeed, his four-song set won him tremendous applause from a crowd that had not much earlier began demanding refund, one which seemed to forget all its troubles when the singer broke into "Jumbie" and invited them to dance.
At the end of the show, Normandie proprietor Fred Chin Lee advised that any patron who still felt aggrieved could, before leaving the arena, collect a free ticket to any of the other shows scheduled for this week.
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Chalkie, Sandra new kaiso royalty
Posted: Tuesday, February 25, 2003
By Terry Joseph
In one swoop both Sugar Aloes and Denyse Plummer, defending champions of the national king and queen of calypso titles, were on Sunday evening dethroned at the Deluxe Entertainment Centre.
Not even joint Young King(s) Roger George and Skatie could stave off the formidable opposition, both doing rather sadly in the final standings—but such was the quality of competition.
At the end of an evening in which 22 finalists came up against defending king Aloes and queen Plummer in their respective categories, after all was sung and done, Chalkdust walked away with the king title, while Singing Sandra became the nation's new calypso queen.
None of the finalists in Sunday's National King and Queen of Calypso finals lacked for effort or presentation, the ladies in fine gowns and men divided between cultural garb and tuxedos, but the visuals gave way to other attributes, naming Chalkdust and Sandra as victors.
Each of the 24 singers did two songs, one in each round, backed by Kelly Green and Harmony with Brass, an orchestra that featured ace trumpeters Errol Ince and Fortunia Ruiz, while the calypsonians brought in their preferred chorus groups.
From points garnered at Sunday's king and queen finals, the top nine singers were selected to meet defending national champion Aloes for the Dimanche Gras calypso monarch contest.
Produced by the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) which had on the day previous attracted more than 35,000 patrons to the open-air category finals at Skinner Park in San Fernando, Sunday's king and queen selection could boast no more than a couple hundred in the air-conditioned comfort of the Deluxe Cinema.
Admitting that there still might be some residual confusion among calypso lovers about the processes involved in both Saturday's show and Sunday's finals, TUCO general secretary Brother Resistance said it was a relatively new concept and the people would not all have grasped the difference.
"In any event, it may be an approach we may have to rethink and streamline in terms of the closeness of those events, as several of the singers at the national king and queen finals had also performed on Saturday and a lot of people might not have understood that they were doing two songs at the Sunday show, unlike the single-entry by all but four of them at Saturday's category finals," Resistance said.
Fireworks banned at Carnival events
By Marisa Camejo
Effective immediately, the use of fireworks at all Carnival fetes and other public events by accredited companies in the country has been outlawed by the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service (TTFS).
This follows a fire triggered by fireworks at a MO2BS, Chaguarmas, fete on Sunday in which five people were injured. One young woman was badly burnt about her face.
Northern Division Fire Prevention Officer Kenrick Bethelmy told the Express yesterday that all applications pending for the use of fireworks have been put on hold indefinitely, along with all previously approved applications.
"We are currently investigating whether there were any violations of procedure during Saturday nights event at MO2BS", said Bethelmy. He added that the results of the investigation were expected "very soon".
Meanwhile the company responsible for putting on the fireworks display at MO2BS on Saturday is taking care of all medical expenses of the five victims who were burnt when the display went awry, Andre Abraham, Director of Fire One Fire Works confirmed yesterday.
While Abraham said he had no idea what caused the fire, he did say that his company was currently in the process of "intense investigations" with all the agencies involved to determine the cause.
And until the cause has been found all shows have been postponed.
His company is taking care of all the medical expenses incurred by the victims, he said.
"My first priority is that the victims get the best medical attention possible," he added.
The injured were carried to several private facilities and the Port of Spain General Hospital.
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Kitch 'comes back' at Normandie tonight
Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003
By Terry Joseph
Three years after his passing, calypso's Grandmaster, Lord Kitchener, will tonight be the subject of a special tribute in song by professional colleagues, as Hotel Normandie stages "Kitch Come Back" as part of its Carnival Under the Trees season.
Appearing in tonight's tribute will be recently crowned Young King Roger George, reigning national Calypso Monarch Sugar Aloes, former calypso king Scrunter, Funny, Pink Panther and Kitchener's son Kernel Roberts; all of whom will be doing songs made famous by The Grandmaster, backed by soca band Roots.
"We felt it necessary to rekindle the memory of Kitchener at this time when the debate on calypso cannot help but reflect on the work of The Grandmaster," said Normandie proprietor Fred Chin Lee. "This is not to make a point, for it has already been successfully argued, but to establish a reference position and at the same time provide good entertainment." For more than 50 years, Aldwyn Roberts provided the world with a singular brand of music, steeped in walking bassline and exciting chord constructions, a direct consequence of his familiarity with the guitar and bass.
Astonishingly, Kitchener won the national calypso crown only once (1975) but in that year also took the road march title, one of 12 such victories at what is Carnival's vox populi judgement.He passed away on February 11, 2000.
Stamping his imprimatur on Carnival in a way few can match, Kitchener's presence in the panyards is legend, having made his first major intervention with "The Road" in 1963 and retaining his hold on both steelband and general revelry over the next two years with "Mama Dis is Mas" and "My Pussin"; conceding to Sparrow in 1966, 1969 and 1972, then Shadow in 1974, during a 14-year domination of road music.
It took blockbusters from Sparrow ("Obeah Wedding", "Sa Sa Ay", "Drunk and Disorderly") and Shadow's phenomenal "Bassman" to disrupt the Kitchener run, which left us with timeless originals, including "Sixty Seven", "Miss Tourist", "Margie", "Mas in "Madison Square Garden", "Rainorama", "Tribute to Winston Spree" and "Flag Woman".
Kitchener however retained panyard principality much longer. Having returned to Trinidad in the inaugural year of Panorama (1963), his reign in that kingdom began in 1964 with the memorable rendition of "Mama Dis is Mas" by Tony Williams' North Stars Steel Orchestra and again was only interrupted by Sparrow's "Obeah Wedding" (Desperadoes, 1966) and Starlift's "Queen of the Bands" in 1971; in a stretch that saw The Grandmaster's music bring victory to steelbands until 1978, when Sparrow and Starlift again conspired on "Du Du Yemi" to temporarily halt the Kitchener streak.
In the sum, Kitchener's music was the choice of 17 of the 40 steelbands that have etched their names into Panorama history.
Kitch Come Back is a dinner and show combination in the Normandie tradition, with service beginning at 6 pm and showtime two and a half hours later.
Tobago steelbands battle tonight
The Tobago Panorama finals will be held tonight at Shaw Park Cultural Complex, starting at 8 o’clock.
Eleven bands are to face the judges, including 2002 champ RBTT Redemption Sound Setters. The others are Carib Dixieland, Our Boys, Hope Pan Groovers, West Side, T&TEC East Side, Buccooneers, Pan Fanatics, Dem Boys, Natural Mystic and Panthers.
There were doubts the finals would have come off after Pan Trinbago's Tobago region threatened to stop the show and the participation in Carnival over a dispute with the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) for money owed steelbandsmen for the past two years. Admission is $35.
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Something old, something new
Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003
by Kim Johnson
Ok, David Rudder's Blessed has one or two good moments. "Mastife", for instance, is an ok example of a badhjohn calypso like what Sparrow sang in the 60s:
Santimanitay Mastife Mastife
Momma your son in the grave already.
But most of the CD leaves you cold. "Jaffa Road" (forgive my ignorance, but where's that?) and "Jerusalem" have the same long-winded preachiness, like "Haiti", that highlights Rudder's voice, which always sounds like it's straining in a range too high.
As a matter of fact, Rudder alone could pull off a badjohn song today because his voice belies the aggressive machismo that would otherwise be too un-PC.
So you need a good voice to sing well. Not at all. Bob Dylan's nasal Yankee whine could almost crawl your blood, but he made it work.
People used to say initially that Shadow didn't have a good voice. That's stupidness, he was just singing to a different scale, a more African one I think, like how Thelonious Monk played piano to a different scale.
Stalin does have a very limited voice, and look what wonders he can do with it.
I always thought that part of Rudder's appeal to middle class women during the early Ruddermania of the 80s was the weakness of his voice. Combined with his baby face and even the brokofoot it conveyed a vulnerability and sensitivity much in keeping with those feminist times.
"I wanna fly", on the other hand, has a galloping soca beat in keeping with the taste of today's deejays, and I find it as irritating as a motorcycle revving on a Sunday morning.
And that's the least of it. Living in the cold Rudder drew on the wider range of musical talent available.
If the songs were stronger that might have been more than positive, it might have been salutary — God knows the musicians here work like listless civil servants.
Unfortunately, most of Blessed's songs are musically thin, and cannot be salvaged by a wailing harmonica, or a slow, moody piano, or a rock guitar, a jazzy saxophone, or — believe it or not — lush keyboard-faked strings.
Yet, amidst the pretensions and failed experiments, "Trini 2 De bone" takes flight.
Admittedly, it's stilted; but it's catchy and, with the amount of rubbish produced these days, catchy sounds like a miracle.
What's more important, "Trini" fits the country's despondency like a reassuring hug.
Who isn't fed up with politicians' unrelenting picking at the society's sores? Even without that bunch T&T at times seems to have left its soul back in the twentieth century, what with the bandits and bad drivers and bad manners.
Take heart, the song reassures you, there's still enough beauty and love here to conquer the darkness.
Music must match the message, so "Trini" has a playful tenor pan that surfaces repeatedly in a way that is refreshingly integral.
Refreshing because pan, which annually pays generous homage to calypso, is at best relegated by calypso arrangers to a token role.
Credited to Ian Wiltshire, "Trini" manages to still be very Rudder:
Though some had to leave to make their way
But in their hearts I know their destiny
To come home and big up the country.
The humour is no so:
Look a smart man gone with we money
We still come out and mash up the party...
And there's even a Rudderish liming-on-the-block ole talk:
Sweet sweet T&T
All this sugar can't be good for me.
You could hear a man giving some woman that line with a wink and a smile. It would fit easily in Rudder's sexy "Nuff Respect".
There's a lesson here because "Trini" is the most traditional groove on the album. Structured along call-response lines, it almost sounds like an old lavway.
The lesson is, if your new ideas not up to par, don't fight it: fall back on the tried and tested formulae.
Every top jazz musician, for instance, if the creative juices not flowing, falls back on the blues.
That's why to me Pretender's The Man Who Never Worried, is altogether easier on the ear, even though Preddie was at best captain of the B team.
All his songs have a long-time feel, in the best sense. They're slow, more a grind than a juk.
The music chips along those Trini motifs that sound familiar the instant you hear them. You recognise them immediately because they're in your blood and your bone.
The horns and guitar keep the keyboard in its rightful place — the background.
There's a real human playing real drums, most times anyway, not a machine. He doesn't seem to possess a name, mind you. I can't imagine why else Rituals would not have named him, or any of the other musicians for that matter, on the CD jacket. Me, I woulda be blasted vex.
I remember years ago someone, it must have been a calypsonian in the Revue tent, complaining in joke that Preddie had it easy: he sang the same song over and over, whereas they, the joker, had to come up with something new every year.
In a sense that's true, and the same could be said of all of the great blues men, at least when they were working in the 12-bar form. So what?
Now that I think about it, you could also say that about every 15th century Italian cruxificion painting, every Dutch 17th century landscape painter, every 19th century French nude painter.
Everybody does the same thing over and over.
Once I asked Wynton Marsallis about his fidelity to traditional jazz. "People today are trying too hard to do something new," he replied. "Why not settle for doing something good?"
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Aloes loses political title
Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003
Newsday/TT
REIGNING Calypso Monarch Sugar Aloes (Michael Osouna) lost one of his titles when he was dethroned in the Political Commentary category of Calypso Fiesta over the weekend.
Kizzie Ruiz, who sang "The New Exemplar" copped that title, with Chalkdust (Dr Hollis Liverpool) with "Rowley’s Letter" in second place. Aloes placed third with "Where Dorothy?".
The Social Commentary category was won by Roger George with "These Are the Days". Chalkdust also took second place in this category, this time with "Just So" and once again Aloes was third with "Who Am I?"
The Humourous title went to Ras Mamba (Jeffrey Granger), while Mystic Prowler (Roy Lewis) was second and in third spot was Bunny B (Neville Brown).
The full results are:
HUMOROUS
1. Ras Mamba- Ah Have Dat
2. Mystic Prowler - Balance
3. Bunny B - Shake Your Grey Hair
4. Nature - Siamese Twins
5. Orin Richards - More Cushion To Push On
6. Bodyguard - No Gun
7. Bomber - Once Upon A Time
8. Happy - An Ode To Liking
9. Stanlry - All Song Same Song
10. Brown Boy - Too Much Props
11. Duane O’Connor - My Manifesto
12. Hamidullah - Road Safety
13. Joseph Adams - The Garbage Msn
14. Curtis Bayne - Feed The Fowl
POLITICAL COMMENTARY
1. Kizzie Ruiz - The New Exemplars
2. Chalkdust - Rowley’s Letter
3. Sugar Aloes - Where Dorothy?
4. Skatie - In Just Six Years
5. Luta - Break The Deadlock
6. Cro Cro - Biological Chemical
7. Ras Kommanda - Who To Blame?
8. Brother Ebony - Mother India
9. Princess Monique - The New Colonisers
10. Explainer - The Letter
11. Manchild - De Drug
12. Cardinal - The Issue is Corruption
13. Tunapuna Scanty - You Look For
14. Contender - The More The Better
SOCIAL COMMENTARY
1. Roger George - These Are The Days
2. Chalkdust - Just So
3. Sugar Aloes - Who Am I?
4. Singing Sandra - For Whom The
Bell Tolls
5. Duke - How Much Is Enough?
6. Deavon Seales - Category My Donkey
7. Heather McIntosh - Only The Fools
8. Denyse Plummer - Honour Thy Mother
9. Bomber - Thunder At 75
10. Ras Kommanda - Every Month Jail For a Millionaire
11 Oswin Thomas - Fusion
12. Sean Daniel - Selah
13. Short Pants - A Wee Bit of Bee Wee
14. Cro Cro - Youth
15. Gilbert O’Connor - Concerned
Disabled man wins THA kaiso title
WHEELCHAIR-bound Jason Clarke, of the Tobago House of Assembly's (THA's) Health/Social Services Division, convincingly copped the 2003 THA Inter-Department Calypso Monarch title from a field of 13 contenders when the THA's Culture Department staged the popular event at Shaw Park on Thursday night.
In the other component of the annual competition, Hyacinth Leander, of the Sports Department took the Best Talent and Best Carnival Wear special prizes, as well as the Miss Personality Crown.
Complete in school uniform, Leander delivered a dramatic monologue in which she recalled popular Ole Time Carnival characters as related to her by her granny.
Leander's Carnival wear, titled "Dimanche Gras to Jourvert" was designed by Hugh Rodiguez. Second place in the Miss Personality competition went to Khadine Riuz, of the Legislature/Office of the Chief Secretary, Public Administration Department, followed by Averil Jerry, of the Community Development Division, in third spot. But the night certainly belonged to Clarke who emerged popular winner in the calypso competition with a composition about how the disabled are ostracised and discriminated against titled "Plight of a real chairman".
In the calypso he related his own plight and appealed for facilities for the disabled.
Second was Mahalia Bacchus, of the Police Service, followed by Nicola Phillips, of the Finance and Accounting Unit, Sandy Hall.
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Renegades, Success cop Junior Pan title
Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003
By Joan Rampersad, Newsday/TT
THE bpTT Youth Steel Orchestra and the Success Stars Pan Sounds were declared joint winners of the National Junior Panorama Competition held yesterday at the Queen's Park Savannah. Renegades Youths performed an Amrit Samaroo arrangement of "Music In We Blood" to the delight of the small crowd at the Savannah, while Success Stars Pan Sounds did Kareem Brown/Ben Jackson's arrangement of "Trini to The Bone", an Ian Wiltshire composition.
The show started at 12 noon on a high note, with the Bishop's Anstey High School playing an upbeat Gerard Boucaud arrangement of Len "Boogsie" Sharpe's and Anthony Alexis' "Music In We Blood". That performance set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
There were notable performances from Woodbrook Government Secondary, St Augustine Senior Secondary and El Dorado Secondary Comprehensive.
At the end of the actual competition, before the guest performances by soca stars Maximus Dan, Rupee and Bunji Garlin, a large contingent of police officers converged on the venue to reinforce security. Judges at yesterday's competition were Merle Albino De Coteau, Cuthbert Matthews, Candice Achaiba, Felix Roach and Junior Howell. The competition ended at 4.49 pm but the results were not given until 6.10 pm.
Here are the full results:
1st Bptt Renegades Youth Steel Orchestra 266
1st Success Stars Pan Sounds 266
3rd St. Augustine Senior Secondary 262
4th Woodbrook Government Secondary 260
5th El Dorado Senior Comprehensive 257
6th Bishop's Anstey High School 255
7th Golden Hands 252
8th Point Fortin Combined Schools 250
9th Katzenjammers Kids 249
10th Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive 247
11th San Fernando Secondary 236
12th Febeau Primary 230
13th St. Margaret's Boys 226
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Huge crowd takes in Calypso Fiesta
Posted: Sunday, February 23, 2003
By David Cuffy, Newsday/TT
JOINT Young King Roger George, veteran calypsonian Bomber (Clifton Ryan) and reigning National Calypso Monarch Sugar Aloes (Michael Osuna) won favourable audience approval for their presentations during the first three hours of Calypso Fiesta staged at Skinner Park, San Fernando yesterday.
Billed as the largest and best "soca picnic" in the region, the event, which started at 12.15 pm, 15 minutes after the advertised starting time of noon, opened before a packed Berger Paints Stand, but small a crowd on the grounds of the sun-lit Park.
Braving the hot noon day sun bathing the open area to take in the early performances were members of the St Margaret's Posse in their black T-shirts and D Good Times Posse in contrasting red T-shirts.
Calypso Fiesta, for the second year, showcased the best calypsos in the categories of Political and Social Commentary and Humour, with a non-competitive Party category added for the enjoyment of patrons.
Following singing of the National Anthem, show host Phil Simmons asked for a minute's silence in remembrance of the late Nelson Villafana, who led accompanying orchestra, The Police Band, at Calypso Fiesta for more than 30 years.
He also announced that all the artistes selected as reserves would be performing on the programme.
When competition began, George's emotional rendition of 'These Are The Days' in the social commentary category was warmly and loudly applauded by spectators, while Bomber's two selections, 'Once Upon A Time' in the humour category and 'Thunder At 75' in the social commentary category, were given loud and sustained ovations, seemingly not only for their artful presentation by the artiste, but for the masterful lyrical content resident in both selections.
Aloes also captured audience attention and won widespread cheers with his two choices, 'Who Am I' in the social commentary category and 'Where Dorothy' in the political commentary category.
One hour after the start the crowd had increased with another group, the Tocadores Posse in their tangerine T-shirts, appearing on the grounds seeking to qualify for a prize in the Most Stylish Posse Competition. Prizes were also up for grabs in The Biggest Matching Crew and Best and Biggest Flags Competitions.
In the programme's first segment, which ended at 3.15 pm, the humour category managed to elicit many happy responses from patrons through the offerings of Stanley Adams' 'All Song Same Song,' Mystic Prowler's 'Balance,' Nature's (Michael John) 'Siamese Twins' and Happy's (Gilbert O'Connor) 'An Ode To Licking.'
During the break, joint reigning National Soca Monarch, Neil "Iwer" George brought the park to life with the presentation of his Road March contender 'Ah Home.'
Some lucky patrons were recipients of door prizes drawn every hour that included $500 cash, blenders, stereos, and tickets to the Dimanche Gras Show to be staged at the Queen's Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain on Carnival Sunday night.
A Big Soca Showdown, featuring top soca artistes, was scheduled to take place after the categories competition.
Performers included Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin, Militant, Shammi and Maximus Dan, along with the bands, Pure Energy and Caution.
NCC Stages Pre-Carnival Jouvert Street Theatre in PoS
Carnival is worth fighting for.
This provocative idea will be celebrated on February 28, Carnival Friday, with the pre-dawn, street theatre re-enactment in Port-of-Spain of the Cannes Brulees (Canboulay) riot of 1881. Bringing history alive is the aim of this National Carnival Commission production, part of its second annual Traditional Carnival Festival.
The Canboulay street theatre will open at 5 am with an actress declaiming from a second-floor balcony on Duke Street, Port-of-Spain. The setting, close to Neal and Massy All Stars panyard, at George Street corner, is where, 122 years ago, stickfighters, kalinda bands, jammettes and other women and children of the city did bloody battle with the Police Force and routed them.
Like the re-enactment, involving more than 200 actors and other participants, being directed by Tony Hall and Norvan Fullerton, the 1881 riot was no spontaneous happening. Weeks before, the townspeople had resolved to defeat the well-advertised Police aim to stop the Carnival.
They stockedpiled bottles and stones; rival stickfight bands and jammettes made peace to combine against the Police; fresh poui sticks were cut, prepared and left in strategic locations. It was no secret. Talk of the coming bataille was all over town. It reached the respectable upper and middle classes, who overheard their servants chattering in patois; it reached the police.
Under the infamous Captain Bobby Baker, a British army veteran of the wars against the Asante in West Africa, the Police made their own preparations.
Capt Baker drilled 150 burly officers and took delivery from the Government sawmill of 100 new batons.
At midnight, the Cathedral bell rang, signalling the start of the contest for possession of the streets. Negres jardins, stickfighters and jammettes came out, beating drums, blowing horns, waving flambeaus, singing, "O Lord, the glorious morning come-en bataille-la!" Looking for war, they found it at Duke Street. Capt Baker's forces, with their new batons, attacked the worked-up Trini revellers, as officers on horseback drew their sabres.
Newly sawmilled batons and slashing sabres proved no match for the fresh-cut bois of poui, and the bottles and stones constantly resupplied by women and children to the streetfighters from the stockpiles in the nearby yards.
Beaten back by the people, Capt Baker's Police on horseback and on foot beat the retreat, fleeing east to Laventille, tradition says. When it was over, the streets flowed with the blood of scores of stickfighters, kalinda revellers and police, and with pitch oil from street lamps smashed by fighters when they had run out of police heads to buss.
The right to have Carnival was written in blood, as it were. It was a learning experience for all.
Governor Freeling ordered the Police to keep a low profile and came downtown himself to speak to the people near the Eastern Market. "I did not know you attached so much importance to your masquerade," Freeling said.
"There shall be no interference with your masquerade." In Friday morning's NCC production, Fullerton and Michael Lee Poy will be stage directing an international cast of hundreds.
Actors will come from the Malick Folk Performers, the Lord Street Theatre, students from Trinity College in Connecticut (where Hall is artist-in-residence) and from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. But they expect and plan for people in the street to join in.
"People come not just to see, but to take part — that's how this street theatre works," says Hall. "It's a celebration, a commemoration of a significant event in the modern Carnival." Organisers are supplying more than 200 flambeaus to be lit at the appointed time by the willing hands of everyone wishing to take part in the drama.
When it's over, just around daybreak, all Canboulay participants will be treated to a traditional breakfast of roast bake with saltfish and 'cocoa tea' (creole chocolate) in the schoolyard of Eastern Girls' Government at George and Duke Streets, a release from the National Carnival Commission stated.
Junior pan competition today
IT'S GOING to be an exciting finish in the finals of the Junior Pan competition today. Will bp Renegades youngsters take home the top prize contributed by sponsors of the Junior Pan competition, bp Trinidad and Tobago? To do so means staying ahead of the other bands in a very evenly matched competition, a release stated.
The bp Renegades Youth topped the Junior pan sides in the preliminary round of competitions which ended on Thursday. But only one point separated them from second placed El Dorado Comprehensive. Woodbrook Government was in third position, just 2.5 points behind ElDo. Today's play-off promises to be a thrilling contest for top prizes.
Renegades Youth played Len Boogsie Sharpe's 'Music in We Blood' arranged by Amrit Samaroo. They will play in third position. Tobago band, Katzenjammer Kids play in seventh position.
The playing positions of the 13 bands which made it to the finals of the bpTT Junior Pan Competition 2003 are as follows. The scores they earned in their preliminaries are shown:
1) Bishop Anstey High School (256.5); Len Boogsie Sharpe's Music in we Blood' arranged by Gerard Boucaud
2) Point Fortin Combined (264); 'Music in We Blood' arranged by Jetson and Jerrod Lett
3) bp Renegades Youth (276.5); 'Music in we Blood' arranged by Amrit Samaroo
4) Febeau Government School/Pamberi Youth (259); Iwer George's 'Home' arranged by Robby Charles
5) Success Stars Pan Sounds (259); Ian Wiltshire's 'Trini to the Bone' arranged by Kareem Brown and Ben Jackson
6) Woodbrook Government (273); 'Trini to the Bone' arranged by Curtis Rennie
7) Katzenjammer Kids (262); Music in We Blood arranged by John Arnold
8) San Fernando Secondary (260.5); 'Music in We Blood' arranged by John Arnold
9) St Margaret's Boys (254); 'Trini to the Bone' by Clive Telemaque
10) St Augustine Senior Secondary (265.5); Harry William's 'Spirit' arranged by Chen Cato and Kern Summerville
11) Mucurapo Senior Comprehensive (251); Morel Peters' (Luta) 'Commitment' arranged by Alexis Hope and Geoffrey Joseph
12) El Dorado Comprehensive (275.5); De Fosto's 'Pandora' arranged by Shelton Besson
13) Golden Hands (251); Preacher's 'Portugal' arranged by Dane Hinds
Judges for the Finals are Junior Howell, Merle Albino-deCoteau, Candace Achaiba, Felix Roach and Cuthbert Matthews.
Showtime is 11.30 am at the Grand Stand, and advance tickets are available from Pan Trinbago's Youth Arm in the Savannah for $15. At the door on Sunday, a ticket will be $20. Guest performers include Roger George, Bunji Garlin, Ben Jai, Rupee, Gailann, Shammi and Maximus Dan.
Reigning Carnival King sheds 35 lbs; Queen shakes off flu
REIGNING King of Carnival Curtis Eustace had to shed 35 pounds and build muscle in the space of five months. His Queen Alana Ward who is also defending her title stored up on cold tablets to shrug off the pre-Carnival flu she gets every year.
"I feel I work out myself too hard that my resistance goes down too low," said Alana. She readjusted her training this year. Alana maintained work-outs at the gym soon after last Carnival incorporating the use of free weights and running "just to get my stamina up".
Up to the time we spoke, a few hours before preliminary round, Alana was in calm spirits. "Last night I was a bit nervous like I was losing it," she said. But the anxiety has dissipated. "Ah like a true Trini, hustling. Ah now get my make-up done."
Her presentation is called 'Fire in the Sky'. She described it as fireworks, an explosion of light. "Last two years I came with an animal theme. This time is different with Legends' theme 'Bedazzled'.
Preparing for Dimanche Gras night is no easy task, the Kings and Queens would tell you. It's a physical, mental and emotional preparation one must endure.
Curtis revealed that his costume, this year's presentation "The sky is the limit" is a bit heavier, somewhere between 350 and 400 pounds. It was designed by his uncle Follette Eustace. "The sky is the limit" is also a featured section in the band Legends.
The Canada-based four-time winner of the competition hasn't had a chance to slow the pace since his win last year. He presented costumes for Carnival in New York, Los Angeles, Florida and Detroit. "That ended in October and from September, we started seeing sketches. We had the late nights. You can't get away from that going until 5 in the morning," Curtis informed.
The terrain comes with a lot of trial and error. They are the basic mistakes mas men make, he said, over and over.
This year saw some changes. "We had to re-organise the frame structure, the sizing. We're trying something new that has never been done before in Trinidad and Tobago."
Curtis, 34, and his brother Marcus shouldered all the responsibilty of producing his presentation this year — sourcing all the materials, "taking it from scratch. All the preparations my dad (the late Tedder Eustace) used to do."
"People were saying that I was given the title because of his death. This year I want to prove to the public that his presence was not all him. We were not just sitting around and watching him. We have learned from the best. We want to know what the excuse will be this year," said Curtis.
He didn't want to seem overconfident but revealed he was prepared going into the prelims. His father will "definitely" be missed especially "for that final word of advice. Before I put on the head piece, he would say 'take yuh time, doh worry yourself'."
Now Marcus substitutes. "When on stage, 80 percent of my thoughts are on him and 20 percent is concentration."
On the other hand, Alana described Curtis as her motivational speaker. She said: "He deals with the mind. He would say 'yuh know yuh have to tell yourself you could do it and yuh strong. Your body responds to your mind. Just go and play yuh mas and come Ash Wednesday, you're a normal person.'"
Her parents (Janet and Edward Ward) and her boyfriend Keron Wilkes are also her support. "They just finish giving meh a lecture. My father told me remember you're Alana Ward. I don't know what that supposed to mean," she laughed.
Her main aim is "to go out there and enjoy myself. If I lose I do good for my age," said the 21-year-old. "But you can't do anything without prayer. I pray a lot and I ain't frighten about anything. I put everything in God's hands." To her competitors she said the more the merrier.
To the Kings, Curtis wishes them "good luck and God bless".
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Our festival now a Carnival of tata
Posted: Saturday, February 22, 2003
By Raffique Shah
THERE was a time not many years ago when I used to heap scorn on "Trinis-in-the-flesh" who chose to go abroad or to the beaches over the Carnival weekend. Now, I find myself getting perilously close to being uninterested in the nation's biggest festival, and worse than my own creeping alienation from Carnival, I find there are many other one-time calypso and pan "peongs" who share that view. It's frightening, really, to think that the splendour of mas and the surfeit of witty calypsoes and infectious, haunting melodies have all but disappeared, taking with them tens of thousands of "Trinis-to-the-bone", including, it seems, cultural icons like David Rudder.
If anything, the pre-Carnival bacchanals, the fights among those who have "hoffed" the mas' from the masses, prove to be more exciting than the festival itself. People actually look forward to the annual battles between the so-called "special interest groups" and the National Carnival Commission (NCC). No one is surprised by or interested in the split between the big bikini and thongs bands: maybe if Richard Afong and "Big Mike" Antoine were to square off over going naked on the streets, that would create much more excitement among the disillusioned. And if Pan Trinbago decided to take the Panorama to Cedros, the annual panfest might well draw a more positive response than that which the "reverse" semi-finals did last Sunday.
I have long argued that in our bid to rival Rio mas with all its nakedness and vulgarity, we are shooting ourselves in the feet. Because we'd never be in a position to attract more tourists who are that way inclined. Our Victorian laws, while they allow some lewdness, will not countenance the debauchery that is Rio's mas'. Our imaginative and creative masmen like George Bailey, Harold Saldenha, Cito Velasquez (to name a few of our pioneers) built the Trini Carnival reputation of colour and class. The intricate handiwork that went into crafting even the most basic of costumes worn by masqueraders of the golden age of Carnival was what made us unique among world carnivals.
Today, except for a few lonely "Indians" who roam the streets and a handful of other bandleaders who still insist on some level of design and crafting in their costumes, what we have in the city on Carnival Tuesdays is "Maracas come to town". Any wonder town is now going to Maracas, in droves?
And the music! Or should I say what passes for music? I note that fellow journalist BC Pires has come under heavy fire for an article in which he was critical of the "tata" that passes for calypso music today. I stand squarely behind BC. My friend Terry Joseph argues that we always had lewd calypsoes, and that simple ditties did make it big on the road for Carnival. He is correct on both scores. But most of the former were well-crafted to the extent that one could not help but admire the skills of the composers, who, in the main, also sang their songs.
Sparrow sang some of the most vulgar calypsoes ever (Elaine, Harry and Mama; Benwood Dick; Mae Mae; Castro eating Banana). But put any of those songs next to the "ah cyah sh*ts" of today, and you are talking blackboard chalk vs Camembert cheese. Kitchener's "Dr Kitch" has made a comeback this year, and in it there are lessons aplenty for those who want to explore this side of the art form. And if his "My Pussin" were played in any party, no one would be offended. Blakie ("Hold the Pussy") was also a master of making smut palatable, while Funny ("Ah Soul Man") and Zandolee ("Iron Man") dared us to find fault with their clever use of words and rhyme.
As for simple ditties that made it big, one does not need a better example than Nelson's "La La" that rocked town (and country) in a matter of weeks. Or Rose's "Tempo", which was also a very simple song. But-and this is where I disagree with TJ-they all had melody. In fact, they were such beautiful melodies that if "La La" or "Tempo" were played in fetes today, they would make the rat-tat-tat "jams" sound like... well, "rat-tat-tata"! And I think that's the point the calypsonians who aim for the party circuits are missing.
If I may look at it from another angle, examine carefully what Shadow did with his blockbuster song, "Stranger", a few years ago. He took the very "wine and wave" that had become the staple of today's fetes, put some decent lyrics and a simple story to the song, and added a generous dose of melody. The results we all know: he beat the young party bards like bobolees on the fete circuit and on the road. I need add that many of today's young, rat-tat-tat bards do have talent, and given the times and the mood of the partying public, I can't blame them for the quality, or lack thereof, of their works. I've heard them sing otherwise and must say I'm impressed.
But in chasing fast Carnival bucks, they sacrifice opportunities to break into mainstream world music, which is where the megabucks lie. Abroad, their popularity is restricted to Trini parties and other carnivals. The big record labels we have been hearing about for decades have never produced works by these bards. Worse for artistes like Impulse, Machel, Treason, Wanski, Benjai and those who target the fete circuit, that, too, is suffering from declining numbers of patrons (as the tents are). And it's not because people aren't spending money or they are scared away by high crime.
Another distasteful aspect of the music side of the business is when artistes "fudge" melodies from their fellow artistes or from foreigners and pass them off as their own works. There is nothing wrong with remakes or re-recordings, or even singing people's songs in public. But one should at least give credit to the original composers/singers, if not pay royalties to them. It might be argued that the Jamaicans do it as a matter of course. In fact, many Indian songs are wholesale reproductions of Western hit-songs.
Can someone explain to me how Roger George, who has an excellent voice, could win Young Kings with an entire chorous-melody taken from Bryan Adams' "Heaven" or Kansas' "Dust In The Wind", both of which were monster international hits? And how, quite possibly, he could end up on the Savannah stage singing a melody that clearly is not his own creation? The thought of a calypso monarch with a winning song that has so much foreign content must be...well, alien.
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Legends tops King and Queen prelims
Posted: Saturday, February 22, 2003
By Terry Joseph
Alan Ward portrays "Fire in the Sky" from Legends' Bedazzled at the Queen's Park Savannah during the King and Queen of Carnival preliminaries on Thursday night. Photos: ROBERTO CODALLO
Alana Ward and Curtis Eustace, both from Legends' Bedazzled, danced away with top honours, after a total of 66 portrayals bid at Thursday night's King and Queen of Carnival preliminaries for the 32 places available in the semifinal round.
Eustace, with four victories to his credit and Ward with two are both defending champions for the King and Queen of Carnival titles. By topping the standings at this year's preliminary round, they have secured wins in the north zone.
Playing "Fire in D' Sky", Ward raced ahead of four-time queen, Anra Bobb (whose first shared the throne in 1985 next to Eustace's father, Tedder).
Bobb's mas, "Angel of Light" also drew tremendous applause.
Eustace's "D' Sky is D' Limit" was a clear crowd favourite from first appearance, in a joust that produced a fine line of kings, most notably second placed Roland St George, the veteran mas dancer that night portraying "Schizo—The Agony of Xtasy", three-time champion Geraldo Vieira jnr's "Trouble in De Bamboo" and Dave Lakhan's three-headed "Blue Moon Visitor". Leroy Prieto's simple but effective "Tenuchin —The Mighty Ruler and Warrior" also created quite a stir.
Thursday night's show flowed smoothly and drew a surprisingly large audience, given the uncertainty triggered by litigation over who will run which aspects of mas, a battle that reached an interim truce mere hours before showtime.
The Grand Stand at the Queen's Park Savannah boasted several hundred patrons and the North Stand, although sparse, put in a much better showing for preliminary judging of festival royalty than in years previous.
Defending champion Curtis Eustace portrays "D Sky is D Limit" from Legends' Bedazzled at the Queen’s Park Savannah during the King and Queen of Carnival preliminaries on Thursday night. Eustace together with Alana Ward received the most points in their respective categories.
National Carnival Bands Association (NCBA) chairman Richard Afong was in convivial mood, reopening an already retired bar to offer refreshment to National Carnival Commission (NCC) deputy chairman Ainsworth Mohammed; the two toasting the festival after sitting on opposite sides of the court earlier in the day.
And it went well, causing no audible grumble, except for the universal murmur about the choice of "Summertime" as one of two songs in a short pan interlude performed albeit excellently by Mia Gormandy.
The main event showcased a smooth and swift parade of Carnival royalty, including the inevitable lesser attractions but greeted by ripples of applause where appropriate and stout ovation in response to superior presentations. Laughter came too, when a little bitch decided it was time for her entrance and officials found themselves at sea without a dog-handler.
She followed the second crossing of registered queens, staying on her legs throughout unlike Deborah Nandah ("The Black Widow") who was overcome when the whimsical savannah breeze suddenly intensified, sending her sprawling. Three of the ladies arrived late but were allowed to parade, slotted between the procession of kings.
The selected 16 queens will advance to the semi final on Friday 28 February, while the kings will do their next round on Tuesday next. Drawing for both events takes place at the NCBA office on Monday at 5 p.m.
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Smaller numbers in tents/bands
Posted: Saturday, February 22, 2003
Legends 'Bedazzle' Big Yard; and...
Three South men in Monarch semis today
By Hollister Frontin, Newsday/TT
With the much anticipated Calypso Fiesta on today at Skinner Park, San Fernando, the South-based Kaiso Showkase tent will be represented by three performers, in the persons of Steve Pascall (Ras Kommanda), Llewellyn MacIntosh (Shortpants) and Joseph Adams.
This is a marked improvement over 2002 when the only Showkase entertainer in the competition was Felix 'Breed' Joseph.
Since then management has changed.
From the crowd response and the massive turnout at Palm's Club on February 6, one could have predicted something special in the making for the tent this season.
Speaking to Newsday yesterday, Ras Kommanda, who will be singing at position number four, said he is not worried at how early he is scheduled to perform. Though admitting that an early performance is somewhat of a disadvantage to the artiste he noted: " "My song is very serious and of national interest." He said if he is judged on the calibre of his material then there is no need for major concern.
Saying that he is in the "right frame of mind," Pascall furthered that his chances are as good as anybody else's. His selection for today 'Jail Ah Millionaire', has won him encores at all his performances and he is a strong contender in the 'Political' category. Kommanda is also the first reserve in the 'Social Commentary' category.
When contacted yesterday Joseph Adams, who will be competing in the 'Humourous' category with his hit 'The Garbageman', said he was all ready for today. He noted that the mere performance before the crowd today would make him happy because at the end of the day it would be for the benefit of kaiso. He expressed confidence at doing well. Adams will be performing at number 22.
The other Kaiso Showkase performer Llewellyn MacIntosh (Shortpants) has been gaining momentum in the tent. He will be the 33rd artiste to take the stage today. Delivering 'A Wee Lil' Bit for Bee Wee' he will be contending in the 'Social Commentary' category.
The competition at Skinnner Park commences at noon today with 11 artistes advancing to Dimanche Gras to do battle with current monarch, Sugar Aloes.
Legends 'Bedazzle' Big Yard
Kings and Queens from the band "Bedazzled" twinkled brightly last Thursday night at the Queen's Park Savannah as they bid for semi-finals places in the National King and Queen of Carnival Competitions. It was a welcome sight, given the recent furore between the National Carnival Commission (NCC) and the National Carnival Bandleaders Association (NCBA).
The NCBA, which won the initial battle, had their officials in place as early as 5 pm earlier in the afternoon. Chief Judge Sandra Solomon-Cole said they had no problems with the NCC and that everything went very smoothly.
Also, all competitors, whether they had registered with the NCC or the NCBA, were all eligible for competition. NCBA Chairman Richard Afong said this is what Carnival was all about and that everyone was welcomed to participate in the best interest of the National Festival.
The band Legends had two competitors in both the Kings and Queens competitions and like the name of their 2003 portrayal, they all "Bedazzled" the Savannah stage.
Other impressive kings and queens included Leroy Prieto portraying "Tenuchin — The Mighty Ruler and Warrior", Geraldo Vieira Jr — "Trouble In De Bamboo", Wendy Kalicharan — "Native Dancer" and Rosemarie Kuru Jagessar — "Awa Hili The Sacred Firebird".
Anra Bobb made a late appearance with "D'Angel of Light", and much to the delight of the audience. Sixty kings and queens crossed the stage which went beyond 1 am when the kings started their return appearance. That prompted patrons to clear the Savannah. The semi-final round of the competitions takes place next Friday at the same venue.
Smaller numbers in tents/bands this year
By Joan Rampersad
A number of mas bands have lowered their target sales this year due to a number of factors, crime and the mas controversy being the most talked about ones.
Ernest Turpin from Funtasia yesterday told Newsday: "I think most bands have suffered from a slow down but things have picked up with us. It is similar to last year. I think people are skeptical about playing mas as they are still concerned about the crime scene and I don't think the mas controversy is helping it either. However I think it will pick up next week and I feel we will break even given the merger with Masquerade. I think we will achieve the revised targeted figure."
Ian Mc Kenzie from the band Legends said sales had dropped a lot from overseas and a bit locally, due to crime and the cold weather overseas, but said some people are now trying to rush in to get costumes.
He added: "The band will be a good size but not as big as years gone by. But the whole carnival has been messy with the mas controversy. I think we'll lose out at the end of carnival and after this year you may see less bands on the road".
For Michael Headley at Poison, he said that they had done reasonably all right, but all the outside sections were yet to come in. "Sales at the camp were normal. We don't have an accurate figure in terms of foreigners but that was never really big. Nothing has affected the band as such since the same number of music bands are expected to be on the road," said Headley.
At the Barbarossa mas camp, Penny Afong said: "Sales have been quite good. We purposely cut down the band a bit but we got more new people. A lot of foreigners have registered but with their bad weather conditions, we hope they could get out of the snow to come for Carnival, but nothing has really affected us".
Harts' Thais Hart is awaiting the end of Carnival to find out whether they will break even or not. She said: "We are doing fair so far, things are normal as the band is already sold out after reviewing the number. Foreign masqueraders haven't increased, but nothing has really affected this band. Stacy Hernandez of the Calalloo Co revealed that sales are fine. Two of the six sections have already been sold out and she predicted that they should reach their targeted figure and even grow next week.
Where the tents are concerned, Jazzy Pantin at the Revue Kaiso Tent lamented: "We are struggling and trying to keep our heads above water. It's a tough thing because we are dealing with a crime situation and a political situation. We saw a difference a year back but it was not as bad as it is this year. Something has to be done with what's going on in the country".
Pantin stated that their security bill had to be increased this year for patrons to feel comfortable and for the safety of their parked cars; "We are trying to break even," he said.
President of TUCO Michael Legerton was hesitant to make a comment regarding the four calypso tents which the organization is currently running for Carnival. He said: "I am not in a position to say how the tents are doing without the facts".
A Yangatang official admitted to always doing well. The spokesperson said: "We cannot complain. It's slower than years before but we are still doing well. We don't have an idea as to why this is so but I can't say anymore on that".
Frank Martineau of Spektakula on the other hand stated: "It has been a difficult first two weeks but we are now beginning to see a turnaround. However we are 40 percent below last year's figure. We expect and hope things will pick up". Martineau listed crime, lack of money and lack of airplay of the traditional calypsoes as some of the factors for the shortfall this year but is hoping that they will break even.
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Where Panorama gone?
Posted: Saturday, February 22, 2003
By Bukka Rennie
Bureaucrats do not see people. We have been trying for years to get Carnival planners, as good a bunch of bureaucrats as they may be, to understand that central to all planning is the question of people. How do you plan if there is no consideration for what people have indicated by way of what they indeed demonstrated and by the trends and free choices to which they seem to give preference?
Over the years, having been faced with the over-commercialisation of Carnival, the "Woodbrookifying" (my term) of mas' and the attendant quest to push "pan" out of the Monday and Tuesday parade, the people made Panorama, the preliminaries in particular, the focal point to their Carnival involvement.
In fact, the reverting to the "traditional single pan", ie Tripolians, was not merely about nostalgia, but was in fact a social statement about how negatively, in their view, Carnival was developing and about their desire to reclaim what they had struggled for for centuries.
Imagine pan, a distinct and unique musical form, that was developed as an integral part and handmaiden of mas, was now being shunted aside and degraded to the status of somebody's pumpkin-vine second-cousin.
Pan and the pan fraternity were now being accused of congesting the streets and blocking up the Queen's Park Savannah stage, delaying the flow of tens of thousands of the sequined-bikini idiots, these overnight Carnival parvenus.
As we said before, these people represent the tendency which was first projected by the elites who left their in-house disguised Carnival balls to cluster on the balconies above the streets to observe, overwhelmed by the creativity of Carnival theatre below, then later to came down onto lorries and trucks, then onto the street itself, though roped off to prevent contamination from the plebs, then, finally, at last, to remove the ropes in order to take over the whole damn show and add nothing to the process but glittering frills devoid of any art, satire, parody or portrayal.
Tripolians was a definite statement against that trend. It was about reclaiming that free spirit of Carnival, about people being freely involved, undeterred by any boundaries of wealth, colour and station in life.
But how did the bureaucrat planners respond to the statement from Tripolians in their planning of Carnival? Did they attempt to unravel the deep meanings of the Tripolians phenomenon. Never! They responded like true bureaucrats.
They formalised the single pan bands and put them on stage in competition. They are yet to comprehend that the Tripolians phenomenon was demanding a complete re-definition, overhauling and re-engineering of Carnival from top to bottom.
Bureaucrats see what they want to see. They never see the human condition of people. And the fact that it is the human condition of people that propels people to demonstrate, even more than articulate, the way forward for the future.
Some say that bureaucrats see only dollars and cents. But how so? If they really want profits, the ideal approach will be to market professionally what the people demand, and to stop begging the State for subventions to cover transport costs, etc, and demand instead a percentage of the $450 million that accrues to T&T annually as a result of pan, calypso and mas.
But what are the indicators for the professional marketing of Panorama? Panorama prelims was conceived as a pan on the move affair. That is its marketability. Planners have to start with that. In 1963, there were green light stations where judges were placed along the "bull track" and on the stage.
Each band moved along ensuring that it played the complete piece at each green light and then crossed the stage, moving. By 1965-66 as many as 84 bands came down the "bull track", East to West, and crossed the stage in what would be considered today as "miracle time".
That on-the-move presentation of music is the core value of pan prelims. Pan the instrument was designed to present music on the move. Every new invention in the "earlies" had to be tested on the road. Road worthiness was the value. Ask the pioneers!
Back in the '60's there were bleachers then on either side of the "bull track", erected for Monday and Tuesday mas parade, that people occupied then during the prelims and for which they could be made to pay today. But what do the bureaucrats of Pan Trinbago and NCC do?
They put the pan prelims in the various panyards which is tantamount to removing the Carnival nature of prelims, limiting it to being a home-based concert and depriving the masses of their key Carnival involvement.
Transport costs have been cut, they claim. And we said that they would not stop there. And they haven't. Now it's on to "killing" the "bull track" concept altogether. On Sunday last, at the national semi-finals, everyone was asking "Whey de Panorama gone?" People in disgust left the Savannah in droves. Many demanding that protests and petition be launched immediately to save the "bull track".
And as if that is not enough, even the music seems to have been affected. Ray Holman is right when he said there is very little new creativity coming forward. We have always maintained that in terms of arranging there are only two or three "authentic voices". Ray was one. In fact even up to present time everything coming out of the West reeks of Ray.
On Sunday last it was a crying shame to hear a big band from the West attempting to "out-Bradley Bradley" and one from the East likewise attempting to be "more All Stars that All Stars".
Come on, taking musical idioms from All Stars bass lines and putting that on your cellos, amongst other things, will not hide copy-catting. Look fellahs, let's strive to be authentic and stay true to ourselves. It is the one thing bureaucrats never do. Yet, it's the only way to save Carnival!
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In the Carnival Mix
Posted: Saturday, February 22, 2003
by Peter Blood
A Road March family affair
Friday night's staging of the semi-final round of competition of the 2003 NLCB International Soca Monarch, at Club Caribbean, served to separate the goat from the sheep in this year's Road March race.
At press time, it seems a safe bet to wager that the 2003 champion will either be the sibling to the incumbent, or daughter of a past winner. Last weekend, Iwer George's "Ah Home" took on even more momentum at the fetes, hotly pursued by "Display," the contender of Faye-Ann Lyons, daughter of Road March high priest SuperBlue and Chutney Soca artiste Lyn Steele, and niece of calypsonian Gypsy.
The big show on this weekend is tomorrow's TUCO Kaiso Fiesta (National Calypso Monarch semi-final), at Skinner Park, San Fernando. By the end of tomorrow, it will be clearer who are the main contenders to the title, which is held by Kitchener's Revue's Sugar Aloes, a hot favourite to retain the crown.
THE ROAD MARCH DERBY
1. Ah Home — Iwer George
2. Display — Faye-Ann Lyons
3. Trini 2 De Bone — David Rudder and Carl Jacob
4. Passion — Militant
5. Kick It Way — Maximus Dan
6. Is Carnival — Destra and Machel Montano
7. Mash Up — Sean Caruth
8. Snake Oil — Bunji Garlin
9. De Fun Cyar Done — Blaxx
10.Mad Man — Machel Montano
A wealth of kaiso talent
For those of you who might be griping at some of the fare being passed on some radio stations as calypso and soca and want to hear some good stuff, turn your attention to the competitions featuring the nation's children, like NORS' Calypso Pioneers Contest and those staged by corporate entities.
Last Friday, I was pleasantly surprised when, serving as a judge at Guardian Holdings Ltd, I discovered some more talented amateurs. Among them were eventual monarch Debra Lezama, who composed a masterpiece of a social commentary entitled "What D'People Want". This lady was clearly head and shoulders above her competition and should be encouraged to venture into a higher level in the calypso arena.
Also impressive were runners-up Brevard Nelson and Carol Boissiere. Singing under the sobriquet of Hot Bread Van, Nelson's composition was "I Like to See Rags," a ditty he performed with the same trimmings and vigour seen at a Soca Monarch final, complete with fireworks, balloons and bandannas. Nelson also captured the Road March title, plus the Chutney Soca Monarch title, with another well presented act for the hilarious composition "Chin & Gee Project."
Boissiere performed as A.Nonymous and her offering was entitled "We Eh Takin' Dat," a social commentary which urges citizens to take a firmer stand against criminals.
Once again, compliments are well deserved by GH Holdings for again proving to be the perfect host. The show was hosted by Donna Hadad with musical accompaniment by Volume. Making guest appearances at the end of the competition were Bunji Garlin, Iwer George, Destra, Rupee, Militant, Ronnie McIntosh, Traffik's Candi Hoyte and Kernal Roberts, Sean Caruth, Shurwayne Winchester, Tricia Hamilton and Ward One. Sound was by Geone.
Trinis too locho
"What does really take some Trinis in truth?" In this year of some good patriotic songs from our bards, like "Trini 2 De Bone" and "Ah Home," locho nationals were griping because Pan Trinbago charged a $20 admission fee to the track at the Queen's Park Savannah for the National Panorama semi-final.
This week, I was cornered Behind de Bridge by one irate woman, complaining about the fee, and accusing Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold of being "a money satan."
In stern tones, I stoutly disagreed with her, telling her Trinis must learn to respect their indigenous art forms and artistes much more, and must pay for art.
Of course, the woman never saw my point of view, making a case that "poor people from de ghetto" are unable to pay Pan Trinbago's fee to support our national instrument. I may add, Miss Lady was dressed "buck no duck," in Nike's latest brand footwear, and wicked low-ride, probably priced collectively at some $2,000.
Anyway, in all seriousness, we will start to see our way a little better and clearer as soon as we begin to show respect for our arts and artistes. I watched in amazement at the recent Madison Square Garden concert by Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones on HBO, admission to which was some US$500 per head.
The Stones show made me wonder about our national instrument, in fact, all our indigenous art forms. I wondered if Trinis would one day be willing to fork out even US$100 to go and see a dozen of the best conventional steel orchestras in the world, with the best pannists on the planet, at a National Panorama final.
Last Sunday's semi-final featured 33 of the world's best steel orchestras, 3,000 of our best pannists, and 33 of our best musicians, including Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, Pelham Goddard, Clive Bradley, Leon "Smooth" Edwards, Anise Hadeed and Edwin Pouchet, and Trinis don't have enough respect for all this rare and unique talent to pay a measly $20, a portion of which will be going to the performers after Carnival.
Too many of us, when it comes to the arts, are only Trini to the bone if we storm or get a free ticket. These people, as Brother Resistance would say, really "nah give ah damn fuh dey culture."
All for Salybia
On the topic of good fetes, the annual Salybia Bay all-inclusive escape on Carnival Thursday is on. This year, host Michael Headley is asking patrons to hire maxi-taxis instead of driving down to Salybia.
Tickets carry the names of safe drivers who will be working a maxi-taxi shuttle service from Port-of-Spain and Sangre Grande. This week, Headley said he is is not revealing the cast of entertainers contracted for the party, but let slip that one of them will be the "biggest surprise artiste at a party this entire Carnival season."
Last Saturday I had two of my most enjoyable outings this Carnival season. During the day, I attended the first ever "Carnival Wild Meat Lime," hosted by Jean Pierre Poteon and the notorious All Fete & No Sleep Posse at his Nagib Elias Drive home in Diego Martin. The Posse delivered all delicacies promised, including 'gouti, iguana, quenk, lappe, deer and tatou, with additives of geera pork and curry duck, all accompanied by dumplings and blue food. For the non-meat-eaters, a wicked King Fish and Joshua broth was concocted.
With calypsonian/hunter Scrunter commissioned to seek and capture the day's meats from the bush, patrons were assured of only the best. Guests were only asked one favour—to walk with drinks, and this they did readily. Up to late in the night, ticket-holders were still turning up for their wild meat fare.
Later in the night, I made my annual trek to Valsayn for Jess & Friends' all-inclusive fete in Valsayn. At this one, patrons got a whole lot more than the $150 admission fee paid. For starters, Rib House provided a delicious meal and cutters.
Jess, short for Jessica, is a vet staffer at the US Embassy and she is assisted each year with this fete by Iwer George, especially in the music department. Through the years, regardless of whatever other engagement Iwer has had, he faithfully turns up to perform for Jess with a few friends in tow. His cast this year included Crazy, Naya George, Faye Ann Lyons and KMC, aided by DJs Mega Force and Cutting Crew.
Among those seen thoroughly enjoying the lovely ambiance at Aruac Road this year were staffers from the embassy, magistrate Ronald Perry, lawyers Garvin Simonette and Allison Demas, and Health Ministry PRO Keith Sancho.
The Paragon of fetes
What do former international footballers Everald "Gally" Cummings, Gerry Brown, Lincoln de Landro and Gerard Figeroux have in common with past West Indies cricketers Colin Croft, Bernard Julien, Richard Gabriel and Jack Noreiga?
They are all past members of Paragon Sports Club, a citadel in sports decades ago.
Paragon Sports Club was also one of the country's most successful Carnival fete promotions outfits, hosting parties at its popular Cocorite sports club. Celebrating its 57th anniversary this year, Paragon will always be fondly remembered for its enjoyable Carnival fetes and New Year's Eve balls, as well as its family-oriented weekend limes at the clubhouse.
There's a resurgence in the club thanks to a new generation of sporting personalities and one of its first major fund-raisers is a Carnival fete on February 26, at its old stomping ground on the Western Main Road in Cocorite, next to Hi-Lo Food Stores.
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NCC To Honour Bertie Marshall
Posted: Thursday, February 20, 2003
By Terry Joseph
Pan innovator, master-tuner and inventor, Bertie Marshall, whose Highlanders Steel Orchestra helped make the "Bomb" competition a Carnival staple, is to be honoured by the National Carnival Commission, which is staging a new Jouvert steelband contest in his name.
NCC chairman Kenny de Silva said the contest is designed to demonstrate the respect felt by many for Marshall's contribution to the steelband movement.
"Perhaps because he is an unassuming fellow, a lot of people might have forgotten what Mr Marshall has done for pan. We hope this event will not only remind them but set the stage for a continuing appreciation of his input," de Silva said.
This Carnival marks the third in which the NCC has selected an icon for special recognition. In 2001, calypso was honoured in the person of The Mighty Sparrow. Last year, the focus turned to mas, with King Sailor, both costuming and choreography, as the selected image.
The Bertie Marshall Jouvert Pan Contest, which carries a $15,000 first prize for conventional bands - by far the largest sum ever to be paid for such a competition - is open to all steel orchestras and will take place from 5 am to 9.30 am, on Ariapita Avenue (at Kew Place), Port of Spain. Participating bands are required to proceed from west to east along the route, after performing at the Neville Jules Bomb competition.
In total, some $45,000 in cash prizes has been provided by the NCC, which is also making what producer Terry Joseph described as "a significant personal cash award" to Marshall. The second and third prizes for conventional orchestras are $12,000 and $9,000 (respectively), while for single-pan bands, the two prizes on offer are $5,000 and $3,000.
For the Jouvert contest, which has been endorsed by Pan Trinbago, all bands are required to play a song made popular by Marshall's legendary Highlanders Steel Orchestra. Fellow Laventillian Merle Albino de Coteau (who earlier this year held her own tribute to Marshall) heads a panel of judges to be located at the Sacred Heart Girls School yard.
Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold, himself a pan-tuner, said: "Any pan manufacturer will tell you that Marshall's research and innovations helped to set the template for what we do today. He remains one of our icons. In fact, many advances made in terms of the technical aspects of tuning are traceable to his inventions and experiments."
Among Marshall's many pan inventions, are the high-tenor and double tenor pans largely responsible for the sound of today's steel orchestras and the revolutionary Bertphone, developed during the 1960's; an amplified pan that gave players the ability to dampen or sustain notes and signalled a new level of scholarship in street-level pan research, including approaches to amplification. Highlanders won the inaugural Bomb Competition (1965) using only that pan in its soprano section.
Marshall who, since 1980 has tuned frontline pans for ten-time Panorama champions Witco Desperadoes, is globally revered for his benchmark improvements to the process and is referred to in the pan community as "The tuner's tuner." Among his other achievements being celebrated are memorable musical arrangements for Highlanders.
Marshall was also first to implement the method of identifying harmonics in each note and was one of two tuners (the other being Anthony Williams) selected to assist with experiments at the University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Research Institute (Cariri) under the leadership of Dr Colm Imbert and others.
Born in Port of Spain February 6, 1936, Marshall spent his early childhood in Success Village and John John, attended St Phillips AC primary and Tranquility Government Intermediate schools. His first direct experience with pan came when he attempted to re-tune an old tenor from Tokyo, using the harmonica of which he was an accomplished player.
Marshall remains the premier pan consultant locally and internationally, his vast knowledge sought after by researchers from not just music faculties of major universities, but physicists as well. At last October's international conference on pan mounted by the UWI in collaboration with Pan Trinbago, Professor Thomas Rossing, Head of Physics at Northern Illinois University, described Marshall as "a treasure, whose native intelligence surpasses that of many full-time scientific researchers."
Awarded the Chaconia Medal Gold in 1992 for his contribution to pan, Marshall will also be the honoured guest at a reunion of Highlanders' players at a Carnival Sunday function to be held on the site of his former home in Success Village, Laventille.
A television documentary is currently being done on his life's work by Miami-based journalist Dalton Narine. Also in the planning is production of a commemorative CD with some 21 Highlanders recordings, including favourites like "Gypsy Rondo", "Begin the Beguine", "Mama, Dis is Mas" and, of course, "Let Every Valley Be Exalted"; net proceeds from which are to be given to Marshall.
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Kaiso 'tata' on Tidco website
Posted: Thursday, February 20, 2003
By Terry Joseph
The Tourism and Industrial Development Company (Tidco) yesterday hurriedly removed the calypso page of its Carnival on D' Net website, after calypsonians expressed outrage over its content which described the artform as "Tata".
Now in its eighth year, the current edition of Carnival on D' Net was launched last month at a glitzy Hilton Trinidad soiree that featured calypso performances and promised a number of "positive images of the festival, descriptions of its major components and updates on premier events".
Instead, quite the opposite materialised.
On Sunday, Culture Minister Pennelope Beckles was visibly astonished after being shown a copy of the calypso web page by the Express. She promised to fully explore the site and take corrective action.
Under the rubric "Carnival 2003", Tidco's Carnival on D' Net website featured a calypso page exclusively dedicated to an article by BC Pires headlined "Tata in the Round", a scathing critique of the work of Iwer George, Impulse and Bunji Garlin.
Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation (TUCO) general secretary, Brother Resistance, described it as "outrageous and unbelievable".
"If it were not right there on the screen I would never have believed that Tidco, an agency that uses taxpayers' funds to promote The Land of Calypso, could turn around and use the worldwide web to dismiss the season's entire catalogue, calling it 'Tata' for all the world to read," Resistance said.
He added that "while we believe in freedom of expression, given the context of the Tidco website, this was completely inappropriate".
In a prepared response, Tidco communications manager, Renatta Mohammed, yesterday said "Pires' controversial article remained unedited by Tidco for a limited period in the interest of freedom of expression and with the disclaimer that the views expressed were not ours.
"However, the article has since been replaced as its lifespan has lapsed."
George, skatie joint winners
By Nigel Telesford, Express TT
Lead vocalist for the band Pure Energy, Roger George, and veteran calypsonian Carlos "Skatie" James will share the $70,000 first prize ($60,000 cash and $10,000 in sponsored items) as joint winners of the Young Kings Calypso Monarch Competition 2003.
George said: "Well, they say that great minds think alike, so I guess they all thought that we both deserved to win. I'm happy with the decision and, of course, all praise is due to God and you know what they say: the judges decision is always final."
James said he was "happy just to win" and thanked Steven Robataly, who wrote "One Man and One Man Alone" and assisted him in composing: "In Just Six Years". The three-time Arima Calypso Monarch and twice-time Tunapuna Monarch complimented George on his performances and said he was looking forward to the finals of the Political Calypso Competition on Saturday at Skinner Park in San Fernando.
This is the second contest in two days in which there has been a tie for first place-the other being the Chutney Soca Monarch competition.
Monday night's Young King contest, held at Pier 1 in Chaguaramas, was a fierce contest among the 18 finalists, in spite of intermittent rains and technical difficulties.
Rapso artiste, Ataklan, suffered two bouts of system malfunctions, but still managed to secure the crowd's support as they clapped away the silence in time to the rhythm of his fitting contribution, "What's Wrong?"
New York-based entertainer, CJ, delivered an animated rendition of his first song, "When A Mother Cries" and, in eighth position, Brian London identified the symptoms of the "Character Crisis" in today's society.
Skatie followed soon after with a UNC-bashing composition entitled, "In Just Six Years", while recently-crowned NWAC Calypso Queen, Marva Mc Kenzie, put on a well-choreographed rendition of the song that earned her the title- "The Sacred and The Profane".
Results of 2003 Young Kings
Calypso Monarch competition :
1. Skatie and Roger George
3. Brian London
4. Ataklan
5. CJ
6. Marva Mc Kenzie
7. Ninja
8. Corey Burke
9. Ghetto Flex
10. Sean Daniel
11. Heather Mac Intosh
12. Ras Kommanda
13. Jarva Caesar
14. Mookesh Babooram
15. Renee Alfred.
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Boogsie Out Front
Posted: Tuesday, February 18, 2003
By Terry Joseph
Some 15 hours after a scheduled 11 am start-time, patrons who survived Sunday's Panorama semifinal marathon learnt Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove had topped the standings and by a whopping 16-point lead over arch-rival Witco Desperadoes.
Widely viewed as The Mother of all Panorama Battles, the 41st annual Queen's Park Savannah playoff was not without its share of grouse and grievance but, happily, nowhere near the level of protest that scuttled the 1979 edition, that event aborted with Starlift leading the preliminary round, after pannists staged a boycott to press demands for increased revenues.
Sunday's change of the direction by which bands came to the stage brought stout arguments from vendors, who rented booth locations basing business expectations on traditional routing. In the same cause, pannists complained about consequent unavailability of refreshments during the long wait to go onstage.
But once there, some 2,850 pannists comprising 31 orchestras played their finest notes, all but those attached to defending champion Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars visibly aspiring to advance their bands to the March 1 final.
The late start, attributed by Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold to clearing the venue of garbage left by Saturday night's army fete, plus painful delays in setting up each next orchestra caused the event to run well past its promised length, the last band (Parry's Pan School) mounting the stage shortly after 1 am.
But in the end, it was Phase II Pan Groove, under the baton of Len "Boogsie" Sharpe, that amassed a winning 466 points for a flawless rendition of his composition "Music in We Blood", trouncing an attempt at the same song by Desperadoes; that one-on-one battle the semifinal's focal point for a large number of pan fans.
In the middle of the top three was Exodus, last week crowned east-zone champs for the 14th time, the Tunapuna band earning 461 points for its work at Pelham Goddard's arrangement of De Fosto's "Pandora"; a performance that ranked them a full 11 points ahead of Despers and shifted the primary joust to a skills battle between Sharpe and Goddard.
Speaking yesterday to The Express, Sharpe was elated. "The effort I put into that musical arrangement was not only for the band or me," Sharpe said, adding he told players from the start of rehearsals that this one was personal, dedicated to the memory of his late mother Grace (who died on December 19) and new baby girl Ashleigh, now five months old.
"Now, with these results, we will be working non-stop over the next two weeks to maintain and if possible stretch that lead on final night," he said. "It has been a long time knocking at the door. We have lost by half a point and one point on occasions and probably have the most second places in Panorama. I was actually beginning to believe the talk that it was not 'my time'.
"Other arrangers, especially those who played my song were going all over the place boasting about beating me at my own creation but that only made me work harder. Especially when Desperadoes decided to play 'Music in We Blood - no disrespect to the others - but this meant I was coming up against Bradley, who is among the most competent in the history of the thing.
"In fact, they all made me work harder but I was fighting smart, not loud, smart. It gave me a fresh energy and the inspiration to do a different style, because they would feel I was coming 'normal', so I had to make some radical changes if I wanted to beat them.
"I used a stop in the tune, a long silence because, as Pat Bishop always says, there can be no noise without silence. Now this is a difficult thing in a steelband with 100 players, you understand, but I was determined to make it work and it did and I have to thank the players for their patience with me on this one.
"Don't get me wrong, it is an honour to have the other bands and, as I said, the famous Desperadoes play my tune but I not taking licks on my own song. I real respect but I cannot allow he nor anyone else to beat me with 'Music in We Blood'. That continues to be one of my other driving forces," he said.
Asked what he plans to do to erase the five-point lead Phase II Pan Groove enjoyed over Exodus Sunday, Goddard said he had not yet thought about it. "Sometimes you have to think about these things for a while and not just get paranoid or react to a problem that is not really there," he said, invoking the old adage: "If it ain't break, don't fix it."
Remarking upon the number of songs musical arrangers have to prepare for their bands this season, Goddard saw the increased workload as a determinant. "Apart from the Panorama tune we have to on work the Dimanche Gras ole-time kaiso competition, pan-mas pieces, a bomb-tune and the Bertie Marshall and Highlanders music as well," he said, "so going to confuse players with some complex addition could be buying trouble.
"Sometimes, instead of just tightening up what you have you could go and put in something or take out a passage because you feel it would improve your chances and sometimes that is where the trouble comes, but to tell the truth, I really would have to answer that question in a couple of days' time," he said.
But Bradley is the one with best-defined need to pull a few tricks out of the drums. His arrangement of "Music in We Blood" was audibly less than we have come to expect from the maestro, with distance from the melodic line perilously extended on occasion and infusion of "The Sound of Music" opening phrase bordering on cavalier, given the chord context at the time of its intervention.
Mark you, it was Bradley who, in an interview last week with New York's Pan4Us Website, said: "The arranger normally doesn't get to hear other people's work until the bands meet in the semi-final and then you know what you have to do," adding that none among them can predict outcome, as major changes are often made during the two-week interim until final night. It is something he has been known to do and on each occasion with astonishing result.
Of course, Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars was not scored on Sunday but nonetheless sounded warning with its performance of "Pandora", thrilling the huge crowd in the Grand and North stands with the Leon "Smooth" Edwards arrangement.
In the current standings, there is a relatively slim 14-point difference between positions four (Excellent Stores Silver Stars - 441) and the Nu Tones/ TCL Group Skiffle Bunch tie at 427, increasing likelihood of a possible shuffle on final night.
Because of that tie, 12 orchestras will, on the basis of merit, advance from Sunday's semifinal to join Trinidad All Stars in the final night musical battle for not just the $200,000 first prize but the prestigious title of Panorama Champs 2003.
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Panorama Semifinal Standings
Posted: Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Position/ Band / Tune/ Points
1. Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove / "Music in We Blood"/466
2. Exodus / "Pandora"/ 461
3. Witco Desperadoes / "Music in We Blood"/ 450
4. Excellent Stores Silver Stars / "Identity"/ 441
5. NLCB Fonclaire / "Music in We Blood"/ 438
6. BpTT Renegades / "Iron Man"/ 434
7. RBTT Redemption Sound Setters / "Pandora"/ 433
8. Birdsong / "Music in We Blood"/ 432
9. Solo Pan Knights / "Ah Home"/ 431
10. Tropical Angel Harps / "Pandora"/ 430
11. TCL Group Skiffle Bunch / "Trini to the Bone"/ 427
11. Nu Tones / "Trini to the Bone"/ 427
13. Petrotrin Hatters / "Thunder Rolling"/ 424
14. BWIA Invaders / "Ellie Man"/ 423
15. Pamberi / "Pan in Paradise"/ 422
16. Courts Laventille Sounds Specialists / "Identity"/ 414
16. PCS Starlift / "The House of Music"/ 414
18. Merrytones / "In Front de Band"/ 407
19. Sangre Grande Cordettes / "Pandora"/ 406
20. Petrotrin Siparia Deltones / "Tribute to Ellis Knights"/ 405
20. Valley Harps / "Music in We Blood"/ 405
22. TTEC New Dimension East Side / "Thunder"/ 401
23. Tornadoes / "Iron Band"/ 399
24. Tokyo / "This Time"/ 397
24. Potential Symphony / "Ah Home"/ 397
26. Melodians / "Pan in the Wind"/ 390
27. Couva Joylanders / "Identity"/ 381
28. Our Boys / "Identity"/ 379
29. Fascinators Pan Symphony / "Pan on Fire"/ 377.5
30. Parry's Pan School / "Bad in Yo Yard"/ 339
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Phase II Goes After All Stars' Crown
Posted: Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Newsday TT
Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove heads the group of 12 steelbands who will challenge reigning Panorama champions Neal and Massy Trinidad All Stars for their coveted crown on March 1.
Playing Anselm Douglas' "Music in we blood," Phase II topped the competition at Sunday's Panorama Semi-Finals at the Queen's Park Savannah, getting 466 points. In second place was Exodus with 461. Despers came in third at 450. Other bands who qualified for the finals are: Excellent Stores' Silver Stars; NLCB Fonclaire; BP Renegades; RBTT Redemption Sound Setters; UWI Birdsong; Solo Pan Knights; Tropical Angel Harps; TCL Skiffle Bunch and Nutones.
Junior Panorama starts today
THE bpTT Junior Pan-orama competition will begin today with the Sangre Grande Steel Orchestra performing David Rudder and Carl Jacob's "Trini to the Bone". Action in the Junior Panorama division follows two rounds of competition by their adult counterparts nationwide, in preliminary and semi-final segments of competition, over the last ten days.
Other bands billed to perform today at their respective headquarters are St Augustine Senior Secondary School, Mt Hope Junior Secondary School, Febeau Primary School, Malick Secon-dary School, Success Stars Pan Sound and Eastern Boys and Bethlehem Boys Com-bined. They will perform before a five-member panel comprising Merle Albino De Couteau, Harold Headley, Gary Straker, Duvonne Stewart and Bruce Roberts.
Meanwhile, PanTrinbago announced that tickets for the final went on sale from yesterday. Contribution is $15 (advance) and $20 at the gate.
19 Soca stars for Monarch show
By Seeta Persad, Newsday TT
Nineteen of the top soca artistes will do battle for the title of the 2003 National Lotteries Classic International Soca Monarch. This competition which is a production of the Caribbean Prestige Production Limited is carded for February 28 at the Queen's Park Oval.
Among the names appearing in the much anticipated show are, Blaxx, Blazer, Denise Belfon, Dereck Seales, Destra Garcia, Faye Ann Lyons, Flop G (Martinique), KMC, Maximus Dan, Naya George, Patrice Roberts, Rupee (Barbados), Sean Caruth, Shurwayne Winchester, Tony Prescott, Wanski (Antiga) and Young Marcel.
The artistes will go up against defending champs, Bunji Garlin and Iwer George. Both George and Garlin have been enjoying a hectic season performing on a nightly basis in the lead up to the Carnival.
One of the new faces for this year's competition is Faye Ann Lyon's, who is the daughter of former soca monarch, Super Blue (Austin Lyons). Faye Ann's songs, "Display" and "Focus" have been topping the local charts at the local radio stations. The young performer of Point Fortin is a frontline singer from the Band "Invasion".
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Chaguanas Carnival launching on Friday
Posted: Monday, February 17, 2003
By Herman Roop Dass, Newsday TT
CHAGUANAS CARNIVAL Committee is organising a week-long Carnival this year on a budget of $151,000, according to its chairman, Alderman Naidu Powdhar.
The celebrations will be launched on Friday, February 21, at 6.00 pm along the Chaguanas Main Road, Opposite Centre City Mall, with traditional mas characters holding the spotlight, Powdhar said, and he expects a large crowd to witness proceedings.
Other activities planned include —
Wednesday, February 26 at 7.00 pm — Queen show at Woodford Lodge Club. Contestants are Delcia Patterson-Andrews, Dianne Joseph, Miranda Mahabir, Joann Alexander; Sophia Smart, Josanne de Matas, Ann Marie Lewis, Alicia Samuel, Natasha Boland and Rene Bailey.
Thursday, February 27, at 10.00 am Junior Calypso Competition at Presentation College and at 7.00 pm, Senior Calypso Contest at the Market Car Park.
The Junior Calypso finalists are Eslun Richards, Mark Eastman, Jesse Stewart, Nicole Joseph, Sandy Marshall, Keshion Luke, Juanita Ramoutar, Melisa Mc Alister, Takesha Hudlin, Alena Lodge, Danielle Jack, Shaquills Salbridge, and Rondell Quamina.
Senior Calypso finalists are Hammond Bruce, Reynold Ellis, William Millington, Terrance Jarvis, Roger Johnson, Patrice Valentine, Murga Gill, Francisca Allard, Lana Kennedy, Darnley Kennedy, Giselle Carter, Roderick Gordon, Anthony Callendar and Brian London.
Friday, February 28, at 6.00 pm — Live Entertainment at Renaissance Park.
Saturday, March 1 , at 7.00 pm — TUCO Kaiso Showkase at Market Square Car Park.
Sunday, March 2 — Kiddies Contest at 1.00 pm at the Chaguanas Main Road, opposite Centre City.
Monday, March 3 — Jouvert Competition along the Chaguanas Main Road.
Tuesday, March 4 — Band of the Year Parade starting at 11.00 am.
Mayor of Chaguanas, Orlando Nagessar, an ex-officio member of the Organising Committee, said that the "Celebrations this year promise to be bigger and brighter and all those who remain in the district to see mas will be astonished at the quality of the costumes to be presented by the masqueraders."
TUCO's Queen semis tonight
THE SEMI-FINALS of TUCO's National Calypso Queen Competition takes place tonight at the Deluxe Entertainment Centre, Keate Street, Port-of-Spain from 8 pm.
The order of appearance is as follows: Danielle Watson; Ann Marie "Twiggy" Parks-Kojo; Marva "Marvelous Marva" Joseph; Shirlane Hendrickson Thomas; Sandra "Singing Sandra" Millington; Heather Mc Intosh; Karen Asche; Susan John; Joanne Foster; Karen Eccles; Wendy Thomas; Kizzy Ruiz; Eulith Woods; Paula Salandy and Shanaqua Omilade Khalabi.
No established arrangers for junior steelbands
STEELBANDS participating in the 2003 bpTT National Junior Panorama, are being warned by the Youth Arm of Pan Trinbago, against using established arrangers to work on their musical arrangements.
The rules of the National Junior Panorama, Article 3, Section 11, states that each band must have a junior arranger, that is, an arranger who has never arranged for a band in the finals of the senior Panorama. Pan Trinbago's Youth Arm said in a release, any band found contravening the rules will be subject to immediate disqualification.
Section 6 C of the rules also indicates under the headline "discipline", that "officials of each steelband shall be held responsible for the behaviour, conduct and general deportment of the members and representative steelbands".
Twenty-eight steelbands to compete in bpTT Junior Panorama
CHAIRMAN of the Youth Arm of Pan Trinbago, Shelly-Ann Hart, has expressed delight over the increased number of bands registered for this year's bpTT National Junior Panorama competition, billed as "Soca Pan Fest".
Twenty-eight steelbands have indicated an interest in this year's competition, including eight newcomers — Golden Hands, St Margaret Boy's Anglican, Febeau Government School/Pamberi Youths, Newtown Boys' RC, All Starts Posse, Katzenjammers Kids from Tobago and Western Union Youths.
The prelims of the competition begins tomorrow and runs through Thursday, February 20 at the pan yards or the catchment area of the registered band. Twelve bands will compete in the finals which will be held next Sunday at the Big Yard, Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain from 11.30 am. This year is the 27th anniversary of the competition.
Single Pan semi-finals on Tuesday
The draw for playing positions for the 2K3 National Single Pan Bands Semi-Finals will take place on Tuesday, February 18, 2003.
The draw is to be held at the Panorama Festival Village, Queen's Park Savannah at 5 pm, as 30 Single Pan Steel Orchestras vie for one of eleven places.
"Shades In Steel", the reigning champion, will attempt to retain it's title in the semi-finals on February 22nd, 2003, from 4 pm.
The finals of this competition is carded for Saturday, February 28, 2003 at the Arima basketball court from 7pm.
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Record Entries For Jnr Panorama
Posted: Monday, February 17, 2003
By Terry Joseph
Eight new junior steel orchestras have helped swell this year's entries to a record 28 bands for the bpTT National Junior Panorama competition, which kicks off tomorrow with panyard judging of its preliminary round.
The bands will all be trying to dislodge last year's champion, Renegades Juniors in a contest that annually duplicates the excitement of the adult version, which entered its semifinal round yesterday at the Queen's Park Savannah.
Produced by Pan Trinbago's Youth Arm, the junior contest will have its final on Sunday, February 23, at the "Big Yard" Queen's Park Savannah,Port of Spain where 12 bands will compete for the $35,000 first prize and challenge trophy.
Youth Arm chairman Shelley-Ann Hart expressed delight over the level of participation in the event, whi
