The Rounds: Anslem Douglas performs at Manchester Carnival

In this edition:

- Caribana Launch, Kiddie Carnival and OCPA Calypso Monarch

- Bunji's Birthday Party

- Manchester Moss Side Carnival

- Grenada Soca Semi-Finals

- Caribbean Soca Monarch

Good evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s rounds. So, I’m back in Toronto after a 3 week tour of 4 soca hotspots in the Caribbean. It was great to take in some of the Carnival action in St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Barbados AND get a sense of what some of your favourite Trini acts are working on for the upcoming season. So, I’m back, with lots of stories just for you! But for now it’s all about Caribana people...

More than 1000 people gathered at Yonge-Dundas Square on Tuesday to officially open the Caribana season. In spite of the ongoing city worker strike, Caribana intends to roll out as usual, save a couple of venue changes. Be sure to check out CaribanaFestival dot com, for official news on whats going on.

If you’re one of those people who only thinks of the parade of the band when you hear the name Caribana, think again. The festival includes all sorts of events and competitions, with a couple of big ones having taken place YESTERDAY. Congrats to Callaloo who won band of the year at the Kiddies Carnival. Last night our local Calypsonians went head to head for the title of Caribana Calypso Monarch. Congrats to Redman, the 2009 Organization for Calypso Performing Artistes champ!

Soca artiste Bunji Garlin celebrated a big birthday in Trinidad on Tuesday night. He, Fay-Ann and a room full of their celebrity friends danced the night away together. Guests included people like Kes, Nadia Batson, Benjai, Saucy, Maximus Dan, Lil Bitts, Ms Alysha, TC, Mr. Vybe, and Dancehall artiste Cecile. But the real highlight of the night was a performance by Garlin’s father-in-law Austin "Superblue" Lyons.

Yesterday, the city of Manchester in England held their annual Moss Side Caribbean carnival. The weather was cool and overcast, but the rain held up to allow 20 floats, dancers, steelbands and revellers block traffic on Saturday afternoon. Anslem Douglas was among the performers bringing entertainment on the road. Moss Side Carnival began nearly 40 years ago and continues to grow every year.

This coming week, Grenada will get one step close be crowning a soca monarch. On Friday, the semi-finals for the GCC LIME Soca Monarch get underway. Four first-timers and only 2 females are among the artistes vying for a chance at the big money at the final showdown set for August 7th.

With Ricky T, Slimmy and Rochelle at Banker's and Lawyer Fete in St. Lucia (July 10)

Last but not least, tonight in St. Lucia the original Caribbean Soca Monarch takes place at Mindoo Philip Park. 9 competitors from across the region do battle against last year’s champ, Ricky T. (check Nurse Karen Archives for results)

I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds, for more info on all the news mentioned tonight, stories from my summer carnival tour, and results from Caribbean Soca Monarch...check for me at Nurse dash Karen dot com, or follow Nurse Karen at twitter. Now, back to de docta!

Karen L. Richardson
a.k.a "Nurse Karen"
http://www.nurse-karen.com
http://www.twitter.com/nursekaren

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Booster Shot: Caribana Kiddies Carnival Results

Competition time!!!

Here are your unofficial results from the Caribana Junior Carnival parade which took place on Saturday in the Jane-Finch neighbourhood of Toronto.

I passed through briefly, long enough for a few people to wrongly assume that somehow I became the mother of a seven year old boy!

I was very surprised to hear lots of new music from the summer Caribbean carnivals playing. The children gave me a nice little preview of what to expect at the big people parade!!!

Can't wait!!!!

2009 Junior Band of the Year

RANK – 2009 MAS BAND THEME/NAME – MAS BAND

1^st THE GANGES MEETS THE NILE – Callaloo

2^nd IN FULL BLOOM – Carnival Nationz

3^rd (tie) BIRDS OF PARADISE – Tribal Knights

3^rd (tie) DIS-NEE ON THE STREETS OF BRAZIL – Toronto Revellers

2009 Junior King of the Bands

RANK – MAS PORTRAYER, AGE – COSTUME’S NAME – 2009 MAS BAND THEME

1^st Demeko Minott, 13 – Aladdin and the Magic Carpet – DIS-NEE ON THE STREETS OF BRAZIL

2^nd Shane Vincent, 13 – Altamira Oriole – BIRDS OF PARADISE

3^rd Fabian Lee, 8 – Jewel of the Ganges – THE GANGES MEETS THE NILE

2009 Junior Queen of the Bands

RANK – MAS PORTRAYER, AGE – COSTUME’S NAME – 2009 MAS BAND THEME

1^st Paige Lewis, 13 – Botanica – IN FULL BLOOM

2^nd Destynee Charles, 10 – The Guardian of Luxor – THE GANGES MEETS THE NILE

3^rd (tie) Celena Seusahai, 10 – Lesser Birds of Paradise – BIRDS OF PARADISE

3^rd (tie) Akelah Willis, 14 – Cinderella & The Pumpkin Carriage – DIS-NEE ON THE STREETS OF BRAZIL

2009 Junior Male Individual of the Year

RANK – MAS PORTRAYER, AGE – COSTUME’S NAME – 2009 MAS BAND THEME/NAME

1^st Malik Adams, 9 – Cayman Parrot – BIRDS OF PARADISE

2^nd Marvin Lee, 7 – Snake Charmer – THE GANGES MEETS THE NILE

3^rd Jamal James, 14 – The Beast (Beauty & The Beast) – DIS-NEE ON THE STREETS OF BRAZIL

2009 Junior Female Individual of the Year

RANK – MAS PORTRAYER, AGE – COSTUME’S NAME – 2009 MAS BAND THEME/NAME

1^st Shania Cunningham, 10 – Yaruba – DIS IS AFRICA

2^nd Caneisha Edwards, 10 – The Superb Lovebird – BIRDS OF PARADISE

3^rd Anastasia Burton, 12 – Ariel, The Little Mermaid – DIS-NEE ON THE STREETS OF BRAZIL

NOTES:

A panel of volunteer judges adjudicated all contestants/bands using the following criteria: Visual impact (max. 20 marks); Authenticity (10); Creativity (20); Mas on the Move (10); Clarity of Theme (10); Presentation (20); and Craftsmanship (10) for a total of 100 marks. The order of merit is determined by discarding the highest and lowest score per participant.

All junior King, Queen, Male Individual and Female Individual costumes traditionally participate in the (adult) Caribana Parade in their respective parent bands; to be held this year on Saturday, August 1^st, 2009.

Please note, the above unofficial results were provided courtesy of ATC Heir Publicity. Confirmed results will be made available by July 24th, 2009.

Love and Carnival!

Nurse Karen

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The Rounds: Teddyson John sings with the greats at St. Lucia Jazz

In this edition:

• Soca/Calypso honoured at the 2009 IRAWMA's
• Callaloo and Toronto Revellers launch their 2009 Caribana Presentations
• Teddyson John sings with blues greats at St. Lucia Jazz
• Grenadian calypsonian charged with rape
• Sheldon Benjamin aka Shel Shok in hospital with cancer

Good Evening Soca Lovers,
I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. First, lemme hit you with a big fat Happy Mother’s Day!

Last week, I mentioned that the International Reggae and World Music Awards were taking place in NY during soca therapy. Well, the results are in, so I have to big up one awesome Caribbean mom for her success. Congrats goes out to Alison Hinds for winning the award for Best Calypso/Soca Entertainer.

A handful of other soca related awards were bestowed as well. Machel Montano HD took Most Outstanding Stage Personality and Most Outstanding Show Band. Trinidad’s Calypso Rose won Most Consistent Entertainer. Antigua’s King Short shirt was inducted into the IRAWMA Hall of Fame. the Mighty Sparrow was honoured with the Master of the Caribbean Award, and Vincentian record mogul, Granville Straker received the Martin’s International/Inter-Culture Award of Honor.

Grabbed this shot of Calypso Rose for Toronto-Lime at the 2007 Soca Awards in NY

Back on the home front, Callaloo and Toronto Revellers now join the ranks of mas bands who have unleashed their 2009 themes on the city of Toronto. Marlon Singh’s Callaloo will be parading down the lakeshore with an India and Africa theme called :The Ganges Meets the Nile. All 12 hundred of Jamaal Magloire’s Toronto Revellers will be band # 6 presenting Brasil: Bacchanal in Rio.

With NBA Star and Toronto Reveller's Bandleader Jamaal MaGloire in Toronto, 2008

The big party in the West Indies right now is St. Lucia Jazz. Yesterday, Groovy soca artiste, Teddyson John gave crowds something to talk about when he took the stage to sing the blues. He performed on a bill that included music greats like George Duke, Jeffrey Osborne, and James Ingram.

Posing with Teddyson John in St. Lucia, 2008

Bad news out of Grenada, I mean really bad news. Maybe you’ve heard. The 2008 National Calypso Monarch, 24 year old Biko Lewis has been charged with the rape of a 15 year old girl. It was reported that the victim was on her way to church when the offended offered her a ride. Well, as you might guess, she never made it to her intended destination. Instead she was brought to a secluded location where the act was commited. Now word on sentencing yet, but I personally hope he pays big time.

On a rather somber note, Trinidadian soca producer, Sheldon Benjamin once known as Shel Shok was rushed to the hospital on Thursday due to complications resulting from his fight with Lymph Node Cancer. The 39 year old sample technician who has toured extensively with Destra and Machel Montano over the years has been privately battling the disease since November. But a mild heart attack and breathing difficulties brought his quiet struggle to the public sphere. We at soca therapy offer our sincerest thoughts and prayers out to Sheldon for a speedy and full recovery.

I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. For more information on any of the items mentioned this evening, check out the Nurse Karen Etc blog at triple w dot nurse dash Karen dot com.

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The Rounds: Bring your Mas and come! Vincy Mas 2K8 is officially on!

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay's Rounds. I'm finding new respect for the month of May! How can you not love a month that's going to be jam packed with amazing fetes, band launches, and carnival kick-offs? How can you not love a month that has all those things packed into one day?!

Saturday, May 3, marked the birthday of former Xtatik percussionist and vocalist Farmer Nappy. He's busy working on new releases for Barbados' Crop Over Festival.

Last night also marked the first ever Toronto edition of Shal Marshall's signature fete…Gyal Farm…and the girls came out in country and western costume, Daisy Dukes and all. Everybody knows where the ladies go, the gents will follow. So Callaloo mas camp can look forward to several masculine masqueraders in their hot new Gyal Farm section for Caribana 2K8. The section will be headed by Kerwin Du Bois and Shal Marshall, and was designed by Marlon Singh. It features peachy beads and feathers for the girls and straw hats in a matching motif for the boys.

Batabano Carnival wrapped up yesterday in Grand Caymen. Dexter Seusahai from Toronto's Tribal Knights Mas Band made the annual trip to see his beautiful designs hit the road with Swanky International. He'll be back in Toronto soon to launch his presentation of Deep Rising at Soca or Die. The Saturday night portion of the first-ever two-day long fete will feature performances by Destra and Atlantik, Tizzy, Maximus Dan and Kerwin Du Bois.

Yesterday was also the official launch of Vincy Mas. This year's theme is "Bring Yuh MAS And Come!" and all of Kingstown took it to heart. The crowd spilled out of the Chamber of Commerce Car Park for 6 hours as they were treated to all the elements of carnival; pan, calypso, mas and soca. Zoelah reigned supreme at the best new song competition for the second year in a row. She beat out Danielle Veira with her uptempo double entendre, Zoom In. Kevin Lyttle made a brief appearance to premiere his new ragga track "Come See Me" featuring Lexxus. Later, Shaunelle McKenzie brought the house down with her performance of Don't Let Go, a smooth one produced by Mark Cyrus and written by Luta. Dr. Jay gave it a spin last week. The night closed out with performances by Luta, Jalena, Tabia and Fireman Hooper, all backed by the Akcess Band. Don't you just love May?

I'm Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay's Rounds. Please leave your comments at the Nurse Karen Etc blog at triple W dot mustardseeds dot net. Now back to de docta!

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The Rounds - July 23, 2006

Good Evening Soca Lovers! I’m nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds.
St. Lucia Carnival came to a close on Tuesday after a hectic season of competitions and two days of Mas. I want to big up all the Lucian posse on the outside…and beg you a special favour too. You see how I does always tell allyuh to send comments every week. Do me a favour and send me some comments nah man!
Last week I told the soca faithful that Trinidad doesn’t compete in the OECS soca monarch competition because it’s not an Eastern Caribbean State. Well, I’m sure you could imagine my surprise when I read the news on Monday only to find out that Trinidad’s Mista Vybe won the competition this year. Well, better late than never as they say. For 2006, the annual international soca monarch show was renamed “Caribbean Soca Monarch” to allow for entries from countries outside the OECS. My source (which shall remain nameless) listed Mista Vybe as a special guest…not a competitor. But he most certainly was! A delegate who was not competing as a the reigning soca champion in his home country managed to beat out a cast of international heroes. So, don’t be surprised if “Ting for de road” makes a special resurgence for Caribana…just remember you heard it here first.
R&B newcomer Ne-Yo had a big concert in Barbados this weekend. That may not seem like a big deal to most of you. But if you know anything about carnival in the Caribbean, you know that it’s pretty much a taboo for any music that falls outside the realm of soca, pan and calypso to be heard anywhere during festival time. Well, the promoters didn’t completely lose they sense. The opening acts ( Edwin, Satement, Hypasounds and Don Trent) are all homegrown bajans…singing soca – but of course.
West Indies Cricket Star Brian Lara has big plans for Cropover too. I hear the best looking man in white just leased himself an exclusive plantation in Barbados to host a Cropover party that will cost $200 a head to get in.
We’ve seen a break in the weather over the last few days. But don’t get ahead of yourself. We have by no means passed the hottest part of summer. Caribana is now officially upon us and the competition is on. Yesterday afternoon Marlon Singh’s Callaloo Mas camp brought home the first victory of the season. Jr. Callaloo’s presentation of Exotic Species won Band of the year at Kiddie Carnival for the third consecutive year.
Personally, I like to team up with winners myself …why else would I join the best international soca dj Dr. Jay de Soca Prince every Sunday to give you SWEET Soca Therapy? That being said…I took a long time to decide…but this year, your resident nurse Karen will be adding some of her own hot pepper to de Callaloo. Come Caribana Saturday look for Dr. Jay spinning tunes on the big truck…and you can find me jumping in de band. I think we could take it this year.
I’m nurse Karen and those are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. Puhlease…send me your comments at SOCA AT FLOW 9 3 5 DOT COM. Now back to de docta…

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