The fans know Machel Montano for the oil in his waist. The media is well aware of the complex and active brain in his head. However, not too many would think of the Soca superstar as a political activist.
No worries, Machel is not changing his night job, but it seems he created a bit of a stir on a New York radio program on Saturday when he indicated he would be "open to speaking to politicians or joining in at picket lines on behalf of the West Indian community in need of immigration reform in the U.S."
In a radio interview that discussed US immigration policies, and racial profiling, Montano spoke to "Caribbean Corner" host Felicia Persaud the same day protesters marched to speak out on the issues
So all of you reading this at home with visions of green cards dancing in your heads, don't you fear, Winer Boy is here!
Nurse Karen and Hyper Leon in Brooklyn, September 2009
When you travel a lot , you soon figure out that every city definitely has it's own flavour when it comes to which songs and artist are hot for Carnival. The timing of local festivities factors in too. So when I saw this mix from Hyper Leon, I thought a few of you might get VERY excited. This mix shows of the top tunes of Miami Carnival 2K9, nothing more, nothing less. If you were there....this was pretty much what they played at the fetes and on the roads.
So, I gotta say a big thank you to Hyper Leon of Hyper Active Entertainment in New York for letting me post this for you. He's a busy guy, between playing all over the US and keeping the music pumping on FIRE 104.7 FM's" Free Up Fridays" (3 - 6pm) and "Soca Arena Saturdays" (6 - 9 pm).
OR check out his DJ styleeeee by downloading his latest CD right HERE
Full track listing below: HYPERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS SOCA BASHMENT "MIAMI PARTY MIX 2K9"
SPONSORED BY THE BIG TRUCK ALLIANCE
~~~RIDE OR GET RODE ON~~~
Track 1. Intro By HYPERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
Track 2. Hold Yuh To Soca(Hyper Lee Mix) By Gyptain
Track 3. Fly Away By Machel Montano HD & Collie Buddz
Track 4. Break Up 2 Make Up By Ziggy Ranking
Track 5. Shake Remix By Jamesy P & Luta
Track 6. Jep Sting Remix By Hunter Ft Kes The Band & Ravi B
Track 7. Rum & Roti By Patch & Da Ma$taMind
Track 8. Doh Give Me More Rum By Berbice
Track 9. Hold You Down By Zan
Track 10. Bumpers By Devon Matthews & Ziggy Ranking
Track 11. Wine For Me By Baba Shanta
Track 12. Wickedest Wine By Denise Belfon
Track 13. Standing Up Is Against The Law By Rupee
Track 14. 1 Juk By Lil Rick
Track 15. Glory Glory(Special) By Skinny Fabulous
Track 16. Waistline Roll By Patrice Roberts
Track 17. Wine To Deh Back By Allison Hinds
Track 18. Picante By Busy Signal
Track 19. Addicted By Bezo
Track 20. Wine Fast By Zan
Track 21. Looking To Wine By Farmer Nappy Ft General Grant
Track 22. Slow Wine By Machel Montano HD
Track 23. Work It By Patrice Roberts
Track 24. Murdah By Shurwayne Winchester
Track 25. Wuk Up On It/Im Not Drunk By King Shepard/KMC
Track 26. Hot Sun & Riddum(Hyper Lee Mix) By Terencia TC Coward
Track 27. Dah Style Deh(Hyper Lee Mix)/All Nite Tll Morning By Busy Signal & Statement
Track 28. Fun Fun By Benjai
Track 29. Hard For Me By Problem Child
Track 30. More Sweetness By Shayne Bailey
Track 31. Sweetness By Shayne Bailey
Track 32. More Water By Zoelah
Track 33. Woye Mama By Berbice
Track 34. Hold Dem/Obsessive Winers By Lyrikal/Destra, Allison Hinds & Denise Belfon
Track 35. You A Mi Baby(Soca Mix) By Vybz Kartel
Track 36. She Cyah Wait(Hyper Lee Mix) By Demarco
Track 37. Plenty Gyal By Bunji Garlin & Beenie Man
Track 38. Yeast By KMC
Track 39. Whole Night Long By Edwin Yearwood & Krosfyah
Track 40. Awright(Ramajay) By Machel Montano HD
Track 41. Thunda Mix By Kes The Band
Track 42. Heavy T Belly By Busy Signal & Fay-Ann Lyons-Alverez
Track 43. We Done Dey By Bunji Garlin
Track 44. Tanty Say By Benjai Ft Scarface
Track 45. Drunk Again By Benjai
Track 46. Staggerah By Fadda Fox
Track 47. De Lumbah By Wayne Marshall
Track 48. Jumper Cable By Young Voice
Track 49. First In Line By Zan Ft General Grant
Track 50. I In Dat By WildFIRE
Track 51. Drunk Man By Tallpree
Track 52. Bachaanal By Destra Garcia
Track 53. Won't Stop By Machel Montano HD
Track 54. Doan Hold We Back By Machel Montano HD
Track 55. Turn It Up By Patrice Roberts
Track 56. Spread Out By Lil Rick
Track 57. Antz In Yuh Sugar Pan By Jamesy P
Track 58. Juk Juk Juk By Stabby
Track 59. Meet Super Blue By Fay-Ann Lyons-Alverez
Track 60. In De Middle Ah De Road By Edwin Yearwood & Krosfyah
Track 61. Mad House By Problem Child
Track 62. De Beast Leggo By Skinny Fabulous
Track 63. Tusty(Special) By Blaxx
Track 64. Wicked Jab By Tallpree
Love and Soca,
Nurse Karen P.S. Never miss an update, follow me on twitter
I don't know how may times I need to say it, but the international soca community does not give its due respect to Antigua's Claudette "CP" Peters. With a myriad of titles under her belt, she is the most celebrated female artist in Antigua's music history with an impressive catalog of music to her name. Did I mention that she has won Party Monarch four times? That's more than any other Antiguan including Mervyn "Sleepy" Edwards and Toriano "Onyan" Edwards of Burning Flames.
I guess that's why this makes me smile. So often, we as people work hard to impress others, but never get the love and approval we deserve from the people who know us best. This rings true far too often. Whether it's your parent, teacher, or coach...why is it so hard to get respect on your home turf?
Claudette should feel very blessed that in her lifetime, she is being honoured by New York's Antiguan community for her work and contribution to the development of Carnival, culture, and the promotion of Antigua and Barbuda worldwide. Great, huh?
The Antigua Progressives Society (Est 1934) will be honouring her at its 75th Annual Banquet and Awards. The organization is the longest running association of Antiguan expatriots in the world.
On September 26, 2009, CP will be in New York to accept the Salome Drysdale Excellence Award for Women inside the Faculty Dining Room of City College.
This particular award was established only recently and Claudette says she was extremely honoured to be recognised with an award in the name of a woman that has done so much to uplift of her fellow countrymen and women. Salome Drysdale was a former President of the Antigua Progressives Association. She is cherished by the organization for her personal sacrifice for its development. Drysdale mortgaged her family home in Queens, NY unknowing to her husband so as to help the 75-year-old organisation purchase 12 West 122nd Street in Harlem widely known as "Antigua House."
Congrats to CP! You definitely deserve it. Looking forward to seeing your star continue to rise beyond Antigua and the Leeward Islands to truly reflect the magnitude of your incredible talent.
New York City will be voting for a mayor on the first Tuesday in November. Rightfully, the politicians are carefully showing up at all the right places to get some attention. For those of you who attended Labor Day Carnival in Brooklyn, you may have been enjoying yourself too much to notice the campaign signs absolutely everywhere. But signs were just one thing the mayoral candidates contributed to the festivities.
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell was there. He's a American of Jamaican ancestry who was born in New York. He utilized his special role as a parade grand marshal to endorse the incumbent mayor, Michael Bloomberg. He appeared on "Larry King Live" about two months ago singing the praises of Bloomberg, and he continued to echo that support in a news conference before the parade on Monday.
The Democrats didn't miss the chance to show face too! William Thompson, a democratic challenger was there as well. He's currently a City Controller whose grandparents came to the United States from St. Kitts and Nevis.
I'm not an American or a New Yorker, but I do have a Political Science degree (and it's my blog!)...so I feel like adding my two cents. Carnival traditionally enabled the common person to make satirical critique about the powers that be. Campaigning at carnival is sort of a slap in the face of our heritage. We jump to poke fun at government, to criticize government, to hold them to a higher standard. I personally would love to see a mas presentation that depicts the merits and downfalls of the various candidates competing for your votes. Lose the campaign signs and say it in mas. Let the spectators decide.
In case the mas bands find it tricky to sell costumes in the "Blue-Blooded Millionaire" section or the "Republican in Independent's Clothing" section, they might consider directly hitting up the campaign offices for some cheddar. In the world of politics, the true test of a community's value in the eyes of a politician can be measured in dollars and cents. Let them know the Caribbean community requires more than handshakes and baby kissing. Let's see them cough up some support for Caribbean culture; money for Pan-o-rama, sponsoring kiddies costumes for disadvantaged youth, or maybe footing the bill for the necessary city permits. In so doing, they can earn the privilege to display signs. However, there will be no ownership of Carnival. The best they can hope for is favourable media coverage, and an electorate that has reason to believe that these candidates might actually take heed of its concerns when the voting is over.
Next time those "powers" feel like exerting their influence on the peoples' festival, let's find a way to make it empower us. Then we can start talking about what to do on November 3rd. Politics does belong in Carnival, but never forget that the political voice must echo the heartbeat of the people.
While I was in New York I mentioned a little impromptu meeting that happened at Shadee's studio in Brooklyn. Jon FX popped in to get a track mixed...and well, I turned it into an interview opportunity.
Just got back from Boston this morning...and I feel wiped out. There's no good reason for my sudden lack of stamina, considering the fact that Boston will go down in history for me as one of the most restful carnival celebrations I've even taking part in. My weekend was all about chilling out and liming with friends. The rain didn't really put a damper on things...but it did cool down the temperature a tad.
This afternoon, I decided to drop in on one of the first contacts I ever made in this ya Caribbean music scene. He's a producer, artist, photographer, graphic artist, model cat by the name of The Great Zeee. Sure, that's a lot of titles to wear, but it's not me who baptized the man all those things. Zeee (Zowi Stapleton) is pretty darn good at anything artistic he puts his hand to.
We originally met in St. Vincent and the Grenadines more than 5 years ago when I was working temporarily with a newspaper down there called The Vincentian. At the time, he operated Hysyanz Recordings on a picturesque hill in Arnos Vale, overlooking the airport and the Caribbean Sea. He was working with artists like Skinny Fabulous, Icon, Skarpyon, Lanlord (then Sgt Bread) and others. He was also making a name for himself on the island as he farmed local talent at a series of talent competitions called "Shine". From that location, he and then producing partner Kubiyashi would begin to turn heads locally and internationally.
This afternoon, I caught the A train to Brownsville, Brooklyn to see what new recipes the Great Zeee might be cooking up for the 2K10 carnival seasons and beyond. I got a chance to hear a brand new production entitled "The Retro Riddim". One thing about Zeee's signature sound is that it doesn't shy away from a particular disco influenced soca rhythm that was popularized by St. Vincent's top party bands of the late 1970's to early 1990's, For those in the know, I'm talking about bands like X-A-Dus, Asteriks, and Touch.
Even though Zowi spent the first 5 years of his life living in England, and only one of his parents comes from St. Vincent (the other hails from Barbados), he holds a deep respect for the island's musical heritage, and specifically pays tribute to that vintage style in his brand new Retro Riddim.
His other claim to fame is the producers own contribution to St. Vincent's musical heritage. Zeee coined the phrase "Power Soca", a sound he carefully conceived circa 2004. Nowadays, most people who use the term just mean a soca chune above a certain bpm. However, Zeee's Original Power Soca refers to a particular blend of sounds first made public on the Flood Storm Riddim.
As for the Retro Riddim (The new one!) it will feature the likes of Mista Vybe, Jamesy P, and Problem Child. So far, I've only had the fortune of listening to raw vocals by Skinny Fabulous...and he's definitely on to something. Even with just two of us in studio, there were enough vibes for Monday Evening Mas!
So the real heat of New York Carnival is officially blazing. Sadly, I had to levae new York on personal matters, so your favourite Nurseypoo ain't go be there to take a jump on Monday.
While I was chilling in Brooklyn, I got the opportunity to tour a few of the popular mas bands with Natasha Andrews-Noel from Ma$tamind Productions. That night was too fun! When we passed by Karma, a sexy smaller band organized by some (sexy) St. Lucians, I got to meet Claude Desir. He's one of the organizers and a avid reader of Nurse Karen Etc. He reminded me that I still hadn't posted a very innovative marketing video that Karma had released to show off their 2009 mas presentation, aptly titled 'Celebrations'.
Well Claude this is for you. Here's Shawn "Da Mastamind" Noel singing "Celebrations" by Claude Desir.
Wishing you guys a super time on the road tomorrow. The costumes look great, so have a blast!
God has a sense of humour. You know that right? Thursday was a real comedy of errors for me. It seemed like the simplest things, just refused to go as planned. The biggest plan on my agenda, however, was to do a little recording. Don't worry allyuh, de Nurse nah tun artist. Outside of all this, I'm a spoke word poet, with half a lifetime's experience dazzling listeners with my words. (that's what they tell me!) So, back to the story. Thursday was supposed to be studio day with Kevin "Shadee" Sardine in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
Shadee and Jon FX
Still trying to place the name? Kevin hails from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Years ago he performed with a band called Signal alongside Luta. He then spent a few years touring the high seas as a cruise ship vocalist...wearing dorky @$$ Hawaiian shirts and all. Since then, he has released a few soca tracks as solo artiste for Vincy Mas.
Let's ignore all that for a sec tho. Shadee is now based in New York. He continues to gig as a keyboardist and sample technician, but he's also making a name for himself as a producer. So...I go there. I was planning to voice a couple a cappella for him to build around...and pick some of his other awesome beats to perform to. Then the doorbell rings.
I was told that someone would be popping by in the afternoon to pick up something. SOMEBODY sure did. In comes Jamaica's dancehall groove master Jon FX Crawford. My man has a grammy to his name for some work he did on Britney Spears' "Toxic" record! He's also pumped out hits for the likes of I Wayne, Sizzla, Gyptian, amd Wayne Wonder.
Jon FX and Nurse Karen
The list goes on. FX needed Shadee (who HE calls a "genius") to mix a new riddim for him The gritty, but sexy new riddim is called the "Wild Geese" riddim. And boooooooooooy...that thing sounds word class to me. He tells me that Gyptian has voiced on it, Estelle is interested in dropping her swag on it...and Kevin Lyttle's got a confirmed next. He'll be recording with him in a matter of days. In my opinion, that riddim has Tessanne Chin written all over it. Tessanne, if you're reading...call FX...pretty please.
Once that was through, an emerging reggae artist called Blaze passed through. Got to hear an unmixed track that had me singing along from first listen. He's moving in the right circles and definitely has the chops to turn heads.
Blaze and Nurse Karen
Needless to say, I didn't get to record ANYTHING! FX, you owe me some studio time, and a track for my album. (I'm just joking, but boyyyyy would that be nice!)
I made sure to grab some clips of the in-studio vibe during the mixing process. So, stayed tuned... I promise to get that spliced together and posted sometime after my BIG weekend at Boston Carnival!
Your Nurse is laying low in Brooklyn right now, so I thought I'd update you on the line-up of carnival events about to kick off over the weekend. For most of us outside of New York, we know this carnival as one thing: Labor Day. However, since I plan to be back in Toronto on the actual holiday Monday, I thought it would be a good idea to get to know what lies beyond the parade day. Fair enough?
Check out one or more of these Official WIAD Carnival Events if you're in Brooklyn or planning to visit here at some point over the next week.
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
Pre Carnival Fete (All Inclusive) 8pm to 1 am
D'USA Caribbean All Star Calypso Tent - Nightly until September 4th 8 pm
Sunday, August 30th, 2009
Opening Nite 4pm
D'Big Apple Calypso Revue - Daily until September 4th
Monday, August 31, 2009
Ladies Night - Monday and Tuesday 8 pm (Part of D'Big Apple Calypso Revue)
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Comedy Night 7:30 pm
Everybody's Magazine Night 8 pm (part of the D'Big Apple Calypso Revue)
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
Clash of the Calypso Titans (D'Big Apple Calypso Revue vs. D'USA Caribbean All Stars Tent)
Friday, September 4th, 2009
Brassfest
Saturday, September 5th, 2009
Panorama (Same flyer as Brassfest)
Junior Carnival (Same flyer as Brassfest)
Sunday, September 6th, 2009
Dimanche Gras (Same flyer as Brassfest)
Monday, September 7th, 2009
West Indian American Day Carnival (Same flyer as Brassfest) 8 am - 6pm
Pay attention. You know I'm always teasing about how much you guys have to pay for entertainment compared to us spoiled soca fans here in Toronto. There may be no free lunch in life, but today YOU will be treated to a FREE concert by none other than Machel Montano HD.
The action takes place tonight at Wingate Park as part of the 27th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert series. Sean Paul was supposed to headline this evening's show, however, The New York Times is being reported that he's feeling sick and had to cancel. So, good vibes and speedy recovery to Sean Paul...but in the meantime, go out and support Boy Boy.
As if that weren't enough, the Mighty Sparrow is the opening act!
Here's all the info you need...
When: August 24, 2009 6:00 PM
Where:
Wingate Park
Brooklyn Ave & Rutland Rd
Brooklyn, NY 11203
Cost: FREE
Hustle over to the park after work and let's get your Labor Day started NOW!
Machel fans! Please accept my apologies for not posting this sooner. I've been noticing that you all have been searching like crazy for info on this. Machel Montano an the HD family are still hanging in NYC.
Saturday, they WILL be hosting an album signing event for two albums: Yup!!! Heavenly Drum by Machel Montano and Machel Montano andThe HD Family at J&R Music in Manhattan ( Hadda big them up. I bought my audio recorder from there. Last Saturday, I put it in the washing machine by accident, and it still works!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! Really!)
Here's the thing tho. It's a media event. That means not everybody and their brother needs to be all up in there! If you really wanna hang with the artists, and just breeze. Go to Caribbean Friday at Club Element. Word is, the HD fam will be liming tonight!
Very cool that this event is a family affair. The current version of the family includes; Patrice, Zan, Farmer, Umi, and Boy himself. Different vibe than the it's-all-about-Machel song everyone was singing two years ago.
A piece of soca history was made this past Saturday in New York. Machel Montano HD gave an enormous soca CONCERT to a bunch of fans with good credit at Radio City Music Hall.
Large up LP of G13 Sound International for getting us the entire Sheldon Benjamin tribute set on video from his VERY GOOD seats!
Benjamin not only traveled as a performing member of Xtatik years ago, and again at the end of his career. Sheldon also produced some of Machel's best loved songs, including "Big Truck". (1997 Trinidad Road March)
Alright music fiends, I can see you salivating from here. Nasty! The Great Zee is back in 2009 with some seeeeeeeeeerious music. The Vincy posse would know him as the producer behind Hysyanz Productions, and the artist who gave you singles like "Fill You With My Love" and "The Ring". For the rest of ya, you'd know him best from that really left-field riddim from 2008 'Juk Up Juk Up, with tunes from Slaughter, Problem, Mr. Evil, Bud Ramsey, Skinny, etc.
The Great Zeee is what you would call a renaissance man. (BTW, He will be releasing his power soca "Renaissance Riddim" later this season) He produces, sings, models, draws, and he's a pretty dope photographer too! He studied Graphical Design in London several years ago, and spends much of his time designing websites and flyers. Oh yeah, did I mention he's part of a team called "Prep Camp" that throws some jiggy club events in Brooklyn, NY? Can you say HUSTLER? Right....
No doubt, Zowi "The Great Zeee" Stapleton knows a thing or two about being creative. So today, it's all about the "Soft Chune Riddim". In Vincentian parlance (maybe other places too) a 'soft tune' refers to what others might call a 'slow jam' or 'baby-making music'. I think you get my drift. So, this one is groovy/ragga tempo. You have some more explicit tracks from
Problem Child and Skinny Fabulous, with the real lovely dovey tings coming from Jamaican newcomer Tara and the Great Zeee himself. There is also a final track, still to come, from Trinidad's Mista Vybe.
I'm into this. Loving the humor in Skinny's track, Problem's 'Bang Bang' hook is infectious, Tara's vocals, clean and nice, and The Great Zeee, definitely full of surprises.
Download it for yourself!
AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD FROM THESE LINKS
Song: WHEN I SEE YOU (BANG) Written By: Shertz James (Problem Child) Produced By: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) HYSYANZ Publishing Co. BMI Copyright 2009 Recorded, Mixed and Mastered BY: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) PROBLEM CHILD - WHEN I SEE YOU (BANG)
Song: LIKE JELO Written By: G Doyle (Skinny Fabulous) Produced By: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) HYSYANZ Publishing Co. BMI Copyright 2009 COTT Recorded, Mixed and Mastered BY: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) SKINNY FABULOUS - LIKE JELO http://www.zshare.net/audio/59698380f66e55f8/
Song: ONE NIGHT Written By: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) Recorded and Mixed by: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) Produced By: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) HYSYANZ Publishing Co. BMI Copyright 2009 Recorded Fryktion Recorded Mixed and Mastered BY: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) THE GREAT ZEEE - ONE NIGHT http://www.zshare.net/audio/5969851582975ab8/
Song: TARA Written By: TARA Produced By: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) HYSYANZ Publishing Co. BMI Copyright 2009 Recorded by Fryktion Mixed and Mastered BY: Z Stapleton (Great Zeee) TARA - THE WAY YOU http://www.zshare.net/audio/596984461193b35b/
I asked you to select your favourite carnival in the Diaspora.
Out of New York, Toronto, London and Miami...you chose Toronto!!! I was raised on Caribana, so naturally it holds a special place in MY heart. But over the years, I've built some unbeatable memories in London and New York. Believe it or not, I have never experienced Miami for myself. By this time next week, that will have changed!
(Nurse) Karen (Etc) visitors come from all over the world. To give you an idea of who was doing the voting, here are the top ten countries that were surfing this blog during the polling period.
1. Canada 2. United States of America 3. United Kingdom 4. Trinidad and Tobago 5. St. Vincent and the Grenadines 6. St. Lucia 7. Antigua and Barbuda 8. Grenada 9. Martinique 10.Barbados
Finally, Here are YOUR results....
50% of you said Toronto Caribana 25% said New York, Labor Day 25% said Miami Carnival
...and NOBODY voted for London's Notting Hill Carnival
But I wanna know why!?!!?!
What's the deal? leave a comment, and let's talk about it.
Enjoying Caribana 2008!
While you're at it, check out the current poll question on the right hand side of your screen --->Read more...
OK...so, my time in NY is just about done. I always have a great time down here. Maybe it's how the place is so compact, you're just bound to run into all sorts of people.
I didn't play mas in Brooklyn. I'm sure none of you are that disappointed that you're not seeing me in costume. (The Summer body just expired anyway) Monday was just a nice relaxing lime in Brooklyn. I took some time to watch the band go by. Then my girls and I took a small jump before calling it a day. Here's a bit of what we saw.
Yeah, I know. I missed a lot. That's what happens when you roll out of bed late. That and when the police block of 80% of the entrances to the parade route. In the end, I made it!
Ok, here's the scene. When I think of Labor Day carnival, swanky midtown venues is not the first thing that comes to mind. But, I'm definitely all for change, so long as it doesn't alienate the people who have been supporting the art form from jump.
Battle of the Bands has moved to the Roseland Ballroom this year. It's a huge, classy venue in Manhattan. No doubt it cost real money to put on a fete up here. I'd guess that it could comfortably accommodate 5000 patrons. So Bless up to Shaka and the rest oft he team from Upscale Crowd Ent & Caribbean Fuse for going the extra mile. Not just for "trying a ting", but not jacking up the ticket price too much higher than what ppl pay for similar events in Brooklyn.
Highlights:
1. FINALLY meeting Oungku of Red Hot Flames. PORDY ON DUDES!!! Believe it or not, the first CD i ever bought with my own money was DIG by Burning Flames. Okay, it wasn't exactly MY money. It was lunch money, from my Mommy. But is me who spent it! The new album from RED HOT FLAMES is called SCYATTAH! Buy it. It features the 2008 road march: Musical Bomb! Here's a shot of yours truly with Oungku.
2. Krosfyah large and in charge. See for yourself. Edwin and the boys are clearly on cloud 9 following a stellar Crop Over season. Not sure if I've told you before. I love to watch this band.
Edwin, Khiomal and Adrian bring energy, sexiness and crisp vocals every time. I watched their performance from way up in the VIP balcony, but I could feel each and every pelt, chook and wine!
3. Shurwayne making the most of it. It has to suck to be the ONLY artist at Battle of the Bands whose very reputable band was not booked for the show. Shurwayne knew exactly how to command the crowd with a little help from Toronto's own Bassline (Enforcas) on the 1's and 2's. Watch how Shurwayne hypes up a bunch of West Indians with New York City's favourite music at the end.
4. Asylum PERIOD. I'm trying to count how many times I've seen this band for 2008. I lost count...probably because I loved it every time. This is definitely a big year for Bunji and Faye-Ann. The very nature of Bunji's live appeal is his ability to improvise. That means that with him at the helm, you're never getting the same thing twice from Asylum. When they play I generally see Duvone Stewart beating the hell out of a pan. Last night's show featured Dane Gulstan who I've mentioned before. Well ladies as you can see...he's talented and he cute.
Here's a wee clip to show you why I'm so hype off this act! Big Up IP. I appreciate the link.
The biggest let down of the night. Yes, there was ONE. Ricky T wasn't there. After having the studio 758 team show me the best of times while I was in St. Lucia, I have to admit that I was really looking forward to seeing everyone in New York.
To Ricky's credit though, he chose to be in St. Lucia, so he could be present for the birth of his first child. Congrats Ricky. Unfortunately, the patrons weren't made aware of this development before the show. So, the Lucian posse was pretty disappointed. None the less, they represented...and had an amazing night sharing they crazy vibes from the front of the stage.
Can you believe it? I haven't been in New York at all since carnival last year. In 2007, the metropolis played host to the ISA Soca Awards. I enjoyed the op to see what the fuss was all about, but I have higher hopes for this year's event in St. Kitts. Hopefully, the cooperation of a Caribbean tourist board will give the event a much needed dose of class.
Well, I'm back! Manhattan has a lot of Summer construction going on. Brooklyn is on fire with Carnival spirit, and people seem to be visiting from everywhere. I guess that includes me. I came down from Toronto yesterday accompanied by two awesome gal pals. We passed up on Soca Jones' infamous boat ride and opted to check out Elements in Manhattan instead.
Big up Mr. Walshy from Black Chiney. You really threw down. I haven't sweat like that in ages! About 5 am or so we even ran into Raphael Saddique catching all-day breakfast with his friends. Special shouts to the young men from Brooklyn who made sure us T-Dot Girls had the sweetest time.
Read more...
I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay's Rounds. This weekend Jamaica kisses their 20th anniversary carnival season good-bye. Revellers took to the streets today, for a jump in the hot sun.
Closer to home in New York, it was all things Machel Montano at Madison Square Garden's WaMu theatre on Friday night. (Check we together in Toronto in December)
The HD camp and their international cast of friends entertained 16000 fans between the two sold out shows that evening. What fans saw from the audience was an energy packed performance of chart topping soca hits. Behind the scenes, your nurse discovered the conditions weren't the best for some of the performers. With one show at 8 pm and one show at midnight, it's a long day at work for the entertainers. Unfortunately, organizers failed to provide any food whatsoever for the "and Friends" portion of the cast, quietly waiting back stage. So don't study the vibrant energy and smiling faces you can now see all over YouTube, there were a lot of grumbling bellies balling out with every jump and wave.
One of the next big gigs on the Machel Montano docket will be Miami's longest running Memorial Day Long-Weekend Reggae Concert: Best of the Best. I know Machel is not a reggae artist but lately he's been covering Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain" and he's still performing Dutty Wine in his set, even though most people stopped doing the dance in favour of keeping their insurance policies. So the big concert takes place on Sunday, May twenty five at Bicentennial Park. Mr. Slaughter will be there as a DJ. You know he alway UP IN DAT...here's a shot of the 2 o'we in the Tribe All-Inclusive in Trinidad last month.
...And this is Walshy from Black Chiney. He go be there spinning too. Miami is his home turf.
The reggae acts include Super Cat, Buju, Beenie, Sizzla, Junior Reid, Barrington Levy, Tarrus Riley…ok, lemme stop. Nuff reggae. Nuff said.
While we on that vibe, I thought I'd let you in on some big news in Britain. Reggae artist Maxi Priest just replaced Ali Campbell as the lead singer of the band UB40. They are best known for the 1983 remake of Neil Diamond's "Red, Red Wine" and now they are set to release a modern take on "I Shot the Sheriff" featuring Mr. Maxi Priest.
Soca shares influences with a variety of Caribbean art forms. One such ORAL tradition is that of Rapso, it's a poetic storytelling style that relies heavily on rhythm and rhyme. In Trinidad, and organization called the Rapso fraternity is getting ready to host the 19th annual Rapso festival in April. People who go, will get a chance to take workshops, and even perform! This year the focus is on education….and me being a poet, I decided to do my part by educating you. So there you have it.
I'm Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay's Rounds. Leave me a comment at the (Nurse) Karen (Etc) blog, online at triple w dot mustardseeds.net and don't forget to download the podcast. Now back to de docta!
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