Booster Shot: Twitter petition urging MySpace to create a soca category

If you use twitter like I use twitter, the you already know it's a great way to share your life with people who care (even if they only care to macco).

So what about using twitter to make a case to help someTHING you love?  That's what I want you to do.  A brand new petition was created on a site called twitition that will allow us to bombard MySpace with tweets urging for the creation of a music category for SOCA.

Sounds like music to my ears!  Shall we tweet then?  Shall we make beautiful music together? Join me in taking the first step to level the playing field for artists in the soca genre.   A category, will let us browse more easily and find out what's new and popular.  Think how many R&B artists found their fame on MySpace.  The time is now for soca.

Soca Now

click.  sign.  share.

http://twitition.com/apu2o

If you don't have Twitter, but want to spread the word among people who do, just click the button marked "share" below this post. You can spread the word via email, facebook, facebook, digg, myspace, delicious and 54 other ways. No reason not to join the movement!

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The Rounds: Machel to release a steelpan tune

Good Evening Soca Lovers, I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay's Rounds.

If you are a fan of this radio show, you probably agree that soca is not just for Summer or even Carnival time.  It's music, so it's great for a workout, and even better for having a good time.  Barbados' Soca Duo, the Fraud Squad recently found themselves very pleased to learn that people in Toronto actually know how to respect soca music beyond the Caribana Season. Toronto's own locally produced TV sitcom, Da Kink in My Hair, just signed a licensing deal to use two Fraud Squad chunes in season 2 of the program.  Keep your ears open for the songs Haunted and Bring Drinks the next time you're watching those wacky gals at the salon.

    Looks like the TV world knows what's up, and the hip hop world does too.  The Ying Yang twins needed a hot remix for their song Dangerous featuring the likes of Wyclef Jean.  And what could be hotter than soca?  The twins reached out to St. Lucia's top production duo, Penn and Ace to give the song that festive island flavour and the rest as they say is….Dangerous! 

            With so many people beginning to realize the value of our beloved soca music, it's no surprise that the soca community is coming together to fight for its due respect on the internet.  There's a new initiative called Bring Soca to MySpace that is working to get MySpace dot com to create a soca category in its music section, and to develop  a sub-site for the English-speaking Caribbean.  For more information, log on to groups.myspace.com/socanow. 

At Broward Carnival 2008, with Trini Chutney Soca star Rikki Jai

            Who's ready for mas? Trinidad carnival has now begun!  The official launch of Carnival took place in Port of Spain on Friday...and officials say they are not concerned about the economic downturn.   Be that as it may, many artists in the chutney soca genre were a little disappointed to learn that the prize structure alotted for the Chutney Soca Monarch competition on February 7th have been reduced for 2009.  Rooplal Girdharrie won $200,000 TT last year, plus a car and other prizes.  This year, it's just the cash. That's basically cutting the value of the top prize in half.

In Toronto with Machel Montano, December 2007

           One never knows what to expect at Carnival.  And the guy who's most likely to keep us guessing is Machel Montano.  The soca star recently had a video shoot for a commercial for his signature event Alternative Concept.  This year's theme will be "Heavenly Drums".  Machel is seen playing steelpan while accompanied on keyboard by Phase 2 bandleader, Len Boogsie Sharp.  The image is out of the ordinary, but understandable when you find out that the defending champions of Panorama 2008 will be competing this year with a pan tune recorded by Machel himself.  The song is called Magic Drums, it was written by Kernal Roberts, arranged by Sharp and by all accounts, it's a real contender.

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Booster Shot: "Bring Soca to MySpace" interview tomorrow on CJSF Radio

By now you've heard, (Nurse) Karen (Etc) is starting off 2009 by shaking things up.  We are petitioning MySpace for a new Category for Soca Music.  All the info is available online, simply check out http://groups.myspace.com/socanow.

Thanks to everyone who has taken action to show their support, people like Dr. Jay, Ma$tamind Productions, Corey Graham 2.0, Toronto-Lime dot com, the Soca Twins, DJ Spice, My Party Fans,  DJ Bassline, and Tropical Fete dot com

To help you follow the development of the campaign, I've created a new tag called "Soca Now".  Any time you visit (Nurse) Karen (Etc), you will be able to read all the latest developments by going to the tags cloud on the right hand side and selecting "Soca Now"

Exciting news though!  The new campaign will be the subject of discussion tomorrow night in a live interviewed by Nasty Jag Soundcrew in Vancouver, British Columbia (that's Canada, if you didn't know)  If you'd like to better understand why this is important, make sure you tune in!

Tune in to the Pirates of the Caribbean radio show at 7 pm Eastern on Saturday, January 10th.

All you have to do is click here , then click listen live.

I promise you'll hear some sweet up-to-the-minute soca music, followed by  an interwiew with the Nurse just after 8:15 pm.

Jags, thanks for linking it up.  Looking forward to  the chat

Here I am with Vancouver's biggest soca fan and advocate, and one of the hosts of Pirates of the Caribbean,  De Big Bad Jags!

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