Dr. Jay is Set to Paint the Town WHITE This Weekend

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dr. Jay is Set to Paint the Town WHITE This Weekend

Toronto’s favourite pre-carnival tradition returns this Saturday:  Dr. Jay’s WHITEOUT.  This trendsetting Caribbean event is a highly anticipated precursor to the city’s August long weekend festivities.  For the fifteenth consecutive year, partygoers are expected to don white attire all night long until sunrise as they dance to the best in Caribbean soca music.

Whiteout was started by Toronto-based DJ Dr. Jay de Soca Prince in 1995.  Patrons must dress in white clothing from head to toe in order to obtain entry, creating a glow in the dark effect under black light.  The look is reminiscent of Toronto itself under severe snowy conditions, known locally as a “Whiteout”.  The concept has gone on to be imitated internationally by carnival event promoters throughout the West Indies, the United States and the United Kingdom among other places.  However, Dr. Jay prides himself on strict enforcement of the all-white dress code in a way that others do not.  Each year, WHITEOUT strives to break new boundaries, be it creative venues such as Medieval Times dinner theatre in 2005 or surprise appearances from the likes of hip hop phenomenon Drake in 2009.

 In 2010, the event will feature live performances from a high-energy cast of artistes, live and direct from Trinidad and Tobago.  Among them is legendary saxophonist and band leader Roy Cape who, earlier this year, was fêted for 50 years in the Caribbean music business.  His band, The Roy Cape All-Stars, will provide the soundtrack of booming bass, tweeting treble and piercing brass for performances by Blaxx, Olatunji Yearwood, Rita Jones,  Zan and Umi Marcano.

In contrast to Roy Cape, Umi Marcano is the youngest performer on the bill.  He says he counts it an honour to be included in the long standing tradition.  “I heard it’s the best and Dr. Jay gives you the five star treatment,” said Marcano .“ It’s the best feeling in the world coming [to Canada] for the very first time to perform for my fans across the oceans.  The member of Machel Montano’s HD family represents a new generation in soca music fusing R&B style vocals and dance with Caribbean Soca rhythms for a hybrid groovy style that has quickly gained popularity among youth.  The Kingdom of Soca DJs (KOS) will keep the party going till 6 a.m. The night promises to raise the spirits of the young and the young-at-heart alike. 

If you have never experienced WHITEOUT, be sure to check it out this Saturday.

 July 17, 2010

10 p.m. – 6 a.m.

“Koolhaus” inside the Guverment Entertainment Complex

132 Queen’s Quay East, Toronto

Tickets available for just $30 (plus retail service charge)

For more information on Dr. Jay de Soca Prince or WHITEOUT, 

visit:   www.drjayonline.com

For media inquiries email c_management@mac.com

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The Rounds: What Soca artists wish for 2010

Good evening soca lovers, I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jays rounds. Happy 2010! It’s a new year here at Soca Therapy and I look forward to bringing you the latest insider information from the soca world every Sunday...just like you’ve come to expect.
         This year already proves to be a busy one for many soca artists with Carnivals wrapping up in the Bahamas, St. Kitts, Monserrat and St. Croix...and carnival bubbling to a boil in Trinidad, Dominica and Guyana.
             BVI soca artist and producer Kamau brought his brand of music to St. Croix for New Years, performing jazz saxophone at one event and jamming with a traditional band at another.

Montserrat Festival went on, despite the recent threats posed by the Soufriere volcano. Some describe carnival as Bottom in De Road. When I caught up with Scrappy a few days ago, he described it as ``ASH`` in the air. (That`s A-S-H, by the way....this is a family show)
                  Slammer Cutter should be taking a rest today after a video shoot last night on the Danforth.

 Umi Marcano rang in the new year at a gig in New York, but he's wasting no time. Now that he`s back in Trinidad, Today is all about shooting his second music video for the season, "Folk Reality".
Trinidadian reggae artist Junior Don is making a foray into the soca arena for 2010. He’ll be gigging with Peter C and the Orchestra as a frontline vocalist.

Peter C in Miami 2009

Before I forget, lemme say Happy Birthday to Peter C Lewis formerly of the Xtatik band. He turns 38 today in Trinidad. But he`s not the only one celebrating both a personal new year and the public one...Bajan soca twins Barry and Bruce Chandler rang in their 26th birthday on December 30th, while Lucian former monarch Mantius also celebrated his arrival on the planet that very same day.
I hurried through the other items, in order to share something I read today that inspired me. The Trinidad Express Newspaper asked some local entertainers what they wish for 2010. Here's what a few of them had to say:

Fay-Ann Lyons (soca artiste): ’My wish is for peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind. I also pray that my daughter grows up to be a loving and joyful little lady. For the nation, I pray that there will finally be a reduction in crime and for my family, I wish that we will all be happy and learn to truly love each other.’

Blaxx (soca artiste): ’Most importantly I wish that my fellow artistes will seek to have better lyrics in their songs and be more responsible. Some of them are not setting good examples for the younger ones wanting to come into the arena because of the sexual and violent lyrics. I also really want to see something serious done about the crime situation. All my other wishes have come true already. I got married and I have good music for the season.’

Blaxx and Nurse Karen in Toronto (August 2008)

 Kees Dieffenthaller (artiste/musician): ’I always want the same thing every year and that is to really push the music of Trinidad and Tobago and achieve something on a global scale. This year we are working to get closer to that realisation. Also, for a developing Trinidad, things will be even tighter financially next year with the recession and I really hope we don’t lose our sense of community and spirit of giving because of these tough times. I pray that we would not forget our neighbours as we seek to get ours in those tough times and we will look out for each other. As for crime, as we work to that 20/20 vision, with growth come bigger problems such as crime. We are losing that village lifestyle where everyone raised the children. Listen to what the children and youth are saying.’

Iwer George (soca artiste/owner Soca 91.9FM): I pray for a miracle as far as crime is concerned, that the murder rate will read minus zero at the end of 2010. I would also like to see more young soca artistes get an opportunity to make it. For me, I am hoping that God will deliver what I have asked Him for, it’s a personal thing, in the coming year.

For more info on anything you've heard here, check out Nurse-Karen.com or follow me (nursekaren) on Twitter!
Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen

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Booster Shot: HD Family ready to tour without Machel

I've posted the following to provide some more information on the "restructuring" I that is taking place in the HD camp, that I informed you of in September.  The names and faces are the same, but the roles have grown for Machel's performing team mates.  I think it's wonderful that some emphasis will be placed on developing their careers.  This is a far cry from what seemed to be the camp's mandate when I interviewed Machel for WE magazine in 2007.  At that time, he adopted the "HD" title and stopped referring to his band as Xtatik in an effort to focus more attention as himself as the star.

Do take a look at this article from last Thursday's Trinidad Guardian to see what is in store:

Soca shakedown
HD Family: No Machel, No Problem!

ABA A LUKE
Published: 12 Nov 2009

FROM TOP LEFT: Farmer Nappy, Patrice Roberts,
Zan and Umi Marcano.

Patrice Roberts is the boss, Farmer Nappy, the veteran, Zan, the cool operator and Umi Marcano is definitely the dancer-boy. The foursome are the HD Family—not HD mind you, as that title’s reserved for Machel Montano, the man who’s ruled the soca game for more than ten years. Going into 2010, Montano has opted to focus on other things, leaving his team to travel their own journey, even amid whispers of doubt and uncertainty. “This is an opportunity for us to showcase our talent and we’re taking every minute of it,” says Roberts. They’re a close-knit bunch.
READ MORE HERE 

Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen

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The Rounds: RIP Almanac, etc...

Ok Allyuh, I have good news and bad news. Bad news first: I didn't report anything whatsoever about Anya Ayoung-Chee, because her recent sex tape (miniseries) buzz has NOTHING to do with soca or carnival. (If you don't know who I'm talking about...don't worry about it.) Good news: The Rounds are posted below! Carry on...

The Rounds: Originally aired on Flow 93.5 FM in Toronto "Soca Therapy" on Sunday, November 8, 2009

In this edition:
- Soca or Die 10 a success (Canada)
- Destra's Birthday (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Synergy TV Soca Star 5 starts this week (Trinidad and Tobago)
- RIP Alamanac (Trinidad)
- HD bus driver shot (Trinidad and Tobago)

Good Evening Soca Lovers,
I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. Well, Toronto he’s done it again. Last night SOCA or DIE 10 proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this city is the international Soca mecca, when thousands of you packed kool haus to see a show with surprise cast! Wow, allyuh must really trust Dr. Jay. Well you definitely had good reason to. Soca or Die 10 delivered the goods with Grenadian soca fave Tallpree, Vincy bad boy Problem Child and Bajan General Edwin Yearwood putting on amazingly strong performances.

Surprise birthday cupcake Cake for the celebrating Scorpios and guests!

To all the Scorpios who were celebrating last night, Happy Birthday!!! Thanks for making our birthdays memorable too. One soca Scorpio who you won’t catch in a fete anytime soon will be turning 32 on Tuesday. Destra Garcia is taking it easy as she awaits the January arrival of her first child. She might as well get some rest now, since the plan is to reappear post bebe late in the Carnival season.

These days, I seem to be talking a whole lot about WHEN soca stars are born. But do you ever wonder HOW? Well Fireball and Umi Marcano got their chance at stardom thanks to a Trinidad based idol-style singing competition called Synergy Soca Star. In the past 4 seasons of the TV show, other winners have been Blue, O.G and Chinee. Well Season 5 is about to get underway on Wednesday, November 11th, and SupaJigga TC will be back at the host. Then, just a few days later on Saturday, the brand new crop of 15 finalists will dive headlong into the real deal by giving their 1st public performance at the St. James amphitheatre. Boy do I wish we could watch it here in Canada.

Trinidad lost another Calypsonian artiste this weekend. St. Lucian-born Calypsonian Almanac passed away in hospital on Friday due to Liver cancer. He migrated to Trinidad when he was 14 years of age, and was blind for all of his adult life. Over his career he composed more than 400 calypsoes, spent time teaching the craft to the next generation and even performed alongside Trinidad’s top acts in the genre. We at Soca Therapy would like to send our condolences to the family and friends of Anthony Francis as we all mourn the loss of this important cultural figure.

Last but not least, a member of Machel Montano’s entourage took a bullet in the wee hours of yesterday morning. The driver of the HD tour bus was involved in a scuffle at a KFC restaurant that got a wee bit out of hand after police were called. He was shot in the foot, but he’s stable and recovering at home. Another man present at the time endured two gunshot wounds.  At last report, he was still being treated in hospital.

I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. For more information on everything mentioned here, visit me online everyday at Nurse-Karen.com,  follow me on Twitter, and be sure to send me b-day greetings ALL WEEK!  Now, back to de Docta!

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Booster Shot: Synergy Soca Star 5 Starts this week!

The first TV show to put young performers on the fast track to soca stardom is back! They brought you names like Fireball, Umi Marcano, O.G., Blue and Chiney. Synergy TV's Soca Star is about to launch its fifth season on Wednesday, November 11th. It airs at 9pm in Trinidad and Tobago.  The host with the most, Super Jigga TC will be sure to keep you entertained all season long.

Then next Saturday (November 14), the 15 new finalists will give their first public performance at the St. James Amphitheatre. Admission is free, so if you're down there go and check it out.

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Eye Unit: Umi Marcano - In Front Of Meh Music Video

Wooooooowwww! Umi Marcano got a nice lil video for his new tune. You know I'm a big advocate of music videos for soca artists, to get your name and face out there for the world to take notice. Videos are pretty much guaranteed rotation because of the fact that so few get made in the first place. It also display's an artists image, and sometimes performance ability to promoters.

No complex concept. The song is just about girls wining up in front of him...like, duh! But, it's got all the stuff a man likes to see in a video, with the added bonus of a good quality camera and a clean, professional editing job. Kudos Umi. Good luck for 2010!

Enjoy!

Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen

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The Rounds: New structure for Machel Montano HD

In this edition:

-Counting down to Trinidad Carnival (Trinidad and Tobago)

-HD restructing means less of Machel (Trinidad and Tobago)

- UK Soca Music Awards Voting ( United Kingdom)

- New Album for Adrian Dutchin (Guyana)

- Ninja Dan's Hearing (St. Lucia)
- SLU records personnel changes (St. Lucia)

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds. There’s lots important stuff going on inside and outside of the music right now. I know thousands of soca fans are overjoyed that the soca floodgates of Trinidad are beginning to open for 2010. Now that Summer is pretty much behind us, you can look forward to an increasing onslaught of releases from your favourite artists in T and T.

For 2010, fans can expect a reconfiguration of Machel Montano’s HD oufit. According to his Mama, Boy Boy will be stepping away from the spotlight to focus on things like music production and song writing. The idea is to make way for the rising stars in his band. You do know who I’m talking about? Right? People like Zan, Patrice Roberts, Farmer, and Umi Marcano!

Nurse Karen and Zan in Toronto, February 2009

So, don’t be shocked if you start seeing advertized performances that do NOT include an appearance from Machel himself. Last Wednesday at Zen in Trinidad, the camp presented a show called “HD Revealed” which showed off the mettle of Machel’s supporting cast as they performed collaborations with artistes such as Cathy Ella, Biggie Irie, General Grant, Tian Winter and Nnika Francis.

The very democratic UK Soca Massive is in the process of honouring top soca talent as we speak. Voting is still open for all 20 Categories in England’s second annual Soca Music Awards. Fans get to vote on both UK based and international talent, best event, DJ, Radio Station and even mas band. If you want in on the action, head over to www.socamusicawards.co.uk . The awards show takes place next Sunday.

It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned Guyanese pretty boy Adrian Dutchin in The Rounds. He gets a little big up this week for releasing a new album entitled: Finally! Between putting out music with Times Two in Guyana, winning Mash Soca Monarch a couple of times, and performing as a frontline vocalist in Krosfyah, he’s been a very busy guy. The album features songs like "Impossible", "Rum Drinkaz" with Terry Gajraj and Hitman, plus his Crop Over release with Peter Ram, FOR ME!!! Congrats Adrian! Glad you got the album done...FINALLY!

Nurse Karen and Adrian Dutchin in New York, September 2008

Speaking of other things that are long overdue, Thursday was the scheduled court date for St. Lucia’s Former OECS Soca Monarch Ninja Dan. He was FINALLY supposed to have a sufficiency hearing in connection to a murder for which he and two others are accused that happened on Valentine’s Day this year. The purpose of the hearing was to decide if there’s enough evidence to support a trial and whether or not the accused would be held until such trial date. Well, I’d love to tell you the answers to those BURNING questions but questions, but sources in St. Lucia simply say that it was adjourned until another date. Ah the joys of the legal system...

Other than that Lucians are still talking about all the changes at SLU Records /Studio 758. Since Ricky T’s departure from the label, former Managing director Dwayne Mendes also stepped down. Now the sole man in charge is producer Irvin “Ace” Loctar who recently announced his vision to diversify the music offering of his company beyond soca. Ilah Man is no longer signed to SLU, but Teddyson John remains with the team. As RPB would say “Something’s Happening!”

Nurse Karen and Ace in St. Lucia, July 2009

I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. For more detail on these and other soca news stories visit Nurse dash Karen dot com, or follow me ---- Nurse Karen on Twitter. Now...back to de docta!

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Booster Shot: HD Family to release two albums in NY

Machel Beating a Djembe

photo credit: Trinidad Express

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 and The 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.

If you manage to sneak in! Grab me both CDs!!!

Love and Soca,

Nurse Karen

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The Rounds - February 4, 2007

Good Evening Dr. Jay, and Good Evening Soca Lovers. I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds.
Today is Super Sunday. And while millions of eyes are glued to the TV set, I want to thank you for giving us your EARS at the very least! To tell you the truth, I couldn’t care less about American football…so I’m fine with watching Dr. Jay and Marxman sneak a peak at the game between songs.
You know what I DO CARE about, right? That’s right dahlin…Ah love meh soca. Last night was the 12th Annual Doh Cry Ah Leaving party. The big fete was Toronto’s last chance to party alongside de Soca Prince for nearly a month….Then it’s off to Trinidad for Carnival. Lucky HIM.
On top of all the hot new music and great company last night, soca fans were treated to a Big announcement from de Doctor himself. In case you haven’t heard…Toronto’s own Soca Sweetness is the newest addition to the illustrious Kingdom of Soca family. So if you don’t about this man’s musical sugar, get ready to take a taste of this all-star DJ working his magic at a fete near you.
Down in Trinidad a brand to soca star has emerged from the Idol-style competition on Synergy TV. Umi Marcano sealed the deal on Thursday with a performance of Machel’s “One more wine”. As the winner of…(check the tongue twister) Synergy Soca Star Season 2, Umi is in great Company. Last year’s winner, Fireball is blazing up the charts with his release “What I Want”….A tune that had ME BLAZING up de dance floor last night.
While I’m on the topic of dancing, I’m looking for someone to teach me the bicycle wine. I heard that Miss Denise “Saucy Wow” Belfon is doing her stretches to prepare for the Soca Monarch finals. Belfon is hoping her Bicycle Wine routine will convince the judges to let her ride RIGHT into the top four. She might just be right…and If I could borrow she bicycle to help me get ahead, I might just be riding in time for Spring.
Because I’ve SEEN what happens when Saucy Wow gives a show, those of you travelling to Trinidad for Carnival will be happy to know that the promoters of the International Soca Monarch and Groovy Soca Monarch shows sat down last week to address security issues for the big night. There will be no tickets sold at the gate on Fantastic Friday, so get them things arranged quick. It’s going to be a great night!
The building excitement around TnT’s carnival is rubbing off on its Caribbean neighbours in Jamaica. Adventure is the theme for Bacchanal Jamaica Carnival 2007. The season kicks off on Friday, with the opening of Mas Camp Village. Jamaica carnival has a couple months to go until it’s as hot as can be, but with the ICC Cricket World Cup coming to town at the same time…it really will be a great adventure.
I’m nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds for Super Sunday 2007. Please send your comments to SOCA at FLOW 935 DOT COM. Now back to de docta…

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