The Rounds - February 11, 2007

Good Evening Soca Lovers,
I’m nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s rounds. In case you’re still catching on, Dr. Jay done gone and lef we, for greener pastures…lit-er-al-ly. Instead of making you wine from 6 to 9, he’s off in Trinidad entertaining an entire country in a sleep deprived, drunken stupor. …and you better believe, I am well jealous. It’s alright -- this Sunday you’re among friends. You’ve got the one called Spex from de Riddim Track, plus Marxman AND Soca Sweetness of the Kingdom of Soca to keep your warm tonight.
And I tellyuh ladies, dat is not a bad deal at all right before Valentine’s day. So it may not be 30 degrees n’ Sunny in Toronto, but we definitely have some lovely reasons to smile.
Last Sunday was the International Power Soca and Groovy Soca Semi-Finals in Trinidad. Hear nah, every country in the West Indies has a Soca Monarch or Party Monarch or King or Queen or Some-Ting-So, but let’s face it… The international Soca Monarch Competition of Trinidad and Tobago is the most important competitive stage in the soca world! Besides the fact that Trinidad is the birth place of the art form, forget the fact that Trini carnival is the biggest in the region. This thing REALLY matters because up here in Toronto we are going to have to listen to the winning songs over and over and over again at every single soca fete between now…and Caribana.
So let the judges be warned. Allyuh can’t afford to make mistakes.
Now sometimes the competition is international in name alone, but this year was surely different. Minmi from Japan secured a spot in the Power Final for “Sha-na-na”…de Japanese wine ting, so did Barbados’ Barry Chandler.
In the Groovy section, Grenada’s Nnika Francis hopes to croon her way to the top. But to do that, she will have out-sing the BAJAN to be beat! Biggie IRIE came up with the top score and he .. .”Nah Goin Home”…till carnival DONE!
I know there has to be someone out there wondering how “dis bold face vincy gyul go be talking about de Soca Monarch race in TRINIDAD” without mentioning how the Trini artists fared on their home turf.
Two words: NADIA BATSON. If you were at Soca or Die 4 last year, you saw her command the STAGE with Kes the Band. If you were at Soca or Die 5, you saw her command the CROWD with the Big Artist Crew. If you were at Hasley Crawford Stadium on Sunday night you would have seen her command the judges with her performance of “My Land” featuring Kees Dieffenthaller which earned her a first place finish in the Power Soca Semis. Your Caribbean, Your Caribean,Your Caribbean Girl was not satisfied with just one victory, yuh know. On the groovy side, Miss Batson scored just three points behind Biggie Irie for an impressive second place. I had a chat with Nadia this week…and if you want to know more, you can check out the article on Torontolime.com
The finals take place this Friday night, when Shurwayne Winchester will defend the crown in both categories. It’s gonna be an amazing show with veterans like Crazy and first time competitors like Mr. Slaughter and everything in between.
Check fuh meh next week, and I promise to fill you in.
I’m nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s rounds. Send your comments to SOCA at FLOW 935 dot com. Or send me chocolate and roses to the station. Spex dahlin’….back to you.

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The Rounds - November 26, 2006

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I’m Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s Rounds.
As I prepared to come in today, I have to admit…I got a little bit confused. December begins in less than one week, but outside it’s looking like a boxing day picnic on Grande Anse Beach. So, I packed up some paper plates and some pelau and headed out to enjoy the balmy November temperatures.

Not far from the real Grand Anse beach in Grenada the entire Big Artiste Crew was trying a ting themselves. Thursday past was Michelle Sylvester’s birthday. She spent the evening singing her heart out at St. George’s University alongside all the regulars, plus Grenada’s own Mista Killa and Lavaman. Looks like Lava Man is now pon CAMPUS studying, rather than studying those gun and weed charges from the summertime. He and the other big artistes lent their big VOICES and big HEARTS to perform at a charity event at the beachside university.

The man who was deputy chairman of Trinidad’s national carnival commission is not lending his TIME to the planning process anymore. With Carnival just over two months away, the resignation of Ainsworth Mohammed came as a shock to the Trini media on Friday. Mohammed refuses to work with Culture Minister Joan Yulle-Williams and he’s not afraid to say it. For a while now she’s been at odds with the entire NCC board over how the festivities will be run in 2007. She’s got plans to tear down the Grand Stand staging area at Queen’s Park Savannah and replace it with a million dollar Carnival Centre. The board just wants everything to stay the way it is for one more year, since time is so short. Earlier this year the Chairman fled the board too, fed up as ever…so when the minister held a private meeting with the key carnival interest groups, excluding the NCC….Mohammed called it quits for good.

And you know what else is DONE? De big Digicel Rising Stars show. Is lucky ah have meh pelau , because otherwise I woulda have to eat my words. Last Sunday was the final showdown between Omar Rathurin of Antigua and SVG’s Kyron Baptiste. I told allyuh, I wanted to cast a vote for the Antiguan, but the Caribbean public held a different opinion and they phoned in en masse to prove it. St. Vincent and the Grenadines went on to win top prize for the second time in the two years the competition has been around. What can I say? Vincy sweet…sweet and nice!

The entire cast is all smiles though. While Kyron might be the only one leaving the show with a recording contract, all of them will get a taste of the Celebrity life on the Rising Stars holiday Album. Dr. Jay, you can gimme dat one fuh de Christmas. Tanks.

Down in St. Kitts, Alison Hinds is encouraging people to start their Christmas shopping at Courts. The new face of the “Get it Now” campaign has begun her regional tour, appearing in stores. In Basseterre, she didn’t perform, but she was there to witness a dance competition held in her honour. Independent ladies from all over were rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrolling it right to the check out line after getting autographs signed by the shining Bajan Star.

Toronto’s night sky was set afire last evening for the 40th annual cavalcade of lights, but we go blaze it up in de West End tonight for the Big People Parang Show and Dance. I hope somebody told Mr. Scrunter that Nurse Karen would like to hear him sing Anita (aye aye aye…don’t want no ham, don’t want no eggs...) oye oye oye. Whole day people been asking me about tickets and times and directions and WOY…why allyuh don’t you just go to http://www.socatherapy.com. That’s where to find out everything about everything. But if you just want to know if I go be there…you better believe it…just as soon as I hand back meh mic to Doctor Jay.

I’m Nurse Karen and those were doctor Jay’s rounds. Send me your comments at soca @ FLOW 935 DOT Com. Now back to de docta.

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