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bloodline@ttol.co.tt
Zan,
a member of the Machel Montano HD experience, is captured
performing at Bazodee Friday earlier this year.
Photo: Peter Lim Choy
Ever
so often along comes a song that haunts you, even long after
Carnival has passed. Zan’s Out on the road is one such
ditty.
Released much too late to really impact on the two days
of Carnival, I predict that, like so many previous sugar-coated
singles, this one will still retain its freshness even after
many years have passed.
Some items of this ilk through the years have been Carnival
Time Again by Brother Marvin; Tell me why/Sweet Soca Man
(Baron); La La (Lord Nelson); Pump it Up by Edwin Yearwood
and krosfyah; de Mighty Trini’s Sailin’; Explainer’s
Lorraine; David Rudder’s Song for a lonely soul and
Dedication; On the road by Ronnie Mc Intosh; Destra’s
We Say So; One the Count of 4 by Russell Cadogan & Second
Imij; Blackman Feelin’ to Party (Black Stalin); and,
Footsteps by the late Wayne Rodriguez;
This Zan single should be an example to all those budding
soca neophytes out there, that you don’t have to shout,
scream and indulge in semantics to have a hit song ... just
voice and sweet music.
On this subject of old sweet hits, I am looking forward
to Randy Glasgow’s proposed Retro Soca Monarch contest
for Independence. This is a win-win situation for both artiste
and music lover in that the winner has been guaranteed a
purse of $100,000 and the music lover is getting a chance
to relive the joy of some good, old soca music.
Registration for the Retro Soca Monarch contest is scheduled
to begin on March 1.
The contest is open to local artistes, as well as those
from the other Caribbean islands, and its requirements include
that participants perform calypso, chutney, soca or rapso
item that was recorded in or before the year 2000.
WITH
the madness of C2K8 behind me I am now able to catch up
on all the books, music and movies I’ve accumulated
these past few months. This week I had the pleasure of finally
viewing The Insatiable Season: Making Carnival in Trinidad
and Tobago. This is a DVD was directed by Mariel Brown of
Savant Limited, with collaboration by CCN-TV6 and tells
a most enthralling story about Brian MacFarlane’s preparation
and presentation of his 2006 mas — Threads of Joy.
The project was funded in part by the T&T Entertainment
Company.
The film looks at the in-house production in Mac Farlane’s
mas camp, then housed on Ariapita Avenue, with poignant
inserts and accounts by his main lieutenants and artisans,
and king of the band Jhawhan Thomas; as well as the band
on the road and at the Queen’s Park Savannah. It is
also a nostalgic look at the country’s main mas venue
as it was before the destruction of the Grand Stand.
Mariel must be complimented for succinctly capturing the
raw, spontaneous emotions and passion of carnival people,
from the bandleader to the wire bender, from masquerader
to technician, and manages to even squeeze in a realistic
sound bite of the bandleader/designer using some blue expletives
as his band is presented on stage on Carnival Tuesday.
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