Blog 2.0

I admit; I am no Christian, but then again neither was the thief who allegedly was offered "everlasting life". I admit; I am neither Jesus Christ, nor a thief, but I am able to recognize which "camps" people belong to ('scuse the grammar). How? BY THEIR WORKS! (Caps, for emphasis.) I know that some people have the ability and skills to serve two (or more) "masters" -- God, Devil, good, evil -- and, today becomes earmarked as the day some return to their "Christianity", having served the "King of Carnival" -- Bacchus.

So, I chose today, as I hope to speak to the "God" in you, and not yesterday's "Devil". Is that okay? (Rhetoric.) The Christian leader allegedly stated that "...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Think about that extreme use of metaphorical reference for a moment...

Of course, being a (bona fide) leader, he didn't just talk the talk. As written, when offered the entire "World", he allegedly rejected the "Ruler" (you know, "Satan"), telling him that his "Father's Kingdom, is of no part of this World." Those who wanted to be in his presence had to leave ALL their "riches" behind. And, he allegedly asked, "WHAT DOES IT PROFIT A MAN TO GAIN THE WORLD AND LOSE HIS SOUL?" (Again, caps for emphasis only.)

Then, when the soulless "rich man" eventually dies (sorry; money can't buy you eternal life), the family buries them according to "Christian rites", thinking that their "rich" loved one prove Jesus Christ wrong, by getting into heaven, while we ALL know ain't NO camel getting through NO needle's eye! lol. Well; as Bob Marley sang, "...they crucified Jessus Christ..."

Point is; I "know who I am and where I stand in the struggle" (Marley) If those who claimed to be "Christian" are the very ones who crowned their own leader with thorns, I should (and do) expect similar or worse treatment by men, especially the "rich" and those who are all about "that money". Of course, karma catches up to them, as in Trump's case, but even if the laws of men don't get you, the Universal Law (i.e. karma) will. As I admitted; I am no "Christian", but I am no thief either. Just a simple man who continues to be honest to himself and others. ALL about choice! To my Christian peers, safe and happy Lenten season. Protect our women and girls!

George D. Goddard

CARNIVAL IS A RITUAL

They came from all over just as they did last year and for so many years before to this meeting place, to indulge in this Ritual that is Carnival. Their behavior was trance-like, as though possessed they gathered at Ports of departure, each one determined that nothing could stop them from worshiping their God, King Carnival. Their transit to the venues of worship was tense with anticipation as they were moved by the memory of last year's Ritual. Their arrival was met by fellow worshipers, greetings were exchanged, commitments made. The God must be served with more splendor and glory than was last year.

Food of the God was offered nightly at places called Calypso Tents;

The food:- the Music, the Rhythm, Calypso;

Food of the God:- The songs that bellowed from the hilltops, from ritualistic nooks and crannies called Pan Yards;

Food of the God:- The Fetes, the Panorama, exciting, captivating,

Food of the God:- Stimulating, appetizing, preparing for the Feasts of Feasts, God King Carnival.

Jourvert is the offering a million worshipers make;

Ah! the God is pleased because this offering is bigger and better than last year's.

God King Carnival opens his arms and embraces his subjects, "Let the Ritual Begin!"

Carnival is alive!

Oh! Oh! A! A! Mama Yo! It's Carnival!

Tambu Bamboo, It's Carnival!

Jab Malasie, It's Carnival!

A million hearts in majestic unison, Oh God Carnival!

A million faces in transfigurated countenances of ecstasy, Don't Stop the Carnival!

And so for forty-four hours two sister islands in the sun pulsate, vibrate;

Rhythmic voices chanting; Rhythmic bodies swaying, gyrating;

Shango drums, Steel Drums bellowing;

The children,  the fathers and the mothers, jumping, shouting;

Color, every color mixing, blending;

Tempo hot, Laughter loud, so much love, so much loving;

Somebody shout:- PLAY MAS!!!

The eyes of night smile with romance.

The sound of music in the moonlight, 

Sometimes soothing, sometimes exciting.

Vows made, some betrayed.

God King Carnival reigns.

The bowels of King Carnival is filled and so sleep calls, but the Ritual must be drained to the very end.

It's Las' Lap!

New acquaintances tightly embrace,

Music is softer, voices whisper,

Tired feet scuffle, over each other they stumble, 

A guitar pan strums,

A lone tenor responds,

A base pan dies,

Sleep has taken its life,

A lover whispers "Oh God I'm tired",

Collapses, energy expired.

It's Midnight!.

And there is the sound of silence,

As God King Carnival sleeps.

THE RITUAL IS OVER.

                                                                                                    Winston Andrews (a.k.a. Boots)

"Passion, precision, percussion. The panman dedicates sleepless nights and countless hours to memorizing arrangements of calypsos for competition, the Panorama. The necessity for that element of competition in Carnival is still being debated." Photo © 1997, Cyan Studios Ltd. Excerpted from the book, Return to Kairi: A Trinidad & Tobago Journey (Port of Spain: Jett Samm Publishing, 1998)

I am a steelpan fan, not necessarily an overt steelpan junkie, but I do appreciate the music born here in Trinidad and Tobago and that sound that makes that original music. This is ours, and once a year, we can all participate in a festival that not only celebrates that sound, but reminds those who are sensitive to the subliminal signs of what steelband researcher Kim Johnson called “the audacity of creole imagination.” The annual Panorama competition has increasingly become a “must do” option for Carnival because, to me, it is more than music, it is history and individual biography, it is sociology and science, rhythm and motion, it is tonic and elixir for Carnival. It is fun. I become a “people observer” trying to create stories out of the snippets of overheard conversations, and the sights and sounds of this organised chaos that we call Trinidad Carnival.

First things first: Trinidad Carnival is not a spectator sport but a participatory event, or a series of participatory events: soca fêtes, costume masquerade, pre-dawn j'ouvert, soca and calypso competitions, and the Panorama. Panorama Finals, a celebration of and a competition among the best steelbands nationally happens in the Queens Park Savannah in Port of Spain—or the Big Yard, as we refer to it locally—on the Saturday before Carnival. It includes bands from all over the islands performing eight-minute arrangements of calypsos, although one is now more likely to hear arrangements of soca songs increasingly composed by the steelband arrangers who don't normally produce songs to compete in the hustle and bustle of carnival music.

The Panorama Final is the end of a series of gatherings that awaken a spirit that anybody can partake of. If you are in the island early enough, about 3 weeks before the Carnival days, one can do a panyard crawl to sample the sounds and sights of that urban space where late-night practice makes for a blending of musical dexterity, rote learning devoid of the fully understood theory, and wilful determination towards an oft elusive Panorama champion title. As in the football World Cup, there are just a few winners in the history of Panorama, but that has not stopped bands from all corners of the island from competing for the idea of Panorama champion. Arguments about “who play better,” and “who had more excitement in the pan”, and “that is not a tune for Panorama” resonate for months after Carnival is over. Panorama is more than music.

Panorama is music in motion. Panorama is an awakening of sensibilities that give us permission to behave badly. Music and movement and emotion all in one. The motion of the players rocking and grooving to the sound and rhythm of the engine room, the percussive centre of the steelband. The motion of the fans dancing to this music, percolating at a clip rhythm that guarantees body and tempo should become one. Dancing is inevitable. Dancing in time with the music, more so. Chipping (slow steady sliding steps as you move forward with the bands) and to a lesser extent, wining (sexy and suggestive gyrating of the hips, preferably with a partner), and jumping up (vertical with hands in the air, and in time with the music) are the dances of carnival and the dances inspired by pan music. Shoes, then, become mandatory. Slippers may work, but if pedicures are important, sneakers are better.

When you consider that the early Panorama preliminaries in the 1960s were judged “on the move”—with steelbands in racks being pushed on wheels by partisan supporters from the community—you may question whether we have gone backwards or away from our Caribbean instinct to move. Now we have bands being judged in a static formation on a stage, facing one direction, orchestra-like, in defiance to the urge to jump up. What ends are we serving, a European ideal for conformity or a Caribbean reality for participation, joy and movement? I guess the answer can be better considered depending where you are seeing and hearing the Panorama. For we do have a couple options: the drag or the stands.

The action, the real action takes place on “the drag,” a strip of tarmacadam that wends its way in and out of the Savannah passing in front of the Grand Stand, an evolution of the old horse racing grandstand. (The original was demolished in 2006 to be rebuilt as a clone in 2011). That original pavilion for Sport of Kings birthed a sister stand, the North Stand, which has become the playground of and a magnet for the imitative “mimic men” of the middle classes, pretenders looking to become one with the people. Between the drag and the North Stand, you can sense what the atmosphere of true liberation—and libation—the Panorama can be.

The North Stand is the fun place to be if you're is liming in the stands. A cacophony of rhythmic iron clanging, hand drumming and bottle and spoon beating makes for a noisy air of communal spirit and activity that one may find at an EDM festival or Glastonbury maybe. In Trinidad, rum rules, and the idea of the primacy of music is slowly giving way to the idea of a new kind of hedonism that travel writers casually describe as a selling point for Caribbean people.

All this pleasure becomes evident when you're on the drag. From this vantage point, you can hear all the bands do a final practice performance of their competition tune and it's all free. Restriction and freedom are two opposites that shaped Trinidad history. At Panorama, on the drag, they live side by side to shape what we see and hear. Food and drink, drink and food, the cuisine of the casual participant is the fuel for what seems to be an endless celebration. Time has no boundaries at Panorama. The Panorama semi-final, an important milestone in the series as this allows for a gauge of what is possible and what is really happening in steelband music is normally a 14-hour event starting before mid day!

Panorama, to some, is the apotheosis of the steelband. To others, it reflects a growing decay of the communal spirit associated with the movement and a movement. Commercialism ;and a kind of redundancy, and a number of alternative events have eaten away at some of the appeal of Panorama. But for me, it is a rekindling of hope that we are masters of our domain, not necessarily conforming to the dictates of gatekeepers that rule media and creative enterprises. It is our little rebellion. Our fantasy that for a day, after many days and nights in those panyards, those crucibles of creativity and sweat and fire, we as a nation can make something that will last the test of time. It is also our chaotic and fervent and rhythmic moment when time stands still, literally—we can all move as one to the beat.

* Originally published in the January/February 2017 issue of Caribbean Beat Magazine

© 2017, Nigel A. Campbell. All rights Reserved.

SONS OF STEEL ROCKS TORONTO! UP NEXT... TRINIDAD & CAYMAN ISLANDS !!

The Armenian centre was blown away Saturday July 14th, 2012 with the performance of three brothers in the ‘Sons of Steel’ concert featuring Noel, Earl Jr. and Olujimi La Pierre. 'Sons of Steel' kicked off in Toronto with a grand opening performance, which left the audience clapping and singing to each song played by the talented and skillful brothers.

The show opened with Earl La Pierre Jr. the extraordinary steel pannist , also known as Eman for his Mc and promotional skills. He played selections from I Will Always Love You, The Lady In My Life, I Wanna Rock With You, Goat Mouth and others. After warming up the crowd, the stage was graced with one of the pioneers of steelpan music in Canada and the Cayman Island, Mr. Earl La Pierre Senior, who demonstrated his years of aptitude.

Ending the first half was the Boy Wonder himself all the way from the Cayman Island, Olujimi La Pierre, offering his versatility and skill on the steelpan, as he played songs like Wings Breath My Wings, Just The Two Of Us , High Mas and more.

After a rocking first half, the show continued to thrill the audience as Noel La Pierre, COTT award recipient bought his ‘Trini’ flavor to the stage with his wonderful artistry on the steelpan in his selections Inspiration, Morning, Between The Sheets and My Passion.

The show climaxed with a grand finale performance which made history placing both father and sons on the same stage, for the first time ever, ringing out the the soca hit ‘Bacannalist’.

The steelpan soloists were all backed by the multitalented Liamuiga Project featuring Bruce Skerritt, Andrew Stewart, Tony Pierre, Larnell Lewis, and chorus Ralph Robinson and Onika Coar.

The ‘Sons Of Steel’ concert was a concept created to bring together three unique style. The annual show was dedicated to the living memory of Norma Adele Peter, their grandmother, who the family described as the foundation and pillar that held everything together.

The Sons Of Steel will be travelling to Trinidad and Tobago in January 2013 to perform at the Cascadia Hotel and Conference Centre, followed by a final concert in April in the Cayman Islands.

The brother’s wish to thank their family and friends as well as their sponsors Pan Arts Network (P.A.N), AfroPan Steelpan, Cascadia Hotel and Conference Centre, Proman Ag Trinidad and Tobago and Pantrinibago for all the support.

For more information on Sons of Steel please contact 1-416-953-0905 / 1-868-484-3923.

The boston police department in Massachusetts now has underway an ongoing so-called "operation" - OPERATION STEEL DRUM, where they say they are rounding up and have arrested some, in advance, quote "as likely to commit violent acts at the festival." Interestingly, they claim this has connections with "the Dominican Festival." How did they get from "the Dominican Festival" to OPERATION STEEL DRUM?? What on earth does one have to with the other? The Steel drum or Steel pan is the national instrument of a sovereign country, Trinidad and Tobago. Here is the link to the boston article: www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/08/28/boston_police_arrest_34_before_festival/

It is extremely chilling that the boston police department with a past and very present virulent history of racial profiling and worse -is demonizing and denigrating the national instrument and culture of a sovereign country, by naming their so-called criminal clean-up activity after the steel drum, and also arrogantly displaying unfathomable disrespect and contempt in this manner.

The steelband people have strived throughout the years to overcome the stigmatization related to the steelband, which still goes on today. Now, the boston police dept, the same people who are sworn to "protect and serve" unfairly castigate and disrespect members of that same society they made that pledge to protect and serve - some of whom are steelpan players. Many people go to Boston for the Carnival (which is today, by the way) and steelpan people as well.

Imagine you are living in Boston, and your child is a member of a steelband down there, and you are pulled over by the cops for a random check, and you inform said officers you were on your way to a steel drum practice with your child? Imagine the officers' "pre-disposition" with OPERATION STEEL DRUM ongoing?

I wonder where the president of Pantrinbago Keith Diaz on this issue? Will he officially call-out boston Police Chief Dan Linskey on this matter? What says former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning? And steelpan lover and avid supporter himself, the President of Trinidad and Tobago (the land of the steel pan/drum) His Excellency Maxwell Richards? And newly-minted Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar?

What say we as steelband people?

A thought occurred to me that I had almost forgotten.

Remember when Carnival in Trinidad used to be a two speed affair?.

Long before the DJs, we had music bands on the road, and their music was at a faster tempo than the steelbands.

Most of the big costume bands (we called them "Historical" bands) preferred the brass bands for their music, and their masqueraders "jumped up" much like they do today with the DJs.

On the other hand, if you played mas with a steelband, it would have been a military mas or a simpler costume like cowboys, lumberjacks etc.

The steelbands held a slower pace, and moving along to their beat was called "chippin". By the end of the day, most people chose "chippin" over "jumping up"

It is interesting to  note that as the steelbands participation on the road declined, so did the "chippin".

Of course, the change in music tastes to the faster soca style also accelerated the disappearance of "chippin".

I remember the calls by calypsonians like Maestro and others for steelbands to pick up the tempo.

But one can not help but  wonder if a more aggressive effort of the steelbands to stay involved on the road would have kept the slower steelband "chippin" style as an alternative to todays manic jumping up on the streets at carnival..

Just a thought, folks!