You don’t have to put anyone down, to elevate another. Kees Dieffenthaller, is my current ‘King of Soca’. I came to that conclusion after watching Kes The Band perform the full spectrum of soca music for one hour. Nothing but soca! Kes had the largest turnout, about 22,000, at the …
Read More »St Bernard: Why New York City boasts of ‘the now generation of pan’
A couple months ago, Yvette Rennie, the president of J’Ouvert City International in New York City, hired me to do a video documentary with some prominent people involved in the NYC steel pan movement. She wanted to focus on the economic development of steel pan in NYC. The interviewees included …
Read More »My friend, Sprang—Eric St Bernard remembers an enduring friendship
‘Sprangalang’ was mih partner. We worked together on many productions. Sprang did not tell jokes; he told stories. He was a true standup comedian who would have held his own on any stage with the likes of Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. I recruited Sprang into radio broadcasting …
Read More »St Bernard: Stop messing with our groovy; why NCC is doing soca more harm than good
The National Carnival Commission (NCC) may have done more harm than good to the soca music industry by putting money into Soca Monarch. Soca Monarch organisers decided to give the so-called Power Soca more relevance and importance than the so-called Groovy. They decided to pay the Power Soca winner twice …
Read More »Who feels it, knows it! St Bernard’s pick for calypso crown and how local music can raise foreign exchange
I’m backing Joanne “Tigress” Rowley for Calypso Monarch 2019. Her story is real. Her music is good. And, yes, I had a ring side seat to her deciding on the song, Who Feels It, Knows It. Her rendition deals with depression and a mental health issue she dealt with after …
Read More »From front to back and back to front; St Bernard on the legacy of the “Mighty Shadow”
“Come here Winston. Go there Winston. Dey always pushing me around,” sang the late iconic calypsonian, Winston “Shadow” Bailey. For that reason, I always called him Winston. I considered him my friend. He was complex and self assured about his music. I once begged him to allow me to compile a …
Read More »Helon was Rudder-like! St Bernard sees positive calypso change coming from the new generation
The return of the Kings and Queens to Sunday’s Dimanche Gras made for a good show. Calypso won as, although there were too many props, there was no excess of lame melodies, thank God, and no overdose of prosaic lyrics. It was refreshing to hear music back in our calypso; …
Read More »Can Sandra silence Voice in the Big Yard? St Bernard previews Sunday’s sizzling Calypso finals
The 2018 Calypso Monarch Finals promise to be the best in about 20 years. This is so although the judges only got about 70% of the selections correct. The mix will be excellent, not simply in terms of musical variety and lyrical content and style and pace but also in …
Read More »Letter to the Editor: Saving calypso from itself; a kaiso lover takes dead aim at TUCO
“If calypso is to be saved and the best interests of calypsonians protected, TUCO needs to get out of the tent business and return to its original mandate of looking after the interests of all calypso and soca performers, including the establishment of the much needed pension plan. “To save …
Read More »Support Black Stalin; time to rally behind our calypso legend
Leroy Calliste or, as he is better known, the “Black Stalin” is no ordinary Calypsonian. He has used his artistic ability to be a voice of the nation. His entire career has been about “taking care of de people business.” I became a Stalin fan before I ever dreamed of …
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