Corie Sheppard Podcast
Corie Sheppard Podcast
Episode 212 | Carry It
In this week's episode we take a quick check in to discuss the fete scene and do a review on Soaka till Sunrise.
We take look at the Road March race as February is moving fast and furious and the early pace setters are gone. But despite what we seeing with Pardy we putting our money on Carry It and we'll breakdown why and discuss why Thousand Flag, while it might not be in the race for the road, is the biggest song of them all.
Outside of the power soca, the sweetest song in d canaval seems to be one that everybody still sleeping on so of course we hadda wake it up.
Is a quick check in so take it een and as always....Enjoy!!!!
Welcome to episode 200. And something at this point is in real life. It's 200 and something. I can't remember who I record. I can't remember who I record with, but what I know is it's been a long time since I record by myself, only say, only wanted guesses, only want to talk to guesses and all these things. But guesses is comedy, won't it? Because I had to interview guesses and sit down and talk with them when I could talk with them, and then I had to find time to edit and publish and all these things. I'm not a young man. What do you think? It's good? Yeah, I'm not a young man.
Speaker 2:Salute to Conrad and his squad at Affordable Imports. They have me looking. You know what I mean. I'm nervous in these spaces. I feel like, if I know, I know where to swing and which direction to go in. But we're here and I'm telling you this.
Speaker 2:Right, my FET season has officially started. I'm FETing. We have plenty to gain too. Right, because I will find the right balance between when I come and we talk and I come, and you know what I mean, because we'll get locked up and so on. You know what I mean. Weeks come and we have to talk about that. But I enjoy and I hope all enjoy and give me some feedback too and how much you'll enjoy. You know if you're enjoying what you want me to do different when guests come on, I enjoy in that part of it. I have a few more guests to release. This week might be a heavy week. We might be putting out plenty episodes this week, but let me see where it go. But for the time being I went for the time. Yeah, I went up in his soaker over the over the weekend. Before you know I I went up there and I enjoy Soka.
Speaker 2:It was the first time in Soka that Marshall is back in Soka when Soka had originally started off right, soka Till Sunrise was the name of it and when they had originally started off. A big part of what made that song or that fete such a popular fete is I think it was Fog that they had done the video for this one. Going on, fuck up the place. That's the place, remember them days. And he do the video down there and that fed a certain amount of popularity. I like to call it light-skinned insomnia. You know what I mean. It's a light-skinned mulatto kind of insomnia down there. But it grew, it grew, it grew.
Speaker 2:And this year let me start. Usually, as a man, it starts with the upside of everything. Right, it usually starts with what's the best part of things, but I want to start this week with what was the hardest part of Soka. Let me tell you something Soka, who's school? Those fellas?
Speaker 2:They sell way too much tickets, way too much. I don't know. I hear Marshall is a quarter million US. As far as I'm concerned, the man earned that. If he dies while he's charging and dies while people are paying, then he earned that completely. I mean, if Marshall is a quarter million, I suppose he had to sell a real ticket to start to catch back yourself. When you spend a quarter million dollars with an artist and entertainer and he didn when you spend a quarter million dollars worth of artists and entertainers and you ain't pay Bungie yet, you ain't pay Tejah yet it has so much different artists to pay.
Speaker 2:But outside, and the reason that you can't oversell tickets like that although I mean Insomnia and them thing was real, real big in terms of the amount of people, plenty bigger than places, fets like Soko but the truth is that I don't think insomnia used to be a cooler fit. If I'm not mistaken, you had to go and buy drinks or whatever you go by the buy, buy drinks package or whatever that might be the most you have on the ground, but when you have them size a cooler inside a place like o2 and soaker using a much smaller space than a fit like insomnia, it's a fear to people, to the patrons right where every time I had to use the bathroom or every time I had to look for somebody or make a rungs. In effect, I feel like I hiking up by the um, I feel like I go in bamboo cathedral every time I go out to step on or I'm going by the big flag up um, up, lady chancellor, that ain't right. All you could do with that at a step over cooler is only sorry and excuse and and then only no soaker. We, just we, just we, just we just overdo it a little bit, right, we just overdo it. We overdo this set of drinking in places like soca, so only only know we come in to overdo it and to over indulge anything. Leave space. Leave space where we could pass or even, if you sell so much tickets, open all the venue.
Speaker 2:I remember one year they had done soca in the. They had done Soka in the Savannah, I believe, one of the years, and when they when they did that Savannah it's hard to gauge if they sell more tickets that time or not, or where they really were with tickets, but it never. It didn't feel that full for sure, but Dong O2 was just, it was just too packed. Every time you go and take a leak to get back it's taking a long, long time. But maybe that's my only criticism soaker, maybe that's the only thing I could say. That wasn't ideal because when, when we, when we reach the fit salute to the palace stacy and damien and the crew, our normal crew is going soaker with every year.
Speaker 2:We reach early, right, we reach when gates open. We typically try to reach it for three, but reach maybe half past three, let me say, and it was already a struggle to get to find a spot, that's how much people was there, but it didn't take long before the dj play and and soka djs seem to have some things figured out right. I was telling all I went undercover the week before and for the age and the type of people who went undercover fit the DJs kind of give you like long, long power soaker sessions, and it was just the DJs felt disconnected from the fed. That was not the scene with soaker. Them fellas play some nice little groovers and it's almost like they build the party from the time you reach. So when everybody reach and everybody's settling down, they keep the music mellow enough. They ain't going on that roadmatch, roadmatch.
Speaker 2:Coming down the line right and while we settle there and thing, it didn't take long for Mikael Teja to come on. Right, teja come on pretty early, pretty early in the mix. I want to say that I like my wife always telling me that I pronounce any man name wrong. My wife always tells me that I pronounce any man name wrong, so I hope I have it right. It's Mikael Tejo.
Speaker 2:But I want to tell you that Mikael Tejo is a youth again to like more and more. The more I listen to his music, the more I like him and he has a vibe and an energy and a sweetness that build for cooler fit and build for people we age. You know how old he is, isn't he? He had to be a young fellow but he built for we age. And when he come on, he come on the stage. To be the first performer in a fet like that, I think is a difficult thing to do, and Mikael Teja, come on and own it. I want to play a slice or something for everyone From two youths who are like a lot. There's Mikael Teja and Kuten, you know it.
Speaker 1:Teja Pandey's. One day, with the one name Kooten, I'm ready to make you feel so alive. It's you in your soul. It's a new way you can deny it.
Speaker 2:Remember, we all. I am better steep and plain. I love when he does the rolling, but man, I'm knocking something, hearing all them big b******. Look, auntie, what dance till morning. She tell me she feeling something and she can't explain. It's all in with him. It's all in with him the rhythm's. We name it Dancing sun or rain, dancing sun or rain. Dancing sun or rain. You feel no pain when you hear the rhythm.
Speaker 3:It's darling, it's darling, it's darling. So make sure and I'm sorry, rhythm it's darling, rhythm, it's darling, rhythm, it's darling We'll be right back. Now is the time to find somebody to hug A girl you find like Adam O'Reilly. You know it's be time again.
Speaker 2:And if it all I miss, like we hope I want me to sleep and play it. I love when it just start rolling, but man, I'm knocking something Every null and pick me shorted. Look at the world, dance till morning. She tell me she feeling something. Thank you, I feel like that's my zone. You see, any song where you have a Bamba diggy, diggy, diggy, ding. I kind of like that.
Speaker 2:In my age group, me and Vex are the power soakers. We have plenty of power soca and thing. You know, we got plenty power soca to talk about this here. Right, I might have to eat back all these words I'm saying. But salute to Michael Tashia. Michael Tashia have a sweetness and a stage presence. That show in soca.
Speaker 2:I want to get back to what I feel is one of the sweetest song for this carnival. Right, I will get it, and at some point maybe we go talk about the politics. It's kind of all time people want a break from that too. Have a treat for you. Have a treat for you, okay. Okay, one of my guests that coming on and you'll see him right after you get this episode. You'll see him. That's my boy, naldo. Salute to naldo. Salute to naldo and jude from the alternative perspective podcast that coming up and you will hear all about politics where you want to hear what in that episode too, if I can get all the politics today.
Speaker 2:But after Teja come off the stage in Soka, people done in fat mode, people ready by this time I mean I wasn't drinking water. I can't remember if it had anybody between Teja, but I remember. The next time I catch back my memory to my recollection, to the best of my memory, I cannot quit call. But the next person I see on stage in my sober mind was Young Brother, and Young Brother again going back to this idea that the fellas and them full-blown entertainment create one of the sweetest rhythms in Carnival. Forget the individual songs, every performer who perform in them songs, and I see full-blown performing all four of them, which I like you're getting a response from the crowd that I think every entertainer will be proud of. Only watch, only watch this thing. We're going viral now with this, with my girl in the pink who say you're here, you're here to make my face. That time I went to many faces how many faces that? And I was flicking it back in people's face. I tell myself, well, we go fight in this FET for sure, because many faces, like he ain't care who he hear, hit. I know a side of the fence where they land on. Some people say Tanti should and I feel Tanti is about 30 years old. I feel Tanti is not Tanti.
Speaker 2:I can tell you in my fetting days, when Fet was fet, according to Bungee, she could not stand up in front of me and tell nobody about her hair and weave would have been the least of her problems. She was worrying about getting hit in her face in the time I was fetting. If you get hit with weave you're lucky Because among the old sneakers would have come at you. If you stand up there and you're moving in front of Fet, I mean salute to Marshall. Marshall get the girls from Redemption. Marshall should have never reposed that. He must have made that girl have a hard week.
Speaker 2:But the new world we're living in, right, when I come from a time with Bungie, I mean I come and meet Bungie or Bungie came and meet me in Fed, kind of. But the Ronnie McIntosh, the Super Blue, the old Marshall back in the day, big performers I want, and Kurt Allen, coincidentally, who I hope I have time to play a song from Kurt Allen today them friends of them come to mash up Fett. So the idea of standing around in front of stage didn't exist at all. So from the time they come on stage I was telling Stacey last week that I see Super Blue come on stage and ain't say no words and mash up the fact Because he used to come on the stage and from the time you see him he starts to climb up a piece of scaffold and it's destruction. It could look like a fight or one of them rock concerts you see in other countries, where people just bouncing and pushing one another. That's what it used to look like.
Speaker 2:But fast forward to today and what Marshall complaining about, and why he posed the girl in pink, is that for entertainers who come from that era, it had to be difficult for you to be on a stage now singing songs that you know is hit songs. You, you know these songs big, but people standing up and watching you or standing up and hitting you the phone. You know everybody recording what you're doing and or being recording. You're recording yourself, to be honest, because that girl seemed to be more interested in the recording of herself and and I mean she off-key, like me in the singing, but I don't know if she, I don't know if we could call what we was doing pushing and fighting one another in FET and wearing old clothes to go FET. I don't know if you could say that that is any more or less entertaining than nobody Like we wasn't more entertained because we were sweaty and stinking. Fet Die them enjoyment. Them enjoyment is to put up phone and record everybody and them kind of thing.
Speaker 2:But I feel for entertainer who going on a stage and feeling like they're not getting any kind of response. I remember seeing bounty killer, ninja man, down in a I think it was lions or st john's or one of them venues and bounty killer tell everybody put with their phone, just like what marshall tried to do. Because I suppose a part of you as a performer, a part of your work, is to connect with the audience and you want the audience to connect with you and you dare to show them a good time. I tell you all, for instance, about when well, when dave chappelle show last year or year before, whenever it was, they lock up your phone. They have a little pouch. It's called a yonder pouch, right? Y-o-n-d-r. I put in that out there for all promoters.
Speaker 2:Y-o-n-d-r. Call these fellas and make a deal with them, because what they're doing is you're going to keep your phone. They put it in a ziplock, a kind of zipped pouch, and you cannot unlock it. They have the key to unlock it when, so they have several yonder stations, when you're going up to the show and they check you, you're putting all your phones.
Speaker 2:I had to put in my phone, my AirPods, my watch, anything you could use to record or anything like that. You have to put away Now the comedians doing that because they don't want you to record their material and then go and put it out before they could finalize it or before they could sell it to somebody like Netflix, because if it's on, youtube's losing value, right, I think we, as in our culture, our FET promoters, our promoters of shows and so on. Maybe it's an opportunity for us to bring back the FET that we used to know, because you lock up people's phone where people could just jam and have a good time and then every time you tell people that people say why, if my child call or if I have an emergency?
Speaker 1:what the hell are you used to doing when your child call in customs? That child just had to sort out himself. You know what I mean. Ha, ha, ha ha ha ha.
Speaker 2:It's all about reason. It's called teething problems. You know, go and sort out all your problems home. You know what I mean. It's harder. People Go and check the neighbor we right now. If youths now will enjoy that, if there's a no phone event, if that will force them to have a I'm not saying that they're not enjoying it now, but force them to have a different type of enjoyment. And what the hell all of this had to do with Young Brother. The thing is, I feel kind of sorry when I see Young Brother. Long time I ain't play some music. I feel kind of sorry when I hear Young Brother, you have a song that's saying it's so sweet, you see.
Speaker 1:She said take it easy, I will do the work, you don't have to while up yourself. You don't have to while up yourself. She said take it easy, I will do the work, you don't have to while up yourself. You don't have to while up yourself.
Speaker 2:And when you have a song like that right, I think, when Young Brother come on the stage, especially after Mikael Teja done do what he had to do, young Brother come into a zone or come into a space there where the crowd was waiting for that exact vibe he have in the first two lines of the song. You don't have to while up yourself, I go do the work. I think that's something he had to remember in his song Because I suspect when you're his young brother and you're accustomed in your zest and your steam wheel, you know what I mean. That kind of vibe where people I see him run out on stages in Guyana and people in a frenzy when they see him, when you're in front of a crowd in Soka now who older, who whiter, you know when they see him, when you're in front of a crowd and soaker now who older, who whiter, you know what I mean Whiter, they look whiter.
Speaker 2:It's a different kind of energy you're looking for, especially four o'clock in the morning, before you think the powder you're soaking good yet. So I think you run out on the stage looking for a jump and wave effect and them kind announce him and the little full-blown thing come on. You know the little, what is called a tabla roll. Once the tabla roll starts, people went into hold somebody mode People, people, people, the whole FET, including myself and the squad we were with. It's almost like Teja warm me up, but when Young Brother come on, the FET start because people looking to hear.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the sweetest Ben over time to die.
Speaker 2:Man was looking to just hold something that is not a fet with Nobody, has no set of phone shining on you Because at some point all them phone go get wet so you had to put it away and that might be one of the reasons why them water parties so enjoyable Because the phone and them putting away. But I feel for young brother a little bit Because young brother when he came on the vibe of the fet and the energy of I feel for young brother a little bit because young brother when he came on the vibe but he felt any energy he felt started drop a little bit. I suspect it's because of the same thing he trying to get people to do a jump and wave and that ain't happening. He went into his song and till the whole rhythm which again I find is the best song in the rhythm, although I find like a nick, a berry creeping up. She have a vibe and an energy with that.
Speaker 2:That song bad that getting better and better Every time I hear it, it getting better and lyrical. With the doter she's a big rhythm, so he on the two biggest rhythms in my opinion for the cannibal. So he sing them two songs and then he kind of went into a little a little way called medley. He sing I score up your own thing, me Feeling I'm dead, and he sing black man feeling to party. Well, them thing didn't connect at all and he come out of that and he tried to do some steam. Now he usual songs are push back, baby push back, and even that didn't connect because I think that the crowd just a little older and a lot of them things he's singing nobody didn't know.
Speaker 2:I'm wondering if there's somebody working with young brother and we seem as though you're a good management. Salute to him as well, because I heard this week that he entered in the calypso monarch. I always feel like that's a good sign, that's a thing you know. I mean it's good to see young people, especially like, uh, his age and his followers. It's almost like he bringing our audience to a space where people like every time you talk to people, calypso dying and calypso monarch dying and thing it can't die if it's our youths injected to it all the time, right. So I'm glad for him. But I wonder if anybody working with him to tell him hey, when you have big songs so like, stay in the pocket, relax, go on stage, relax, sing out the whole song, the crowd mightn't be waving and jumping, but they're with with you. Me ain't saying you can't get them to do little things, but it ain't going to be jump and wave with them. Songs that you have there. So keep them, hold them in the pocket, hold them in a zone, let them feel the sweetness of the song, let them remember because you remember when you're going and you're lying up behind something and you get a little first jam, you know what I mean. You remember who was singing, you remember the moment, you remember who was on stage.
Speaker 2:If he able to do that with them two songs, I think he unstoppable and he could also finish with the same full-blown song, the same big links rhythm. He could start and finish with that. Because I think a mistake he make uh, there's all my opinion, of course, but mistake he make is he didn't leave the stage on a high point. I find like when you're coming on that high note, even if I see most of the biggest artists for carnival, especially band performers. I see marshall do it many, many times that year when he have to sing like like a boss. He coming on this stage to like a boss and give a piece of it, then go into repertoire and then finish with like a boss. You know, I mean make sure that you get them what they want. And he's doing the same thing with party now.
Speaker 2:So them is really the only two I could remember. I only forgive my. I feel it had other people in between, but I cannot, I can't remember this. White oak is a dangerous drug. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:But let me fast forward to, I might, by the name of Bungie Garland. Right, I've said a lot of things about Bungie Garland. I want to repeat that I find Bungie need to give you a little song every now and again that just have a simple little lyric that everybody could sing along with. Because after Soca, if it wasn't clear before, there's a race going on. I love Carnival when we have a roadmatch race Carnival better when two big artists have two big songs and both of them going in fret to push the big song. Bungee and Marshall have been in epic battles before Marshall and Fehan have been in epic battles before Marshall come out and he winning in a sum. He come out and he losing in a sum. That is how it go.
Speaker 2:I heard Party, and Party is a good song, it's in bad, it's not a bad song. But I I did not think that party was it. I remember when it came out today I told my sister say, girl, this gonna go down as one of marshall classics. The reason I said that then, even though I don't like this song it's not my favorite is the little elements in this song right, where it's such a simple concept I work whole day and I deserve a party. That feel like anything that anybody could relate to, including the unemployed. You don't have to do one damn thing for the day to think that you work real hard and you deserve a party. The stresses of being unemployed when you're done with that for the day, you deserve a party.
Speaker 2:I I felt in, in in soca and I'm not talking about bungee, right, I can't remember, but I felt in soca, like, even though I didn't like this song, and it's the biggest song to me you know how I was feeling when marshall come on that stage in soca, they, they like all the water right pause, and that's the biggest climax in in soca, right when they when they spread the water. So he have an advantage though I'll give him that he had an advantage but it's almost like when marshall come on his stage and he sings that song, I start to feel like I deserve to see Marshall after all these years of going soca with no Marshall. So when you sing simple lyrics like that, a man goes finding a way to relate to the song.
Speaker 2:When you say it's all work and no play, and all day and we deserve a party and, surprisingly to me, what captured the fed the most is the. The whole crowd was singing, a girl in the middle. When Marshall come on, he had the crowd in a grip from front to the back of the audience. Salute to Marshall Montana. Right, the system went down. A lot of people who I went with maybe I don't know if it's why I talk is it like a time warp, you know, because a lot of them didn't even realize the system went down. That's to show you that them system done, gone down already. You know what I'm saying. But the system went down for a little while Marshall on stage, guess he worked through it and he started back performing, right. So if you leave soaker you could, you could leave the feeling like party is a way bigger song than bungee bungee songs.
Speaker 2:Let me go back to bungee now. Right, bungee came on on that slot. That is just before. So they kind of want to break. You still have enough time for fireworks and them think I have a little darkness, but I assumed at the time, and I think everybody in soca assumed, that bungee was going and bringing the the water, so the crowd was holding.
Speaker 2:This is a very pause worthy episode, yo, the crowd was kind of holding back for the water to start to spray while bungee was there. Nobody knew marshall was coming right. And so I'm talking about the crowd is in not holding back from bungee, but anticipation mode, and I want to say this right, I want to. I want to apologize to bungee gallen categorically, unreservedly, whatever other words I could find because let me tell you something, bungee gallen is. I already know he was one of the greatest all times, right, but he might go down as the greatest all time in my book if he continue at this clip of songs that he putting out. I don't know if he's stoppable, because I just want to play a little piece. I believe I play a piece of this song already right here, but I just want to play my favorite bungee for this season.
Speaker 4:Show me your flag do do do do do do do, do do do do do do do do do do, do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do a Thousand Rock, thousand Flag. Thousand Rock, thousand Flag. Thousand Gal, thousand man Jumping like a thousand man, everybody, jump and wave, show me a thousand and Wait before I go too far.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I could control myself. Thousand is my preferred song. My favorite song Might be one of my favorite songs for this season. Right, every time I hear that thousand, I start to remember from the start of it. And the way the song is open right, it remind me of what it used to be like when a man like bungee garland was announced in a fet like brass festival. A little bit water in my head when you announce people like bungee garland and Brass Festival days. Right, they used to play the intro to the song over and over before the artists come on stage and the crowd used to bounce in one. It's hard to describe Because I'm talking about 20,000 to 30,000 people in a sandy, dusty environment that no human should ever be in, right, and you're not seeing Bungee yet.
Speaker 2:You're just hearing the intro to the song and the crowd is starting to bounce when they announce Bungee and I'm talking about a band playing I ain't talking about no DJ playing no intro to no song and looping nothing the band playing the intro. And when that crowd bouncing in unison right, you had a picture with me if it was never there. When that crowd bouncing in unison right, he had a picture with me if he was never there. When that crowd bouncing in unison, it have no strangers in the venue. Everybody know everybody at that point in time because the bounce moving, the whole crowd moving. You're not bouncing in one spot like shadow. When you come off the ground you're moving. You're bouncing on one spot and when you jump you you're landing in a different spot. People who was there understand the energy you're talking about and this is before you see bungee. So by the time bungee come on the stage, it have a euphoria and an energy the crowd used to push you forward. People might remember that that girl in pink who's standing up to tell people about her hair, she never experienced that. When bungee reached to the edge of the stage, it's almost like the crowd trying to get to the edge of the stage to touch him too. We want to be apartheid. I tell you I have no strangers in PSA. When these men coming on right, everybody know everybody. It's cooler. Everything would get trampled.
Speaker 2:This song that Bungee is singing here with his thousand rag, it is unimaginable what that would have doing a fet like psa, and this is why I had to apologize to bungee, because I always come in here and saying, bungee and fan talk about this thing. You cannot bring back that them days done people dressing up nice to go fet. People ain't going through that again, huh? Well, let me tell you something. When that thousand start up in soca it had no strangers in soca.
Speaker 2:When I I bounce and I start to hold people y'all didn't know me well enough I can't bounce for too long. My heart and thing don't allow for that. You know what I mean. I started to breathe. I cannot do that again, but I didn't have a choice but to bounce when Bungee come on and start to play Thousand and by the time I bounce and I hold people I think it is Damien and Stacey and them I hold. And when I check myself my hand around to stranger, I buy a next man cooler because the crowd moving here.
Speaker 2:I have not felt that since the late 90s, early thousands on them thing. I have not felt anything like that since Ronnie McIntyre, super Blue, old Marshall, kmc days, bungee and them Fian when she and she had a uh maximus dan. I have not felt anything like that for a long, long time and I only had to assess it when I was done because I realized when bungee was almost done with his performance, he tell the dj bring the boat to them, because carry, it is a big song, right characters, obviously the runaway hit. So I'm wondering if Bungie knows how big Thousand was or if, when he realized the response to Thousand, he realized wait, no, I had to test it here to see which song I had to push for the road match, because it's the opening to this. You know, thank you, see, we talk, thank you and the song man. When they calculate they only get about a thousand.
Speaker 4:But don't cancel the function. We rock your party with a thousand rock, thousand flag, thousand, rock, thousand, flag, thousand, gal, thousand man, jump up like a thousand man, everybody jump and wave. Show me a thousand and, yeah, show me a thousand, and we come to have your party jumping by the thousand rock, by the thousand, by the thousand hard to explain to you.
Speaker 2:Hard to explain to you, hard to explain to you. Even harder to do. Salute to Bungee, garland and the team, because that's hard to do. I have been listening to them over the years and I hear fans try, drop a Negron and roll. They try all kinds of things because they were determined to bring back that energy of FET. And I was a doubter, I was doubting Corey Thomas. I tell myself, but what you're doing? Or they just give you some little groovers, forget them power and thing. I was one of the biggest one or two little because even last year when you look at um we could jump till morning. Them thing is groovy, winning road match now. But I think with Towson come out is because, or with connect with me back in the days.
Speaker 2:I never really play mass. I don't like mass and them kind of thing. I find that was boring. Fet was my thing. But this thousand make me realize like the era of fet song dead because it's used, our song, that bill for fet, it bill for the energy of our fet. The road is a different type of energy. I will even hear marshall in an interview recently talking about when he was making party and he was telling them. Now something's wrong here. Once the people come on the stage and they go up, you can't bring them back down. So he must have shift around parts of the song and them kind of thing. So the stage have a science and energy and the, the feds have a science and energy to the fed to keep our fed bouncing like that and moving as one way there are no strangers and man forget what they're wearing and if thing in their pocket and all of that. People just get into fet mode. Thousand do that for me.
Speaker 2:I never thought I would live to see you day. I just used to say thank god I reached the point where I. I get to see a lot of the. I get to see what spectrum this look like. I get to see when, when they used to do long by the port, had a I think it was soaker village at the time. I fed in st john's and lions and psa. Uh, I fed on flower compound, I fed on licensing compound. It's a big, big fed by dredgy compound on rising road. Thank god I lived through that and I see plenty of that. So I tell myself that is a thing of the past. We can't bring back cassettes and videotapes. So how the hell you go bring back fat with people in complete destruction? The boy bungee, that's how we see all you do it.
Speaker 2:But the roadmatch race seems to be between carry it and party. I wonder which one is the one that people prefer. And I'll tell you one key difference between the two. Right marshall's song, very easy to sing along with and he says it all the time. If you're getting school training and you need to sing along with your song, you're onto something. Bungee's song is not as easy to sing along with, none of Bungee's songs. Bungee's are lyrical, miracle jimmical, and he does that.
Speaker 2:And I don't know if I could, like I point it out all the time like just just simplify it. You know what I mean. If you could simplify the songs, more people could latch onto it faster. But I'll tell you this right, just in terms of comparing the two songs, carriot is a way bigger song than Party. Party, all right, and I could do what I'm going to do, but boy listen, carriot, after he do Thousand and then he come with Carriot. Just the opening of Carriot have an energy in it again, and it's so different in terms of the structure of the song to Thousand. Even that could just mash up a fit and send you in a frenzy. It have the right build up the energy when you're waiting to reach the stage. It's how you run on the stage, like a release, and it's at the high point. You have all of it built into it.
Speaker 2:I think one of the key differences between the two songs and if it's anywhere that I'll say that party have a little bit of edges they carry it not really connected to playing mass like that. It's not connected to the road. You know, when you look at party, the idea of party for two days because you work so hard for the year, it just connects a little better on your road in terms of the theme of the song, whereas carry it seemed to be designed as a fat song. Funny enough, I mean, even though it have the elements of a roadmatch song. He's singing about a. A fat song would be the idea of the flag crews and everybody used to carry, like the grung used to carry it. Now bungee have a way. I mean again, when you listen to a bungee. If you listen to bungee music carefully, right, he's a hell of a storyteller, you know.
Speaker 2:I think it's something that I myself never given me enough credit for, because bungee singing, complaint, rock and thing you know, and political commentary in the mix and how people fit into it, because that idea that the grung used to carry it to me is such an important thing, I'll come back to it too. Right, but I just want to salute the voice and as I wrap up the talk on Soko, because when Bungie completely destroyed the place and in my opinion he was way better than Marshall, because Marshall come on with the advantage of the water spraying and that's skewing people's opinion Bungie was way better than everybody else on the night Carriot and Townsend was way bigger than Paddy on the night. Right, the water is what pushed Marshall through. Right, he used it as lubrication. We done gone down the road already. What the hell we gonna do. But I want to salute Voice, because Voice is a legend for coming on after them two legends and still rocking their party. Voice had the party moving till they fed them.
Speaker 2:But coming back to Cariot, right, bungee's a hell of a man. Bungee's a man singing Calypso. When you listen, good, to the idea of Cariot and the grung used to Cariot, it's complaining man. Complaining man, trying to say that the energy of Carnival was carried by the grung. I want to connect this back to something I see three canals talking about. It makes me feel bad too, you know, because I'm masquerading. I used to look for costume of worth and so on to go on the road so that people could rope me off side by side, so that I feel more secure. I used to feel more safe. I used to come here on the podcast and complain about security and the ban on the security not securing me enough and all.
Speaker 2:And I remember seeing Wendell Manoran in an interview talking about the elitist and the separatist nature of Uptown Trinidad, trying to make sure that they separate themselves from Carnival in many, many ways. One of them is making their own stage and not going on the Savannah stage. One of them is eliminating downtown Carnival Behind the bridge. Carnival is not a thing for pretty mass again. They're even passing away there. And, of course, the idea that I have to rope you off and I heard them saying that that is what's making the end of Tricanal Juvie Because more and more people are trying to make an all-inclusive or what you'd probably call an all-exclusive concept when we exclude the have-nots, the docks, whatever, whoever we see differently and we don't like the docks, whatever, whoever we see differently and we don't like.
Speaker 2:We try to exclude them from a festival. And there's exactly what carry it. Talking about bungee, trying to say he come from a place where the grung used to carry it, carnival come. If you look at the origin of carnival, it built from the grung. It was actually against the elites, but now the elites take over carnival. Because it's a little bit white, did I? Soka is a little bit white. Did I mention white? He's a little bit like that.
Speaker 2:And I must say I have to blame the two of them because I find myself over the years I went all the different fetters out. I think maybe I have PTSD from seeing all kinds of things in them fetters, and maybe that's part of the reason I'm looking to fet away from Soka. I don't want to see no more busset I away from Zuka. I don't want to see no more bus head. I don't want to see no more stab and man fight and carry on. But Zuka had fight. I see Tommy Schmurda hit that man a quick one-two, a two-piece, with fries, mip-mip, mip-mip. In the middle of the fight Tommy Schmurda hit him to that Tommy Joseph son, mip-mip, it's the quickest two so anyway, you have a crowd. You could have fight, you could get damage, you could get anything happened to you.
Speaker 2:But you know, wendell man Warren make me feel like such a fool when he say you're chipping and you're paying for this thing and you want security or anything, it's a rope. It's a rope and you know you have a big voice when you say it too. I feel so stupid that that man says a rope, meaning that that can't help you if something happened. What that rope? The only purpose of the rope really is to separate people. I'm sorry it took me so much years to figure this out. It's like such a stupid simple concept that I should have known. But I ain't paying that no mind. So when you listen to Bungee talking about the grungiest of characters, it's something you have to listen to carefully.
Speaker 2:I don't know if people get a chance to see the Super Bowl, but I see kendrick lamar saluta my boy zachary. Right, I'll bring my boy zachary on in affordable imports. Let him see the new spot. You know, I mean I like, I like what the team here doing. Again, salute to kyle and conrad and chen. These guys are doing a great job in affordable imports. I want zachary to see this space and be inspired by this space and fellas doing great work, so I'll bring him eventually. But he was so excited to see that halftime show with Kendrick Lamar. I go on to play football. I say, zachary, what is this? You're not interested in the game anyway. You don't know who's the Chiefs, you don't know who's the Eagles, you don't know nothing about NFL. So let me play my little football now. Game starting at half past seven. If we reach them all around half past eight, nine o'clock, we will see the super bowl halftime show.
Speaker 2:And he know all the lyrics to all kendrick songs and he might be the only person who know that because the whole audience look like what they're saying. I see, I see a video with the old white couple and the old man saying but I can't understand what he's saying. The man looking like he genuinely trying to understand, like he leaning closer to the tv. He said I can't understand, like what he's saying. What he's saying song ain't good but I can't. I like, I like the flow, but I can't understand. But one of the things you would look at when you look back at kendrick and if you get a chance to look at it right. Kendrick lamar.
Speaker 2:Take this super bowl halftime performance and stage one of the biggest public protests I think America has ever seen peaceful, I mean, one Palestine man pull out the flag and he went rogue and run out, or did he? But they had a. They had a whole protest against the American system. And salute to Samuel L Jackson, who come on as Uncle Sam and Uncle Sam trying to control this little black boy from Compton and tell him what to do. It was a masterful performance.
Speaker 2:Some people say I think his idea feel like it's the worst Super Bowl performance you ever see, or the greatest, because if you get all the different metaphors that he had and everything that was going on, even with Trump present opening up and singing a line with you choose the right time, but you pick the wrong guy. There's so many subliminals in there. What we see was a live protest in mainstream media and what we do is we hide it and we mask it in a kind of way where they didn't even realize we were talking against them. Salute to Kendrick Lamar, but more and more realizing that I need to shut up about Bungee Gallen and not complain, because that's what he's been doing over the years I went back and listened to songs like them. Days are fetting so I ain't really paying attention. But when you say you want to rape, take this, it's complaint rock.
Speaker 2:He's talking about what is happening in society at the time and taking it on a stage. When you think of Stalin or Rudd or any one of them, any one of the ones we consider the bads and the greats, and the ones that we say we stray so far from or, coincidentally, the ones who find bungee wasn't singing so-called kaiso, you know where's that that dub? He's singing dub. He doing exactly what them fellas was doing, because he have people in the west. Right it have a line in that song saying when we go down insomnia, we park up and we block up the main road in front of all these white people hosting Westmoreland and them thing it's saying that in the song so the contrast for me, while I stand up with all these people from Westmoreland and so on, and white children and all that, the Uncle Sam of all.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. He have them singing Carriot. Imagine that he have the elites singing that the grong used to carry. Salute to Banji Galan. Salute to Banji Galan, one of the greatest of all time. One of the greatest of all time. Salute to Soka.
Speaker 2:I'm saying it again and I feel like I said it here before right, they catch me in Soka this year, they catch me every year and I might go Soka Street Festival too, but I'm tired of this situation where I like going fets and feeling safer. I don't like the fact that when I see certain people, I feel unsafe and I see certain people, I feel safer. That's me having to work out my own biases against myself in my mind and things right, because, again, I come from brass and all them things like what bungee says. So I don't know nothing about this. A matter of fact, long time when we was going brass and you couldn't get me to go no, fat like suko, with the people, everybody looking like that, I didn't know. I didn't know where it was. At one point I passed through, I'm going to take a leak. I'm walking back. I said, but I'm be sure I say well, what's going on here, like I'm in a Renaissance Towers, what's happening? I feel like I'm living behind Westmoreland. It was very light-skinned, but the fat thing, as a fat man myself and I'm not saying I didn't have a great time in Soka, it was one of the best Soka I ever went.
Speaker 2:But you see, this situation where I had to constantly be trying to figure out how I would get a ticket for Soka and if I could call this one and if I could approve this. You know, I was always in this world where I'm going to call so-and-so and if so-and-so knows this person, maybe I can have the thing and I can get a ticket for this. And then it's about 8 am, we want to go and I say, listen, 12 ticket, because it's eight plus it's me and my wife and this and that, and you know, and they tell me nah, boy, it's a good sellout, you can't get that. This is the months before the fit. But they tell me, boy, I could get it. Only I want, I want mail. And then now you're gonna listen and look out on facebook or find a banner, one of these things, and try to see if you could, if you could find yourself some kind of link or know somebody. And when you do all this you have to pay. You have to pay top dollar too, because I mean I don't want to inflation apart and all these things, I've been 80 000 things to go brass festival. So to come to the point now where I think soaker ticket cost well, soaker ticket cost my thousand dollars. Hey, I forget to talk about iron. N-park was good too right.
Speaker 2:Salute to Supernovas. Salute to Starliff, not Starliff. Salute to the three bands. That was there, and our young man in All Stars was there. Despos was there and Nutrien. Nutrien was there.
Speaker 1:What do you got man?
Speaker 2:I remember it at some point. I remember it at some point. But the I remember that song. I remember that song. But the, the energy and them thing in Soka and the vibe and the whole weekend festival you're paying a thousand dollars for.
Speaker 2:If people who leave here and gone right, who leave Trinidad, and they leave after the 90s, the 80s, if them men find out how much we really pay to go fat now, they might blow a blood vessel in them. They might not understand. It's like what are you saying? I don't understand what you're telling me right now. A thousand dollars to go FET over a weekend. I think an individual ticket was $450. But, more importantly, whether I could afford to pay for the ticket or not, I simply cannot get a ticket to certain fits. It doesn't matter where you do.
Speaker 2:I have a partner, my partner private. He take a principal stand against it and he basically saying that if I had to, if I had to go through all that to try to get tonight, today, and I had to spend my money, and you can't give him wrong, because he was one who was saying he would have liked to go iron park, right, and I decided I want, I want to take a lime with him. So bad I decide to tell him boy, do this, do that, do that, do that, do that. So I know how he'll get a ticket and call up at night to see if I can get the ticket approved for him, because I know if he had to go through that process he not going through that process and we would never get to take the little lime at the time. We want to take it and he's right. It's completely unfair and unreasonable to expect people to be putting out that kind of money and then you had to put out that kind of energy.
Speaker 2:And also, going back to Wendell man, warren or Bungie, we're moving completely away from the day or the time where the grung used to carry it, because now we're lining up to ask the elites to have a fet or to go a fet. It's really ridiculous when you think about it, you know, when you think about the origin of carnival and the fact that we secretly make a mockery of the master until we make something where we can do it in public, and then we make something where we could do it in public, and then we make something we belong to, we and for some strange reason I included I might be top of the list. We openly and willingly giving it back. We like we giving it away, we giving the power of the thing away. We're the biggest fets in the in the season controlled by the one percent, the 1%. I went to Mary's Go and check who's behind them things. We're doing it to ourselves. It's a sad thing to see.
Speaker 2:If you ask me, I feel the only solution for me to get I had to stop begging and calling and I had to go in complaint mode. I had to do just like Bungie. The only solution is to do a political commentary myself. All you want to hear my political commentary? I'm going artist man. I don't do that so they don't know it's me. You know what I mean. I'm staying artist man Skins. Yes, I can hear them saying boy, stop living in the past, complaining about fed tickets and how I can't get it. I had to beg and catch my asshole. Yes, I'm from a place where Fetting didn't involve begging. I could go any Fet, any hour, sunshine or shower, and pull up by the venue if I were, and still pay by the door.
Speaker 2:I come from when Cleaves used to carry it and Rhinos used to carry it and Cros, cleaves used to carry it and rhinos used to carry it and crossbees used to carry it and cashier used to carry it and cams used to carry it and off the wallet and at least they carry it and they happy when you're buying it. Arima and Mova, don Sando to Scarborough In St James, port of Spain, chagones to Cedras Now it's quite in December. I have to sit down and remember who I know that is committee member and hope for approval and wait until I'm dead. They're leaving me unread and if they respond you're lucky. But it's hard luck, buddy. I could only get for you. So now I have to link somebody that know somebody and beg for my whole crew.
Speaker 2:I come from. Nduk used to carry it and customs used to carry it and licensing did carry it and brass used to carry it and flower used to carry it and wasa used to carry it. Lara used to carry it. Insomnia did carry it. The stadium in St John's Alliance, all customs In Reba.
Speaker 1:To Mova, not need ma.
Speaker 2:While I have all your attention right, I need to get four tickets for breakfasts About two for our carry people Monday thing, where they have 12 Bayview, three for Private Ryan, About four Soka Street. Give me two male, two female, right Eight Scor. They have 12 Bayview three for Private Ryan, about four Soka Street. Give me two male, two female, right eight Scorch Paran Cruz and one for Duckwork and one female for Ambush right.
Speaker 1:Arima had it, teresa had it, huda had it. Link may have it. Link may Link may take it. Link may take it. Link may take it. Alright, let me come out to Link me, link me Ticket.
Speaker 2:Link me Ticket. Link me Ticket. All right, let me come out the artist mode. Let me play the damn fool too much. Let me play the damn fool too much. Let me tell you what man this whole episode turned into a soccer review. Yeah, they had some short episode disrupts.
Speaker 2:I want to tell you what's coming next. Right, I have a few things lined up that I looking forward to releasing. I'm excited to have naldo on the podcast. Finally, from the alternative perspective podcast, I'm excited to have omari ashby come on. Finally.
Speaker 2:You might get all them thing this week, you know, because interviews come fast and furious and when you see how the songs say they leave it, man red I tell you plenty people are reaching out to for interview who tell me yeah, yeah, yeah. Anytime you're telling the heavy left on red, right, it's heavy, heavy being left on red. It is what it is. It's kind of all time. I know people busy, so I tried my best to work around people's schedules and make sure I respect people time, but I'm glad to have the interviews again. Salute to affordable imports for this space.
Speaker 2:Before I go right, I want to leave you this one. I want to leave you with what is, in my opinion, the best song for the carnival I really like the thousand. Thousand is on a next level, thousand is on a next level. But boy, let me tell you something. I had to do about three, four ecg before I could, before I could really take in thousand.
Speaker 2:My heart is not what it used to be. So I need thing you know, when you go in the ECG, right, you ever do a what do you call it An active ECG or whatever they call it, where they put you on the thing, they pass you the tubes to you and you have to run up a treadmill and they only increase the incline and the speed until they try and half kill you. You ever do one of them. When you do them, after you do as much as you can do this For you to sit down easy and they tell you alright, stay here, catch yourself, you know what I mean. Catch back your breath and let your heart rate Go back down to a reasonable number. So this song, for me, is the best song in the carnival. I want to point out to you why it might be one of the best songs In the carnival too, but this song designed To take my heart rate Back to a normal level.
Speaker 1:We come, cross the water, been through the fire, I know that my heart will show many ways. Everywhere you turn, you see people smiling. We don't see no greed and rage. I know nobody tell me about leaving. We fight for we think and this is we place. Take me home.
Speaker 3:Take me home, take me to a place where my heart don't feel no pain. Take me home, take me home, take me home. Well, everybody's shouting out Right there, it's a buried deep down inside there and if you're looking for me, you'll find me Right there. Right there, a-ri-bi-di-bim-bi-bi-dim. Right there, it's a buried deep down inside there.
Speaker 2:Take me home, take me home, take me home, sweetest song for the carnival for me, right. But there's something I want to share about song, and again, when, when I sit down here and I talk about music and understanding the history of the music and where we come from in music, right then, free tongue is a group where the men, the men and them find a zone. Somebody calypso's there. There's one my favorite free song collective is one called cassandra and I don't know, I don't know how much people have paid attention to this song.
Speaker 2:This is cassandra yellow, blue, cool water that might true, right, but this, this take me home is a special song. I find that we're hearing on the radio and we're hearing in the public spaces, like I don't know if they're paying enough attention to this song. Take Me Home. I want to show you something right, me and Mohamed, so don't look for Mohamed. Kind of voice from me. I ain't Lou neither, so don't look for them. Kind of chords from me.
Speaker 1:But here we see right, I will cross any ocean to find it. Won't let no mountain get in my way. I ain't no lyrics, neither I know that. Now, though, tell me about leaving.
Speaker 2:I fight for my thing and this is my place, and everybody hand raise, raise, hand raise.
Speaker 1:And if you know what I mean, and if you know what I mean, and if you know what I mean, and if you know what I mean, and if you know what I mean, and if you know what I mean, then, scream, take me home.
Speaker 2:Don't pretend it's Mohammed singing that, right, the sweetness them fellas find. Again, it's a completely different song, right, but the chord structure and the way David Rudder was able to take in that era that song and turn it into something where, when them days was the days of glow and insomnia other feds that had it too. According to bungee right, them days, the, the tempo, the music was different. He was coming fresh off a bajan invasion where that was the only time he was getting groovy and david, rather come completely different with his song that have a tempo that's different to anything you're hearing at the time. But if, if, if he was there, you would know. But if he wasn't there, you had to understand what was happening, in the fit to play a song that is open with our father who has given us this lovely season of glory, amen. You had to understand some more calypso, right? You see, when calypso start to do anything that look or interfere with religion, the religious bodies typically do like that. And if you hear the way he say it, religious bodies at the time of saying, well, what is this really? Is it blasphemy? Are you making a mockery? You understand? And then the average fetal when your head bad and it's 50 dollars for a big line with white oak and coke and so on. The average Fetel don't want to hear no song like that at the time. So that song was such a breakthrough song and I see it building Fet's will when there's a DJ or a brother was on stage himself and he say and everybody, the whole Fet, that man had in a vice grip, he had them in a vice grip, he had them in a trance, and it's the power of the song and the meaning of the song at the time. So when I see Free Tongue sing a song that it's a different key but same chord structure, I element a sweetness in it that very. I mean Free Tongue known for the sweetness, this fellow Lou, he's so tight when he play a guitar. It makes me feel to put on everything I ever play in my life and Mohammed voice and the voices in Freetongue Collective. It's such a beautiful song.
Speaker 2:The message behind this song. Now you see that line I fight for my thing and this is my place, and a line in there that say God protect we islands. Boy listen, boy listen the song full of joy. It could make you cry, as somebody who loved this culture and love carnival and I'm not understanding how come I go in fetts and I'm not hearing that song and I ain't the best radio listener. So I don't want to chastise, no radio man and thing, but from the little bits of radio I hear and in other words I would if I have a morning show what better song to start a morning show with than that?
Speaker 2:What joshua Agrella showed me the other day is that we need nation building at this time, at a time where the boss resigns and he go any way or go any way the boss and the police, and the biggest problem we have is crime she lock up and the people who was reporting to she lock she up. It's chaos. We're still in a state of emergency and you have a song like that. That's happening into a feeling that all of us have and all of us know and all of us love, because Trinbago is somewhere we we dedicated to and we love dearly, but we can't seem to find back what was our home, are struggling to figure out exactly why and how come a song like that is not being played on a regular basis on our morning show. You want to open with a song like that is not being played on a regular basis on a morning show. You want to open with a song like that, if you ask me.
Speaker 2:But again, what the hell do? I know me and our damn thing. You know it is, just come here and we'll talk every week. So, listen, I'll leave it only with one here. I know I say I'll leave it in the free time, my favorite song for the carnival and what I like to call forever music. But I'm squeezing in one more before Conrad and them come out here, because I think Kurt Allen captured something here in this song. And as I see Young Brother going into the Calypso Monarch, I hear Mr Shaq. I hope I don't have Mr Shaq one soon with a beautiful song which I'll play over. Shaq, shaq, shaq, catch me. This year he catch me. But I want to open my little calypso account as we're heading up to Fiesta with this one. Before the end of the legal limits of this term, I will resign this office and go after my family.
Speaker 3:I wanna fly before you go, before you think you'll get away. When you began in the Senate of Opposition and waited, waited, your turn. Then, with Manning as your PM giving directions, you studied and learned. You paid attention to Robbie, and they can't black out. So there are their mistakes. So there is not one excuse that you can make, none that we can take, cause. We give you a turn To ride in the PM1 Motorcar. We change the whole interior With propaganda. It's smelling drunk sour. We give you two turns as PM of this nation.
Speaker 3:So now it's my creole obligation to give you a turn before your resignation. Remember it's we who call Eric Duffy, we call Chambers Duncy. It's your who call Eric Duffy, we call Seamus Dunsey. It's your turn now. It's me who beat Robbie like a Bobali. It's your turn, man. It's a Bobali. So if we say you are a bully, don't take it personally. Your turn now. Go tell your friends and your family. It comes with the duty. It's your turn now. Do not believe that we are afraid to call a donkey a arse or a spade a spade. We will pepper you like a chow. Dr Rowe, it's your turn now. Before you go, yay.
Speaker 2:Listen, sweet, sweet, sweet piece of political commentary. The name of the song is your Turn Now. Artist is Kurt Allen. Take it in the point of the song Kurt Allen making in case you missed it is because when the rollers say he's going to resign, he starts to talk about it because of the nasty politics and the mudslinging and things, as if he's above that. But the truth is that it's coming to the territory, so I'm looking out. We'll talk to you all in the next week. Bye.