Tempo may bring band 'Flags' to Carnival 2013

Frederick Morton, founder of the Tempo Network

Come Carnival 2013, the local mas bands may have a new rival from St Croix if Frederick Morton, founder of the Tempo Networks, brings his wish to fruition.

Morton announced during an event titled Tempo Tabanca on May 1 at the Hyatt Regency hotel, Port of Spain, that he may produce a mas band for Trinidad Carnival.

The suggested title of the band is Flags because the sections will represent the various islands across the Caribbean where Tempo is seen.

This was only one of the several spinoffs from the television network that Morton spoke of at the event that served as the official launch of the corporate relationship between Tempo and the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago through TSTT Blink.

After Tempo was dropped off the Flow cable television channel line-up in Trinidad, fans of the network were presented with the option of seeing it via the Blink Entertainment IP Television service.

Tempo continued to grow in popularity being an alternative source of Caribbean pop culture to other such networks such as RETV and Synergy TV. This encouraged TSTT to build on its relationship with Tempo and get involved in projects undertaken by the network. One project identified at the launch was the Win a Tempo Trip Competition.

The competition presents the opportunity for one to attend the Tempo Turns 7 Celebration at the Six Flags in New Jersey on July 14. Anyone signing up for the Blink service by June 15 will have a chance to win the prize trip for two to attend the concert. The prize includes airfare and hotel accommodation. The concert will feature performances by Kerwin Du Bois, KI, Benjai, Ziggy Rankin, Nadia Batson and others.

Another business venture Morton said he has under the Tempo umbrella is the Tempo Bottled Water, which he said is really for the purpose of encouraging the people of the Caribbean to live healthy. Citing diabetes as one of the most rampant diseases in the region because of people's bad eating habits, Morton said that water is the most natural and healthy things one can consume. Morton said that everything he does through Tempo has a purpose relating to bettering the lives of the people of the region.

Morton also invited CEO of the Rituals chain of coffee shops, Mario Sabga-Aboud, to speak about the relationship being built between Tempo and Rituals through the specially blended smoothie known as the Tempo Colada.

Sabga-Aboud said there will be other projects undertaken jointly by he and Morton in the future. One of these will be the role Tempo will play when Rituals opens outlets in India before year's end.

Morton said on the night he launched Tempo back seven years ago a man with whom he went to school was among the guests. The man was talking to other guests unaware that Morton was standing within earshot and the former schoolmate began to scoff at the idea of Tempo saying that it would not last longer than two years.

This, Morton said, did not affect his drive, but in fact served to fuel it and since then regardless of whatever obstacles popped up, he had the determination to overcome.

Several of the local artistes, including; Ziggy Rankin, KI, Erphaan Alves and Denise Belfon were at the event. Also present was Jamaica reggae artiste Jah Cure, who, along with the local artistes, would later join other artistes from Trinidad at the Tempo Tabanca event at the Woodford Café, MovieTowne.

Fans of Tempo can look forward to being able to catch the network even when on the move in maxis, buses, at the beach and just about anywhere when TSTT bmobile launches its mobile cable television services within the coming weeks. Morton, who left a lucrative job as an attorney at Viacom to establish Tempo in the midst of people telling him he was crazy, is now setting things in place to expand in to other specialised channels branching off from Tempo.

SOURCE: Wayne Bowman

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Carnival designer to host pre World Party in the Park Popley workshops

LEADING Notting Hill Carnival designer Clary Salandy will soon be in town as part of preparation for this year’s World Party in the Park. Craft education charity The Making has arranged for Trinidad-born Clary to come to Popley to introduce Mas-making or Masquerade to Basingstoke families.

Some of Clary's work.
 Copyright image by Mahogany 

 Her free Caribbean Carnival workshops will take place at the Popley Spotlight Centre during the Easter and summer half-term holidays. The families will make sculptures and costumes to be worn at the Children’s Parade in Eastrop Park on June 30. Clary said: “Carnival grew out of slavery and protest, and is a legacy passed on to people like me.” Her parents took part in carnivals in Trinidad, and her father before her made carnival costumes when he was young. Today, Clary’s costumes are legendary throughout the world. She continued: “I want to take spectators’ breath away! It’s all about impact and affirmation, bringing the world of imagination to life. It should be awe-inspiring. “I create costumes that have inherent movement, but at the end of the day, the life of the costume belongs to the performer and they should be able to feel that they can do something exciting with it.” Mahogany, the company Clary co-founded, prides itself on passing on Carnival traditions and skills to other artists and particularly to young people through its workshop programme.

 Their award winning collaborations have been featured in the Caribbean, London, Paris, Nice, Sweden, United States and Trinidad and act as a catalyst for bringing together people from culturally diverse backgrounds. *Workshops will take place on April 2 – 4, and from June 5 – 7 at the Spotlight Centre in Popley. They are free but are on first come first served basis, so people will need to get there early to be sure of a place. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Source: http://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/

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Chinese labour making T&T mas

Workers getting down to business at Legacy’s workshop in Woodbrook.

Chinese Labour has not only impacted on the local construction industry, but has been playing an increasing role in the local production of mas. Every year for Carnival, millions of dollars is spent by bandleaders on materials and labour out of China. Several costume designers and producers last week said it could cost up to $3 million to produce a Carnival band, especially a large band. For a number of years, China has been leveraging its labour and machinery in order to compete in the global marketplace. Using its comparative advantage to gain access to countries like T&T, China has been successfully attracting local costume designers and producers with its cheap labour, reasonably-priced raw materials, in addition to the accessibility and variety of these materials. “We do not have any manufacturing company nor do we get all the raw materials here in T&T,” said bandleader Mike “Big Mike” Antoine. Antoine, Legacy’s five-time Band of the Year winner, who produces all his costumes locally, said accessing materials is his biggest challenge. “I have no choice but to buy the materials out of T&T.” He explained that stores, like Jimmy Aboud, would only supply some of the cloth, and other stores like Samaroo’s Ltd and Tulip, provided other inputs used in the creation of mas costumes. “Therefore, we have to turn to countries like China to purchase materials.”

The cost of playing mas

Being in the business more than 20 years, Antoine said it cost him about $75,000 to produce a band when he started out. Producing one costume now costs between $1,200 and $1,800, he says.

Antoine, who said his band has a maximum of 2,000 masqueraders, said the cost of a costume was an estimate as there were hidden costs and major expenses such as music, food and security.

He said that in addition to paying his 30-member staff, security costs roughly $250,000, depending on the size of the band, a deejay costs between $60,000 to $75,000, and the bill for a music truck is $100,000. Antoine said producing mas is a costly venture and one will not survive in the business of Carnival if you don’t love the culture.
“Carnival is my life, so I market myself effectively. It is also a risky business, therefore marketing yourself is key,” Antoine said he has managed to keep his prices down for the benefit of his loyal masqueraders. Legacy’s theme for 2011 is South Pacific. Antoine said he hopes that one day soon, bandleaders would be able to produce a Carnival band entirely in T&T. He said more needs to be done for mas designers and to raise the standard of Carnival. “We need a voice to lobby for us. We need to market our product outside as well. T&T Carnival is the mother of all Carnivals and we need to raise the bar.”

Limited raw materials
Stacey Des Vignes, a director at the Oasis mas camp, said it costs 100 per cent more to produce a band locally than to import costume-related materials from China. “This is the reason those who are just in the business aspect of it and not for the love of it, take this route of importing costumes,” she said. Des Vignes, who produces her costumes locally, said she shared the same challenges as others in the business of producing a Carnival band. “We do not have the machinery nor the raw decorative materials, so we have to source it from China,” she added. She explained that the Chinese operate out of New York where customers have the option of ordering or purchasing their product from there and then have it shipped from China. She said China has cornered the market because they have the resources available. Des Vignes lamented that taxes on raw material must be reduced. The taxes, she added, need to be structured. “It costs about $1,500 to produce one costume and that does not include staff and other overhead costs,” she said. Des Vignes, who has been involved in producing mas for about eight years, said she does it for the love of T&T culture. She first started with a section in Poison, moved on to produce a section in Tribe and another in Element. She decided to take a year off and branched out on her own, along with her other partners, for 2011. We budgeted and used our savings. It’s a big risk to bring out a band, but we are doing it on love and debt,” she said. She indicated that costume sales were great for a new band.



Bring back creativity in mas

Echoing similar sentiments to those of Des Vignes was bandleader Peter Samuel, a disciple of veteran masman Peter Minshall, and an eight-time King of Carnival, who has decided to return to Carnival this year with his band: Skullduggery—The Dance of Deceit. He noted that mas designers need to bring back creativity in mas. So even though some of them produce mas locally, there are limited jobs available.

“It’s the same thing all over. It’s a poor imitation of Las Vegas showgirls,” Samuel stated. Totally against the idea of importing costumes wholesale from China, Samuel said seamstresses have been looking for work, but they are no longer needed. Samuel said the production of mas has turned into an assembly line, whereby workers are just required to cut and stick. He said he’s made the bold decision to stay away from bikini-and-beads type of costumes. Samuel said he recognises the limitations of producing a band locally.



He said his band has had to source materials from China for two of his 18-sectioned band because the items were not available locally. Items were also sourced  in the United States. Multiculturalism Minister Winston Peters on February 2, during a tour of mas camps in San Fernando, said that mas designers who import their costumes wholesale from China would experience prohibitive taxes in an effort to maintain and nurture the artform in T&T. While Samuel agrees with Peters on the subject of taxes on importing mas materials from China, he said that designers who produce mas locally should be assisted in order to bring down the cost of production. Samuel said it costs him up to $900 to produce a costume, but given other costs, such as music, food and security, final costume prices have been kept at between $1,900 and $2,895.



Government assistance

Even though the cost of producing a mas band is very high, there are six new bands for Carnival 2011.

Among them are Yuma, Bliss, Oasis and Skullduggery. Spice is returning for a second year. One of the new bandleaders, who wished to remain anonymous, said banks should be encouraged to facilitate new Carnival bands. The bandleader said it is very difficult to get a loan from the bank because they do not want to take the risk associated with Carnival. The bandleader said the Government should find alternative means to assist in the growth of the Carnival, that the high cost of producing a band has to be passed on to masqueraders. Earlier, Trade and Industry Minister Stephen Cadiz had said that one of the ministry’s plans is to establish a factory for the sole purpose of producing costumes locally. Cadiz said he would also reduce and, in some cases, remove certain duties on particular raw materials to bring down the cost of Carnival costume production.
Source

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Mas back in Savannah

Flashback: Harts revellers play mas in Port-of-Spain this year.

After some three years of being out on the streets, described by some as a horrible experience, bandleaders will see a return of mas to the big stage at the Queen’s Park Savannah for Carnival 2011. Minister of Art and Multiculturalism Winston “Gypsy” Peters made the announcement yesterday as he checked out existing structures at the Savannah to see what improvements could be done. “This tour is just to take a look at what we’re supposed to do to bring Carnival plans to fruition for 2011. “We’re putting Carnival back in the Savannah,” Peters said.
The Parade of the Bands was moved from the Savannah some three years ago by the former PNM administration for the construction of the National Carnival Centre, which is still to be completed. Masqueraders were made to pass along judging points on the street outside the Savannah. Accompanying Peters was Kenny de Silva, who has returned as chairman of the National Carnival Commission (NCC), and other board members. “This structure is not what we would like,” Peters said, referring to the Grand Stand. He said the plan was to move the Grand Stand further east in line with the North Stand and to establish an active, year-round Carnival “place” in the Savannah for tourism purposes.
Peters said culture should be one of T&T’s main revenue earners in the diversification thrust. He said masqueraders, bandleaders and calypsonians were elated about the return of mas to the big stage in the Savannah. He dismissed questions about the headache of masqueraders having to wait for hours to cross the stage. “Carnival without bacchanal is no Carnival. However, we’re working on plans to alleviate the problem,” he said.


People’s band
One of the ministry’s plans is to bring out a “people’s band” where the People’s Partnership Government will provide music trucks and “anybody could bring their costume and come,” Peters disclosed. The aim is to draw away some of the Savannah masqueraders and decrease the crowd there. “People will go to that (the people’s band),” Peters said. “I hope to see the return of antique costumes and creativity. There are no restrictions. If you are unemployed, make a mas face and come.” Peters also dismissed questions about taking away sales from mas designers.
“That’s not my concern,” he said, frankly. “They are bringing mas from India and China and I don’t know if they are taking away jobs from the people and suppressing their creativity.” Asked the cost of the exercise to beautify the Carnival “place” in the Savannah, the minister replied: “Whatever it takes for us to be here. “I’m not saying we’re sparing no cost. The whole country is under financial constraints but Carnival is also a business.” De Silva said his passion was Carnival management and said the NCC board held its first meeting on the site yesterday afternoon. A Ministry of Works engineering team and an architect also were supposed to visit the area to begin preparations, De Silva said. “I’m looking forward to coming up to everybody’s expectations,” he said.


Mas men respond
Luis Hart, of the band Harts, said he was “ecstatic” about the return of mas to the Savannah. “It’s what we were begging for. Masqueraders missed the thrill of crossing the stage.” He said being on the street was horrible. “They’re putting Carnival back where it’s supposed to be,” he said. Dean Ackin, of Tribe, said masqueraders would be happy about the move. “My only concern is managing the flow of bands to the Savannah.” Ackin said the National Carnival Bandleaders Association (NCBA) had been meeting this year with stakeholders, including bandleaders, to come up with a plan to ease the masquerader backlog. “They have some good plans which they suggested to the NCC. I’m looking forward to this year.” Dane Lewis, of Island People, said moving mas back to the Savannah would give masqueraders the “climax” they had been missing on the street. “The big stage provides that climax experience we have been missing for the past three years,” Lewis said.

Yvonne Baboolal

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