Forget the blame game; get the ‘music on par’- David Thomas
David Thomas offered the advice when on August 16, 2019 he sat among a panel of entertainers resident in the Virgin Islands (VI), most of who constantly complain of being unfairly treated by the Virgin Islands Festival and Fairs Committee (VIF&FC) over the years.
According to Mr Thomas, he is one that is constantly on the backs of VI entertainers/musicians to produce and promote new music, “Because if you don’t put it out it is really hard for the public to jump behind us in what we are doing.”
Noting that his comments are made out of nothing but love for the craft and those in the music industry in the territory, Mr Thomas said musicians have to work harder than anyone else to “make sure that our music is on par or better.”
‘We all not on the same level’
“All of us are not on the same level, sorry, it’s just facts, that’s just the way it is,” which took him to reflecting how hard it was for him to judge the Soca Monarch Competition because, “I was so just, turned off is probably too strong of a word, let’s just use turned off by a lot of the stuff that I heard that night musically.”
Mr Thomas was also of the opinion that some of the music by local artistes are better than most around the Caribbean, “The problem is that they [the public] just don’t hear it early enough and often enough.”
He recalled the days of Systems [band] raising their own funds by doing fish fries, “We use to just pull up in a parking lot and just have a jam and that’s what we use to do and what I realise is that we don’t see a lot of that happening anymore.”
Mr Thomas hastened to say that musicians in the Virgin Islands need to come to grips with what they are doing, as he threw a hard ball to those complaining of being unfairly treated, especially at Festival season. “We can’t always look at the ‘BEEF’.
He recounted the days of Systems and Prime Time band, who was this year’s honouree. “The one thing about Systems and Prime Time back in the days, while we would have battled on the road, we all were best of friends, facts, all the time, ‘Chicken’ could have come to me, anybody could have come to me. Everybody use to literally meet with each other, sit and have drinks and then discuss musical ideas, that what we use to do.”
Mr Thomas said that is the missing link among bands of today, “And it’s the kind of thing that needs to happen now.”
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15 Responses to “Forget the blame game; get the ‘music on par’- David Thomas”
The problem is not the availability of talent, it is the quality of the music, the timeliness and frequency of the music throughout the year to entice patrons to attend events throughout the year and at festival time and which will give reason to government to invest more monies in payments to the bands during festival.
The bands are in denial that the same makeup of the labour force, is the same make up of the crowds to the festivities. I call it like I see it and I am a multigenerational virgin islander from the East, and remembered when the BVI bands attracted crowds at the East End Festival as well as at the Road Town one.
I empathize with the bands, but we have to recognize the shortcomings and do something about it.
The trend of government spending huge sums with international artistes will not change as the statistics do not lie.
Which bands attracts the crowd?
What is the makeup of the patrons to the festivities?
How many band events are put on throughout the year and by whom?
Who attend those events?
Whose songs are the local DJs playing in order to make a living?
By answering these questions truthfully, may help you find your way to be better and bigger next year.
Even though I am not a band follower now, I remembered from my high school days of the Sunday beach picnics with bands at Beef Island Long Bay Beach, and the many tramps and fish fries months in advance of the festival.
The repetitive plays and months in advance of music before festival and the clash of the bands at jouvert or rise and shine tramp, and at the parade are what attracted the patrons to the village. VI bands are in denial that that is the formula.
To get back to basics, a possible back-to-school jam on Friday, August 30, 2019 which is a pay day, and every holiday weekend or a weekend that is a government Friday pay day. I think there is a coronation event at Scrub Island for Ms. World BVI on the same night or that weekend. Bands come out with a new dance, a new design on a T-shirt, bring a theme from the political happenings of the day (but tasteful...please), a raffle of a car and other prizes to be drawn at Christmas.
To be fair to the bands, I must consider that it takes money to operate a band and ways of fundraising are not easy, especially, for travel and producing a single and even more for an album. The bands would need to incorporate and develop supporting businesses to the band such as a store, restaurant and bar, rental properties, party boat with a new theme each time, motel, etc, or any other viable business that would generate cash to their music business., or a monetized Youtube channel offering a service where thousands of views generate funds.
It is time to think outside the box.
This is the time to plan your itinerary at least one year in advance to open for other bands in the other Caribbean countries at clubs or open air venues, even at Caribbean Parades on Labour Day in New York, in UK and Canada.
This move could be a start to a new beginning.