To give you an idea of my connection to Carnival and what I would prefer L.A. or any other place to experience, let me begin with the fact that when I began playing mass, "Invaders" steel band did not even yet exist; and when the band eventually came on the scene, they were known, initially, as "Oval Boys". You may therefore assume, and correctly so, that I grew up in Wood brook.
Music of the steel bands - in addition to other LIVE music played by LIVE musicians on conventional instruments - used to be the backbone, the catalytic driving force in our Carnival. It was a creative, artistic pursuit; and pan was synonymous with our Carnival.
To play mass used to mean, literally, to portray a character. To tell a story. It was our own expressionistic, local theatricality. Theatre of the street. Or as the late Trinidadian auteur, Dr. Errol Gaston Hill, termed it: a "Mandate For A National Theatre". Playing mass used to involve research. Who or whatever you played, you made a point of learning, studying and practicing for the portrayal of that entity. But most of all, it required some amount of talent and imagination and a certain desire to "entertain" the spectators.
But in the early 1970s a "cultural sell-out" of "The World's Most Spectacular Festival" (as our Carnival used to officially be called) began to prevail - for monetary gain - and the integrity of our Carnival has since then been progressively and shamefully compromised.
No longer do we face the challenge of fending off the threats of "Midnight Robbers", or witnessing the hypnotic realism of a family of "Bats", or enjoying - which has always been my personal choice to play - the fanciful movements and dancing of a "Fancy Sailor" band (Michael Jackson's source of his "Moonwalk") depicting the various sections of a ship; or having to avoid "Lucifer" and his Entourage From Hell, to name just a few . . . All of whom were to be found not just in a few isolated places on Carnival day, but in almost every district in the island.
These traditional portrayals are now shunted, for the most part, and replaced by nondescript fluff and semi-nudity. Our Carnival has fallen so low, in my humble, traditionalistic opinion, that it no longer surpasses Brazil's but more resembles it, having fallen almost to the level of Las Vegas "Schmaltz". Traditional has become almost a dirty word. A word to be ridiculed by a new generation of players showing no interest in embracing the history of their culture. Instead, they have been satisfied to emulate and imitate "outsiders", either ignoring or not realizing the fact that it is their own "culture", the very same, which has been taken, exploited, dumped down, recycled and sold back to them. And they have bought it.
As for the music - and I use the term advisedly - first of all, FASTER and LOUDER is not necessarily better. Especially with that sort of (synthesized) music that doesn't "breathe"!! . . I never thought I would see the day when pan would lose its place in our Carnival and we would be subjected to the American Square Dance fashion of "crowd control"- - When some guy, some person of no consequence whatsoever, and most likely from another island, would be telling me when to "Lay down on the ground' and wine". Or, to "Hold on to the big truck." or to wave my hand in the air! Such utter nonsense. This is by no means the Carnival atmosphere that I have known and loved. Or as a journalist from "The Trinidadian Guardian" succinctly summed it up a couple of years ago, "Rhythmic rhetoric for dictation dancing."
Most golfers pull or drive a golf cart to help them travel comfortably from hole to hole. But before there were golf carts, there were golf caddies to carry the clubs, rake sand traps and offer the occasional bit of quiet advice. These days, it seems you can only spot caddies on the most prestigious courses, or on the big screen. Caddies are a dying breed, but the history of caddies is a colourful one.
Perhaps the most famous caddy of them all, William Gunn, a.k.a. Caddie Willie, is said to have labored most of his adult life at the illustrious St. Andrews course in Scotland. Tales have been told of the infamous caddie shack, where the most horribly unmentionable acts were allegedly carried out, away from the sight of club members. The hilarious film "Caddy Shack" forever changed the way we felt about gophers, groundskeepers, and country club members.
The history of caddies is up for debate, with no one really sure how the tradition began. The most mythic explanation is that early caddies were true students of the game, and far more talented than the players for whom they toiled. The caddie worked the course to gain a better understanding of how to beat it. This theory was proven at the 1913 U. S. Open when former American caddy Francis Oimet defeated Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, two of the leading British golf pros.
Golf carts were introduced in the 1940s and caddies have become, well.. history. Most modern golf and country clubs own a stable of gas-powered or electric carts to give members the quickest and most convenient way to zip around a course. If a player chooses to walk, he or she can tow a pull cart or simply carry the golf bag. Caddies have become too expensive for most players to afford, so it's difficult for golf and country clubs to justify employing them.
The history of caddies was relatively short-lived. The tradition is gone, and golfers are left to choose their own clubs, rake their own sand traps, and tackle the tough shots without that bit of inside advice.
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