This blog is now hosted at www.coreykgraham.me/bizblog - As you can expect I am ever evolving and when its time to move its time to move.
Now if you are reading this message in an RSS Reader it would mean that you are not subscribed to my feedburner feed. This means that when I change feeds you would not have a seamless transition and you will have to subscribe to - http://feeds2.feedburner.com/coreykgraham.
Subscribe to my feedburner feed! It helps me to know who is reading which is certainly a motivation to keep writing.
This move is going to be a pretty silent one, no big splash.
Brewsters Road Crew reinforced a valuable marketing lesson I learnt at the start of this 2008 summer period during my time under "house arrest".
Summer didn't quite turn out as I had envisioned it. As a Vincy Mas Virgin, I was looking forward to my "first experience" of Vincy Mas 2008 then I was anxious to return to St. Lucia Carnival 2008 for a second consecutive "first experience" lol.... but it was not meant to be.
Without any warning I was reduced to BirdMan 2.0, just 2 weeks before Vincy Mas final weekend. I officially had Chicken Pox and was confined to my bedroom for 2 weeks!!!!
Those trips to Vincy Mas and St. Lucia Carnival morphed into distant dreams, the shadows of a former reality .... into just another episode of 'wishful thinking'.
I could really appreciate how those Olympic hopefuls feel, when they manage to injure themselves just before the Olympic Games. Their dreams crushed. Well hmmm, maybe its 1000 times more magnified for them.. Anyways I made the most of my appointment to the BirdMan 2.0 post, once I had that a lifeline to the internet I was happy! Once I could communicate and blog.
(Backstage manager - stop rambling and "showing off" - just get to the blasted point - Corey Graham 2.0 or whatever u call yourself.. )
CG 2.0 - Alrite!!!
During my daily online sweep as Birdman 2.0, I came across a speech delivered by one of my favourite bloggers & marketing gurus, Seth Godin at TED : Ideas Worth Spreading.
(TED is an annual conference brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)Click here for more info on TED)
Seth Godin's speech, on making ideas spread really hit me hard, and got me thinking. I posted almost immediately to this blog. And then I saw it play out with Brewsters Road Crew extraordinary success over the Crop Over 2008 season.
Let me share the perspective with you.
I strongly recommend that you take the time to watch the video. Its highly recommended by Corey Graham 2.0.
Brewsters Road Crew (www.brewstersroadcrew.com) are known for their hardcore partying during carnival season. This was what fueled their concept for their events. They wanted to create events that hardcore partiers like themselves would enjoy.
The party would not end till 8, 9, 10, 11 am the next day, it was to be wall to wall soca. All soca, and All Party. There was even a cage made to lock up people who did not party hard enough.
Brewsters Road Crew focused on the people on the fringes. They focused on those people who are passionate about carnival, they focused on hardcore party people. They didn't try to be mass market. They chose a niche market and focused on it. I am sure that those persons enlisted to assist them, were clear on the vision for the events. And it spread...
Their idea spread. It caught on like wild fire, like the ipod or the blackberry. They were able to cross over into many different markets and age groups simply because they had something which was REMARKABLE. They had something worth talking about.
It was definately worth talking about. It was REMARKABLE. I would never forget going to Brewsters Road this year.
Its packed from 11 pm and the crowd just kept coming.
At 3 am - 4 am when you usually expect the crowd to lessen, it just thickened. People left other events and went to Brewsters Road after.
Door closed at 2 am, with tonnes of people still outside, and the venue is big!
Event organizers had big headaches just trying to get artistes slated to perform through the mob of people outside trying to get in.
Waiting outside in a line to go in a fete at 2 am is something foreign to Barbados, but for brewsters road, closing the door at 2 am as a standard
Brewsters Road the best thing since sliced bread? Maybe .. spread the idea.
Crop Over really took over my time and did as it liked with it, and most of my blogging turned to www.coreykgraham.blogspot.com.
You can check it out for some quick sights and sounds from the season, and see what I have been up to.
In the coming weeks you can expect to hear and see some more innovations in the blogs and also some announcements on things I am doing.
The pressure is mounting, my things to do list is getting 10 times longer. SummerTime 2008 is here! The new Soca tunes are carnivalising my inbox. Tickets are being booked, promoters are getting their premium events in gear. BoomTribe wise that means things are getting hectic, time is drying up. Of course not too hectic to let my subscribers now what's on for the summer with BoomTribe.
Friday Night Clubbing at Jumbies, St. Lawrence Gap, Barbados
At the end of April we closed out "Happy Fridays", to bring something new and fresh for Summer 2008.
SEXXY its called. Its pretty simple. Every lady desires to be SeXXy and deserves to feel that way. So on Fridays we say Ladies take some time to let down your hair and be SeXXy
The first 12 groups of 4 ladies coming through the door enter free entry and get bottle of wine free!!!
Hmm ?
Now that's part 1
Part 2
We take photos of the SeXXy guys and gals on our SeXXy wall at Jumbies. The top SeXXy ladies and top 5 SeXXy guys photos are posted online. In a poll! That's right we let the BoomTribe Community choose who is the Sexxiest!
The top guy and the top gal get to bring 4 of their friends the following week along with a gift voucher at a clothing store!
BoomTribe Radio Show & Top Ten Countdown
We have reached the 100th Radio Charts, and that called for a little celebration. Yours truly intro'ed a little video clip of the 100th show - hilarious stuff! Video 1 Video 2
Of course we have the top 10 charts still going strong and now proving their accuracy. Look our for more developments there. Just look out!
Thanks to Nurse Karen for accepting my invitation to be on the show last week. She gave up the insight to the already buzzing Summer Soca Season.
You don't know Karen? www.coreykgraham.com/search
Search for Nurse Karen see what you find!
BoomTribe.com
We are ever evolving, after a recent upgrade on the site, things are getting back to business as usual. We are turning back of the steam and taking it to the next level.
Check out our latest video productions - BoomTribe Visits Red Boyz Studio
Roamin on CBS
We are preparing to close out season one of Roamin regionally and start the second season by the end of July.
Thanks to those of you across the Caribbean for watching and texting!
The big thing to talk about here is the Next VJ contest, I would like to congratulate Carlos Barrow and Keann Walters for winning the competition.
Lots more info at www.BoomTribe.com/vj
And finally
AWOL and DreamLand, Yup these are our major events for the year
AWOL is a military themed event and Dreamland the ultimate Drinks Free event! AWOL Flyer
Yup, I just had to be sure I kept you updated with what's going in the office.
Of course I work directly with the website, and getting this information available to you on BoomTribe.com
Early in the morning when ah just wake up.... says Mad Dog in his big tune for Crop Over 2008. Its been mashing up the fetes here so far.
Yesterday morning though, I found myself previewing the official Crop Over website soft launched on a brand new domain www.CropOverBarbados.com.
I know what ya thinking! That's ridiculous Crop over is just over a month away and the site only now launching!! West Indian people boi! Let me try and save the NCF (National Cultural Foundation) before the public criticisms have them singing " Hard Times hit we, Hard Time hit we, we gine and drink something now." Its was only after the Barbados General Election on January 15th, that the NCF were once again commissioned the responsibility to produce Corey Over 2008. I'm going to leave it at that. I not writing ah calypso. This is just a new blog post.
Right so I found myself wearing my "Web 2.0 / Entertainment Blogger hat" looking over the new and improved Crop Over website. The site was engineered and constructed by the same web architect behind this blog and www.coreykgraham.com. Stan Armstrong of Amitage. Stan is the Man. In his words,
Honestly, I hope I play my part in enhancing the festival experience to all who the site touches
Overall the site is good, I like the way things have been arranged and alot more information available from the website. Stan boi, you got real props for the inclusion of a "festival blog" into the site! As a blogger its good to see that the governing body of a major Caribbean carnival is going to blogging. Yeah i all for that! Blog and wuck up. Hmmm, that sound like a good hook for a Crop 2008 tunes. lol,. right so I am all for the the festival blog. Its a godo way to get information out on the festival and there is the opportunity to build a relationship with Crop Over fans worldwide. (read my recent post on why start a blog? To learn more the whole notion of blogging).
I think it would be even better if the rss feed has the body or the articles in it, then it will be a winner, well at least in CG 2.0 book,
Before I go on you can to take a look at the old site here - Old CropOver Site
The new site is definitely more eye catching and also easy to use. Most of the info on the site you can get to easily directly from the homepage. The homepage also has a summary of the latest news, latest photos, latest announcements and even streaming audio of the latest Crop Over tracks. ITs impressive stuff. NCF Launches its own online Radio station? And listen pod for new tracks? This is interesting though as Bajantube.com now the new hot spot online for anyone wanting to listen to Crop Over 2008 music, in fact BajanTune is boosting of being #1 Bajan website accordiing to Alexa. Check it out here
I don't want to say too much on the actual content. As I understand there is still much to be added, as the site starts to take shape. However based on what I am seeing I am wondering if NCF would be able to keep up getting all these articles, photos and video on the site. Time will tell. Based on what I am seeing now, the content seems a little bit more of a general entertainment site, than that of a governing body for a festival
Media accreditation forms
Rules for competitions, application forms for artiste
Press Releases
Prominent Links directing persons to book tickets and reserve their accommodation
The press releases and media accreditation are the bigest ones for for me, because you want to get the maximum exposure for the festival. Having the press releases available on site would make it easier for journalists around to work to write compelling and accurate news articles on the Crop Over Festival. Having a clear media accreditation process outlined,is an open invitation for media companies to and cover Crop Over 2008. The more media entities that come to cover Crop Over, then the more exposure the festival will get.
All in all the site is looking good do far, with some the fine tuning and more relavant content, I think it will be a bit hit.
It seems my idea for a Cruise of the Caribbean Carnivals might become a reality sooner than I thought!
I literally just finished reading a news article from the St Lucia Star Newspaper that has me thinking I might be seeing this dream for Caribbean Carnivals Cruise materialise sooner rather than later.
I had to stop what I was doing and take the time and share this thinking with you - my loved readers and subscribers!
(Thanks to Barbados Tourism Authority Corporate Communications Specialist Christal McIntosh for bringing this article to my attention!)
In a nutshell, the Caribbean tourism market share declined in 2007 and it is going to continue to face challenges for the following reasons -
- increased competition from new tourists destinations in Europe and Asia
- higher oil costs which will cause reduced air lift to the Caribbean
- climate change which can destroy the beaches and so on the tourists enjoy.
Industry experts are saying that the Caribbean Tourism Industry should look to its largest untapped resource - the Caribbean Dispora. Yup that right, start to niche market the Caribbean as a tourist destination to Caribbean people around the world. Yea I serious, the set theme of the 12th Annual Caribbean Media Exchange (CMEx) Symposium on Sustainable Tourism was "Embracing the Diaspora: Connecting Communities."
I just love the way that sounds? I wonder who wrote that! I know if Corey Graham 2.0 had to come up with something, it would have been - "Embracing the Diaspora: Connecting Communities Through Web 2.0 Technology" hmmm wait but that sounds like a good title for another post! hmmmm, I making a note of it. RIGHT NOW.
You should also note that one of the key reasons for this market going untapped for so long, is due to the lack of available data on Caribbean people living in developed countries. These Caribbean people in the world who are earning top dollar and there have the largest spending power. The lack of info on these Caribbean people is because there is no provision for "Caribbean" in the American census exercise for example.
I guess that makes it a bit of a risk to invest in that market right? Lack of Info on the market - that is good reason right ?
I wonder though is it really that big a risk? When so many people in Caribbean entertainment bet their businesses on these markets? Artistes, Promoters, Carnival costume designers, webmasters? All the players involved from Caribana in Canada to Labour Day in New York to Nottingham Carnival in England to Trinidad Carnival and Crop Over in Barbados.
I mean its not all rosy and plain sailing I have heard many say "There is a lot that is left to be desired"
I wonder if those persons could put a price tag on "There is a lot that is left to be desired". I wonder if US$188M would be the number they will call. I wonder because that is the price tag on the proposed marketing blitz for this niche marketing campaign which is to be discussed at the Caricom summit in July.
Hmmm and if we want more caribbean people to travel to the caribbean, I am guessing that means more money thrown behind entertainment and carnivals, festivals and Christmas in the Caribbean? What about Independence days?
Talking about Christmas,its an election year in US and usually US business drops by 20 - 30 % between Sept - Dec. Its an Olympic year too that always has a negative impact on tourism too?
Yeah that is something to think about!
Other options to be considered are the faith tourism market and the eco or green tourism market, which would go beyond just the Caribbean Disapora. So all the eggs might not be in just this one basket.
Now let me be honest with you Corey Graham 2.0 ain't no guru on tourism but I a little about marketing...So we want to entice Caribbean people to travel to the caribbean.
Hmmm, let me see ok ... its coming to me, its coming, wait wait I got it!! Party, Rum and Wuk up/Wining all with some FREE food?
LOL, but seriously Caribbean people are going to want to take part in the culture entertainment, food, cricket, sports, playin mas, festivals, church, independence days and other historic events etc.
I know what you are asking how do you cash in? Listen to what I am thinking. Lets build a Wining Season resort - complete with a golf course? Ohh Ohh you can get a complimentary rum when you check in?
I know you like it give me a call but only if you serious and have lots of money to spend hmmm ... sorry I meant to say money to INVEST of course. All others I invite you to comment share your thoughts.
I thought this Caribbean Rap would really fit this post - take a listen to Champions by Billy Kincaid
Bring out the food and drinks to this nice cocktail party on my blog. This is the time for the Beta launch of another Corey Graham 2.0 innovation. Its an invitation only launch party. Lots of important and influencial people attending. These are my blog subscribers. Also appreciating the value of your time I am going to keep this launch within 5 mins. So let's get started.
Meet and Greet and Getting seated (1 sec) Most of you are already sitting
Opening Remarks - (2 sec)
Hi
History Behind this Moment - (2 mins)
The Caribbean Entertainment Search started out as a personal tool which I developed to make my job easier. Its really a personal tool that I created around Trinidad Carnival time (February 2008). The list of websites to check for the info I wanted was getting a little long. I am good an google search but it was a bit annoying when searching for certian thing especially names of people in the Caribbean entertainment world. It was a bit of a pain sometimes to find some info you wanted quickly. Accomodation, car rentals, music producers, artiste managers etc. were definately not always the easiest thing to find. I used the Google Custom Search to tweak my search results so that I could see all the things I really want to see, in a single search.
After a little testing, it proved to be worth its salt from there I essentially built my own personal Caribbean Entertainment Search Engine. I only shared it with a few people who might ask for my help to find Caribbean Entertainment related info.
These ranged from people in the entertainment business to persons planning trips to Carnivals and other Festivals. One person who I gave the site to contacted me about a week ago ranting and raving about how useful the search was. It was then it hit me that I should share this search engine with other people wanting to find Caribbean Entertainment Information.
After all it will be one of the things which could go a long way in creating a more tangible Caribbean Entertainment Community, by allowing people to find the relavant information more readily.
Feature Presentation (1 mins)
It took some time to package up, and it not perfect however its a useful tool. And
I am constantly refining.
I would like to thank you for attending this launch. I hope that My Caribbean Entertainment Search make life easier for you. I would like to also thank Out Of The Box Thinking for their continued support of my blog and different initiatives.
Thank you for coming see you at another of Launch Event before 2009! I just know there is going to be some other idea.
Corey Graham 2.0
http://www.coreykgraham.com/blog
http://mobile.coreykgraham.com
My research department tells me that we in the Caribbean have 2 seasons, a dry season and a wet season. The dry season is from November - May and the wet season is from June - November (when we are likely to have tropical depressions, storms or hurricanes which generally means ALOT of rain!
Looking at this you would think that conventional wisdom would dictate our the summer falling somewhere in the dry months of the year especially when there is not much of a possibility of a hurricane. Another angle might be to argue that the longest days of the year must be summer. This would mean out summer is in the right place May - July months. Its possible though that the summer comes from a learned habit from our past European colonial masters? All the students in the caribbean have their longest vacation period during these months ... My research department is digging deeper. I will let you know if we uncover anything else...Something to think about.
Right so as I was saying summer is here, and lots going on Vincy Mas, St. Lucia Carnival, Reggae Sumfest (JA), ATI weekend (JA), Great Fete(Tobago), Crop Over (Barbados), Antigua Carnival, Spice Mas (Grenada) and tonnes of other shows and parties. I feeling the theme song "Out on De Road" by Zan
"I out on the road...
I dey with my friends
If you looking for me
You will find me again
I right round de bend"
There is alot of buzz going on about this years summer, there are going to lots of new events and new chunes in abundance. My personal phrase for this summer is
Whas de cool?
Click here for the first Corey Graham 2.0 Podcast -
It that simple,
Oh I have to give it a meaning?
hmmmm let me see
How are you toning down all this summer HEAT?
For those of you who might want to use this coooool idea - email me and get your cheque book ready we can talk.
Let me know what you think of my first real effort at a podcast
Facebook has been changing the rules of engagement of entertainment in the Caribbean in a fundamental way, which we might be taking for granted.
The Promoters Take on FaceBook
The more established promoters might be saying,
Yeah CG 2.0, I know what you mean.
Facebook is allowing for alot more small time/first time promoters to put together a campaign that attracts the kinds of numbers they are not yet prepared to handle.
What ends up happening, is that lots of party goers are going out to these parties and having bad experiences. This is making it harder to get persons to come out to events. In some cases people are associating a particular venue with flop parties ... and they are tonnes of similar reasons.
Not Quite the Fundamental Shift
Yes this is happening ... but that is not the fundamental shift I am talking about.
That's already happening with music production, video production and the list goes on and on. Technology is making lots of things easier for the average person to do. Its doing a good job of lowering the overhead costs to get started, and as a result, more people are doing it.
Here is The Fundamental Shift
FaceBook has brought a deeper Web 2.0 experience to Caribbean Entertainment.
What is Web 2.0?
For those of you who don't know about web 2.0 you can read all about it here on how stuff works.com. I would advise that you do read about it. Its very, very interesting.
In my own words -
Web 2.0 is a term used to dub the developments in the internet, primarily when it comes to social networking websites, and the idea of connecting people together. Basically it defines the move of the internet away from websites which you visit to get or give information, to websites which you can interact with, you can interact with with other persons online and build up or be a part of a community.
Elements of Web 2.0 on the internet today would be
comments. Persons commenting on articles e.g. regular newspaper articles now allow comments online.
blogging and RSS feeds where users generate the content
owning your own piece of internet real estate free e.g. Myspace pages - click here
users rating products
sites for users of a particular product/skill/hobby. A good example of this is the rapidly growing Digital photography school
Other buzzwords that are associated are collborations, user generated content, viral, community oriented and lots more.
In terms of business, web 2.0 is causing companies well the tech savvy ones to build their websites in such a way that their customers and fans can form their own mini community where the customers
interact with each another
share their experiences
post their problems
suggest solutions to problems to each other
notify the company of issues
help the company in developing new products by providing feedback to new ideas or coming up with the ideas themselves
and lots more.
Its an eco system really more on that in a future post.
Web 2.0 In Caribbean Entertainment - FaceBook Events
This exactly what is beginning to happen to each promotion company in entertainment.
FaceBook Events has now become the standard across the Caribbean. Facebook Events are a vehicle for Caribbean party goers to connect with each other and have a conversation relating to the event no matter which part of the world they are in! Even an ordinary club night is on facebook events.
It used to be a little harder for the average person to tune in on the buzz for a particular event. Now, its just a few clicks away on your facebook. You can hit up the event wall and see what people are saying, drop a comment of your own and see how people respond. You can check out how many people are planning to attending, and look at who is not going. And we all know how much that info will help us decide if we are going or not
This is a big, big difference from looking passively at a flyer on
www.BoomTribe.com
www.whaddat.com
watever.com
www.islandMix.com
www.toronto-lime.com
www.triniscene.com
Kadooment.com
www.Bajandancehall.com
www.partyaccess.net
The next step was calling 10 friends or talk to your neighbourhood entertainment guru to try to get feeling for the vibe of the party. The problem is that sometimes your entertainment guru is employed to by the event so it hard to tell if the event they are suggesting is really the happening thing. Whose is when your friend looking for some action and just going to the party to meet up a new "friend". You going to hear how great the party is going to be, because they want you there for "support". I don't know about you, but I not big on that kind of "support". lol lol.
Spread the Virus
Anyways, FaceBook Events is the way its going down now. The 3 weeks of marketing blitz radio, websites, tv and newspapers ain't going to be enough anymore.
Its not that simple anymore, people are talking to people and listening to what they are saying about the event.
Its about getting out early so that you can allow for the viral element to kick in. Yeah, watch your event spread like a virus. Let the people to interact - decide if they going - get excited and sell your event to other people.
You can keep your ear tuned into the conversation on your event wall and find ways to get people more excited and talking more.
Just like you would in a bar when you hear people talking and your eavesdrop to hear what they think of your event. Street talk makes you tweak your promotion/event to fit your market better. It's the same with the FaceBook Wall Talk.
I consulted with an event last year, it was on facebook early, a full 5-6 weeks in advance.
The artwork was not done, sorry it was not even conceptualused yet. We were early and we let the viral element kick in. Its influence spread like a virus with each connection made. It was supported with some small things that kept people excited. The little things activated more conversations and developed new strains to the virus.
It grew and grew and grew steadily, and evolved each week, by the time week 3 came, its momentum was unstoppable, radio ads were just another a formality. It was going up against another event with a major artiste performing in the same venue the following night. This first time event without a big name artiste and much less radio presence was holding its own.
In fact the second event asked for the artiste to show up and do a small set to promote the party the following night.
I knew the event was safe when a brand manager of a popular alcoholic breverage actually wrote a request to be contacted on the event wall. Yeah that's right and it was 1 week before the event!
I also watched it happen again and again with other events. All in different islands.
The events were out early and let their value build and build like a virus. In some cases some more established events were struggling because they didn't work facebook as hard.
I'm just calling it how I am seeing it.
New dimension to The Game
Yeah and like if all that was not enough, today facebook chat finally hit the caribbean 2 days ago.
It was actually launched almost 2 weeks ago, but it was slowly rolled out to the different networks over time.
Anyways it finally landed hit the Caribbean this week. t was the "talk of the town".
I heard people who are not very technie asking for a mobile version to the all new FaceBook.
That got me thinking hmmm, facebook might be in the number 1 spot as the Most popular mobile site in the caribbean? yeah hmmmm.
Another interesting fact is that Facebook's mobile application for blackberry is doing well too reaching 1 Million on April 1. the App was launched on Oct 24th
Download from www.facebook.com/blackberry and www.blackberry.com/go/facebook
The FaceBook Chat Experience
Its actually alot smoother than I expected and rather easy to use. It was alot easier to use than the google talk broswer based chat. I was impressed.
Everyone seem to be very excited about it. Talking about moving away from msn messenger etc. Only time will tell if facebook chat will adopted over msn or other im programs. Time will tell, time will tell.
The clear advantage facebook has in its corner though are the connections. Many people have more FaceBook friends than they do on msn or any other chat programs. And your facebook friends list is ever growing.
Let's schedule a follow up post in August sometime to talk about it! I would have said July, but July is the month with 3 carnivals in it! Vincy Mas, St Lucia Carnival and Crop Over.
Talking of summer carnivals, facebook chat might add another dimension.....
So now we have facebook chat, Lets say you have a profile dedicated to customer service for Mas bands and events, add the profile as a friend and people can ask their burning questions all day long!
Think about it - we are talking about Global customer support !
Cost?
Well that would be a grand total of $11 million dollars to set up, this system.
$0 to actually set up and $11 million to CG 2.0 for the idea. lol just kidding my ideas are priceless and never ending.
Enough of me.
For those of you with light bulbs going off in your head, just remember its not only customer support, but you can find out the concerns of your customers and fix them before you hit the road. Or have a good backup plans in case things go wrong.
I found out today that one Caribbean Business I actually incorporating FaceBook Chat in their marketing, Its actually a photo printing business Photo Finish. They are advertising support for their online ordering on facebook, using facebook chat.
Lots of food for thought. Lets see how it will evolve.
Break your routine! Just for a day, do something you won't have normally done.
You will be amazed at how refreshing it could be! Corey Graham.
Try it! Seriously! Try it!
I believe that as annoying and disruptive some breaks can be, there is still a lot of good in them.
Well that is if you doing freak out and complain and complain and
complain. Just keep your basic plans in front of you and enjoy it!
Breaks can really
enlargen your perspective
give you totally new perspective.
get a glimpse of what your future holds on your current path
You might get to see your skills in action. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you are capable of
Give yourself permission to take breaks.
I learnt this last year when I went to St. Lucia Carnival at the height of 'Festival Fever' for Crop Over in Barbados.
I was a bit skeptical as to how the trip would turn out, especially since I didn't have many real links in St. Lucia.
However, I ended up having a blast and realising how small and yet how similar the Caribbean is.
Yet still how far apart and oblivious we are of each other....
It took 9 months for the St. Lucian Road March to leave Wave FM and
reach Bajan airwaves of Mix FM 96.9, Hott 95.3 and 98.1 FM The One....
'Caribbean Integration' will be a future post. For now I wanted make the point
that the trip expanded my mind to appreciate that I am a really
Caribbean Man from Barbados. And now I can look at this coming summer from a much broader perspective.
Yes, Yes small islander still having to hunt for my food ...but now in a concrete jungle.
Since then I have given myself permission to take breaks and life seems all the brighter and more fulfilling for it
Break the Routine up a bit. Don't expect chaos, Just some perspective. Allow yourself be refreshed!
It has come to my attention that there is going to be a new option available for those of you planning to vacation in the Caribbean this summer.
A grouping of Caribbean Tourism ministers, some of the major cruise liners along tour operators in the world have come together to offer cruises this summer which will see the packaging the summer festivals of the Caribbean into a range of cruises.
Caribbean Summer Festivals of Interest
Vincy Mas - St. Vincent & the Grenadines
St. Lucia Carnival - St. Lucia
Crop Over - Barbados
ATI - Jamaica
Great Fete - Trinidad and Tobago
Antigua Carnival - Antigua
Reggae Sumfest - Jamaica
Spice Mas - Grenada
Yes, yes I couldn't believe it!
Can you imagine that?
Ok let me paint a picture for you....
After parading in the Streets of Kingstown for Vincy Mas with the music of Zoelah, Jamesey P, Skinny Fabulous and crew. You stumble to your 'hotel room' on a cruise liner and the next morning you step out into Castries with car pasing blairing the sounds of Ricky T, Kakal and Alpha. Hitting the road for J'Ouvert and Pretty Mas with the bands Just 4 Fun and Red International.
The next stop is to the Soca Bowl (Soca Monarch) on the East Coast Road in Barbados climaxing on Kadooment day with the sounds of Hypa Daug, Krosfyah and Alison Hinds. Down behind the Baje International or Power By 4 music truck.....
I think you get the picture.
Alrite, now let me make your blood boil now (esp. The Yankees DEM). This cruise will have what they call the "Premium Carnival Experience".
No, no! this is not just getting VIP tickets to the major events. I am talking about no hassles.
No calling 10 people to secure tickets for your crew for the fetes.
No saving scalpers numbers in your phone. And paying a lot more money for your tickets just cause you have a foreign accent.
No getting lost for an hour of your valueable liming/party time.
What about your costumes? Ladies do I really, really need to get into the mis match horror stories. Many of you know about jumping and not looking your best!
The Premium Carnival Experience
All passengers on the cruise will never have to touch a single event ticket!!!! Ever!
Every passenger will be banded once they get on the bus, wait let me re-phrase that! When the fully air conditioned coach arrives at the venue each passenger will be banded and will enter the fete in a special line. No lines and no designated drivers or navigators needed! Sorry!!! For you who look forward to being awarded that responsibility.
As far as Playin' Mas goes....Mas Bands, will be invited on board the cruise ship to deliver costumes and to ensure passengers are 'road worthy'.
Where did this all start?
Apparently this idea came up
during talks regarding ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 held in the Caribbean....
....It came back to the basic rule all major promoters know. Its better to build up an annual event over time than run after a one time opportunistic events. The risk is just so much larger.....
So why just stop at cricket?
It didn't turn out so good but some of the Cricket World Cup discarded partying ideas made it into the Summer Festivals and did pretty well in that forum.
This was the first indication that this idea has something to it.
Ok look lets at it
tourism ministries and tour operators will now have a product with tremendous credibility and appeal to many more persons. No Hassles, less unknowns, no local connections needed.
festivals will grow, with some cruise ships with a capacity of approx 3000 people, that is 3000 more people to experience the festival...
Ok let me put to you like this way. If you put together the largest mas bands in Crop Over and St. Lucia mas you cannot fill 1 cruise ship!
Cruise ships companies can now add another package to their current offering.
Mas Bands and Promoters would have confirmed sales from much earlier and so they can invest more into producing a quality show and costumes.
lots of other small businesses will benefit from the increased visitors on the island.
I understand that the details of the package still need to be worked out. However, the initial market research indicates that these cruise packages are expected to attract alot students, graduates and young professionals who have very few responsibilities.(e.g. children, Mortages etc).
Marketing Campaigns will be directed to the universities in the caribbean (UWI, SGU, etc). Also those in the diaspora McGill, York, Toronto, CUNY, Miami International, Howard and a few more.
Its also expected to have a good response from the groups of Stella's out there looking to get their groove back on! Lol. And of course a good wine or wuk-up!
My take on it is that it will be a tremendous benefit to the economies of the Caribbean esp. the 'Carnival Nations'.
Now for those news reporters reading this, let me save you a call or email by giving you a quote now.
'Its a paradigm shift in tourism in the caribbean. Its a very innovative and very creative product which is well positioned to grow rapidly in the coming years. It embraces the new trend of cruising and carnivals worldwide, while leveraging the close proximity of isles of the Caribbean and the similarities of the cultures along with the great diversities in the cultures. You couldn't want it Better than that!' Said Corey Graham 2.0
'Also of course it is April Fools day and I just got you!'Laughed Corey Graham 2.0
Or did I really get you?
Is this not an inevitable step?
Maybe its just a conversation we have not got into as yet as a Caribbean Community.
I have started it here on my Blog. Now my question to you is .....
Will you join me in this conversation?
Corey K Graham : What about the other entertainment Shaggy and Alison Hinds ...
CG 2.0 : Hmmm there was alot of entertainment planned the Heineken Regatta is really a 4 - day event but the Alison hinds ....
Corey K Graham : Alrite maybe you can give us a short run down of the Schedule ?
CG 2.0 : Yeah man I can do that... Alrite so..........
Day 1 (Thrus) At Port De Plaisance (the warm up day for sailing)
Fashion show followed by 2 local bands take the stage White Knuckle Weekend(Rock Band)and One White Chick(9 piece soul band).
Day 2 (Fri) At Philipsburg, Boardwalk (first day of the race)
Boardwalk was set up with 3 stages Island Flavor, Holland house and St. Rose Arcade. The St. Rose Arcade. The performances we got to see were HoneyPot(versatile band from Aruba), Intwine (St. Maarten born-International Rock Band) and King T-Mo (st. Martin Carnival Jump Up King)
Day 3 (Sat) At Marigot , Waterfront (second day of the race)
International Ladies Day and it was fitting to have 2 female soca stars in the "Soca Queen" Alison Hinds from Barbados and Tizzy with El-A-Kru from Antigua and Cutcreator DJ Outkast from St. Maarten.
Day 4 (Sun) At Kim sha Beach, (final day of the race) International Superstar Shaggy (Mr Lova Lova) from Jamaica, Youth Waves from St. Martin, Pan Band and Mixmaster Pauly.
Corey K Graham : Wow man that is alot of entertainment .....
CG 2.0 : Its a kind of showcase of the Caribbean Culture for sailors, spectators and locals....St. Maarten is not your typical Caribbean island there is alot of dance music, zouk and other genre you won't usually expect when partying in the Caribbean.... There was even a premiere of St Maarten movie.
Trailer shown for a St. Maarten Movie - The Panman: Rhythm of the Palms
Corey K Graham :Wow man that looking like a Hollywood style trailer that was not expected at all!
CG 2.0 : Yeah man its for international release they said.
Corey K Graham : What stood out in the entertainment package for the Regatta? Something you not accustomed to?
CG 2.0 : Definately the variety, I know about Alison Hinds, Tizzy (El-A-Kru) and Shaggy before the Regatta but I mean the other bands I didn't know very much about them. I guess I would have to admit the whole North of the Caribbean is all a bit new to me. I think though Intwine was definately intriguting to be. I am told they are pretty big in Holland, they are a rock band, but to connect with their Caribbean roots they created something called the 'Rum shop" acoustic session that they have become known for. Its really like a musical melting pot with short clips of some top Caribbean hits that are blazing the airwave across the region from every genre. All mixed into a acoustic session. I am sure as a Caribbean person no matter your musical preference you would have found your leg shaking during their performance.
Corey K Graham : hahaha yeah ?
CG 2.0 : yeah man for sureeee
Corey K Graham : Anything else that stood out? That was different for you!
CG 2.0 : Definately Mix Master Pauly facing off musically against St. Maarten's top pan man. It was crazy .... that's definately a clip i will get up on BoomTribe.com soon! the pan name playing the pan upside down and DJ Paulie keeping up with him. It was maddd!!
Corey K Graham : hahahaha ...
CG 2.0 : Oh and I almost forgot! Vicks is Fa Cold and fa Cough (Read aloud and quickly lol). That was a one song that certainly stood out! It was killing me dead. King T-Mo really did well with that tune....
Corey K Graham : ahahaha, What about the other performances?
CG 2.0 : Everyone seemed to be on their A game, from the press conference where we got our interviews with Tizzy, Alison Hinds and Shaggy for Roamin TV show. When they took to the stage at their appointed times they really delivered.
Tizzy really stood out for her energy even though she had 3 false starts due to technical difficulties with the sound system. when she go going she really did! The crowd going crazy to her hit "Expose". Tizzy was just about looking sexy and cute she showed she had all the moved to back it up!
Alison Hinds really did well too, having the crowd singing along with her most of her performance to songs like "Faluma", "Raggamuffin", "Thundah" and "Roll" and more.
Her dancers providing good visual support to her show. Alison was looking well herself!!!
Corey K Graham : Hahaha sounds like you enjoyed your International Women Day!
CG 2.0 : Yes i did!
Corey K Graham : Tell me did the ladies, Enjoy Mr Lova Lova?
CG 2.0 : Listen, Shaggy came out and in a few second said he was feeling horny. Man for the women it was all over ... all the women were hooked from there, esp those volunteers that were working all weekend, they went crazyyyyyyyy. I was impressed with Shaggy he really performed and rocked the crowd. Took the party to another level. Shaggy is a real star man, just real matter a fact and confident throughout his interview.
Corey K Graham : That's why they call him "Mr Boombastic".
CG 2.0 : Did i mention all these parties were free? all?
Corey K Graham : No you didn't!!!
CG 2.0 : Yeah man all them were free. and it suprised me! But after all Heineken ain't got small bank accounts. Also St. Maarten is a big Heineken market. Actually There is the new Heineken Premium Light that is only available in 3 places in the world and St. Maarten is one of them!!
Corey K Graham : Really? Is it any good?
CG 2.0 : Its smoother that the regular heineken's. but the Heineken in St. Maarten in general tasted different because they are brewed in Holland. The South Caribbean gets
Heineken's from St. Lucia.
Corey K Graham : Talking about that? you were mentioning something about a Heineken plane ?
CG 2.0 : Oh yeah believe it or not there is a plane that was turned into a restuarant. So you can actually dine on board the plane in the fuselage!!!
Corey K Graham : Are you serious ????
CG 2.0 : Yesssssss, lol look at the photos. we did some filming of it for Roamin' too. Apparently it was a plane that the wings had been dismantled in Anguilla and it was brought to St. Maarten and made into a restaurant!
Corey K Graham : St. Maarten does sound like an interesting place? What about the night clubs ?
CG 2.0 : We hit 2 clubs Bliss and newly opened Mansion. Because of your hectic schedule we only really got just over an hour in each club. They were really nicely laid out. Bliss is an outdoor club, with a indoor type feel it was definately nice. Although its an outdoor club the dance floor is still light up with all the lighting effect you expect from an indoor club. You can really feel like you are in an indoor club
Mansion is just as nice. its a smaller club but styled with couches running throughout. It done in such a way that people are able to stand on the back of the cushions and party the night away!
Corey K Graham : Sounds good ...
CG 2.0 : Yeah man, let me know forget Klush Ultra Lounge with the largest collection of 128 vodkas in the caribbean and probably soon the world. Very chic place with nice decor and a very keen staff. The bar tender and chef were definately on the top of their game. There was new bartender just on the island for a few weeks and he was becoming know for his Rasberry Mohito which I have to say was quite good. I was definately impressed! The food was just as good as we took some time lounge around.
Corey K Graham : That's how you are rolling?
CG 2.0 : In a little bit I hope to be getting accustomed to it !!
Corey K Graham : Thanks for a good interview man, funny thing though, I feel like I know you!
CG 2.0 : Same here, I dont know. thanks for having me.
Corey K Graham : Np
So there you know my experiences in Sint. Maarten all captured in interview format. I interviewed myself yes .... dont call it cocky ... crazy works for me.
Thanks.
I am back home from my trip to the Heineken Regatta. Its was quite an experience flying to the north Caribbean. All the islands are soo much closer to each other (more on this in another post)
I had hoped that I would have been able to take you along with me daily as it unfolded, however that was not possible between my very very poor cellular signal and also a very demanding schedule of shoots and coverage of the 4 days of action that is the Heineken Regatta.
I am going to try to mash together my impressions of it in this post so that you can get a real feel for it. I guess it might be good to take a wholistic approach to it. Hmm maybe i can interview myself!
Hmm well where do I start....
Corey K Graham : Yo man
CG 2.0 : yeah man what's up ?
Corey K Graham : Had a Heineken yet for this Weekend ?
CG 2.0 : Hahahaha, I had enough last weekend for the rest of the summer. Heineken Reggatta was an experience..... believe it or not Heineken's were even in the press pack! and $ 2 Heinekens for the entire weekend long. Corey K Graham : You Serious!
CG 2.0 : Yeah and because you have on your media badge there was always another Heineken on its way from somewhere.
Corey K Graham : For the people out there who dont know what is the Heineken Regatta really about ?
CG 2.0 : Oh hmmm, A regatta is really a collection of boat races. The Heineken Regatta in Sint Maarten is really a partnership between the Sint Maarten Yacht Club and Heineken to put on what has now become on of the premiere events on the Yachting calender worldwide and definately a major event for the North of the Caribbean period. Heineken is of course all about the partying and having some "serious fun".... Of course this is where I come jumped on the board via of course Roamin TV show on WSEE (CBS Affiliate) and BoomTribe.com.
Corey K Graham : I thought the BoomTribe crew had a team for the Regatta ?
CG 2.0 : lolman ... we just might!!! We were at a press conference hearing about the Gun Boats. These boats are at the top of the food chain and will a calm 45 million the most expensive yachts actually competing in the regatta ...we are not ready for the sailing just yet, soon thought soon lol...and you know we would have to be rollin in a Gun Boat!
Corey K Graham : Alrite man we looking out for big red sails ... with the big BT?
CG 2.0 : Yeah man apparently this Regatta is really a big deal, over 4000 people are actually involved in the sailing aspect of the regatta whether it be competitors, support teams or officials etc. and that is not counting in the sailing enthusiasts who travel from all over the world to be a part of Regatta. They were saying its the right time of the year .... further up north its winter and its a good time to come to the Caribbean and spend a few months. Also there is no need for great navigation skill cause you ca nsee that island as you sail down.
Corey K Graham : Wow sounds like a melting point - that alot of flavour in the entertainment ?
CG 2.0 : Yeah man for sure, from wet t-shirt contests to shaggy it was certainly varied.
Naturally the Heineken Regatta's entertainment is very much about the sailors & co. bonding over some beers after a long hard day of sailing.
Corey K Graham : Wait, wait, wait, you slow down - wet t-shirt contest? You said that so cool and calm
CG 2.0 : Lol that's how it was, I mean it was a few party at the Soggy Dollar Bar, with guys and gals watching ... I mean it was shocking to me but it was like an ordinary pageant show to everyone else lol. But it was girls from all over the world Spain, Columbia, Venezuela, South Africa ... It was a Miss Universe Show. Its the unofficial launch party of the Regatta.
Corey K Graham : Where are the pictures ?
CG 2.0 : Unfortunately I didnt have a camera but i am sure Youtube got a scoop. So many guys had their camera's wet. Look out for something on BoomTribe.com on it! It was a good show man! On and it was a really nice laid out bar for sure.
Corey K Graham : What about the other entertainment Shaggy and Alison Hinds ...
Look out for the rest of the interview in another post.
St. Marteen is certainly different from the other Caribbean countries I have visited Trinidad, Grenada and St. Lucia.
Besides having a nice airport it's a beautiful island with a nice mix of flat land, mountains, beaches, lagoons and lakes.
The strong european influence is definately there. We all have heard I think the biggest one was driving in traffic heard 'weed' play continuously in the hook of a popular rap tune on regular St. Maarten radio!
Yup, St. Maarten is definately a more liberal place.
Oh and another thing, there seems to be traffic everywhere in St. Maarten. From noon to 2 am, there was bumper to bumper traffic everywhere. I guess the area we were moving around, has some large lakes and there is only one road you can take!
It definately makes for a some great scenery. I would love to be here with a DSLR camera, photographing the landscape with tonnes of yachts in the marina.
There are tonnes of yachts in the marina now.
In fact there are 280 entries to the Regatta some people sailed all the way from Spain! To be in this race. Those are just the contestants. In the there are yachts in all shapes and sizes. Tonnes of dingys to take people to and from their yachts.
One thing the Regatta's boosts is a list of returning volunteers from all corners of the globe who come to St. Maarten every year just to work in to Regatta and for free!
And I do love the Regatta crew. I am talking about the people who give you a 6 pack of Heineken as part of the press pack!! They are organising a day for us to go out on the water and check out the racing...that should be exciting.
It was a good day we got some nice interviews and good footage. And it was back to the L'Esperance hotel (www.lesperancehotel.com)for a rest until the night life begins.
Corey Graham 2.0
Blog : http://www.coreykgraham.com/blog/
Sent from my BlackBerry? wireless device from Cable & Wireless
In the morning I will be flying off to the 28th Annual Heineken Regatta in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. (dutch side)
Its basically a big yacht race with an equally as big party schedule ... if you are from the Caribbean of course you will make the connection between a big yacht race and 4 highly energetic nights of partying featuring local, regional and international artistes. Yip jthat's right a valid reason to party. lol!
Seriously, though its my first time going, but I am told its a big, big deal. The Heineken Crew from all over the Caribbean looks forward to this event every year and so do the people of St. Maarten. Its bigger than their carnival have features a wide variety of music - rock, soca, soul, pop, electro acoustic, reggae, dancehall,rap, latin, jazz, zouk and salsa. I hope i covered all of them!
Shaggy and Alison Hinds are headlining the long list of entertainment for this the 2008 Heineken Regatta along with El-A-Kru, Curcreator Outkast, King T-Mo(St. Maarten Carnival Jump Up King).
I am sure its going to be quite an experience for me, its my first time going to cover for BoomTribe.com. I will be with the Roamin' TV crew of course ... also covering the Heineken Regatta looking to package yet another Caribbean Festival and put it on the screen. After recently closing a deal with CBS Roamin is now on CBS's Caribbean Affliate station WSEE TV which puts it in front of 16 million people. (read more on that here)
Also on the agenda is to check out the 3 biggest clubs in St. Marteen Club Bliss
The Q Club
The Gizmo
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Graham : Alrite maybe you can give us a short run down of the Schedule ?
Day 2 (Fri) At Philipsburg, Boardwalk (first day of the race)
locals....St. Maarten is not your typical Caribbean island there is alot of dance music, zouk and other genre you won't usually expect when partying in the Caribbean.... There was even a premiere of St Maarten movie.
something called the 'Rum shop" acoustic session that they have become known for. Its really like a musical melting pot with short clips of some top Caribbean hits that are blazing the airwave across the region from every genre. All mixed into a acoustic session. I am sure as a Caribbean person no matter your musical preference you would have found your leg shaking during their performance.
CG 2.0 : Definately Mix Master Pauly facing off musically against St. Maarten's top pan man. It was crazy .... that's definately a clip i will get up on BoomTribe.com soon! the pan name playing the pan upside down and DJ Paulie keeping up with him. It was maddd!!
CG 2.0 : Everyone seemed to be on their A game, from the press conference where we got our interviews with Tizzy, Alison Hinds and Shaggy for Roamin TV show. When they took to the stage at their appointed times they really delivered.
Alison Hinds really did well too, having the crowd singing along with her most of her performance to songs like "Faluma", "Raggamuffin", "Thundah" and "Roll" and more. 
volunteers that were working all weekend, they went crazyyyyyyyy. I was impressed with Shaggy he really performed and rocked the crowd. Took the party to another level. Shaggy is a real star man, just real matter a fact and confident throughout his interview.
eken in St. Maarten in general tasted different because they are brewed in Holland. The South Caribbean gets 
Apparently it was a plane that the wings had been dismantled in Anguilla and it was brought to St. Maarten and made into a restaurant!
Hmm well where do I start....
Corey K Graham : Wait, wait, wait, you slow down - wet t-shirt contest? You said that so cool and calm
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