Corey Graham 2.0N Biz Blog

This Blog has been Moved!!!

corey — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:25:25 -0200

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.

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CG 2.0 Reviews New Crop Over Website Ahead of Its Official Launch

corey — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:11:16 -0200

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.

Corey Graham 2.0
www.coreykgraham.com/blog

Launching My Caribbean Entertainment Search Beta

corey — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:24:19 -0200

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.

And now I present to you

The Caribbean Entertainment Search

Give it a try right now and add your comment !

Its also available at

http://caribbeanentertainmentsearch.googlepages.com

Click here to add it to your iGoogle here

Vote of thanks (1 min)

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

Cruise the Summer Carnivals of the Caribbean - From Vincy Mas to Spice Mas!

corey — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:56:44 -0200

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?

My Take on International Soca Monarch 2008

corey — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 07:20:22 -0200

This was my first time watching the Soca Monarch in its entirety.

Groovy soca
I tuned into the show with Secondary school champoin performing, He was very energetic spliting and all !! next onstage was the son of the man who sang that first soca tune. Ras Shorty's I son Issac Blackman.

It was straight into the performances of the groovy Soca Monarch.I cant give the best picture because alot of the time i didnt have a picture to work with however i tried to make the most of what i had, considering all the sticking.

We all know its all about the Power Soca Monarch that the big highlight when you talking half million dollars in the prize money and reign of the soca world for a year
you know its no push over. It was my first time taking in the Soca monarch in its entirety and i must say i really really enjoyed it. Its the premeire show in Soca music bringing out alot of showmanship comparable comparable to a small movie production. And I must was I was quite impressed with it.

The Groovy Soca Monarch aspect of the show is the slower and quieter in the greater scheme of things it like an opening to the real showdown which is the Power Soca Monarch. In fact Bunji Garlin thinks of it like 7 - 10 mins for you to put down possibly the best performance of your career.

The Goovy soca monarch had some good entries, I found that the performances were all similar I guess my stream was sticking alot too so i can't really state that too strongly. Based on what i saw i can say that Gyal Farm by Kerwin Du bios and Shal Marshall and Soka Junkie by Mr Dale were the tunes that definately came over as the party songs the others were slower like your were Chippin Down the Road with your own woman or looking for a lil Mo' wuk. Everyone came out and did their role call for all the caribbean nations. shurwayne Whinchester was aa little different in his presentation using a park bench to try to create the atmospher for his tune "Carnival". I didn't get to have a good look at the performances as my stream from C TV was sticking.

At this point I should take some time to commend C Tv on their coverage mainly for filling the slots with interviews of the artiste which would have been done days before the show, They had the entertainers fielding questions not from a lone interviewer but from the public. Yup, the interviews would show with the ariste doing their intro and then pre-recorded clips of questions from their fans. Fans in all shapes and sizes, different age groups and accent recorded in party or on the street or while they were shopping.
Questions ranged from -
What does soca Monarch mean for Soca music ?
to
what do you think about during a performance ?

I must say it was very interesting to hear the artiste reponses and to see accompanying video when the artiste mentioned some the past competitions in their explanations.

So on the the Power soca I have to mention Ricky T (PRessure Boom) I had seen him perform for St. Lucia Carnival and his performance tonite really did improved as he worked the stage and the crowd well. He certianly woke me up and i am glad he did! This power soca was shaping up to be a big show down between Blaxx, Bunji Garlin, faye-ann and the reign monarch D'Boss(The artiste formerly know as Iwer George).
In her performance Nadia Batson (my Posse) said she was being called the dark horse... but watch out tonite. And boy did she impress. In her interview she said she loved presentation and her presentation was definately on tonite. Nadia came up with an all white set. Everyone wore white. she came out when a dance group around her dancing with an african flavour and I definately had that feel that i was watching a
well choregraphed movie intro ... she performed the song quite well and a little later
she asked the crowd to part in 2 and she had all the big flags centred and a line of Moka Jumbies (silt men) standing in the middle of the crowd holding fireworks in hand ...it looked great but then she spent alot of time directing the moka Jumbies and the flags in the crowd and it definately took away from her performance.

Next was D'Boss with his over you head and the Passa Passa dance. It became obvious that his song was designed for the road march when he started his performance literally over the audience's head suspended in a crane. And he didnt immediately come to the stage either, he stayed out there and interacted with the crowd, while his dancers and back up singers kept the stage filled. D'Boss asked to be put on stage
where he invited more dancers to join him and demonstrate a simple dance put together for the crowd to do. Then he asked the crowd if they wanted to see his passa passa and he broke into "do de iwer, de butterfly, the shadow and wave." He then re entered his crane and ended his performance hovering over the crowd.

Next was bunji Garlin ... flew down on the stage with wings and having them removed he started into his "Firey". From the time he started I could feel the conviction and energy from Bunji's voice was commanding and energetic...and with such a simple intro, you are sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. Bunji then said he had a special delievery and called out 2 boys on stage and explained to the crowd he didnt care about winning this crowd he wanted to make sure that good old music is never forgotten. For those of you who dont know firey is a remake of a song by Maestro and was popular back in the 1970's. the boys turned out to be
Maestro's son and nephew. Bunji explained they were there to show he had their blessing. That was great but the enrgy in his voice make yo uthink something big was coming ..then his words came - Start it! Start it! and the suspense was gone. It was just to pay attn now nothing spectacular ever came. But by then bunji firing on all cylinders. lyrics were flying from his mouth like nothing. you could really feel his passion about not letting the old music die and you forgot the theatrics. After that every direction was a ryhme. He was lifted to the roof in a harness and there spinning in a circle he was over taken by this energy. Honestly Bunji's performance gave me goosebumps and shook me to my core by the time he was done i wants to scream. WOW it was firey!

Faye-Ann Lyons
Bunji's wife Faye-ann Lyons followed him with her popular track "Get on". she started out with nothing hugely spectacular. Well dressed in a costume no one has to tell you that faye-ann body is firey... anyways she really did perform the song and her voice was powerful and commanding. She did sing something to her husband.You can figure out how affectionate it was

"bunji garlin i am your wife,
but i will beating u here tonite
and dont call my phone
till we get home"
(not her exact words but u get the idea).
Her big hoorah came next, she said they call IWer, D'Boss and Bunji, the Fire Man. Tonite she is going to be the silver surfer. She asked for her head piece and then mounted her board! And surded thru the crowd all the while performing .. waveee hold it , waveee hold it .. hold it, hold it ..GET ON ... GET ONE faye-ann did well. And damn she had incredible balance to stay on that board !

You tube video of her performance

She was followed by Blaxx and breathless. I felt sorry for him it became obvious his mic
was not configured properly and although the lights were still off even though the band had already started. when he got the mic he just sang - sort of keep it all business, never stopping to talk to the crowd he just got on a plywood similar style to fay ann and finished most of his preformance in the crowd He was too far away for the camera to pick him out in the dark. He returned to the stage and left.

After that came problem child and pelf, who did well but really could not touch the kind of energy or the previous acts....

Before your get the results I should make a note here that in an interview after his performance Bunji said alot of things went wrong and alot he planned to do didn't come off and he was not pleased with his performance. If only Bunji had seen himself lol.

anyways with not futher a due

4th 250 - nadia my posse
3rd 254 - fay-ann lyons
2nd - 257- iwer george
1st - firey - bunji garlin