Tag Archives: Disip

Feb 23 2015

Kenny Desmangles Should Join Disip

Some people may have assumed, unrightfully so, that I have an issue with Kenny F. Desmangles, especially after they had read my commentaries on his decision to leave Zenglen.

Not at all and absolutely not. I do not have an issue with the artist. The thing is, though, I admire his talent too much to be able to tell him what others won’t –maybe for the sake of complacency, or they want to tell him what he wants to hear [even when what he wants to hear is very destructive for his music career].

Like me or not, I have one obligation, and that is to tell you the honest truth. Now, what you choose to do with it, after I put it out raw to you, is your business.

It has been noise that the artist’s next move beyond Zenglen could be his solo career, especially after he had dropped this banging solo album entitled Full Sèvis [I highly recommend it; it’s very good].

Well, I object to such idea for the simple fact that going solo in Konpa is recipe for career suicide. He needs to be in a band. Otherwise, he can kiss his music career goodbye.

Before all you Konpa analysts refute my objection, I want you to tell me one Konpa solo artist who made it in the business. Well, for the sake of being optimistic, maybe Kenny will be the first to defy the norm; you never know.

Another chatter out there has it that he will reassemble 509. If this is, indeed, his plan going forward, he needs to be very honest with himself and his supporters to see if this is the best and most advantageous move for him. If I were to advise him, I would tell him not to let his short-sightedness and foolish ambitions guide him to embark on this dead-end journey.

Okay, Emann Joasil, you don’t think going solo or reconstructing 509 is the best decision for him, we understand that. But what in your opinion he should do?

Good question! As I briefly stated earlier, he needs to be in a band. There is absolutely no question about that. But which one of them, though? That is exactly the million-dollar question we need to tackle.

In my opinion, Disip is the perfect fit for him. What makes you think so, Emann Joasil?

Okay, let me explain. In Disip he will be next to Gazzman Couleur, a career vocalist, a superstar, someone having nothing to prove anymore in the business and with whom he will not have to worry about finding himself in competition for stardom and influence. Any of these other bands he would integrate, he will find himself caught up in futile, childish, and stupid competition with this other vocalist he will be standing next to, which will have negative drawbacks on the band’s upward progression and forward mobility. That’s a sad reality we cannot overlook if we want to be accurate in our analysis.

Also, in Disip these two guys will establish a complementary relationship –exactly like it was in Nu Look with Gazzman and Arly –which will make it possible for the two of them to shine together. He complements Gazzman just like Gazzman complements him. Gazzman is a stage animal, he is not quite. Yet, he is a great producer, arranger and composer; Gazzman is not quite. He can handle the Konpa Love tunes better than Gazzman can [I presume]; Gazzman can handle the uptempo tunes way better than he can [I presume]. That is what is called a complementary relationship.

Kenny Desmangles will have to come out some time soon to tell us what his next move will be. I am hoping he makes the best move for himself. In the meantime, I am calling on Gazzman to meet up with him for lunch to talk business. Gazzman needs to make him a juicy or sweet offer he cannot refuse, and it must be on paper.

We have to conserve and protect the artist. It will hurt me to see such a talent vanishing in the firmament like so many talented artists before him because of “bad” decisions. I have nothing to gain in his success or lose in his failure. As a concerned observer and lover of Konpa, I was only brainstorming on a situation that pertains to a young artist of my generation. That’s all. Well, what do I know?

Aug 21 2012

Disip May Not Live To Celebrate Its 5th Anniversary

Abdel & Gazzman Couleur

Whatever issue the DISIP management has -causing the band not to be able to keep its musicians -needs to be rectified.

After the dissension that went down between the leadership of the band and La Porte, Pluviose, Ti Dou, and others, having caused them to part ways, it is now the turn of ABDEL, the band’s sole saxophonist, to leave, and that is on some very bad terms. Explaining the reasons for his decision, Abdel said:

  1. “After I expressed my thoughts publicly on KM [Kompamagazine.com], GAZZMAN and I were uncomfortable with each other…”
  2. “There is no camaraderie in the band…”
  3. “They don’t want you to express yourself if you are not happy with something…”
  4. “Manager Patrick Fabre is very rude to the musicians. He speaks to them however he wants. They want ZOMBIES in the band…”
  5. “I was just uncomfortable in the band…”
  6. “NEG YO SE YON MOUVEMENT KAP FET. YON MOUVEMENT POU YO KOURI FE ANPIL KOB…LE PLUS VITE KE POSSIB [These guys put this movement together to rake in as much money as they can in a very short time]. It’s not like a real band….”

This is what you call bad press, and such does not help to preserve the DISIP brand. These guys need to get their game plan together to prevent nonsense like this one from occurring. We have seen enough of these mishaps already.

How can I tell if a business institution is not doing well with its employees? All I need to do is to  see its Employee Turnover Report. That will tell me how difficult it is for the institution to keep its employees. If the report is looking gloomy, that is an indication that the management or leadership team is not up to par with the job of managing the staff.

Employee satisfaction is a must for the progression forward of any business institution. If the work environment is not conducive to employee satisfaction, you will definitely have an increase in your employee turnover rate. Making sure your employees are satisfied cannot be that hard. All it takes is respect and good interpersonal skills.

How can a business institution be productive if its employees doing the buck of the work are not satisfied? If the employees are happy with the work environment and the way they are being treated, of course, that will reflect in their work performance and productivity. And the opposite is just as true.

After ABDEL, who else is next to leave the band? If the reasons he gave to Kompamagazine for leaving the band are factual, it is very unfortunate things had to come to this. My prognosis is this: if DISIP does not get its act together, if they do not address the problem at the management level, they may not live to celebrate their fifth anniversary. The band will disintegrate, and that will be a big loss for our music. So the management team needs to take the business of managing the band very seriously. Managing a team composed of people of different and unique personalities is not a cakewalk. It is a challenging affair, requiring savoir faire, not charlatanism and amateurism.

Nov 24 2011

DISIP: RICHIE’S GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

Maestro Richie

MAESTRO RICHIE: GAZZMAN has given you *in public* the guarantee that you need to make the transition to DISIP -to come work alongside him to take over this KONPA business.

In an interview with Gilles Freslet out of Haiti, GAZZMAN is reported on Kompamagazine stating if RICHIE were to join DISIP, “li tap tre kontan […] e Richie pa tap vin kom yon simple muzisyen, li tap gen tout dwa menm jan avel nan Djaz la pou sa maestro a reprezante nan muzik la.”

MAESTRO RICHIE, what else do you need to hear from the man I call the MARADONA OF KONPA? For your age, you probably have roughly 10 more years to spend in KONPA; after that, you will be out of the game. If I were you, I would not be playing the loyalty game and, as a result, getting stuck with a band on the verge of living its life expectancy. You do that, you are running the risk of counting pennies upon your retirement. Make these 10 years the years of money raking for you. Quit playing!!!

If you are coming to DISIP, you are going to have to demand that the band’s leadership team be reconstructed. Some of these guys have no business to be in there. You are not leaving ZENGLEN for DISIP to fail. And the success of the band lies in part in the hands of these people in the leadership team with the responsibility to manage, market and promote the band successfully. For that to happen, you have got to have in that team knowledgeable and intelligent folks, not a bunch of charlatans not having a clue as to how a business is run, marketed and promoted.

I understand you might be reluctant to jump on this offer, but keep in mind that some opportunities only come around once in a lifetime. These opportunities are called “golden” for a reason; they are rare to come around.

GAZZMAN has the delivery skills to score big and get you to win this championship. You still have a shot at it. Now that you have heard it from the big man himself, the ball is in your court to decide.

Aug 8 2011

THE SILLY ARGUMENT WE HEAR IN KONPA

Last night on my radio talk show BRIKOURI on RADYO KONTAK FM 87.9 or http://www.radyokontak.com broadcast out of New Jersey every Sunday night at 10, some of my callers were making the most ridiculous argument I have ever heard in my life.

They were arguing that GAZZMAN COULEUR of DISIP does not know how to sing. When I asked them when does someone know how to sing, they could not answer in a way to make sense to me.

I have been hearing for years this silly and despicable argument from many of our Konpa music fans; last night I decided to take a bold stand to challenge it.

If GAZZMAN did not know how to sing, do you really think a man as picky as MAESTRO ARLY would have kept him around for over a decade in NU LOOK? And with him in the lineup, that band had dominated our Konpa music for years. If he did not know how to sing, do you possibly think a man as demanding and selective as MAESTRO RICHIE of ZENGLEN would have had him sing the songs “Ou Se” and “Adrienne?” If he did not know how to sing, do you think SHEDLEY ABRAHAM, one of the best drummers and producers we have in our Konpa music, would have had him sing the hit song “Sexy Love” on his latest Djaz La album? Of course, that would have not happened.

While the American Music Industry is looking at how commercial and “hot” an artist is, we Haitians are stuck on making the silliest argument of whether or not that person can sing. As a matter of fact, let’s go to Jamaica and take the Dancehall artist Elephant Man, for instance. I guess if he were a Konpa artist, some of us Haitians would have seen him as someone who does not “know how to sing.” I am literally laughing out loud and shaking my head in disbelief.

When I asked these callers when does someone know how to sing to them, they said it is when the person can reach the high notes. Huh!!! I asked them what would be said of someone with a soprano or alto vocal tune trying to do base vocals and cannot? Would they see that person as someone who does not know how to sing? They were rumbling. And when I realized that they were wasting my time, I hanged up the phone and picked up the next callers.

Let’s take JACOB DESVARIEUX of the Martinique-based Zouk band KASSAV, for instance. KASSAV has become what we know of it today mainly because of his contributions with the uniqueness of his unusual vocal tune. If that man were a Konpa artist, these Haitians in their silliness would have told you with a straight face that he does not know how to sing. This is so ridiculous to say the least. I am not trying to put my people down, but some of us have been making some of the most insane, silly and ludicrous arguments. Seriously, we need to stop.

Let me close by saying this: some of the myths and misconceptions we have in our circles must be eradicated. That’s the only way we can progress as a nation. I understand you can choose not to be a fan of a specific artist, but you must respect the person’s natural abilities and aptitudes.

Everybody can sing so long as they have a voice. That is why there are vocal coaches in the business to work with them. Can you believe a man as great as MICHAEL JACKSON, one of the greatest entertainers to have lived our world, had vocal coaches constantly around working with him until the last day of his musical journey? I guess some of us Haitians would say that “knowing how to sing” entails not needing anyone to coach you on how to take and keep a vocal note.

Someone’s vocal tune can be more liked or admired than others, but that does not give that person leverage over the rest of them in the league. So please quit this silly argument of knowing and not knowing how to sing. It is all a myth you would probably find only in Konpa.

Nov 25 2010

A FEW WORDS TO MAESTRO ARLY LARIVIERE

Maestro Arly Lariviere of the Konpa band Nu Look

Some People, including my friend Versace, may think that I have something against Nu Look, but that is quite the opposite. I love all the bands/artists, especially the ones making great music and acting for the betterment of our music business.

I do not write to destroy; I write to correct mischievousness in the business. I have written to advice Disip, one of your stark competitors, especially after the PR deal they had with JP Relations had reached a point of no return. I had advised them to revise the decision. Now, if they did not listen to me, that is their business, not mine.

Anyhow, your album is soon to hit the streets, and I have a strong sense it will score big. How could you have a guy like Pipo singing on an album to not be expecting damage? He is one of the very few best we have in the business as we speak. But do not get too hardheaded and confident to fail to do what you are supposed to do to make the best out of this production.

Do keep in mind that great products do fail if the right marketing strategy is not being implemented. So needless to say that you are going to need to engage in an aggressive marketing campaign to get the job done. Here is what you are going to do to get Nu Look back in the lead again. You need to do two things:

  1. You need an outstanding public relations staffer. I would recommend you to contract JP Relations. Listen to me… I do not know Sasa like that. I do not know her more than I know you, and I have never met you a day in my life. She has never been my classmate in Haiti and the US. But I have been watching her. She is one of the best, if not the best, we have in this business right now. GET HER!!! You do need the best to work with and/or for you; I am sure you can afford that.
  2. Part of your marketing strategy should be to have the entire band embark on a “meet and greet with the fans” bus tour from South to North and East to West coupled with semi press conferences. Have the media to follow you at every stop, where there is a huge Haitian community. Have you ever seen the politicians here in the US going on bus tours to campaign? Well, there is a reason for that. It is all about marketing yourself and the message or product you want the people to know about. It gets media attention and publicity for free. That’s what you call free press.

Marketing is all about making noise and captivating the attention of the people. Make it a week-long or a two-weekend-long event -whichever is more convenient for the band. You will be amazed to see the result. Your band would be the first to have ever gone on a bus tour to market an album. Try to be the first or the leader in everything for the followers to follow. And at the end of the day, make sure you send me the check in the mail. My advice has never been for free. Just joking… lol 😀

Nov 10 2010

DISIP: BRING SASA BACK!!!!

What are these DISIP guys doing? Are you guys serious? Well, I hope you guys have a VALID reason for dismissing Samille Vanessa Jean-Pierre aka SASA of JP Relations, the young lady who was handling your public relations for you. I don’t really know her, but I can easily depict someone who takes pride in his/her work when I see one; I can easily recognize professionalism and savoir-faire from afar.

Before her in this Kompa business, I did not know any professional PR consultant working tirelessly to transform the business as usual mindset of this landscape. I used to be exposed to nothing but poorly written press releases, unprepared interviews, extrapolation to the max, etc…

I am wondering who else you guys are going to bring on board to replace her. I bet I will not be surprised to see you hiring some mediocre individual, hired on the basis of fanaticism and favoritism, who does not know anything whatsoever in what the duties of a professional PR specialist entail.

This is, indeed, a major setback for you guys. I don’t know what you guys are doing, but you better get your acts together. You need a high speed PR person in your staff to work on the correct ways for your business to relate to the public. You need that for Christ’s sake!!!! You don’t go to sleep and wake up being PR specialist. There is a place called college where these people are prepared to cater to the needs of any challenging and professional market environment.

See, here we go again… that’s why this Kompa business will never get anywhere. For the most part, professionals are not valued in this arena. If you are not an embodiment of ignorance and mediocrity, you have no place in there. Well, again, it is a Haitian thing, why expecting anything different?

GAZZMAN, with all due respect, I swear I thought you were smarter than that. Let me ask you a question, though: are you really serious about this DISIP movement, or is it a hype just to make a quick cash and bounce? Sometimes, for some strange reason, I keep on getting the vibe that you do not have a clear vision as to what you want this venture to be. I hope I am wrong.

Listen to me, whether I am a fan of yours or not is irrelevant for the purpose of this piece. I have no interest whatsoever in your success or failure. But I really want you to know that it will personally bother me seeing a talent of your caliber going wasted because of some misguided decisions.

I know what it feels like to be operating in a bubble where you seem to be out of touch with reality, and that all you have to rely on is your staff. At times, ironically, some of the people in your entourage may not have your best interest. That’s why it is always wise to turn to your fans for advice, for they love you unconditionally and would not wish to see you not making it. So because of this natural bond, they will never give you an advice which will not be for your best interest.

I was taught by my parents to always speak truth to power, so I am telling you boldly that the firing of Sasa is a STUPID decision. I hope it does not take you long to realize that. She is somebody you can consider as an asset to your business.

The majority of these guys you have roving around you acting like they are with you, they are there for their own interests. You are a hot commodity today, you see them around. But the day you are no longer relevant, you will not see them anymore. So don’t be naive and foolish. I do not think it can ever be too late to acknowledge the misstep, retract from it, and reach out to her. That’s the best and smartest thing to do. BRING THAT YOUNG LADY BACK!!!!

Oct 19 2010

KONPA PROMOTERS: PROTECT THE FANS’ POCKETS

I’ve come across many people in many Konpa circles complaining about event promoters asking way too much for cover charges, which by all estimates range anywhere between $30 and $45. But what these people fail to realize is that these promoters for the most part set their charges according to their operating costs. So asking them to lower their cover charges would be to ask them to minimize their costs, which, in my humble opinion, is where the bulk of the challenge lies.

The objective of this piece is not to go around blaming sectors in the market; it is, rather, to present a comprehensive analysis of the situation and offer alternatives of solution. Also, since I am more aware of the reality in the Northeast market, my focus will be more on the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Boston markets.

In any free market environment, competition is the thermostat that regulates price fluctuations. In other words, when the market playing field is leveled for all the players, competition is basically the element that determines prices for products and services. And the successful entrepreneurs are those with the perfect grip on cost accounting and cost management for cost control and containment, for cost is the parameter that determines market outcomes.

It is not a secret that the recession is negatively impacting the lifestyles of most people in the economy. As a result, less people than usual can afford going out partying. While less people are turning out for party calls, the costs of putting a live out-of-area band -such as Nu Look, T-Vice, Djakout Mizik, DISIP or Zenglen -on stage at any convenient venue in the Northeast are skyrocketing. The promoters, unfortunately, are being made convenient scapegoats and blamed and slashed left and right as though they are overcharging their patrons.

The promoters or event organizers are in business to make money, if there is money to be made that is. With costs as high as they are, with any one of these aforementioned bands on the ticket, to break-even (we are not even talking about making a profit), these party organizers will have no choice but to raise their cover charges as high as 50 to 75 percent. Whenever we are talking about costs, the patrons/consumers/partygoers are always the ones to absorb the pressure of market uncertainties and price gouging. In other words, the high costs are always passed on to them. Something has got to be done to control costs, which, in turn, will make it possible to protect the pockets of the partygoers.

Let’s not fool ourselves, folks. The bands are not going to lower their fees for service just because they are asked to or people are complaining. It does not work that way in a free market environment. They need to be forced or constrained to do so. It is understandable for some of these popular out-of-area Konpa bands in the business to be asking anything from $6,000 to $8,000 as fee for service. It is about the economic reality of supply and demand. Because the demand for their services is going to the roof, they find it normal, and understandably so, to charge the promoters anything they want. And these event organizers accept the charges because they know they will be passing the burden on to the patrons. I am proposing a commonsense approach to fix this problem.

  1. The notion of having regular events with two or three bands on the ticket must be put to rest. It is not cost-effective, and it is definitely not beneficial to the attending patrons. Let’s say, for instance, a promoter decides to organize a party with Disip and T-Vice in New York or New Jersey. I intentionally select these two bands because they headquarter in Florida, not anywhere near our geographical area –New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Boston. The costs of putting such a party together could be in the range of $20,000 to $25,000. And let’s assume that the venue’s occupancy level is 600 people. That party organizer would have to charge at least $40 just to breakeven, just to make the invested capital; we are not even talking about making a profit. Anything below $40 would be running on a deficit. So that party organizer would have to overstretch his/her cover charge, should he/she want to make a profit. The patrons would be the ones to feel the heat the most, not the promoter and certainly not the bands. And the reason for that is because the costs are being passed on to them.
  2. The focus must be on investing in the local bands, meaning more efforts need to be made to stage the local bands –Carimi, Zin, System Band, etc. Call me market protectionist however you want; I strongly believe that the Northeast territory belongs to the bands in the area. Therefore, it does not make any sense for these bands from outside our territory to be in the area every weekend entertaining the people while some of our local bands are being neglected for the most part. No wonder the upcoming bands in the area are struggling to stay alive; they are not being encouraged to challenge themselves. I am not saying the out-of-area bands must not be touring the Northeast. That is not what I am saying. What I am saying is that we need to give priority to the local bands, should we want to lower costs and alleviate the burden being passed on to our patrons. Zenglen, Nu Look, T-Vice, Djakout Mizik, Disip, Harmonick, Kreyol La, Gabel, 5 Etwal, etc… are not playing a level of Konpa which Carimi, Zin, System Band, etc… are not playing. To think that the out-of-area bands are better suited to entertain the people in our geographical turf is a myth that needs to be challenged.
  3. Business sponsorship is another way a promoter can lower costs to alleviate the burden on the patrons. If you are going to have a party, it would make a lot of sense to go out there and find businesses to sponsor the event. Both the entertainment company and the sponsoring businesses will benefit from it. I don’t really know what the issue is, but it seems as though the concept of business sponsorship is not quite registered in the minds of our business owners. Again, if you are looking for sponsorships, why limiting yourself to only the Haitian-owned businesses? The Haitian community does not only do business with Haitian-owned business institutions. We do with businesses in the other communities. So why not going after these enterprises for sponsorships?

It is inconceivable and economically preposterous for any promoter to think that the recessive economy is not negatively impacting the ways the people live their lives. People are becoming more and more penny-conscious, yet you have promoters wanting to rob them of their hard-earned money. The time is right for a different approach to be put to test.

If the promoters are really intelligent as I believe they are, they will invest in the local bands to lower costs and alleviate the unbearable economic weight breaking the people’s backs. It is not that the regional bands don’t have what it takes musically speaking to give the same results as these out-of-area bands.

Charging the people $40 to come watch two out-of-area bands on a ticket (for instance, T-Vice and Nu Look or Zenglen and Disip) performing is not needed, not when the same amount of people could have turned out with only either one of the two bands on the ticket. With that, the patrons could get a break on the cover charge of as high as 50%. That to me would be economically compassionate and the right thing to do.