Tag Archives: Zenglen

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?

Sep 22 2013

BRUTUS: The Man Behind The Post-Richie Zenglen Revolution

Brutus of Zenglen

BRUTUS, the band leader and substitute guitarist in the Konpa band Zenglen, has got to be given a lot of respect for his leadership skills in this Konpa business.

He has commendably accomplished something no other musician in the Haitian music arena has done before, at least not as far back I can recall in my recent memory.

He has resurrected Zenglen at a time when most were ready to write them off and count them out. Because he is not a flashy dude, a noise-making individual like many in this business, many have overlooked his leadership accomplishments.

Some on the consumer side of the spectrum may think it is easy to pick up the lead of a company -after it has been hit by a severe and damaging storm -and take it to one of the highest picks of its success. This is not a cakewalk.

After the resignation of RICHIE, El POZO and JUDE SEVERE [3 key and imposing players of the band] at once, ZENGLEN should have been a band of the past, meaning it should have been in history book by now. But BRUTUS was not ready to retire the brand name ZENGLEN yet. He had prevailed on these types of gloomy and morose seasons before. What did he do that was so remarkable to stand him out so plausibly from the bunch?

He went back to the strategy room and came out with a battle strategy to get the band back in the game with a great sense of imposition. He did not stop there, though. He reconstructed the band, rejuvenated the confidence level of his players, and got them ready for war.

Now, by the level of work being done in REZILTA, their masterpiece album recently released, everybody, including the naysayers and doubters, is approving and admiring the REZILTA of Brutus’s hard work and leadership savviness.

The moral lesson of this story is this: In life, you should never underestimate one’s potential. You will never know what a person is capable of doing until he or she is challenged by unexpected life occurrences and has to make life and death decisions to turn things around in a positive way and be accounted for.

Brutus was challenged and, because he believes in himself and his last standing soldiers, did what he had to do to keep the ship afloat and prevent it from sinking. He did not spend his time in memory lane looking back and dwelling on the past; rather, he got back on the battlefield, engaged the enemy, and came out victorious. That is LEADERSHIP.

I am going to see if [at any of these Haitian music award ceremonies] a leadership award is not going to be attributed or awarded to this man. We must not wait when he no longer matters for us to honor him and his team of rescuers. Because of their hard work, we can still be proud of ZENGLEN today as we have always been.

Dec 26 2011

NICOLINA FLORENTINO: A WOMAN OF CHARACTER

Nicolina Florentino

Nicolina Florentino, the lady who plays the saxophone in ZENGLEN, is a woman of character. Her reason to stick with ZENGLEN in spite of her great admiration for RICHIE, who is leaving the band, should be a great lesson of altruism for all these Haitian Konpa artists. She has chosen to stay in ZENGLEN only to allow her bandmates to continue to have a job and a paycheck to get by.

Asked by Haitianbeatz if she would leave ZENGLEN to join RICHIE in the new band it is said that he and GAZZMAN will put together, she said: “I love Richie, I love his talent, and I love working with him, I would love to follow him anywhere he goes, but however, I cannot see myself doing that to the other guys, if me leaving Zenglen will create an instability to the band, I would not do that…what will the other guys do is Zenglen breaks, this is their livelihood, Brutus and the others live of that music, they don’t have other jobs…I would not jeopardize the life of many just for one guy. Richie is very talented, he will survive, he can produce, he can join any band he wants and he can create a successful band by himself, but not the other guys in Zenglen, they rely on each other…so therefore, I will stick with the band even if down deep inside I love Richie and would love to work with him…”

How could you not love this lady? I wonder how many of these mercenaries in this Konpa business would put aside their selfish needs and interests to stick with a band only to allow their fellow bandmates to continue to earn a living. Well, Nicolina is teaching them a moral lesson of altruism I had never seen taught in this business before. You know what? I am going to see if this woman is not going to be recognized and awarded this coming year in any award ceremony where Konpa artists are being recognized and awarded for their contributions to the advancement of our music. You go, Nicolina! That was a great call on your part. You are, indeed, a great woman, a woman of unseen character.

Dec 3 2011

ROUZIER: IF RICHIE LEAVES, BAD FOR ZENGLEN

ZENGLEN: one of the best Konpa bands

See, this is why I love this guy Fabrice Rouzier. Every single time he opens his mouth to make a statement, he always speaks my kind of language -telling it like it is.

To the question what will the future hold for ZENGLEN if RICHIE leaves, he answered: “If he leaves, Zenglen will have a tough road ahead […] He has been such a dominant figure in that band that it’s hard to imagine Zenglen without him. In conclusion, VERY BAD for Zenglen if he leaves but again maybe RITCHIE feels like he can do better elsewhere. The guys are not getting any younger.”

ZENGLEN will not just have a tough time, it will disappear in no more than 2 years. It is not that RICHIE feels like he can do better elsewhere, he will do better elsewhere.

ZENGLEN’s problem is not RICHIE; it is, rather, the band’s frontman not having what the band needs to make the expected impact in the business. As I had argued before (in many instances, by the way), no one band in this league is playing better than them, yet it seems as though they are struggling; something heavier than anyone could possibly imagine is pulling them.

The band has its own identity meticulously crafted by the one and only GRACIA DELVA, one of the top two entertainers in the business. You are not going to tell me you are going to lose GRACIA and replace him with KENNY DESMANGLES, who cannot come close to being compared to the former ZENGLEN -in terms of stage presence, dominance and charisma -and expect the outcomes to be the same.

Don’t get me wrong, though… KENNY is, like PIPO, one of the top vocalists in the business, but does not have what it takes to be the kind of stage performer ZENGLEN needs. It would not be that big of a problem if KENNY would cooperate and leave. Noooo… he is letting his pride and ego take the best of him. He said recently on KOMPAMAGAZINE that, according to his tenure in the band, he cannot be kicked out; he can only leave on his own terms, and he is not up to that right now. So ZENGLEN is basically screwed with him.

Like Fabrice said, which I wholeheartedly agree with, RICHIE is not getting any younger, meaning if, like I argued in my article entitled Dissip: Richie’s Golden Opportunity, he has 10 more years left to spend in this music business, he ought to make sure that he rakes in the money that would guarantee him a successful, peaceful and financially stable retirement. It does not make any sense to be contributing so much to a business and ending up counting pennies after your retirement because you were being loyal to a company on the verge of living its life expectancy.

My advice to RICHIE is this: If KENNY refuses to leave to bring in a stage actor in the caliber of GAZZMAN, leave the band for him. No one will hold you accountable for ZENGLEN’s demise and unfortunate ending. You are not the one holding the band hostage; rather, it is KENNY DESMANGLES. Talents can be put to good use anywhere they are being effectively used, meaning the same things you were able to do with/in ZENGLEN can be very well done anywhere so long as you are given the proper space and resources to make them happen.

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.

Jun 14 2011

DABENZ: LET ME TALK TO YOU FOR A MINUTE

DABENZ, lead vocalist of OXYGEN

After I read your statement on Kompamagazine and the comments that followed, I feel compelled to write this piece to address a few points with you. (See Kompamagazine link below)  

Let me start off by procuring to you one simple advice: SAY NO MORE ABOUT ZENGLEN AND RICHIE. LEAVE THAT CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY BOOK OF KONPA DIREK. KEEP LOOKING FORWARD.

The more you talk about ZENGLEN and RICHIE, the more you sound stuck on that past, and people will see in you a crying and desperate artist looking for attention which you cannot possibly get where you are at.

You have a band now called OXYGEN, do you not? So stay there and accomplish the things you said you did not get to accomplish in ZENGLEN because MAESTRO RICHIE did not give you the chance.

You can still make it in the business. You just have to have a working game plan. Stop wasting your time dwelling on the past; work hard towards accomplishing your goals; and produce great songs, not garbage (by great songs, I mean those with no expiration date).

You have been to two great Konpa Direk schools -SYSTEM BAND and ZENGLEN. So you should have garnered enough knowledge and experience to be able to stand on your own two feet and be successful.

If all you are doing is talking and making silly remarks like the one you made on Kompamagazine, in an attempt to seize the spotlight, you will be wasted and your stardom will vanish (y ap blaze w ak klowòks, e w ap pèdi frechè atis ou). Have the market talk about you for the great and hit songs you have in your repertoire. That’s how you get recognized and respected in the business. Your work, not your mouth, should be doing all the talking points.

Have you realized how you are being literally trashed and slammed on Kompamagazine? I hope that is telling you something. For the sake of not calling unnecessary attention upon you, please take a spotlight or media vacation and concentrate on your next album, if you have one cooking that is. Out of sight, out of mind.

Well, I hope you read and copy me loud and clear. By the way, I still stand strong and resolute by what I said to you before -you made a terrible mistake for having not returned to SYSTEM BAND after you got voted out of ZENGLEN. It is still not too late to make up your mind and regain control of your singing career. Right now, like many who had preceded you in the business, you are a talent on the verge of being wasted as a result of stupid and short-sighted decisions.

http://kompamagazine.com/kmboard/viewtopic.php?t=35111

Nov 12 2010

ZENGLEN MUST PAY FOR ITS INSOLENCE

It is now no secret that Dabenz got voted out unanimously by his bandmates. At unanimity he got voted out, meaning not one member of the band wants him in. A decision like that would make you automatically think that he must have done something really stupid and out of line that could jeopardize the interests of the band, right? No, such is not the case. According to Kompamazine.com reporting the reason for his firing, “They estimate that DABENZ was bringing more negativity to the band ‘ANBA ANBA’ and they claim that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” http://kompamagazine.com/kmboard/viewtopic.php?t=32610

Let’s take a moment to analyze the Kompamagazine report. This is a decision taken on the career of an artist on the basis of a baseless claim –Dabenz was bringing more negativity to the band clandestinely. The word clandestinely is exactly what sells them out. Clandestinely or “anba anba” means that they do not have proof that the wrongdoings he has been accused of hold any truth. Where are the facts to corroborate such allegation? How come none of these negativities has ever been known to the press? These guys basically rely on baseless claims circulating through the grapevine to mess with someone’s career.

According to Basekompa.com, all this nonsense about Dabenz bringing more negativity to the band clandestinely is not the true reason behind the firing. The website reported, which the artist later confirmed, that while Dabenz was on stage performing in Haiti at Miche’s Garden with the band, he got embarrassed and humiliated by Brutus. The later, in many instances, ordered the sound engineer to turn Dabenz’s microphone down low so that they do not hear him out in the speakers; he wanted only Kenny’s voice to come out, a way to boycott Dabenz. http://basekompatv.com/forum.html But what could be the reason for the boycott, though?

They wanted to boycott Dabenz because apparently there has been some sort of a power strife going on inside the band. The public is more in tune with him than Kenny, and Brutus was not feeling too keen about that. He wanted to promote Kenny, yet the public has chosen Dabenz. It is like fighting against the will of nature. The public wants something, yet he wants to resist it. Why punishing Dabenz because Kenny is not commercial and hype?

Now, let me talk to these guys for a minute. You guys are the reason why Zenglen, a band that is playing extremely well, is going down. The public does not have faith in you anymore. They realize now that you guys don’t know what you want and have no sense of direction. You throw Dabenz away to sell Kenny to a public that does not even want him. You cannot shove him down the public’s throat. Go look around and find someone else. Kenny cannot do it; he does not have what it takes to be what you guys want him to be for the band –a frontline superstar. Trust me on that.

Dabenz’s home of record is New Jersey. The people here love and see him as their own. They take to heart the way you guys treated him. I think you are going to have to do a lot of PR work to appease the rage of the community here. The word in the streets of New Jersey now is to proceed with operation boycott against Zenglen in the state. I am urging you guys to not come to New Jersey any moment soon, not until the people’s fury is rescinded, for you may be chased out. Don’t say you did not get the message. You are not going to treat the man so unfairly like that to think that everything is cool. M swete nou jwenn nouvel la.

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.