It ent only rock ‘n’ roll
Lisa Allen-Agostini (Trinidad Guardian)Gary Hector and Damon Homer trying a thing with a new music show in town on a Tuesday night. They calling it Anarchy on the Ave, and is a punk show.
The word “punk” might make it sound kind of bad; a punk is not somebody you want to have as a friend because he ent go be much of a friend, only punking out when you need him most. By definition, when you get “punk’d,” is because you get fool up real bad, like on that dotish American show on cable TV with Ashton Kutcher. A punk is a wimp, a sell-out, a waste-of-time man.
But you see, the fellas and them who have the show is the opposite of that. Is fight them fighting to make they own music scene.
When people say T&T music, they does think soca, calypso, chutney. But we music is more than that. Just as how you can’t say is only black people and Indians living in T&T, because you go be ignoring a whole set of other T&T people, is the same way you can’t say we music is only one thing. We have a bad, bad rock scene, from ever since.
Touchdown, from back in the day, and Orange Sky all now wrecking shots in the dance for all who want to listen.
But who listening? A set of young kids, you go say, with no ambition and no sense of what it is to belong to T&T. A set of punks.
If you did say that, you would be wrong. Is big people was in Nex Door Pub on Ariapita Avenue on Tuesday night listening to jointpop (that is Gary and Damon band). I see more people my age and up than people in their teens and 20s. And the people was patriots, the kind of people who want to support good local music, whatever the beat.
Jointpop ent on no jokey scene. They celebrate their tenth anniversary this year and have a “Bess of” album they let go, with a set of music their old fans know from long time. Big tunes, like Bashment to Halloween and Fame and Half-past Nine—but I ent go lie and say I expect the majority of all you to know them styles.
Jointpop and other bands like them does hardly get any airplay on the radio and they does struggle to get people to pay them any attention. In fact, jointpop break up last year because they was tired fighting up with a system that don’t welcome them.
Thank God, they didn’t break up for long. They come back on the scene and pick up where they leave off.
What I like about jointpop, aside from their bad, bad music, is how they not content to just sit down and cry about they not getting airplay and their CDs don’t sell. They getting up and get. The show on Tuesday was just one of a set of shows that Gary put on, starting with a series he had a few years aback name The Filth and the Fury.
Is long days now they make out the truth: that in this sweet T&T, unless is a Cepep scene you on, you have to do for yourself. Them ent no punks, even though they does play punk (a kind of hardish rock music).
Is true half their songs is about how tough it is in this place, and how you does dress up nice, nice with nowhere to go (like Gary say in a song name Nice Shirt some years aback), and how, meanwhile, the average man consuming all kind of foolish media products that making we sick (like he say in The New Fast Food).
And if you feel that because is rock music they playing they ent have no T&T spirit, you go be wrong there, too. Jointpop is the original T&T fans. Their colours is the national colours and they does usually have a T&T flag somewhere on their set when they playing out. They make a football song for World Cup and they does integrate plenty very local influences into their music. They even have a old-time calypso swing in some of their songs (that same Halloween song, for example).
And my boy Gary, when he singing, doesn’t put on no fake accent. Is pure Trini he singing in.
All of that is just to say: the show going on for the next three weeks. Go. Next week they have a band from South name Blood Red Clover. I can’t swear for the band because I never hear them, but I could swear for Gary and if he say is a band good enough to book them for the show, then I go have to say is a good band.
Moreover, go and support some people who not just happy to sit down and take whatever this place does throw at them. They fighting back, not just dreaming, but fighting back.
For more information on Anarchy on the Ave, go to:
www.anarchyontheave.com
