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.

Carnival of Flowers: An Economic, Not Political Factor

I have zero problem with the Carnival of Flowers currently going on in Port-au-Prince. In fact, I support it 100%. I’m not a politician, so I leave the politics surrounding the necessity of holding it to those who want to make it a political matter.

In my opinion, we need to push this event even harder. So I propose that we hold next year a week long of festivities, rather. That means, in a Summer Break spirit, along with the Carnival of Flowers, let’s hold a series of events to be ended with a big time international music festival (possibly on one of our beautiful beaches). And the promotion for this package of events for next year needs to start right away, right after this one.

These represent opportunities for the private sector to make money. The government should not have to spend a dime to organize them -other than providing security/logistical support to the private sector. That should be the extent of the government’s involvement.

These types of festivities could be organized on a larger scale and promoted on the global stage as our traditional cultural landmarks to encourage people all over the world to come and experience them.

Of course, this first time around is not going to be as successful as expected. But for the subsequent times to be, there has got to be this first time, which many are very critical and hostile to.

If many tend to look at this Carnival of Flowers as a waste, I see it as a business investment with great economic potentials . The product seems to look good to my standard; like any business investment, its success will depend on how hard and smart we are willing to work in order to market it around the world to attract potential buyers (the national and foreign tourists).

Yes, the country is facing one of the worst economic moments in its history, but nothing is wrong with holding the Carnival of Flowers to try to attract potential tourists; we only need to change our approach to organizing and marketing it. So let’s put politics aside and stop wasting our time criticizing the administration for something our shortsightedness has not allowed us to grasp.

Haitian Music: The Gangsters In The Media Are Destroying The Business

This unregulated Haitian music market, which we dare calling an industry, is at its deliquescence point as we speak; if nothing is done urgently to turn things around, in the next decades or so, we may not have what we are so enjoying today –whatever it is.

I will be blogging a lot on issues pertaining to our music world. But today, for the sake of spiking a conversation, I am going to touch on this very pertinent issue having to do with these media personalities soliciting money from these artists to play their songs on their radio shows and/or help in the promotion of their music on other venues.

Without a doubt, we have very few radio show hosts promoting Haitian music on their shows not demanding that the artists or bands pay a fee to have their songs played on their shows. A good bunch of them, even some of these folks working at these “radyo pirats” (these radio stations operating illegally) would not play your music on their shows unless you accept to “jere” them (pay them money) or whatever. Everybody is on hustling mode.

These entertainment show hosts, for the most part, are bought and owned to promote even bands or artists producing subpar music. These folks can never be themselves to tell the truth, educate the people and constrain these artists to use their God-given talents to produce music worthy of airplay.

For these show hosts, credibility is  no longer part of the game; it forever becomes a matter of extrapolation or “voye monte” for a few bucks. They get paid to hype bands and artists whose substanceless music should have been thrown in the garbage.

Today, even these administrators or owners of these Konpa websites are killing the artists. Thanks for these social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc… now there is a way to bypass all of them and get oneself out there.

I still cannot fathom why is it that, in the age of Facebook and Twitter, most of these Haitian artists still believe in the myth that they have to have their music pushed on the radio by these show hosts and their promotion handled by these Konpa websites to make it in this business. This is a myth that must be debunked. One can very well do without them.

Let’s face it… this so-called Haitian music industry has no real money to be made in it to begin with, how can anyone think they can be so demanding? I remember a few years back I contacted this administrator of one of these Konpa websites to have the poster of a band I was working with posted on his website, dude asked me close to 600 dollars for like three weeks of display. Are you kidding me? I don’t mind you charging, but damn!!! Be reasonable at least!!! After that encounter, I said to myself, “Nah, something has got to be done. I will do whatever in my human power to expose this institutionalized gangsterism.”

If the artists go to great lengths and fight tooth and nail to produce an album, before that album even hits the distribution points, thousands of bootlegged copies would be out there being shared and even sold illegally in the black market. So they are running on a deficit way before they even get to come out and start crawling.

There is no real money to be made in this music production business as I stated earlier, yet some of these unrealistic show hosts and Konpa website owners refuse to understand the reality of the business and the struggle these artists must go through in order stay afloat. That explains why it avers extremely hard for these upcoming bands and artists to get any real spotlight and exposure necessary for their forward progression; hence, only these already-established artists and bands with some type of name recognition you see occupy the landscape, even though they are doing nothing but engaging in production recycling or “bouyon rechofe,” displaying no sense of respect for the consumers.  This dire reality kills great talents and stalls the spirit of creativity in the business.

Because of this disheartening situation, these show hosts and website administrators have amassed a great deal of power and influence in the business, causing the musicians to have to lose their dignity and even have to go as low as engaging in flattery just so their music could be blessed with a little airplay on their shows and a little exposure on their websites, which in my opinion is not right.

While in the US market the artists get paid each time their songs get broadcasted on the radio or else, in the Haitian music market, it is the other way around; the artists must pay members of the media for that. Isn’t it ironic? And you expect these artists to make a comfortable living?

In conclusion, this piece is far from being an attempt to destroy anyone’s business; it is, rather, a call to reason and sympathy.  It also offers an opportunity to tell these artists that there are ways to bypass these robbers and get their business out there. This Haitian music market should not be the way it is. These mercenaries in the business will not change their deceitful mannerism unless they are forced to do so. Until they decide to pursue a different course, the artists must bypass them and use the technologies they have available at their disposal to market themselves. If they give their very best to product great music (music with no expiration date on; music that can transcend generations) and use all the right technologies to get themselves out there, nothing can stop them. Instead of them chasing people, people will be chasing them.  You can never go wrong with these social networking sites, if you really know how to make good use of them. Remember this, Barack Obama, the president of the United States, won the presidential election in 2008 because of his sublime use of the internet, mainly these social networking sites. If he could do it so big then, so can you today. You just have got to believe.

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.

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.

IS TI JOE ZENNY HOMOPHOBIC?

Ti Joe Zenny of Kreyol La

What’s the beef between NU LOOK’s ARLY LARIVIERE and KREYOL LA’s TI JOE ZENNY really about? I guess this back-and-forth nonsense between these two is taking a whole different route, apparently.

I was reading Kompamagazine and stumbled on an answer given by Fabrice Rouzier to a question on the nature and significance of the beef between the aforementioned two; he said: “Ti Joe is walking on a wire with this one. Yes , he is the actor with the funny lines and all but i think the homophobic line may get him in trouble. If i were Arly, i’d ask him what his real problem is with gay men or women?”

How did I miss that homophobic remark of his? I guess I did not dig deep enough. Did he call ARLY a “masisi” (Creole word for gay) or something? Okay… if so, so what ARLY was gay!!!! Does his gayness impact his ability to produce hits after hits on every single album? Does his gayness make him less of a human being to dare taking on TI JOE as a challenge in a trash-talk contest? I don’t think so. So what does his homophobic remark have to do with any strife between him and Arly?

This is the type of ridiculousness we need to correct when these guys tend to forget that they cannot be saying things just for the fun of saying things. When you are an artist, a public figure for that matter, you are so influential that your words, statements and behaviors can negatively or positively impact an entire society because you have people looking up to you. That’s why you have got to be ultra careful.

I did not read TI JOE’s homophobic jab thrown at ARLY, but I do trust FABRICE’s honesty in his reference. I think TI JOE needs to exercise a little bit of political correctness next time, if he needs to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to himself and the band he is a member of.

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.

JOBS: PR SPECIALIST NEEDED IN NU-LOOK!!!

Nu-Look, Haitian Konpa band

NU-LOOK is not a rookie band. After so many years in the business, one does expect better and more from them. Some public relations missteps or rookie PR mistakes coming from their ranks are unacceptable. For such a high profile band, their PR sucks, meaning mediocre and subpar. And that is very sad.

First, it was the verbal exchange at that NU-LOOK party in Florida that involved a certain ROMEO STARK, whom Kompamagazine identifies as a journalist, and MAESTRO ARLY that made the press; then came the saga between MAESTRO ARLY and ALIX NOZILE, the band’s congas player. All in one night. See interview: http://bit.ly/piNsqj and http://bit.ly/rrzBTG

I cannot remember when was the last time I stumbled on a press release from NU-LOOK. In the midst of all this bad press the band has been getting as a result of these two incidents in one night, one would expect the band’s PR staffer, if there is one that is, to be on top of his/her game and issue an official press release to zero on the issues, explain exactly what went down that night and put the matters to rest. No, that would be too formal and professional for them.

Almost two weeks after the incidents, not one official press release from the band has made its way into the media. All we have got thus far is a bunch of conflicting statements from members of the band -RORO, PIPO and ALIX NOZILE -and this guy ROMEO STARK. Meanwhile the band is being slammed left and right in the press by people who have been waiting for it to make a blunder to run with it.

A new issue has currently made the surface of the ocean: ALIX NOZILE and his immigration status. There is a cloud of uncertainty and confusion surrounding this guy’s immigration papers, it is not even funny. For years, that man has not been able to travel overseas with the band because of his “undocumented alien” status. Not too long ago, he came out publicly on Kompamagazine with the news that he had obtained his green card, which everybody was happy to hear. Wouldn’t anyone expect his overseas traveling to be a done deal?

So will he be traveling to Haiti with the band or not? That’s the mystery of it all. Not even RORO IRENE, the band’s gongist, who has been with NU-LOOK since the early days of its inception, could answer that question. When Kompamagazine asked him to answer the question, in a dumbfounded twist, he put it like this: “I will know the answer to that on August 4th just like everybody else.” http://bit.ly/pQJ1Cp So even he does not have a clue as to whether ALIX NOZILE has his legal residency papers or not to travel overseas.

If management, in coordination with the PR staffer, was doing its job, why should the veracity of the news about ALIX NOZILE’s immigration papers coming to terms be questioned and challenged in the press, thereby making him (Nozile) look like a ridiculous joke? Shouldn’t management have physically seen his papers, made photocopy of and kept them in his file? Once confirmed, shouldn’t management have issued a press release to inform the press of this new development? I guess that would have been too much on Dolf Chancy, the manager of the band.

NU-LOOK’s PR glitch is life threatening. Enough with the PR indiscipline! Enough with the rookie mistakes! So They need someone on board badly with the required skills to take care of their PR and institute PR discipline in the band. This is as urgent as a heart attack. If they do not move quickly and proceed intelligently with a sense of urgency on that to correct the deficiencies, I could foresee disaster in their ranks. The ball is now in their court to do whatever they see fit. At the end of the day, it will be their business that will be effected, not mine.

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.

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