You would have seen two newspaper ads that say that Peter Boyce is no longer associated with MADD Entertainment Co Ltd and that is true.                           

That has actually been true from January 2008 but is only now being published. Also you would have seen some contentious articles as it relates to the “Euphoria” name Madd and Corporate Affairs etc; I would refer you to the statement which was released by Santia Bradshaw on behalf of Euphoria Inc to shed more light on that issue.       
The 25 year association between Boyce and Madd has come to an end, there have been good times, there have been badd times and they have been madd times, but those times are now ended. 
From what is stated in the media it would appear that never in the 25 years I was associated with Madd Entertainment there was ever a benefit I brought to the entity and if that is how it is perceived, ok.                 
At points in your life you realize its time to move on and that’s what you do, that’s what I have done….                
Boyce has left the Madd Entertainment building…

Local entertainment company, Euphoria Inc. looks set to stage one of the hottest casts of  Barbadian artistes and bands for Crop Over 2008. At a time when all eyes and ears patiently await the release of music from Barbados’ top entertainers and producers, the organisers of Euphoria will pay tribute to the Barbadian contingent of musical ambassadors who have dominated the soca industry in recent times whilst at the same time providing a platform for several emerging artistes. 

The all star line up which will feature performances from soca diva Alison Hinds, Edwin Yearwoord, Khiomal and Adrian Dutchin of Krosfyah, Lil Rick, Peter Ram, Biggie Irie, Mr. Dale,Blood, Rameses and Jabae 
will join Contone, Pong, Fraud Squad, Stabby the Guard, Versiwile, Unda Dawg and many others at the Wildey Gymnasium on the 3rd August, 2008. DJ’s will include Jon Doe, Dave Smooth, Bubbles and Hurricane.

“The organisers promise that this event will empower all Barbadians to support Bajan brands particularly at a time when the changes in the global economy are likely to impact on the earning capacity of all Barbadians. We need to support each other now more than ever as a demonstration of our collective strength as a people but more importantly we need to create viable platforms to promote, market and exploit the talent of our artistes.Events such as Euphoria are a true demonstration of a Bajan brand which contributes positively to the entertainment sector and to the wider Barbadian economy,” states torganisers.   

Early bird tickets will start at at an affordable price at $30.00.

For more updates and a full line up of the confirmed artistes log on to www.pyramidartists.com for more information

He might be wrong and he usually is, but this week during an interview on CBC radio he was dead right… Well let’s say just “right”.
Blogging about veteran entertainer Smokey Burke and some comments in an interview with Admiral that was literally right on the money.
 Smokey stated that because of the support the United States entertainment industry got from its government, the sector in turn generated billions of dollars and contributed greatly to the U.S economy annually.             
Boyce agrees with this statement one billion percent!
The U.S government supports the industry without getting involved and unfairly competing against the people in it.   In 2007 the movie industry grossed over $9.7 billion in ticket sales, yet you will never hear Condlezza Rice or Vice President Cheney planning to produce  movies and get involved in the entertainment business, they leave that to the persons who specialise and make their living in that sector.   
In Barbados there seems to be perennial mindset by certain misguided officials that Government should be using its awesome power and might to extinguish and crush entrepreneurial cultural spirit. The current Crop Over showdown now on of the mighty government Cohobblopot vs. local entertainers Euphoria event is a blatant example of that perversion of power. 

Looking for a place to take your chile* this Saturday?
(*Chile is Bajan for Child)
Well Pyramid Entertainment has a special kids event on 19th July 2008 which you can read about below….If you notice how well it is written its because I didn’t write it, it’s a press release they sent Boyce Voice….

The spacious grounds of the Plantation Garden Theatre will be transformed into a fantasy playground with activities which include rock climbing, jumping tents, a petting zoo, train rides, face painting, balloon artistes, several games and special guest appearances throughout the evening by various children’s television characters. The evening will climax with a showdown of performances by some of the season’s hottest soca artistes - Lil Rick together with his son the Unda Dawg, Peter Ram, “Soca Queen” Alison Hinds, Mr. Dale, Biggie Irie, Philip 7 of the band Masala, Statement, William Watts, Buggy, the Fraud Squad, twin brothers Barry & Bruce Chandler of the Jabae band, Shanta Prince, Hypasounds, John Mahameed, Stabby the Guard and Nard to name a few.

CEO of Pyramid Entertainment, Santia Bradshaw

noted that, “the event was inspired by the participation of several of the artistes on the Pyramid roster at various children’s parties and children homes during Trinidad carnival to promote their music. During our last visit to Trinidad, Lil Rick, Peter Ram, Mr. Dale and Biggie Irie were so overwhelmed by the reaction of children to their music and the opportunity to meet and take photographs with them that they insisted that we not only host an event of this nature in Barbados but also to donate all profits to a children’s charity.”
Based on the overwhelming public response to this initiative by some of Barbados’ most loved entertainers, this event is likely to become an annual event during the Crop Over season. The demands of the entertainment industry often takes several of the artistes away from their families in order to make a living. Our intention is to create an event which allows the artistes to give back to the community and also to provide an outlet for the artistes to enjoy a fun filled day of activities with their families as well,” Bradshaw added.
Admission to the event is $20.00 per person and entitles all ticket holders (adults and children) to five (5) passes which can be redeemed for access to any of the activities, food and drinks. The event is slated to start at 1 pm and finish at 7pm.
All profits from the event will be donated to the Children’s Variety club,

 

Big Beautiful and Happy

If you think Big is Beautiful more power to you! I read in the media that the organiser of the annual Miss Big and Beautiful Beauty pageant lamenting on the challenges and obstacles which stand in her way.

Lead by people like health professional Dr Henry Frazier, the competition has received some harsh criticism for featuring full size (aka fat) women as encouraging obesity and a lifestyle that leads to heart disease.

One of the innovations that promoter spoke of putting place was the requirement that all the “Big” women in the pageant MUST join a gym.
Now to me that doesn’t make any sense, obviously women following that advice will get smaller which seems to go against concept of being “Big and Beautiful”. If you are going to the gym how will you make that 200 lb minimum weight requirement to enter the competition?

The promoter should not sway from her principles, she needs to “screw her courage to the sticking place”
If you believe that being Big is Beautiful Stand Up for it!
If Asiba and other skinny starve out people don’t like fat girls, that’s their frigging business.
They are men out there who will do any thing for a plus size woman so who the ass are you to say they are not beautiful.
Remember Captain Sawyer 2005 calypso about how he likes them “Big and Fat and Thick”? that is the national anthem for some men.
If I was the promoter I wouldn’t change a damn thing, in fact I would be promoting my contest and my girls will be better and bigger than ever and if you don’t like that well you know what you can kiss, that’s big too!

Admiral MC Nelson

Mac Fingall, Trevor Eastmond and KB Kleen watch out!
I happen to catch a piece of Admiral Nelson MCing “De Big Show” calypso tent this weekend and he was pretty damn excellent.
His joke delivery and comedic timing was impeccable.
Also impressive was his deportment from the time he stepped on the stage with his dazzling white suit he made a statement.
A statement he verbalised when he told the audience they would not miss Mac Fingall because “the Admiral was here”.

As you would know Admiral Nelson is more known for his “Festival Stage” radio show, where his acerbic and critical tongue has been used on many a calypso tent.
He would therefore know that if he were to make a mistake and not be a good mc, he would have had hell to pay. So he had no choice but to come up to the mark.

You would have seen Admiral as an MC for the Banks Cable and Wireless Vintage Cavalcades where he more dispensed historical calypso information with little jokes. But last night he made his intro with a comedic commentary on the different kind of sex people have in their kitchen bathroom and bedroom and established an immediate connection to the audience. It appeared most of the people there had engaged in sex at some time or the other and knew what he was talking about.

Admiral stated it was his objective to host the calypso finals and if his performance in “De Big show” is any thing to go by, that could easily be a reality.

The little Rick leadeth his son

I mentioned it in passing but I felt the need to go back and expand on it.
Blogging about the concept of the Hypa Dog and the Under Dog duet which consists of Little Rick inducting his real life son to the 2008 Crop Over stage.

I see this as a significant event and I will tell you why because I usually do. And you usually read it as you have nothing else to do.

Little Rick whether you like it or not, is looked up too as a role model by a majority of Barbadian youth.
His widespread popularity is evidenced by the huge listener ship of his Guinness radio rush hours and the dominance of his music among the youthful demographic speaks to this fact.
Often you hear Lil Rick’s influence mentioned in a negative light usually at government consultations where it is often stated he is leading the youth astray promoting alcohol and wuckless music.
How ever you must consider this.

There is a widely accepted practice among young Barbadian males of getting their girlfriends pregnant and then leaving them to raise the children alone with out living up to their responsibilities as fathers.

Lil Rick therefore by publicly acknowledging his role as a father is providing a positive role model to the misguided wuckless men out there who need to be shown the way.

So those Lil Rick detractors who are always pulling him down need to take note of that.

Son of Little Rick “the Under Dog”

This is not R.Kelly!! (he says it isn’t him)

Why did so many African-American women support R. Kelly?

I came across this article in Newsweek magazine which highlighted a phenomenon that I had already noticed.
When the R.Kelly verdict was announced there were all these women who had gathered around the court to show their support for the singer who were ecstatically happy on hearing the “not guilty verdict. They danced a jig like in my previous post!
The article focused that despite the overwhelming video tape pornographic evidence which featured him having sex and urinating on an underage black girl, black women stanchly defended him.
I find that concept to be amazing, wha I gun left home and go in a court yard talking bout I supporting R.Kelly? Wha I know something bout he?
Maybe he flipping well do it…
If that were you on that video tape do you feel you would have gotten off? Alright then!
On how women go to court supporting these high profile characters I have a parallel I would like to put to you to make a point.
Remember years ago when they had the Chico and Mac situation here in Barbados?
They were some foreign male strippers who came down here and did a show for the bajan females, the women loved them! And I mean that literally.
After Chico and Mac were arrested for their dastardly salacious acts Bajan women turned up in droves in the court yard to show their support for the strippers.
Men now, would go and watch women strippers, throw money at them, and if the price is right have sex with them.
When the female strippers get arrest you think you would see men in court talking bout them supporting them?
In fact a man would say “don’t call my name hear!” and would walk pass like he never see the woman in his life.
My theory is women fall in love and just feel the need to go out and support these people blindly.
I guess that’s what they mean when they say “Love is blind”.

Ps: by the way the Mac I mentioned above is not Mac Fingall, just so you know…

The prestigious Sherbourne Center

Where were the bakes?      That is the question I asked when I attended the “Sponsors breakfast” yesterday morning at Sherbourne Center hosted by the Government and NCF.

In case you don’t know, the “Sponsors Breakfast” is an annual event where the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) invites sponsors to breakfast with the objectives of wooing them with highlights of the coming Crop Over season and hopefully acquire their financial support through sponsorship.Or the government gives sponsors some hot tea in an effort to help them “brek de air” and “brek some money” at the same time…

The presentation of the ‘Breakfast event” was impressive, the entertainment was excellent especially the multimedia piece performed by Merle Niles and Jennifer Walker. Prime Minister David Thompson was there along with Minister of Culture Steve Blackette, the NCF Chairman, CEO and a cadre of government ministers.

NCF Corporate Communications officer Wayne Simmons performed M.C duties and along with media specialist Doug Hoyte presented the 2008 Crop Over theme for this year “We Ready”.

Will go into what the Prime Minister said tomorrow but today I want to focus on a more important point. The food served at the event was excellent with eggs, fried plantain, fruit and other breakfast gastronomical delicacies. Except for one thing, look as I may I could not find any bakes….! Fish cakes were there, but no “bakes” that popular bajan delicacy from years ago made with flour and water.

Come to think about it I have never been to a function and been served “bakes”, that needs to change. NCF being the vanguard of our culture needs to take the lead in this indigenous food matter. Next time we have a traditional Bajan breakfast, I want to see some bakes…!

Otherwise Great Event, Can’t wait for Crop Over 2008!

Tomorrow; The PM say dat…….. (to be continued)

Ancient Al amazed that pictures can now be taken in colour 

My Name feature prominently in Al Gilkes Nation newspaper column last weekend,
Al wrote that Peter Boyce was one of the first people to publicly state he had to be close to be 100 years old based on the length of time he had been around.
Al is so amazing I dedicated a whole post to him last year entitled “Al Gilkes eats Conch”.
At Al’s age to be using a computer and still having the alacrity of mind to write a weekly column is pretty amazing. He should be in Ripley’s Believe It or Not…

One of the things that is amazing about Al is he still continues to be a significant player in the entertainment business as a promoter.
He is partner in F.A.S Entertainment which produces the phenomenally successful “Barbados Reggae Festival” which comes off here later this month.
This festival features a series of events with some of the biggest Jamaican acts which people pack venues at phenomenal prices to see.

Big names like Taurus Riley, Capelton, Jah Cure, Sizzla Kololji, TOK, Baby Sham and more.
Quite an impressive line up being put together by a man who also promoted shows with Jackie Opel and buddy boy Vic Brewster, I am surprised Al doesn’t think a “Jah Cure” is some sort of bush tea.

Even in his column last week Al gave a list of his favorite movies that he actually saw in the cinema when they first came out, and they were a list of ancient ones we now see on Turner Classics TV channel…
Al does not let the challenges of age deter him as he continues to set a set a positive example for current promoters like my self, Richard Haynes, Phil Philips and others to follow.
I hope I can be just as active when I get to Al’s age, in fact I would settle just to GET to his age…

P.S; I am not forgetting the role Freddie Hill plays in organizing the Reggae Festival, Al needs some one to remind him to take his pills…