HOLY S*** WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE.

Ok, not really. But for a second there The Dog had you going right?

Rumour has it that CLICO Investment Bank had to be closed down/bought over/assisted by the Central Bank (don't know the details as yet but we will keep you updated, right after The Dog goes and takes all his money outta the bank and sticks it in his mattress, Argentina style). Apparently, the investment bank was having problems so the Central Bank moved in, took their assets and revoked their license.

Holy s***.

What does this mean for our people? Moreover, what about CLICO's workers? Well, The Dog doesn't have a clue, but what I DO know is that yesterday when they left work Lawrence Duprey was their boss but when they got to work this morning...... mmmmmm ...

Like, what's the new greeting? "Good morning, Mr Manning???"

(Image courtesy American History Learning.)

Machel Montano Ft Busy Signal - Push Bumper (Remix)

(click the link below to listen)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/548757765b0a94a1/

WTF Files: Telephone convo between a bajan police officer and an old man

(click the link below to listen)

http://www.zshare.net/audio/54826736409e9b7b/

Small Islander (Sparkley Suit + Pelvic thrusts) = Gillo

Refer to: Wining for dummies, pg 72, "The Rabbit Jook"

Blaxx - Tusty (road march contender)

The Dog doesn't know a better way to start a Monday than with a road march contender coupled with an unofficial video, thank God for youtube.

Stray Dog: PIERRE

So, we here at The Angry Pothound have been getting a lot of love from all around, and we must admit, it's a nice feeling. The Dog feels all warm inside, like a fresh piece of coconut bake. Mmmmm, bake. So, as more and more of you become followers, and really feel what we are trying to do here, we discover some serious talent amongst you, some people that might have been bottling that s**t in. We want you to relax, breathe, and let it out. As such, we have decided to introduce guest writers every now and again to throw some words on the page, just to spice things up and offer up different views. It's also a great way to keep things nice and democratic - after all, Communism is more or less dead.

Round 1. Welcome to the ring: PIERRE.

WHY SAVE…WHEN I CAN FETE? by Pierre

Carnival, Carnival, Carnival…the perennial, posterior pulsating, party. It religiously inaugurates every new year, starting with leaking soca in September of the previous year, the soca switch on Boxing Day, and finally the official launch on January 6^th. All true trinis and their Nigerian doctors know about it and have gyrated in at least two events that correspond with the season. The music is banal and vapid, yet at the same time infectious and hypnotic. A cactus could write a soca song and it would be a hit. Everyone is everyone’s friend in this season, so long as they don’t spill the other’s drink. It is a wonderful celebration that is a true representation of what Trini culture is about.

Carnival 2KWine, however, is somewhat different from the previous 65 million years of festivities. “How?” you ask yourself while reading this article in your cubicle in work, in a minimized window, with your back erect to block your superiors from seeing what you are really doing. Well…potential partygoers are now being forced to take out a mortgage in order to attend even one event. Ticket prices have reached so high that they qualify for first party insurance.

Why should ticket prices START at $600??? A certain fete I was told had reached $1300 if one resorted to our friendly, neighbourhood scalpers. It is an atrocity that these promoters feel they have the right to extortion. I know that the common defense is the “all-inclusive” title, but never have I been able to eat that amount of food…and I’ve been known to eat when my stomach is full, just because I love to eat. Rampant alcohol consumption would account for a large percentage of money, but it would still fall short of the prices that they are asking for. The argument that it is to weed out the “less civilized” is as empty, or more so, than that of the all-inclusive title. First of all, these less civilized will pay whatever you ask if they want to attend your affair. They are by no means struggling to find the disposable income. Second, if you want to improve the security of your fete, improve THE SECURITY OF YOUR FETE. Guards by the entrance alone can guard the entrance alone.

Considering that we are in “recessionary” times, one would think that the promoters would have some sympathy for those of use who have personal recessions in our wallets. The economy is undeniably experiencing a slowdown, and people should really re-evaluate their personal budgets.

• NB: I do not subscribe to this talk of “recession” in T&T, because we are not in one, nor are we heading into one. Our economy is structured differently to the countries that are (USA, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, UK, etc.). Trinidadian’s like to say: “If it could happen to dem, who is we?”….Well “we” is not “dem,” so put a sock in it. We are experiencing something referred to as “stagflation”… but I digress …

In all attempts toward fairness, I must provide some defense for these unscrupulous promoters. When it comes to consumerism and expenditure, we, the public of T&T, are koonoomoonoos. If it stands still long enough, we will buy it. This is partly the result of an Americanized culture and Ewart Williams’ (Governor of the Central Bank) consistently bad ideas. Nevertheless, all we know how to do is spend money. If you want evidence of this, note the prevalence of car loans and credit card debt. We use credit cards to pay off credit cards … really hoss?

I know people will say that the fetes are still selling out, so the prices can’t be that high, but for the more primitive of the population, there is something called “social responsibility.” Basically business’ have to look out for the people who are their customers, employees or clients. These organizations or individuals who throw the fetes should take the state of the economy into consideration and set their prices accordingly. America is (or was) successful because they treat their population like children. They assume that no-one knows any better.

“Because they will buy it” is not a reason to set your profit margin at 1,000,000%. Help the people save some money dammit. Until then…I’ll just hit up Island Finance to borrow some money to pay off the credit card I used to pay off my credit card I used to pay off a loan I took out to pay for my costume.

Happy Carnival.

T.A.P.'s FINAL WORD: "Koonoomoonoos," Pierre? Nice throwback word. We are loving it so much, that we are McLovin' it.

Look out for The Dog's interview with Zoelah ...

Find out who she has a crush on in the industry,her take on relationships and much more

New Steez - I dare you to listen to this 3 times, bet it gets stuck in your head

."

"Thou shalt express thyself through music, art, poetry, style, fashion, writing, or anything that thy creative side can muster up. The Dog finds this admirable." -3rd TAP commandment. The Dog really loves to see new artists holding their own and competing with the more established ones who at times give us bulls**t performances/videos/lyrics.
The Dog had a short conversation with Kitwana Israel aka "KIT" of the group 2B1.

T.A.P. Who are the other members of 2B1?

KIT. "Ingram Charles aka "Ice" is the other member"

T.A.P. Ok, what does 2B1 mean?

KIT "2B1 means exactly what it says "TWO BE ONE, two people making one music, two different styles of music coming together to make one"

T.A.P. Who produced this song "Sweetest Wine"?

KIT " "Char Sue" produced the video version and I produced the radio version"

T.A.P. The Dog thinks you are talented, did you shoot the video yourself?

KIT "No it was done by Remy aka "Rembunction" "

T.A.P. This song is really catchy ... Can we expect anything else from 2B1 this Carnival?

KIT "No this is our sole project for 2009, we are now preparing for 2010"

T.A.P. Well that sucks because The Dog was hoping for more, good luck anyways.

The WTF Files: Toting Much??

Looks like someone's a little upset with RBTT. The Dog is definitely going to get to the bottom of this.

The Dog hates jumping on a bandwagon, but ...

Ok, soooo as you can see, we here at The Angry Pothound have been very adamant about supporting Trinidad and Trinidadian content. Simply because we believe, too often, that Trinis have always had this horrible habit of celebrating other nation's successes and products (for example, the obsession with Brooklyn, btw, NEEDS to stop. I've been. Seriously, it's not that great.) ... without trying to create our own successes at home. Few are dedicated to the cause of doing a nationwide, EastWestNorthSouth cleanup. The cause is that the Motherland needs a frickin' political, moral, judicial, social revival. And of course, we had to hear many Obama-ites praising this man who is actually, quite possibly the 2nd coming of Jesus.

But where is the effort to fix OUR home, and our political game? Sure, TT$ is tied to US$. We sell them oil and natural gas. They built most of our roads, and helped us stop being so dependent on oppressive Britain so we could grow as an independent republic, a place that is WORTH SOMETHING, a postcolonial nation that could stand on its own 2 feet.

But like at some point, we started cutting away, slowly, at those feet (Ok we don't mean literally, work with me here people). And there is no reason for that. We have everything we need to be a successful nation, a place with its own socioeconomic rules, that defines its OWN image, its OWN lifestyle, its own s**t, on its OWN f**king terms. Instead, we come to accept unnecessary terms: that life is infinitely easier, better, cleaner away from our shores. That there is something somehow glamourous about apathy towards the place that raised us, shaped us, and defined us as individual people. That other countries "have it right," but we don't and probably never will.

THESE ARE MYTHS, SPREAD BY NON-BELIEVERS, DETRACTORS, AND THOSE WHO DO NOT WISH TO BAND TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF ALL OF US BECAUSE THEY WISH TO RISE, AND THEY BELIEVE THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN DO SO IS AT THE EXPENSE OF THEIR BROTHERS.

So, it's on us. Every single person. No one can or should declare apathy, and squander a nation's potential, its destiny to be something great. And THAT is what The Dog has taken from all the Obama drama (no I am NOT gonna write "Yes We Can" ... if The Dog sees it or hears it somewhere one more time, he just might hang himself). Not the slogans. Not the stupid doctored pictures (including the one we've posted above from punditkitchen.com - we'll cop to that). Not the t-shirts, and the limited edition sneakers. Like Niall Royal said in the interview The Angry Pothound did with him "Fashion fades, style is eternal." These things are fashion. Fashion = bandwagon. F**K THE BANDWAGON.

The Angry Pothound has learned that anything is possible if one is open to different things, new things that empower us. Trinidad needs people to stop waving flags, and drinking, and partying, and playing mas, and thinking that THAT is what our country is all about. There is so much more, yes? The Dog thinks we've got massive potential. So much so that, he believes, in about 10 yrs, there will be sky-high apartment buildings in downtown Port of Spain, and less petty and organized crime, and trains to take us to where we need to go. WE. WE. WE. Not just "you" and the people you party and lime with.

After all, no one wants to be President of a fan club. We wanna be the reason the fan club was started. Join the Trinidad Fan Club.

Oh yeah, and congrats to President Barack Obama. He got what he fought hard for, and deserved.

The Dog loves him some Graffiti

The WTF Files: WOW. Really though?

The band ‘Washikong’ and ‘The Birth of Washikong’

The Birth of Washikong is the debut album of the band Washikong. The band is comprised of 7 core members of diverse backgrounds (see bios below). Washikong is part of Washikong Music Ltd a newly formed company founded by two of the band’s members Walede Coppin and Keegan Maharaj in December 2008. Washikong Music Ltd is also a recording label that actively seeks new talent and a publishing company. The company’s mission is to advance Third World issues through music and this is reflected clearly in the all the works of the band. The band’s style defies conventional classification and instead, according to Washikong’s Walede Coppin, be described as Third World fusion. In addition to the 7 core members a host of budding guest artists have been included in the album including spoken word giant MOD. The album is made up of 12 tracks including 3 that will be released in time for Trinidad Carnival 2009. The album is currently a work in progress with recording on the 17^th December at Tehilla Studios Arima Trinidad.

Keegan Maharaj (Lead vocalist and songwriter)

Keegan Maharaj is a currently a student of the University of the West Indies. From a young age Keegan’s performing prowess has been evident. He has performed at numerous forums including Best Village, Youth Parliament and school’s drama festival in Trinidad as well as in the United States where he toured while a scholar at the Pacific Lutheran University in Washington. In addition to all this Keegan has been able to maintain his academic performance and can boast of being his school’s valedictorian as well as having his poems published in international journals. A former member of the student’s guild at UWI, Keegan is currently the lead singer, poet and songwriter of Washikong the Band as well as a director of Washikong Music Ltd. A passionate believer in universal human rights and justice Keegan has ambitions to be a global advocate through music.

Walede Mike Coppin (Musical director, manager and Trumpeter)

Walede’s love for music has been apparent from a tender age. He has played in several orchestras and bands including the National Youth Orchestra of Trinidad and Tobago, Dominant Seven, Blue Culture and The Brass Institute in Trinidad as well as 3 Square Meters while at University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Presently, Walede is the band’s manager, producer and music arranger as well as the founder and a director of Washikong Music Ltd. He credits himself as a lover of Caribbean music and a future ambassador for it.

Suresh Rao (Guitar)

Suresh or Lingi as he is fondly called by his peers is a founding member of Washikong the Band. Another of the Band’s scholars and former guild members, Suresh is the guitarist and a lead vocalist. His voice can be heard on ‘Give a little more’ which he leads. A future surgeon, Suresh intends to take his acquired skills to the Dark Continent where he intends to make a significant difference in the lives of those the world often seems to forget.

Richard Neil Simon Atkinson (Keyboardist)

Richard Neil Simon Atkinson is a student of the University of the West Indies reading for a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. A veritable scholar in his native Jamaica as, evidenced by his numerous national awards for scholarly work, Richard is the Keyboardist for Washikong The Band. Richard currently resides on Canada Hall where he is the secretary of the hall’s committee and a member of the halls Football Team and band.

Andre Warner (Bassist)

Andre is the band’s bassist. An avid musician and many times the centre of attention due to his infectious bass lines, Andre is final year Civil engineer student at the University of the West Indies. Having learnt his trade in his native Barbados at church, Andre is a key member of the band.

Willis Smart (Drummer and vocalist)

Willis is the band’s drummer and a key vocalist. His voice can be heard on several of the band’s tracks most notably on the widely regarded Still where he shows his dexterity doing both singing and drumming simultaneously. Born and raised in the sister isle, Willis’ voice has been likened to world reknown reggae artists Jah cure and Luciano. Willis’ is a voice that needs to be heard.

Jeremy Jarvis (Keyboardist)

Jeremy is another of the band’s talented keyboardists. A multitalented instrumentalist, Germain boasts of a gift for the violin, bass guitar and the drums as well as the keyboard. A former music teacher in his Native Antigua, Germain is presently studying Accounting at the University of the West Indies.

Andre Stewart (Artists and Repertoire)

Andre is a sound engineer and has a keen interest in scouting for new talent. Having completed his degree at one of America’s premier entertainment schools, he has decided to return home to fulfill his dream of working with a progressive record label. Andre boasts of having worked in some of the finest studios in the US and is actively involved in helping Washikong Music become one of the region’s premier recording labels.

This is the hottest soca video on the planet at the moment

Patrice Roberts Ft Machel Montano - Tempa Wine (music video)

This song is a certified club/Carnival/blocko/basketball court party/ mayfair hit

Machel Montano Ft Umi Marcano - Block to Block.

(The Dog found this on youtube courtesy of trinisocajunkie, thanks!)

The WTF Files: Another Carib Beer Sighting in Greece!!!

So now we know that there are people out there that still drink Carib Beer. And they are Greek. I was starting to believe that no one besides my grandmother and Chris Garcia appreciated it any more, but I guess I was wrong. The Dog was checking out the Cobra Snake website as usual, and found this pic of a guy at a party in Greece with not one, but two Carib Beers. With lime. Like it's a f**king Corona. Really .....

Guess they are really loving our steez over there. Who says party in Greece ... maybe we should launch yet ANOTHER overseas Carnival. Actually, wait, no, NO more international Carnivals. Please. See The Dog's 1st Commandment for more details.

Trini Politics = "These are the Days of Our Lives"

Ahhhh, the Trinidadian political game: fickleness, power-greed, and petty squabbling. There's no place like home, ent? This picture taken by Michael Bruce in yesterday's Express is quite intriguing. The Dog wonders: How do politicians expect us to trust them when they don't even trust each other? Furthermore, how can they call for national unity when they can't keep their little political organisations united? The looks on these dudes' faces say it all. For those of you that don't know: Mr Warner thinks that Mr Panday should step down as leader of the UNC-A, and that there should be elections within the party. Meanwhile Mr Maharaj and Mr Panday are NOT pulling right now: they've had a weird love/hate relationship for a number of years, and we hear they're currently experiencing a lot of the latter. "The Opposition" indeed. Let's see what happens next on "Trini Politics", cuz this s**t is better to watch than my daytime television lineup.

Some international steez: Dj J-Rod

Jarrod “J-Rod” Faria… is a 23 year old disc jockey currently pursuing a degree in business and a minor in biology at the University of Prince Edward Island. A music lover at heart he has carried his trade from local sound system Fire Star Disco to develop into the popular Dj J-Rod

He currently plays at Absolute Saturday's, the hottest party on Prince Edward Island at the campus bar, The Wave.

This Dance Party is at full capacity each weekend. J-Rod has also played at specialty events such as the Glow Party, Anything But Clothes and Stoplight Party.

When asked about the Music scene over on the east coast of Canada J-Rod said “it’s very different from that of Trinidad and Tobago. Genres range from more pop, rap, rock, country, trance, house and folk music rather than that of popular soca, dancehall and reggae.” J-Rod has had to acclimatize to blistering colds of -30 wind chills as well as this change in culture.

J-Rod goes on to say that “Entertainment and Nightlife on the island is not heavily sought after like in Trinidad and not much emphasis has been put into promotions.” For this reason J-Rod together with some of his universty friends are due to launch 521E Promotions, An entertainment company geared towards pleasing the consumer. They plan on launching in the summer of 2009 with various themed events such as The Circus and The All White Party. 521E is guaranteed to give a boost to the Charlottetown night life for some time to come.

J-Rod is now branching off into Music Production; He is currently working on his first release called the 2nd Chances Riddim, a slow reggae influenced beat which will feature Various Artist from the Caribbean highlighting the local reggae artist from Trinidad, North America and the UK. He also has some Soca music that he intends to put out in the near future.

The Dog wishes J-Rod all the best in his future endeavours.

CATCHY MUCH???

I can't really put a paw on it, but something about this song just pulls you in.

THE HILLS: Lauren Conrad doesn't have to pour her own drinks at Goa Nightclub, so then why did you?

Here's a lesson: if you're not prepared to pamper everyone there beyond their expectations, then don't name your party "The Hills." Based on the glam life in the hills of West Hollywood? Hmmm, not exactly. You must mean some DIFFERENT hills, if you get what The Dog is saying.

First of all, $250 - $300+ tickets during the worst global economic recession since World War 2. In the middle of the second busiest and biggest fete season in Trinidad, second only to Carnival. Hmmm. The Dog doesn't have to tell you what that means. Better impress the people.

And The Dog was impressed. Initially. The people were beautiful, and the music was good 'n' bumpin. Crews Inn was a great idea for a change of venue - an ode to the older, golden days of partying when Chaguaramas was THE spot. It was a veritable class reunion for the foreign-based folks who had not all been together in eons. Ok, granted, there was a couple of up-and-coming illegal bare-knuckle boxers, but no unscheduled matches that couldn't be contained by the well-organized security.

And then there was the bar. Oh, the bar. Clearly, when the event organizers used "The rest is still unwritten" as their party tagline, they were talking about the bar. Early partygoers were lavished with free shooters and cocktails - like, GOOD cocktails, not the poorly-mixed fruit juice/liquor combinations that are usually the norm at these free drinks soirees.

Note the The Dog said EARLY partygoers. The "Past 1AM" crew was not so lucky. The so-called "bartenders" could not keep up with the surging crowds of people who paid their money and expected that LC treatment all night ... and obviously not being properly-trained bartenders (or perhaps not even professional bartenders at all?), they were not prepared. And thus, The Dog, along with many others, poured and mixed his own drinks.

YES.

But, by the time 2AM rolled around, most people were either too wasted or having too good a time to care about the "bar". Ahhhh, THAT MUSIC, it was the kinda good, well-selected music that sends partiers into a trance.

Then, at promptly 3:40AM, the music stopped, and the trance ended.

Again, The Dog says YES to your disbelief. With the majority of partygoers being used to jammin damn near till the sun comes up, people were in shock. There was no warning from the DJ. Some even said they felt betrayed. It was practically like the day O.J. got acquitted. The music ended, the lights were clapped on, and peeps had to GO. Of course, the consummate after-party lime was struck up outside near the gyro stand, but dammit the goddamn fete was done.

And by that time, The Dog was done too. The ensuing Facebook message apologizing for shortcomings and inconveniences was a good and necessary PR move, granted. But The Dog was already done. And when The Dog is done, he closes his eyes, yawns, and goes to sleep.

T.A.P.'s FINAL WORD: Don't get too ambitious. Just focus on picking some good bartenders, and pump that bass till at least 4:30AM. The people will thank ya for it.