Ok I'm ready to start organizing the next JUMP UP Party. Posters, Emails,

Food and more food!  Tenders, quotes, equipment etc. Should have most of done by the end of this week.happy to report that its likely to be around the same price, but not 100% sure yet.

Just taking a short breather to recoup energy for the next Jump Up Party - a

party for adults which will require alot more attention to detail than the childrens Banana Joe Jump Up Party!!!

Banana Joe Show Pump Up Party advertising took out 3 advertorials

in local papers with 3/4 page, and 2- A4 write ups and great photos. Thank you  Logan West Leader, Albert and Logan and The Reporter newspapers. Your support is paramount to a successful event. The Logan City Council and The Caribbean Arts and Enetrtainment Company thank you. It seems that Alvin has been quoted in the news for over 2 months now and the nips are getting bigger! Here is the one with the most amazing pictorial!

Trinidad Steeldrum Workshops hit Front Page of Jimboomba Times. With no 

fanfare the jounalist arrived, photographed the participants, asked a few questions and shot off to the next assighment.The impact and disruption to the proceedings was minimal. Little did we know it was going to be high impact the following week. Yes the drums have hit the big time with a front page spread and 2 page write up  under the holiday entertainment section in the Jimboomba Times. The kids were very happy indeed........ Being Little stars.The last Krank day was the highlight with the group really making hugh progress with the song. Adding a drum beat helped hold it all together and wow they had the song down pat quickly. Alvin Rostant the tutor was extremely happy with the progress ad says it bodes well for a steel drum band in the future.

Mon Komo Hotel at Redcliffe is a fab new hotel perfectly situated next to the

beach and esplanade. Opening with The Drifters was a blast but now to be resident band in a venue where bands don't compete with horses, TAB, vidoe clips etc ...oh lordy be its almost heaven from a musical point of view.The decore is csual elegance and even the band dresses for the occassion. All to often band members dont take care to dress appropiately thinking that  t shirst loom the part. Although T Shirts can cut it most of the time its better to take a little extra time to be different, up market  and / or crate a differenc. Don't just be run of the mill.

I really llike the atmosphere of Mon Komo. Its classy casual, smart dress but not overborad, a relaxed well mannered mood helped by the cool vibes of Alvin Rostant and his band.The seabreezes float in thru the hugh open dooways,  billowing the curtains for effect whilst the Caribbean beats waft seawards. Jahbutu d'Band really enjoy the atmosphere of the space and the caribbean groove is so perfectly right.

Gearing up for a hugh NYE at RNA......Alvin is gathering his strenghts for a run of

5 gigs on the hop starting Friday night and culminating on New Years day. Its gonna be one hell of a weekend.

A wonderful Boxing day of cricket with friends at Mt Cotton. Thanks Craig we really

enjoyed the day. Alvin thought he was on the West Indies Cricket Team again and was playing for palm trees as opposed as sheep stations. I was really pleased with my efforrts too- no sunburn and not to dehydrated.Here they are changing overs at  "Mt Cotton Lords"..... a day of great company and great cricket.

 

Beautiful Christmas with the kids at Yum Cha..our family tradition these days.

Christmas Spirit is overflowing everywhere, even when you don't know it.

I was reading the lone of our local news papers and Lo & Behold ..there was Alvin quoted about 12 drummers drumming in the song "12 Days of Christmas." The Logan West Leader had rung Alvin earlier in the week for a quote about drummers, the pricing structure for events etc and now here it is in print.

In another print magazine I was reading  I found a very interesting quote from a young up and coming DJ who will be spinning the desk at Summerfieldayz 2012. Calvin Harris quote..unquote---"So what makes a great DJ?" asked journo from The Scene Music ..

"Reading the crowd is the most important thing. Playing the right record at the right time is a pretty difficult act. Not many people can do it. Thats the most important thing: to drop the perfect tune at the right point. You know when you've done it. And it's amazing."

Calvin you've got it in one.. Mon. Its one thing I credit Alvin Rostant with..he reads the crowd perfectly, taking them on a musical rollercoaster of highs and lows. Alvin discribes like that ..the cresendo effect.

The "Sifted Sunshine" CD have hit the stores and radio stations just 

in time for Xmas and we here at Caribbean Arts and Entertainment Company can't wait to get our stores so we can start selling them at the markets. The CD is a compliation of various Australian singer/ songwriters including Alvin Rostant (Track 2) and Stephanie Harrison,Emma Graves, Mr Goodnight, greg Englert, Sheyana, the mill Servants, brad Butcher, Gary Davies,Bam Matheson,Racheal Koster, Daniel Roberts, The Latonas, Man from Atlanta, Geoff Williams.

If you would like to buy a CD go to http://bit.ly/uX2D2Q

 

The Reclink Steel drum Workshops have finished for 2011.The crew

were great to work with and Alvin Rostant hopes the steel drum has inspired and challenged them. Alvin certainly came away from the workshops with a great appreciation of just how talented and gutsy they are. Alyssa and Kylie and their carers have been inspirational and we hope their trio band called Jelly Beans has a great 2012. Thank you Leo Duffy for organizing the steel  drum workshops. Below is a photo of just a few of the participants for the months of Nov and Dec 2011.

The new MON KOMO Hotel at Redcliffe is open for business and to start proceed

-ings on the opening night was  Alvin and Jahbutu D'Band who set the scene perfectly for all time favoutires The DRIFTERS. It was a brillant night with alot of Doo Wop and classic professional stage craft. A delight to see and hear. Alvin was thrilled when the Drifters  lead man Wayne foster  remembered meeting  him years ago and even more so when they hung around till Jahbutu finished the last set of the night to chat and catch up,swapping details and reminising about past performances and who knows who.

Our view is really being fenced in. Literally. Yes ...and I'm not happy that its

costing a bomb to ruin my view. AND don't mention the dam,.... damn the dam which is just 50 meters away.  ARRGHH!

Pool fencing laws of Qld are not flexible, and another sign of the litigatious world the Americans have forced upon the rest of us. In my day I took responsiblity for my kids health and well being and was 2 steps behind them, esp near water!

 

Beccy F. is joining the ranks of Jahbutu d'Band as tenor player, singer and chief

tamborine player. This is exciting news and Alvin is delighted to add Bec to the line up. With some practice Bec will become a seasoned entertainer in her own right. She will be learning the ropes from a professional and we are sure she will shine. Heres the proof already that she's getting ready for the big stage.

Rivercity Steel Band, Brisbanes only community not for profit Steel Band is 

forging ahead in leaps and bounds with new menbers really settling in and taking to the music quickly. The Xmas party was well attended, if not short due to hotel restrictions however Alvin Rostant , the bands steel drum arranger and master panman himself thanks you all for supporting his gig and coming all that way to watch him play. The $65 taxi fare shows alot of dedication we think. Sorry it didnt work out as planned.

Poor Jack. Son no 1 finds fungi growing in shower. Much to my surprise too! I

asked Vivacious Viv, my house cleaner and wonderful neighbour and she couldnt explain it either. Questioning Jack some more, we discovered the affending fungi was hiding under the shower rail in the deepest part of the shower way from peering eyes and cleaning chemicals. I think it had had a growth spurt in Spring just before Jack arrived but after Viv's last clean. The fungi didnt stand a chance against Jacks young eyes. Good thing hes in the army and use to far worst shower recesses, shocking as it was to think his home and personal space was being invaded!

GIG GUIDE updated to March 2012. Check it out.

 Days Later...........Might have jinxed the Australian Cricket Team. Sorry guys.

Alvin Rostant and Andrew enjoyed an day at the cricket watching Aust crickets

 "new kids on the block" go for the kiwis. Is was enlightening to see how some new blood , mixed with veterans knowledge  combined at their first outing. The signs are positive for a strong competitive team. If they can keep injury free and focused. Time will tell but I'm grateful for some new flesh to watch on TV, and always I'm interested about the decisions made by PUP and how Ricky Ponting has adapted to not be captain so diplomatically.

Mettaphor girls at Rocklea Mkts. Excellent to catch up.Cool music too.

 

Ta muchly

Island Time , the party held by Rita and Lionel Aitkins in support of the Cerebral

Palsy Foundation was so successful this year that Jimmy Buffett fans all over the country are calling for more parties. One party a year is not enough. Lionel is exhauted right now but I think if we offer some help we can persuade him to concider a party in Brisbane and Surfers maybe. Its all about having a team of like minded people who you can trust to deliver the goods on the night.  I have always said Lionel deserves a gold medal for even comtemplating  to organize a band with 11 members. Can you imagine the delicate situations he confronts dealing with the egos of 11 creative persons, the music and the venue, catering etc. Lionel ..man...your a machine. You know you have my support every day of the week. Rita and Alvin catch a quiet moment on stage before the auction begins.

"Latin Dance" played  on ABC612. Thanks Terri Begley. Your a star and we love 

your work. Latin Dance is an original instrumental song written by Alvin Rostant and is always one of the most popular songs he plays at his gigs. It has a latin rhythm, obvoiusly, and the steel drum melody is beautiful. Its on our Favourites CD if anyone is interested. Terri Begley took over from Madonna King when she retired to spend  more time with her young children. Terri is doing a great job filling big shoes. We have known Terri ever since she interviewed Alvin for the "Immigrants of Brisbane" series aired on 612ABC earlier this year..

Andrew Smith is a Trinidadian who has been in Australia longer than Alvin. Thats 

saying something cause Alvin's more an Aussie than Trinididian... he"s been here that long. Andrew worked in the mining industry for many years and when the Cavaliers arrived in Qld he followed them around from country town to country town going to each gig religiously. Such dedication Andrew you must have been The Cavaliers best MALE groupie!!

The 2nd Barbados Independance party was held on Saturday night. Same

venue as the JUMP UP PARTY held in April 2011 but run by Bagian Michelle G and Ivan R. It was a great night with plenty of people in attendance, gourmet food, beautiful table decorations, speeches and rum punch. It was a windless, humid night and most people really felt the heat as they danced.  The ceiling fans in the club belted around the hot air the best they could but it was to no avail. We melted........ till a cool change came thru around 10pm. No chance of that happening next time as The Polo Club in Brisbane will be a completely different scene if Michelle has her way! Go Girl...... I say go go go.

Lennox Jordan is undoubtly the best steel drum maker in Australia! He has set

up business in Gympie and is producing excellent  steel drums.Business is brisk as he has no, or few compertitors of repute. "The steel drum" has been slow to have any real impact on Australian society but just in the last 2 years the steel drum, and steel drum bands in particular have been springing up all around the country. Of course Pantastic  and Dennis Gonzales in Sydney have been trail blazing "steel drum bands' whilst Alvin Rostant and Paul Santiago have been steadily introducing the steel drum to all school children in Qld and Northern NSW with the Qld Arts Council and Dept of Education accredited "Banana Joe Show".

Lennox is busy making drums for new steel drum bands like The Rivercity Steel Band in Brisbane plus new BIG bands in Melbourne and Cairns. Just thinkof the distance between those cities and you can see the difficulty the steel drum has had to face in making any impact on the Aussie scene. Thank heavens Lennox is here now.

Here he is making a bass steel drum ( full lenght) for Alvin Rostant.

 

 

The Reclink Workshops continue on a weekly basis and are now having some

progress with last Wednesdays lesson the best yet. The group are really starting to get the hang of the steel drums and remembering the notes week to week. Alvin said there was smiles all round. Its been a bit tough with different people coming and going but it now seems to be a liitle more stable and getting into that partnership thing that happens when a group get together regularly.

Someone commented about the Orrcon Steel sign  on one of the drums  shown in the newspaper  photo and article in the Albert and Logan Newspaper last week . Alvin was telling the guys about the highlight of the Bathurust V8  event and so I thought I'd add my two cents.......here is Alvin Rostant at the Bathurst V8 Supercar Championships enjoying himself.

Saturdays Barbados party at Sunnybank was fun and was very well attended. 

The RiverCity Steel Band played really well and looked fabulous in their new tie dye t-shirts.... actually they are not new..... just its the first time I've seen them.

Well Done Alice and co ..you did your community proud. The party was the place to be.

Saturday 26 Nov is the other Barbados Party and Michelle tells us things are on target for a great night. Get your tickets now as there are no tickets available on the night. 3399 8001

New Years Eve Party- The Jahbutu Band has joined the experts. The guys that

put this event on have been doing it for 10 years and still going strong. Its an iconic event for so many people. Numbers are lookin great for a big crowd. All  the bands are booked, the aclohol ordered,menu organised, costumes on hold...you name it ITS GO'NA GO OFF. Bribane New Year Ball has a history of getting every one onto the dance floor with a multitude of differnet genres of music and different themed night. This years theme is prom Night. ....so time to frock up girls  AND boys!!!.

Now this is interesting and well worth the read. The journalist,  all of 22 yrs was

one of the best listeners Alvin Rostant has experienced in his 40 yr + career. The young lady asked very good questions and was worldly way beyong her years. She didnt jump to conclusions and took note of keys points without judegment.

I think you will agree she got the  important parts right.

 

Daughter No 1 has big couple of weeks in Melbourne with stint at Royce Public Relations.

Miss Isobel Dear,  3rd year student of Media and Communication at QUT as managed to crack the internship jungle with this little appointmant. She is in good hands and well placed to expand into excellent work experience in all capital cities before lauching her own career in 2012.

SON NUMBER 1 IS ALSO IN MELBOURNE WITH HIS EMPLOY BEFORE HEADING HOME FOR XMAS HOLIDAYS. TOGETHER

Izzy and Jack will see all the family and catch some culture on less. Enjoy it Jeby and Squig.

Did you know Brisbanes latest market is at the old goal "Boggo Road." Its a fab

location and in time the markets will be excellent. Its only 4 weeks young and already popular. The goal is the perfect back drop for fine food stalls, fresh vegies, and I really liked the beautiful, 100 cotton clothes by WOOLF. The designs are fresh and colourful with a good variety for all body shapes. Lovely to see the Jumping Bean there too.  Ukulele lessons , jazz bands. handmade soap, yummy bakery loaves, excellent crafts ..the place has heaps of potential. Of course Alvin and Jahbutu D'Band added that much needed up lifting music too. Check out the gig guide as Jahbutu willbe playing at The Boggo Rd Markets ALOT from now on.

Island Time was such fun for all the right reasons. "Montserate"  Australias premier

Jimmy Buffet Tribute Band were on song, the punters opened their wallets to support charity, MC Paul Harrigan did his job admirably and guest stars Darren Coggan and Alvin Rostant set the scene for a wonderful night. The event was booked out well in advance giving Lionel and Rita Aitkin, chief organisers and the most amazing couple, plenty of time to fine tune the event. And it showed. There was plenty of sound techs necessary for a 10 piece band to sound perfect, a personal video clip from Mr Jimmy Buffett himself, cheese burgers prepared by the Lions Club and a surperb selection of goodies to be auctioned.

One of the most pleasurable things of the night was the pure clean music.... no competing TVs full of football or Keno.

Thanx Lions for having us.

iStreetLab.....remember that name everyone as its going to have such a

positive impact on the youth of Australia. 'How you may ask"..."What is it" you will ask......"incredible" you will say. Istreetlab is a multi media lab in a Wheelie Bin. Yes  the humble wheelie bin leads another life ...besides full of rubbish, full of water, full of horse feed  and whatever else people turn wheelie bins into.

This wheelie bin is  multi coloured,  multi cultural,  multi media and multi brillant good fun.

Alvin Rostant meet fellow West Indian, Jamician Mervin Jammen recently through the HEC Consortium. Mervin had his wheelie bin in action and was instantly drawing a crowd. It was a beautiful moment. Alvin was amazed.

Here is a picture of  said wheelie bin , with Alvin and Mervin and Mervins understudies who will continue to push the "wheelie bin of social change" whilst Mervin returns to Jamaica, London and US before returning in 2012 to continue mentoring the guys and getting the wheelie bin out to the streets.

Looking at the equipment on the wheelie bin above....it may not look much to the "average josie blow" (thats me of course)  but be prepared to be impresed. It houses a computer, console, boom boxes, video cameras, SLR cameras, sound desk, tech gear I don't know the names of and have never ever seen before in my life and all of the highest quality.........if you want one baby start saving now couse  theres no change out of 150K.Its all designed to take a beating from young guns eg rappers, singers,video geeks, marginal youth....... allowing street kids et al to engage with what interests them most be it music, video, photography,singing, recording,dancing, voice overs,,,, storytelling in the 21st century.

Man this is one powerful inspiring wheelie bin. Thanks Mervin you are a gem.

"Please nurse ..can you help me...I've cut my leg with my sword,... I think"

said Captain Alvin Rostant. Lucky for Alvin... he was surrounded by nurses, some 300 nurses celebrating the end of their 2011 conference and Xmas party all at once at the fantatsic venue Rugby on Strand, Riverside Centre. It was a close call but they seemed to save Alvins leg by dancin all night to the wonderful music of Jahbutu. No one had to walk the plank as they happily partied all night. The 5 pce Jahbutu Band was decked out in stripped shirts, impressive pirate hats ,gold ear rings and chains, coloured bandanas and swords.... its no wonder the party raged on. It was one of the best  pirate parties Jahbutu has ever done... it was impressive to see all the audience and the band get into the mood  including dressing up in costume.

Eagle Farm Markets have come such a longway in such a short time. Last

Sunday the place was packed with people everywhere. The quality of produce is great and fashion very cool and well priced. Calypso band Jahbutu  thinks its a good idea to start later and finish later giving the punters..er market goers time to kickback under the hugh fig trees, eat yummy fresh food and enjoy groovey music featuring the steel drum and Alvin Rostants chocolate coated vocals.

Everyone please dont forget the Barbagian Day of Independanece parties being held this November 2011. There are 2  different parties ..come to both or one doesn't matter.... we will be at them both. Rather than repeat myself scroll down and see the invites.

SPRINGWOOD AND SURROUNDING SUBURBIAN PUBS ARE IN THE MIDST OF

a battle for survivial. The new Lions Club has set the "cat amongst the pigieons" so to speak. Every week I read the local newspapers with keen interset to see which hotel is the next to throw down the gaunlet and join in the mallee of trying to win back clientele. Yippee they are doing it thru adding entertainment. Brisbanes groovest authentic reggae band Jahbutu D'band  featuring Mr Alvin Rostant have been engaged to defend the turf of the The Chatswood Hills Tavern every Friday night starting 18th Novemeber 2011 at 8pm.. We are looking forward to it....something in our home patch. SEE you there. Dont forget to dress up.

 

First Class to Mackay for Minerals Council of Australia Xmas party suited Jahbutu  perfectly.

Everything was laid on to the max for the boys and YEP they lapped it up big time. The gig went really well with the everyone raving about the excellent feel of the sounds of The Jahbutu Band . The whole town was booked out on the evening......the boys accomadation was half and hour out of town!!! but still very nice...... thanks MAS. First Class ...always a bonus!

BELIZE Motor Yatch's  splashed out with fine music and dining for the launch for their latest "boat' on Soverign Island recently. Much to the delight of BELIZE The Jahbutu Band lead the way with conga lines and tropical tunes suitable for the opening of one of the finest new yatch designs to date. First class again.

KRANK school holiday program run by the Logan City Council ended on a high note

with 12 fantastic budding musos taking to the steel drums like the proverbial ducks to water.....they were great. Thanks to Caddies at Jimboomba who kindly provided the venue, plus lunch and afternoon/morning teas. Yummy and just was needed to get thru a highly musical day. I should also mention Paul Sullivan from the Krank program at Marsden Library. Paul was a delightful young man with many challenges, one being blind. He loved the steel drum and repeated every note Alvin played without hesitation and was remarkably corect everytime...... he got the right note and the beat correct without fail. It was liberating. You rock Paul. Alvin was so impressed he couldnt stop talking about you for days.Please come and visit us next school holidays, all of you.

Its arrived. The new racks have arrived for the steel drum trailer. What a

difference it will make too. It will allow Alvin Rostant and The Caribbean Arts and Entertainment Company to provide a complete range of steel drums, including 6 bass (1), 4 cello (1), 3 cello(1), 1 guitar (1), 2 x double seconds (2), 5 tenors (5), 2 doup (2), congas (1).Steeldrums are bulky instruments and transportation to venues has been problematic in the past..but not any more. Its time to hit the road and really spread the steeldrum word to south east Queensland schools, music groups, community groups, Councils, church groups,afterschool  activities..the list goes on. percusiion can be included as well including congas, timbale, djembes, cow bells etc. Rhythm N" Steel Workshops have doubled in numbers in the the last financial year and is continued to rise at the same rate. Good news for Steel drums.

 

I believe "Ol Blue Eyes" really was one in a million if he pulled

this one off. I have wanted to add this poster to this website for ages as Alvin Rostant has it framed and sitting on his filing cabinet for all to see. Speaking from experience its near impossible. I know of only 2 people who have managed to pull off " Divorce Your Loved One with Dignity"  and of those I only believe one. They were laughing and joking and genuienly happy to see one another at the divorce courts whilst everyone else had daggers drawn and ready to kill. I was lucky though ..my ex didn't appear but I was a bundle of nerves anyway.

So if you know of anyone getting a divorse..... let them view this picture, www.alvin.net.au..it might help.

West Indian Community "Bardados 45th Independence Celebration..S" will be at

 the same venue as The Jump Up Party that Alvin Rostant. Brisbanes premier caribbean entertainer  put on earlier in the year. Come and party with the gang and support the event. Contact Michelle....and there is another party the week before on the 19th Nov. This party will be in Sunnybank. Contact Alice. All these parties...much fun and dance to be had my friends. Enjoy. We'd love to come but as you know its a busy time of year and Saturdays are a working night for master entertainer and  reggae calypso live band Alvin and Jahbutu......but we will try really hard. OK. Can we gate crash late I wonder?

Alvin and Jahbutu d'Band will be back at Metricon Stadium for all the SUNS home games 2012. Its official.

Thank you Mark for your help. It has been an absolute pleasure to do business with you and the AFL "SUNS".I particularly enjoyed the professional attitude, everything well organized and efficient.Good communication and prompt attention to details. We look forward to next season and can't wait to help the Suns RISE above the competition.

 

What is it with these nuff nuffs who continue to disrespect the hard work of a few

who ultimately pay their god damn wages and tackle the business issues whilst they themselves hide behind mental illness, drug taking and idleness. Rumours from unemployable persussionists (2) are nothing new in this business and its not the first nor will it be the last time such idiots banter on. Keep it up as it only adds to your lack of credibiltiy, which duely noted is lying, cheating ,violence, slander and ungratefulness.We RISE above it. Rumours ..as they say "theres no such thing as bad publicity!".  Rumours from disgruntled ex employees mean nothing and does not offend nor affect the bottom line. If  you can't cut the mustard get out boys. Someone has to take a stand for the good people ..its not easy being in charge but I have faith in my abilities..people who count, meaning  business minded and tolerant..... tell me I am doing a good job. I have broad shoulders.The trick is not to jay walk my friends.

BOB MARLEY TRIBUTE SHOW set for first gig in December 2011. Check here 

for more details. Its an off shoot of the Caribbean Music Legends Tribute Show but more specific. Clubs are queing for it so hang onto your chairs my friends. Staring Alvin Rostant as Mr Marley himself and Jahbutu d'Band its going to be  strees free moments of pleasure for the audiences. Alvin has been singing these songs for years and well known for his faithful renditions and stage presence.

Bayswater Hotel on The Esplanade, Urangan, Hervey Bay is really easy to find.

Its a great venue too. The managment are very switched on and just loved Alvin and Jahbutu. Thanks Nic for an excellent gig, your professionalisn can always be counted on, and its great that your back enforce. The wait for your return was tooooo long. Attempts of sabotage have failed and Alvin and Jahbutu d'Band have been invited back very soon. Thats how we judge our sucess. So to all the concerned patrons yes we will be back. We look forward to seeing the dancefloor full and rocking on again real soon.

The SUNS "Mad Supporters Band" Alvin and Jahbutu d'Band have finished on a high

for the 2011 season. Although the Suns didn't win against Hawthorne they did play brillantly and I can see there is plenty of talent ready for next year, Its a young team all they need is time. The SUNS Mad Supporters Band was in full force and also ended the season on a high. The weather was glorious and the crowds appreciative of the fine music as  Jahbutu roved up and down the main entrances and food courts. WELL DONE GUYS AND THANK YOU FOR YOU CONTINUED SUPPORT Everyone.

Updating the gig guide has found me wanting for more....Yes we all need more

calypso music, caribbean style beats and reggae grooves. Live music is so much better then DJs..theres just no comparison. I saw this because i saw a dreadful example of a DJ no reading his crowd leaving them stranded with tunes not relavant to their gen or ears!! And you know theres no a hugh difference between the prices.

Common Aussies demand  a better music experience next time you venture out. Make it Live Jive with Alvin and Jahbutu d'Band.Check ou the gig guide so you find out where the next best band in Brissie is playing.

Home to reality. However the reality was a clean house, blue pool and brown

lawns from the frost. Not as bad when we got back from Trinidad one year..then it was a black pool, wildebeast in the front paddock, mice had taken over and dust everywhere. Well worth having a house sitter this time. Thanks Licette you did a champion job. Now to face the bills, get the schedule organised for some serious caribbean calypso music by Alvin and the Jahbutu Band, clean all the drums for the next tour,cars serviced etc etc. Have contacted all our friends, agents and venues and the bookings are rollin in .YIPEE. I must admit thou I do miss Darwin as its bloddy cold in Brisbane. Have been having a raging fire most nights. Blue dog, our beautiful smithfield cattle dog has moved to his dogsitters home  permanently now. He was confused before we leaf for Darwin and would have been even more confused if Id asked him to return to us for a few weeks. Its the best thing for the Bluey-he has Daniel who is an active kid who always takes Bluey on adventures and is busy outside. Darling Bluey is in the best place now.

Winton Camel Races and "how they make love" fascinated me..C WHY

my love of horses transpired into a love of camels at Winton. First of all I watched the races and felt very sorry for the jockeys. The ride looked so uncomfortable especially when the camel was galloping!. I wandered down to where the camels where tethered and chatted with the owner. Bruce  was very nice but not as knowledgable as I would have liked. When I saw a bull camel wee BACKWARDS...well I'm not one to shy away from the pertinent questions and was dismayed when Bruce could not answer my most basic of questions..."How do they make love?"

To my surprise Bruce couldn't answer my question and yet he had bred 7 calves. "I think they bend" was his red faced explanation. What bends? So I googled how.....and DOES IT BEND..Yep no wonder the bulls froth at the mouth....

 

Jabiru "Rhythm N Steel  Workshop" proved Alvin and his steel drums are

 

 

so very different they engage everyone who sees them. It was a pleasure to see the boys get into a little drumming ,enough to lay dawn a few tracks. Althou it was school holidays  and kids were spoilt for choice of activities those that persurved became accomplished.Alvin has incorparated the track  called "Jibba Jabba" into his gig background music.

The Jabiru Sports Club didnt really know what to expect. "Steeldrums they said..yeh ok we will give it ago." They thought Alvin was going to play stelldrum music all night.....ahh but when the beat started..WOW the crew danced allnight. In fact extra time and 4 encores saw Alvin finish very late.

Jammin at Nirvana Rest in Darwin was one memorable evening Alvin Rostant

enjoyed. Nirvana is a fab little venue that packs plenty of character into a small space. The food is great and the acoustics are one of the best around. Again Darwin supports originality with Nirvanas weekly line reacking of good confident musos able to mix it up with original and covers.

 

Mettaphor girls Gil and Kayleen and Shirley White, Alvin and I saw MAD BASTARDS

at the Deck Chair cinema. Besides the cinema being historic and fun and cool and different, the movie was excellent. Aussie written and acted by no one famous it has a deep plot, realistic  beautiful filming and and excellent music.the plot is realistic and is a social comment worth reflecting upon. 

I really enjoyed my employ with the Alzheimers Assoc of Nt. The set up was

patient orientated with care and concern / respite of patients and carers.  After organising the days food we headed out to collect our charges ( a diffetrent lot everyday) usually about 6, then head off to the designated activity .... days were spent at the museum, picnicing, playing boulle, scrabble, BBQ at East Point. Op Shopping and bird sauntuary and visiting Alvin and his steel drum. No need to saw he was a big hit. I got to see parts of Darwin most tourists miss. Unfortuneately I couldnt take the full time postion on offer...

Last night I went and watched lawn bowls Darwin style.My knowledge of bowls is limited but I could see

develpements that Grandma Dear would not agree with. I think use of mobile phones during the game might offend her generation.The game has always been chaty with friendly (and not so friendly) banter between ends but mobile phone conversations...I think not. The dress code has expanded to include the colours of a rainbow but its the colour of the bowls that blowes your mind. Gone are the days of just black bowls engraved with your name. Now its bright pink ( to match visor and polo short and shoe laces!!), aqua blue, red and various shades of green.Lordy be Gramdma what do you think of that?

Groote Eylandt workshops so popular Alvin will be staying on to do the Festival.

It's a dream come true for Alvin and his steel drums. Alvin has always wanted to go into the indigenous

communnities and give steel drum workshops. Let the people feel the power of steel drum music, let the steel drum change lives for the better.The trip to Darwin has facilited his dream. It began with an invitation to do after school workshops on Groote Eylandt. Like most things in NT the agreement was verbal so to actally get to Groote Eylandt with 90 kilos of steel drums is fantastic. Mark B  from NT Schools and Reggae Dave have been instrumental in bringing this unusuual workshop to fruition. I was a alot skeptical it was all just a dream and it nearly was according to the head steward at the airport. "No way will 90 drums and one guitar fit on the plane today" she said. Alvin just smiled and waited. Bingo ........right at the last minute before boarding closed she relaxed and agreed the drums could go today if the freight was paid immediately. Too easy. The guys flew into action getting all the drums and guitar marked FRAGILE whilst the freight payment was organized. Then a mad dash to Oversized Luggage..then thru security and away to goove on groote.. Its dreamtime for Alvin alright.

ABC Radio Charlie King invited Alvin to join him for an interview last Sunday morning. Alvin raced in to the station on Cavenagh St , CD giveaways in hand for the 1/2 hour interview. Alvin joined the Hockeyroos Captain Ms Heather Langman and Aust Coach for the morning converstaion and had great fun. Alvin gave a little demo and chatted along witht others about Darwin, music, sport, hockey.Half an hour went so quickly everyone agreed. Amazinly when Alvin returned to Parap markets to complete the market gig several people came up and shook Alvins hand and  complimented him on his radio interview.

ALVIN INVITED TO PLAY AT DARWIN FESTIVAL. UNFORTUNATELY ALVIN ROSTANT, Mr Caribbean Reggae Meastro himself... MUST RETURN TO BRISBANE FOR ARTS COUNCIL TOUR.

 

One of the best venues in Darwin is the wharf precinct at Stokes Hill. It comes

with restaurants, bar facilitiy and out door seating, hugh fish to feed, sunsets and  ships to watch, people watching, its just a great place to go. I think it the best place to gather with friends and family. Its completely different to the markets, no hustle and bustle, pleanty of seating, a relaxed atmosphere. We love it as a venue as people really get an opportunity to listen to our music and take in the beautiful scenery. The audience appreciates Alvins Caribbean, Reggae. Jazz fusion style of music. The photo below is sound check at the beginning of the night. Several hours later the place was pumping.

 

Enjoyed the night out with son number 1 last tonight. Such a handsome devil and so well mannered and looks

very buffed I might say. We went to the Mindil markets which he had never visited and then the Dinal Beach Sailing Club and finally home. Dined on yummy chicken satay and crepes with banana & nutella. The markets were packed because the cruise ship Dawn Princess is in town for a while on her around the world cruise for 128 days. Imagine how fat you'd be after that cruise!! Jack loves his job and has just won a competition about tactics and deployment..I think. Great stuff .... I am so proud of both my offspring who have now  sprung off!!! ..they have turned out to be hardworking well adjusted young adults holding down good jobs and maintaining  a mortgage. Go my bebes. This is a very old photo.

Another colaboration Alvin  enjoyed was with Brooke Barnett and Nick Almenor 

at the Darwin Sailing Club. It was a beaut night and apparently Brooke received a call from an agent asking what was the trios schedule ??? !!!! Considering they don't even have a name and it was their first ever gig altogether... that's impressive.The sunset was divine, the place packed, the beer cold and food great and of course the music excellent. A very pleasant evening had by all.

Reggae Dave (guitar), Nick(guitar) and Mark(trumpet) and JK (bass) and special guest Alvin on the steel drum (or pan) played at Happyess to

support "Rock against Racism". It was a massive day with 25 bands playing. Not all the music was to our liking but the cause was definitely spot on. There certainly is a healthy music scene in Darwin and for a little city its great to see. Some of the music was heavy metal, another was trance ( really sad as the guy looked like he was straight out of his bedroom) and I really liked the gypsy style band from Russia. See what I mean.... such variation in a town some 65.000 persons only.

 

Alvin's little cube has finally arrived. His new AER will be a nice addition to his already long list of gear.

One could spend millions on musical equipment . Already a set of congas and the AER are enough for this trip. As one gets older I think the trick is to declutter so Im looking forward to just hauling the cube and not a full PA to most gigs. We have bought most of our CDs for sale and slowly we are getting thru them but its nothing like we expected. Tourism is down 30 to 40 % say all the skippers who take the tourists out to watch the sunset at Cullen Bay and off Mindil Beach. As we have no prior experience to Darwin we are happy with the sales but the skippers must be doing it tough. Noticeable tourists missing are the Germans apparently.

49ers club hit Mindil Beach Sunset Market

and tour Darwin last week . I hear you ask what is the 49ers club. Well if your

super rich, in fact one of the 49th richest people of Australia you can join the club. Gerry Harvey and wife Rose were there, and Lindsay Fox was another. No disrespect but they were the only ones recognised. I did look for family friend Euan M. but no luck.When the organizer of the VIP area told me who were visiting that tonight I quickly went a placed our business cards on the tables, At the end of the night I only found one left so I pray that its a good omen. Of course one would think our sales of CDs would be through the roof too but no.......... pearls were on the menu that night. So be it.

Hows this for a busy schedule for master pan player Mr Alvin Rostant. Darwin to Groote Eyland, Groote to Darwin to Brisbane to Hamilton Island to Brisbane and then Brisbane to Bowen to Brisbane to Darwin and finally back to Groote Eylandt for Festival. All in 8 days!!!

Falling leaves and crash, scrape and crunch as the huge fronds from our jungle permaculture garden hit the

ground in the middle of the night. Most mornings I wake to find another frond to woman handle to a designated frond free spot so they can do their mulching act. The birds are very active at night as well. Tiny little wren like birds trill nightly and they fill the silence very loudly. Other birds include bush turkeys but they are not like the ones we have in Brisbane with red cockles. The NT bush turkeys are quite demure, not making Hugh messes and some have beautiful dark blue plumes.They sound like geese when they call out at night. I love hearing sounds of a busy bush night even if they keep me from my beauty sleep.Look at this photo..Its hard to believe there is a house just the other side of the back fence, about 10 metres away!!

Double or nothin around here. Got asked to do a gig at most prestigious venue (in some eyes) in Darwin 

I understand solo is the hardest work but its grossly unfair to expect the second musician to work for peanuts.  Funny how the pokies etc dont give places like Skycity a better budget to work from. Its common knowledge they rake in the dollars from the pokies, taxes included. Shame but I am not about to give away Alvins unique talent . Being unique is a point of difference worth paying for I beleive and ....SHHHH... We are not that desperate. Another thing about doing business in NT is I haven't seen too many contracts. "Man is good for his word around here".... Now that's refreshing but not safe especially as most musos lead precarious lives. Alvin and I prefer to keep things professional and in writing!

Ive been distracted but Im back to my faithful ol' blog page as Im sick of fat fingers, predictive text and

teeny weeny phone scenes. Enough Said. But I do want to tell you about the wonderful Caribbean people we have met in Darwin. First night at  the crowd was thick, but walking in a straight line for Alvin Rostant, pan case in hand (one of those made to look like the trini Flag) came Romig Titus.Romig has lived in Aust from ages and has 3 grown children living in Darwin and Adelaide. He works full time and is busy man. We haven't seen alot of him but when he has excellent stories. he is passionate about food, esp trini food and plans to retire to grow exotic fruits in Cairns. His pan was dropped and needed Alvin to re tune it..hence bringing it to the markets. Footnote..Mr Alvin has returned the pan but just can't get the c note right so the pan is going to see Madman Lennox in Gympie. Another person of interest!!! has a wonderful colourful name and comes from Jamaica. Carol Vivien Williams and hubby Jamie hail from Perth and have now made Darwin home for the past year. Carol has an amazing life story and relishes working hard and her family. We have dined seaside with a setting sun and enjoyed many coffees together.

Alvin Rostant has come to Darwin to see how it goes.... playing solo, busking, doing a different market each

day and hes learning its a different scene to the band mentality, The corporate world hes' used to. Nothing bad  just different. Someone said he didnt look like a busker, he's too well dressed to be a busker. I offered to rip his new t shirt  and jeans and add some dust to his shoes but .....well you know its important to look cool.Mun. The trick to busking is to get organized and to make it easy. Stop hauling around the big equipment , go simple and just play what you like. Slowly we are getting it right. The trick is to never stop learning or asking questions.Is his mix of Caribbean music like calypso and soca . reggae. jazz. funky world tunes, originals and covers suitable for the Darwin audiences. The answer to that is a respounding Yes.

Things I like about Darwin. The colourful clothes, black is not worn at all here by the everyday person which is

refreshing. It s really easy to get around and nowhere is far. Wide tree lined streets. (one street has a hugh frangipani trees down the centre medium strip). Hugh shadey trees, less stress, big bands, the weather, the artisans at the markets who make all there own stuff. I love the way a crocodile is front page news everyday whether it be an attack, a rogue stalker, capture of, fisherman feared taken.....I am not joking  everyday there is Croc News. Today it was the relocation of a 3.5 mt croc to another area because he was getting too close for comfort,,,,but wait hes not the one they want,,,, there is an even bigger one out there somewhere!Thats next weeks news for sure. I love no bicycle helmets and all the shorts the girls wear without fear of fashion experts casting comment. I love only having to buy petrol once a fortnight, not weekly or more. I LOVE the Asian food.There's not much I don't like and anyway no use complaining.

The last day on competition of the Arafura Games was rocked by controversy in the boxing and in the soccer.

Fighting for the gold medal in the boxing was an Indian and an New Zealand er. The Indian girl was slightly shorter in height but a power house of muscle and aggression. The NZ girl has long arms and light feet but no weight against the Indian. The referee took exception to the Indian girl hitting incorrectly and repeatedly warned her to stop. In the last round he stopped the fight and disqualified her. Such a shame to come that far only to be disqualified. Better to lose than to be disqualified.

Oh boy the soccer was a farce too. The referee was hopeless when it came to crowd control. Kupang and Macau were playing off for gold until the ref, who had upset Kupang with 2 yellow cards  went to give Macau a yellow card and Kupang a red card. All hell broke loose with officials wanting to enter the field but chased back by the lines woman, teams persons shouting and pointing as the ref gesticulated and waves red and yellow cards to almost any player near him. It was a disgrace. In the end both coaches called their teams off field... Being a ref requires calmness, but firmness and from what I could see he had little of these attributes. Alvin Rostant represented Trinidad in its youth team in the 70s and was disappointed with the ref for disqualifying the Kupang team altogether and awarding the gold to Macua. It hasn't hit he papers today but no doubt tomorrow it will headline material, that and the closing ceremony.

The Arafura Games are fantastic and such an asset to Darwin, a city blessed with excellent sporting venues all

in a short distance of each other. We  go to the Marrara Sports Complex each night and see boxing, soccer, sepak takraw, volleyball,gymnastics and athletics all within a kilometer on each venue. Modern complexes with fab seating or grassy hillocks to watch the action.It was fantastic to see all the competitors from 70 different countries. To qualify you must be an amature, and won a competition in your chosen sport. Alvin and I had never seen the sport Sepak Takraw but it is truly amazing. Its like ping pong, badmigton and soccer all mixed in one game. They serve with their feet- an awesome sight to behold. It a very popular game all over Asia ans is getting a big following now in Darwin.I can't remember hearing about the games at home...can anyone confirm they if they get any covergae at all in the eastern states. 

Our local pub is called the Seabreeze..Its on the Nightcliff foreshore and surrounded by high density units about

6 levels high.Amazingly the pub has a midnight closing license and pumps out the DJ music till closing time. Can't imagine that happening on Gods Coast for example. I think because the population is so transient complaints are few and those who don't like the noise move. Fridays the local band really turns up the volume.We have been visiting the Seabreeze most nights this week after the Arafura Games. On our first visit we met a young West African boy called Felix. He immigrated 6 years ago. He left behind his family of 6 DIRECT siblings but an extended family of 28 because his father has 3 brides. He has a brother in London and another in NZ. He is a trained nurse and works and lives in Darwin and is very happy.He has alot of friends."I am a celebrity here in Darwin" he told steel drum player Alvin Rostant. " in fact I am a celebrity in all the afrcian communities in Australia" he commented. "How come" asked Alvin. "I talking like a radio"  he said. And never a truer word has been spoken about Felix by Felix. Boy he can talk and for Alvin and I its hard going as we really have to concentrate to catch his meanings and accent.

Below is a picture of the Seabreeze, actually its real name is The Waterfront Hotel but I call it the seabreeze for obvious reasons. Anyway here is the pub all prepared for the first State of Origin match. Hows the 40 mt Giant scene!!Ita hauled in on the back of a semi trailer. That's Darwin for you.

Lucky for Alvin Rostant and CJ its not what you know but who you know. Old family friend from Bundaberg Maeli came

to my attention and Bingo she lived in Darwin and had settled here for awhile and was well established. Alvin and I are eternally thankful to her for helping get us a fab self contained granny flat with pool, jungle,car and storage ac com and an electric KETTLE... and just a 5 minute walk to one of the nicest areas of Darwin- the Nightcliff foreshore. The foreshore is a prime position for walking, watching the sunset with BBQ facilities dotted all along the way,a great pub with views and exercise areas, even has a jetty were the local boyz toss themselves into the  calm waters below obviously unconcerned about crocodiles. Many people visit the jetty and net for bait fish, casting in the nets with a big plosh each time the sinkers hit the water. Its an idyllic area and one night after a full day of markets Alvin and I decided to visit to watch the moon and sink a few beers.No sooner had we tasted the refreshing TED than a security guard shot past in his little speedy car, parked in the middle of the carpark near the jetty entrance and shot off on foot down the jetty. He didnt look at us so we knew we werent in trouble. Little did we know he was their to chain up and paddlock the driveway into the car park but first had to go down to the jetty to warn the visitors. As we were still in the car we didn't get the message. So after our 2 beers each it was time to head home but not before we dicovered we were locked in. "Gates Closed at 11pm nightly" said the sign as we checked the entrance. No worries we just hit 4WD and climbed the curb and dividers that put us onto the bicycle track which lead  down a little narrow path to the main road.Phew.

Darwin is such a cruzey place.Seems to me no one stresses. Lena says it may

take about 3 weeks to successfully de stress and get into cruz mode and I think shes right. I still want to push the speeding boundries especially when everyone is driving around at 50 in a 60 kph speed area. In Brisbane that attitude would drive me spare however here..nup just go with the flow Jane. We have pitched up to markets early to be told to come back at such n such time...maybe then....actually although not my style... it is refreshing. I m definately taing notes...Something else to get my head around.Gee  I hope its good for my cholestrol!!

Alvin asked me what I do if I won 10 mill today. My answer  DE CLUTTER,,,,,,,, my life, my posessions, learn to meditate,and keep doing what I m doin now , with just perhaps a little more comfort. Thats Darwin for you.

Mindil spun its magic over everyone present when Alvin performed his Rise CD......

singing  to a setting sun, delicious smells coming from all the food stalls and a hugh grassy area packed to the max with people. It was a sight to behold. Then Alvin Rostant joined the electic Darwin band NEO for a night of jamming and experimentation and laughter.It was good to see musicians enjoying the moment.

We met fellow Trini Mr Titus who arrived with his steel drum because it was "out" of tune. Alvin will attempt to fix it and do some lessons with this budding panist. Another  Aussie man came and introduced himself to Alvin and said he'd flown in specially to Darwin to see  Australias premier steel drum player Mr Alvin perform as he is a mad keen Mighty Sparrow fan, having lived  all over the caribbean and down to Brisbane for the MS concert 4 years ago. Another gentleman introduced himself to Alvin having been involved with the Cavaliers some 25yrs ago,, he had an LP to prove it. Such a blast

Alvin ia always happy to help those interested in the steel drum. these tourists chatted with alvin for ages about the drum and music from their homeland in Sth America. They were so enthusiatic I had to take a.photo and I promised to put it up on our website. So Yep here it is .

Delicious Potatoe Rosti with poached egg and rocket so good we ordered it two days in a row. The  food here

is excellent and the staff really working hard to feed the massive onslaught. Walked the fores shore under suspicious coconuts ready to drop on our heads.Just beautiful with the yatchs bobbing in the water. To think the place was under seige from Cyclone Yasi 6 weeks ago. 

Airlie Beach is pumpin Easter 2011. People everywhere. Backpackers sitting

on the pavement blocking the flow of the walkers as they sort thru their clothes, smalls on view and all! All the restuarants packed to overflowing for breakfast. Markets buzzing with bargins and live music from an ol' friend of Alvins. We are lapping up the luxury at The Airlie Beach Hotel as we know its not going to last much longer. Alvin plays at Capers tonight and tomorrow arvo..we are looking forward to the gigs as we know from experience Airlie Beach knows how to party.

Meet one of Australias champion javalin throwers in Rocky.  Jeanie was full of

stories and information including the health benefits of eating a golden halopina chillie from the West Indies. Jeaie eats one every day, mixed with corn relish. She swears it helps her control her type 1 diabeties. And she was just one throw away from the Olympics for Aust when the disease crippled her athletic career.The trip to Airlie beach was uneventfull until we had a flat tyre  just outside Mackay. RACQ ...who would travel without them. The prevoius owner accounts for more hassels again as we suspect the tyre was in good but old. Anyway all fixed now and ready for the long haul west. I wanted 2 spare tyres but thats not possible at this stage.

Reality check..must get into camping mode now as the luxury stopped after

Gladstone. Well for 2 nights anyway. First priority before leaving Gladstone was to organise Telstra! No mean feat but a neccessary one concidering they had our $300 already for a week and no dingle connection. Hello..breathe deeply as this is Telstra we are dealing with. Amazingly Alvin got it organized at the local library. whist this was going on I found the biggest tree and discovered my nes mobile- emails, apps, etc, etc. Bingo all my work done on a little telephone. The reality check I mentioned arrived upon our arrival in Rockhampton. As seasoned campers it was no biggy but the first night is always a little testy to say the least. Everything worked, the tent worked, the lights worked, the towels and pillows easy to find.It was just the hundreds of cockatoos who started the daily chorus at 4am. And they were so noisy and shat on evrything. Ahh the outdoors.........

Alvin joins Montserrat at Gladstone Boat Harbour Festival.Jimmy would be so proud of em all...

Montserrat Australias Premier Jimmy Buffett Band hit the stage at the Gladstone Boat Harbour Festival to the thunderous appluase of 17, we think. Yeap 3 solid days of rain kept the punters away and Montserrat showed how the professionals do it..with enthusiasm every time. The band dispalyed light and shade in the music and a bouncy vibe on stage and excellent rapport with the now growing audience( the rain stopped the minute Montserrat hit the stage so Jimmy Buffett must have a direct phone line to God).Check out youtube clips.Alvin played steeldrum and percussion and throughly enjoyed himself.

Being organised is one thing ..being organized in a week for a 4 month camping holiday is something else.

Alvin Rostant was getting ready for an adventure but there were a few little hurdles to jump before driving off into the wild blue and red yonder. Fisrtsly the trailor.. well it wasnt quiet what we expected. We headed off but felt things werent quite 100% in the towing department so Alvin checked in with the manufactures. One look and the guy cautioned us the trailor wasnt road worthy and was overloaded. We high tailed it home to reload and reassess. The next day we headed sraight to a weighbridge so we could see the real picture and still we needed a few little adjustments.Nothing too drastic but enough to unnerve Alvin as he had a pressing engagement at Gladstone Boat Harbour Festival with Montseratt The Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band.In order for the trailor to fullfill all our dreams we need to attend to the axles and add more springs and that wasnt going to happen the day out from a 5 day easter break. So we did what was necessary and pressed onto Bundaberg via Doonan to collect panstands from Matt. We stayed at Bargara Gardens Motel and Villas with my dear friend Judy. Alvin and I are blessed to have such a dear friend..she is soooo accommadating! We love you Jude. She was is fine spirit and we stayed up late chatting.Next day it was a quick trip taking the back roads to Gladstone. No dramas with the trailor and we even beat the other band members.

 

Who went to the JUMP UP PARTY or more importantly Who MISSED OUT on a Fabulous Night with The Jahbutu Band and Alvin Rostant. Everything went to

plan and it was a hoot for all the caribbean people to dance to ther homeland music. Funnily enough its not the reggae music they rock on to , but more importantly soca which has a fester beat and seems to be more danclible.There was not a song that had a empty dance floor. The food was well recieved with the only comment...no chillie sauce on the side. Next time I will take the "Blow your head off chillie Sauce". Next time OMG I don't know if I can go another but yes we are thinking of it.Hold onto hats girls and boys here we go again...

4zzz radio "The Yard" interviewed Alvin Rostant about his latest Cd "RISE" and The JUMP UP PARTY to be held on Saturday 9th April 2011.

Interviewer Phil sounded Alvin out about being a professional musicain these days and his experiences in India recording RISE  highlighting the dedication it takes to be a professional. Phil  asked Alvin about himself and then all about the JUMP UP party and what Alvin has planned for the party. The Rum Punch was a highlighted and also the dinner of authentic curries and and delicious sweets. The Music line up was dicussed including Phil who will a guest DJ for the night. Anyone wanting more information should call 5548 7843 asap.

Greenbank RSL Christchurch Music Marathon Fundraiser was organized by Willie

and was started by The Hunt family,  brothers seven and mum all on stage together. A bit like the seven dwarfes but not so little! They were follwowed by Funkee Dadee - doing RnB covers and a little Stevie Wonder rendition which was almost like the real thing. Alvin Rostant was next  and everyone was amazed at the versitality of the steel drum and Alvins authentic reggae. Alvin gave away his latest Cd 'RISE" to a guy wheelchair bound but who managed to dance in his chair the whole time to 'That Love". Time was short for Alvin so he only did 5 songs before moving on to do a radio interview. The final band was Crucial Fury who were a modern reggae band with tight rifs and a powerful sound.

 

Nikon and Arsherif were married at the Hari Krishna Temple in Murwillumbah and

Alvin and The Jahbutu Band lead the way to the temple during the ceremonies. The beat of the drum lead a procession of a horse drawn carriage and men and women in saries dancing and singing to the temple door. Some 20 minutes later the bride arrived, and so to was deposited to the temple resplendant with drummers Alvin and Jahbutu and a walking procesion of dancers and well wishers. The weather was perfect and the food was heavenly. The happy couple will honeymoon trekking the mountains of Nepal. Cant seem to upload the photos of this delightful wedding sorry.

World Famous MINDIL MARKETS in Darwin have embraced Alvin to kick start

the  market season off with a performance on main stage 28th April 2011. First market for 2011. How exciting my freinds. Nothing like that to announce Alvin has arrived in Darwin and Northern Territory. With 4 months to to wow the audiences it will be quiet something to get out to the communities and spread the word and power of the steel drum.

"Red and White Trini Pants please " she said and thats what the "bride to be"

got at her engagement party. The cocktail party was alive with pina coladias and champange and daquiries and black ties and swirling dresses and steel drums. Perfect. Actually it reminded Alvin of a party he entertained at Noosa however the dress code was somewhst different- almost non existent!.

Mx newspaper did a hugh photo shoot of Alvin and The Rivercity Steel Band in

preparation for an article in the paper a week out from and featuring the JUMP UP PARTY. The photo shoot was held down by the Brisbane River at the back of South Leagues Club where the event is going to be held. Drums wetre organised and bright coloured costmes were the order of the day. Becky and Mat and Alvin Rostant lokked very smart indeed. lets hope the paper lets loose!

A sea change to Yamba bought Erik Gabriel orbitting into Alvin Rostants sphere

 on the trip back to Brisbane after the successful Harmony Festival in Coffs Harbour. Alvin new about Erik but hadnt seen him since the move north. Erik is an ex Cavaliers from Trinidad and Tobago and toured extensiely thru canada and USA, Japan and Asia with the steeldrum music brfore immigrating to Australia.Since here Erik has owned several restaurants and nightclubs in Sydney and now has a rest in Maclean and contracts with the NSW Health Dept. great news for us  as erik has agreed to be the chef at the JUMP UP PARTY. This is such good news as Erik is professional and highly qualified.

"WOW these people are keen" A great audience and the best location amongst 

the tropical trees of the Coffs Harbour botanical gardens. It was Harmony Day and Coffs Harbour celebrated in true style. Chief organizer Susan should be be so proud of the festival.t was well attended with plenty of interesting cultural acts and local group display and excellent food from around the world. Jahbutu left Brisbane early and drove down in constant rain , forever expecting a call to say it was called off. But no just before Coffs the skies cleared a little to reveal a light blue sky and plenty of time to get thru all the acts including headlining band Jahbutu before it poured. Talk about good timing. But that wasnt the highlight of the event. No it was the enthusiatic dancers who swarmed the stage and joined Alvin for a every song. All ages and colours joined in the dancing and it was almost impossible to choose winners of the dancing competition there were so many! And it was almost to impossible to see Alvin thru the crowd, one could only hear him singing away.

Royal Pines is a beautiful location for a wedding. The bride and groom radiated

serene beauty and excitment for their years ahead together, hand in hand with an extended family ready to help. Yes the wedding went without any problems even when the brief was NO DANCING. This was a little hard for Jahbutu however turning down the sound and relaxing the hips allowed Alvin Rostant to entertain without intruding into the ceremonies and rituals of the muslim wedding. "It would have to one of the most different weddings I've played at" said Alvin. The band had to set the scene with laid back  backgraound music and thank heavens I had the Jus' Cool Caribbean Restaurant (Coolum) years of experience to fall back on" he said."It was there I realized most people wish to talk, meet friends, order meals and have a quick drink without loud music to talk over when they first arrive.. Thats why I recorded "Easy Listening", theres  plenty of time in sets 2 and 3 to get them into dance mode" Alvin reflected. Alvin was very impressed with food at the wedding and thought the goat curry was the best he's ever tasted.All the luck in the world to the happy couple.

Last minute venue change for Sunday 13th March 2011 Now at Logan Village

Pub. Nice little pub out in the country if you feel like some country fressh air and super jahbutu grooves.could play late to accommadate the football revellers at Paddo tavern so they swapped us over. Thanks Clive. jlogan Village pub is out local and we do really love it there. Hopefully no rain will hwlp make alvin and Jahbuytus day as its fab playing out in the beer garden.

Alvin and The Jahbutu Band say "C U LATER ROCKLEA" but only for 4 months . Plenty of gigs to come when

Alvins return from Darwin with  2 gigs booked per month....... the first Wednesday of every month and the third Saturday ( or Sunday....check gig guide here)Its all good and LOOK at The Paddington Tavern. They have booked Alvin and the Jahbutu Band EVERY Sunday session fro 3pm fro Sept, Oct, Nov and Dec 2011.Nice to have the faith of Clive from Tranquility  and Jimmy Consadine finally. It was a devil of a job to get Jimmy to even look at us and now they are like dog with a bone.Funny how things turn..

Rivercity Steel Band entertained West End Markets goers on Saturday. It was a very

rewarding experience as everyone stopped in their tracks to listen to the tantilising sounds of the steel drum. Next time they will have a little time of all punters who want to have a go themselves. "They are so easy to play and so easy to learn " said Linda Fullerton "that we want everyone to be able to have go" she said. Alvin Rostant is back arranging and is really impressed with how they are performing all their  songs. "Kristie has got them going nicely, just need to tighten in a few areas and go forward with new songs" said Alvin. "The Jump Up Party is going to be great as we need money for more instruments" said Alvin.

 

Hows this for a jam session? A keg(empty thank god) a bar stool and a dig.......

 

 

 

Patrons at The Cabarita Beach Bar and Grill take matters into their own hands when Jahbutu finished for the night. After trying to coax Alvin to join in the guys DIY! Talk about keen........ the noise was deafening.

 

 Paddo Tavern cracks on..........

Paddo Tavern has some of the best acoustics Jahbutu has seen and heard in a pub for along time. Alvin loves

to play where the acoustics are great for band and audience alike. It makes the whole experience wonderful for everyone. Architects take note ......it a very important part of any design and you need to think about in the planning stage not as an afterthought.

This is a mystery. Can anyone identify this fruit found in Tamworth mid Jan 11.

 

I have been a busy little bee for the past few week or so. Seem like ages since

I blogged.Almost having withdrawls...almost. I have alot of interesting tales about our escapades from a few of the gigs. Firstly the gig at the Sheraton Mirage was fab for the 4 pce. Love was in the air and client and agent (and another agent friend) were very very pleased. Well done again.

Riverside markets are slowly coming back to the fore after the floods. Every week there is a little more action, more shoppers, more tourists, more cyclists and more new songs from Alvin and The Jahbutu Band . Alvin has written a gorgeous calypso song that stays in your head hours after you last heard it. It doesnt have a name yet but is an oldish style song...I love it. Thanks to Rob from www.zannebikini.com for helping the two budding sister singers to come forward and sing a few songs with Alvin and Jahbutu..... They need some practice but 10 points for  having a go. Channels first stage appearance ever unrehearsed showed alot of guts.

St Marks Catholic School at Inala have 2 wonderful ladies running the PnF. Mary and Agnis, both very busy ladies who find time to do even more work. Ask a busy person to do something and it gets done efficiently and those ladies well and truely live to that maxim. They held a sausage sizzle for flood effected families from their school community and sister school and Alvin was there to get the crowd moving and grooving. There was a 200% increase in numbers compared to the last event  and Mary said it was all because of Alvins good looks and talent!! The kids are so happy just running and skipping and jiving to the music. Uninhibited preschoolers rapping ..Let me tell you some of them had the moves down pat at that age. Just great to see and Alvin always happy to help out..

Last Sunday was D Day for The Jahbutu Band. First gig ever at one of Brisbanes most iconic pubs The Paddo or formally known as The Paddington Tavern. The place was packed by gig end and the dance floor pumped. The acoustics of the venue are excellent . The music travels beautifully to the ouside beer garden so the young ones heard ever musical note  and were happy little vegemites too. Back there this Sunday..check out he gig guide for more details.  

JUMP UP PARTY. All welcome. Limited  tickets so book early.

 

 

Characters of Tamworth Country Music Festival 2011 that Alvin Rostant meet.

William and Wade are aboriginal boys on a mission. They came to Tamworth Country Music Festival 2011 to sell their artwork and to sing and dance to raise funds for their direct family who were flood affected by the flood waters in Dalby.... Twice.  "I want to buy my mum some new furniture" said Wade 15 yrs old.  "I have made 1000 for my family and he's made 600" said William (16 yrs) pointing to his best friend.They were delightful young boys who could entertain a crowd and were proud of their heritage. The boys dance with "KOOMADIDGERI DANCE TROUPE' in Dalby with Wade doing most of the dancing whilst William played the dig, sticks and told stories. He was quiet a comedian too.

Loris and Lefty,famous in Tamworth and they don't even live there(!) but all the locals know them (Lefty by his nick name only.) Lefty has been supporting the Australian Country Music scene forever, first as an entertainer and now judging the talent quests and various committees. Loris and Leftyare custodians of the Country Flavour Stage at the Riverside Park, namely the Tamworth Cricket Club ground.They have been travelling down to Tamworth from Beenleigh (BRIS) for the past 20 years to help with the festival in the name of the Leukaemia Foundation. The Country Flavour Stage is for any musician needing a stage and an audience. The campers pull up at night on the oval, in the shade and enjoy the half hour talent spots for free. Last year the crowds were in their hundreds with queues 30 deep to buy CDs but this year(each night) the audience was 30 people maximum and no CD sales. Floods, say no more. However the show must go on...........and Alvin was happy to do a few spots .

 

The Mayor,again a Brisbanite, has not missed a festival in the past 25 years. The mayor was voted into his mayoral role by the local campers and they even made him a ceremonial chain to be worn on a daily basis. It is decorated with beer bottle tops, each one significant for some memorably moment.When reporters and TV presenters first come to town and are looking for a great story or a historical viewpoint from a true supporter the mayor is their first point of call. He knows it all. Fortunately Alvin met the mayor on the first night and the mayor welcomed Alvin with open arms and insisted on giving Alvin a hand at busking.

Danny was born in Armidale and when old enough left home to be a ringer in Qld Gulf Country. Danny decided he wanted to be just like Gundy as he was the best ringer on the station. Why I asked Danny? "Because he never stepped away from a bull or bronc, had the pick of all the women, was a big drinker and was the best fighter in town"  Danny set about being all those things- he joined a boxing troupe and quickly became a prize fighter. He handled the horses and cows well enough and could hold is own when drinking but he decided not to go for  all the women after Danny saw Gundy bite his finger off while taking a leak whilst mustering one day. "Whats wrong" Danny asked when he saw blood on Gundys chin and hand. "this pox is killing me when I wee mate, I've got to transfer the pain." Danny wisely changed his goals after this. Alvin agreed it was a wise move Danny Boy.

Another funny story about Danny was the day he got kicked out of The Central Hotel during the TMCF 2011.. Keeping to himself in the beer garden mid morning ,waiting for friends and taking in the music, Danny got a tap on the shoulder. He turned to see a guy offering him a spliff. Danny shrugged his shoulders, said "Thanks mate " and took a drag. No sooner had he taken said drag when on his other shoulder he felt a big powerful hand grasp it. " "Are you smoking mate?" said the big bouncer. Danny just sat and shook his head, smoke wafting out his nose as he tried to hold his breath.No sooner had he expired the one and only drag Danny was expired from the hotel. Danny Boy had been set up- the other punters saw the bouncer coming!!!. So funny but not funny really. What hurt Danny the most was it was his favouite hotel and he was out for the rest of the Festival.Buggar.

TCMF is different to any other festival we've ever been to, and ALVIN AND The JAHBUTU Band  have played at all the MAJOR FESTIVALS  in QLD and Australia wide. Tamworth really tests your 5 senses, everyday, all the time from 8am till midnight and blissfully quiet between these hours only.The first sense to be tested is your hearing. Its often loud, and some is ordinary to say the least. There are too many buskers for the space available so every 20 meters or so there is a new busker belting out their music. In the end its a mish mash of sound and to professional musicians beyond the pail. All the other senses were ok. Visually the Tamworth Country Music Festival is full of colour and characters,Taste wise the steaks are great and I ate the best quiche Ive ever eaten IN MY LIFE..true. The smells of TCMF were normal for campers and party goers and from a tactile point of view a good breeze kept the mossies away for most of the time. In fact Tamworth and its inhabitants  are lucky to live in a beautiful valley blessed with good water and beautiful mountains and a decent breeze even on a hot day.  the town is gorgeous with lovely trees framing the extra wide streets and beautiful colonial homes well presented and maintained. There is a vibrancy to the town that shines even after the festival goers have departed.

Here is a poster I just found. The Cavaliers had a little impromptu gathering in Sydney 2009...

The poster was made for Carib Oz but they deemed it not newsworthy  or pertinent. So it sat in the archives till just now. The poster mentions everyone pictured= all caribbeanites , mostly joined together by Amral Khans Trinidad Cavaliers Steel Band, and if not certainly the steel drum, or immigration to Australia.Know anyone???

 

 

Gov Gen Pen Wes ! does the rounds to boost moral to flood victims and others. She is a

nice woman and will be fully aware of the plight of victims as Government House is in Fernberg Rd, Paddington.... the same street where our little unit is (and was inundated with waterin the garage only.)

If she cant see the chaos out her window I am sure she could smell the mud. Gov House is on top of the hill of course but Ferberg Rd is a bit like a nanny goats track starting low and over 3 or 4  hills gets higher and higher. I trust shes not in her good clothes today and I hope shes got her gumboots on. This photo was taken in better times at the Surf Life Saving Championships at Currumbin earlier .

KRANK workshops are always good fun and positive learning experiences for everyone.

Alvin Rostant loves them and says he could give a workshop every day 7 days a week  and never never tire of Rhythmn n Steel Workshops. Its no wonder as the kids love him and Alvin loves to teach and foster all the life changing skills that come from learning pan to young and old. The Caribbean arts and Enteratinment Company has now done 2 KRANK school holiday programs with KRANK run by the Logan City Council with great success. Of course the floods didnt help the numbers but for those that attended it was alife changing experience and the kids want more next holidyas. Can't wait for more they say. See the photos below and see if you can see the patience of Job and love of the job!

Bought this fab product 4 years ago and havent seen it in the shops or anything. Made

contact with the head company and Aussie distributor and got permission to tell you all about it. They are called Buff Headgear and Alvin, Jahbutu and Fanny Fanforce love this product. Althou not suitable all year in Aust due to the heat ( thats a personal feeling) they are just wonderful to wear especially if you have dreads or hair that you want kept off your face. It helps control your hair and looks great. The material is especially made the reduce sweating and headaches (too tight). They were first designed in Spain and now have a dedicated following world wide. Being up market and not the cheapest they cater to those who love good design and value for money. Buffs come in a multitude of designs and colours with good ole" black the most popular colour. We luckied onto them and happy to tell the world how good Buff Headgear is.The photo is not a good shot but will certainly give you the idea.

 

Unit in Paddo is 2 meters underwater and rising. There goes the washing machine and

dryer and the storage cupboards. Nothing really to worry about. Its the next meter that may stuff us. If it hits the floor boards well there goes the walls and the kitchen...ummm. Nothing to do but wait for nature to make up her mind.

Had lots of concerned phone calls today. Thanks to everyone concerned about our safety. We are high and dry.

One of the calls was from long lost friend Mr Boogie Man. NICCCE Man. So so nice to hear your happy voice after so many years. Boy you sound happy and healthy.Another call was from Wendy who has just returned from walking the Milford Sound, NZ. First night it rained so much that they were helicoptered to the next post. 3rd day they were told they had to walk - not helicopter today folks.  So they walked waist deep for miles and crossed waterfalls without any safty gear and a sheer drop below if the had the nerve to look down. Wendy froze in sheer fright and couldnt move. "Put you foot on that rock" said the guide..."what rock ..swhat rock I can't see it." She says it was the most  confronting and exhausting thing she has ever done. EVER.

Our driveway has become an adventure park for 4WD cars. Its a bit like Cape York. Moguls, sand, water crossings and drifting sideways towards trees. And rescues missions. 11pm last night Alvin returned from an

eran and got bogged. Actually he wasnt bogged more like grounded where the water had eroded away a gap about 2 feet deep on our driveway.  We proceded to unhitch the float from Betsy, the Prado, and endevoured to pull his music van out. We broke two ropes and finally gave up with the snatchem  strap as we couldnt get it thru the tow connectors. Then the Prados battery gave out because we had the haedlights shining on the van! This was a 1am. Last resort was a quick call to RACQ. When I was told a 90 minute  wait ..well...frankly I cussed!  Nothing to do but grab a cuppa and then wait in the car. Just before 2.30am Alvin tried the engine and bingo she started. You ya Betsy. Nothing to do but back out into the rain to impliment   Plan C and bingo again- Alvins car came off the bank and was free to continue up to the carpart. Straight to bed at 3am for  an early start for a KRANK Logan CITY Council Rhythm N Steel workshop.Thats why we needed to get the van unstuck because it was full of the drums!!

Not every area is flood effected but all of us are feeling it for all those that are. The footage of Toowoomba's

tsumani was just umimaginable so much so I  thought it was footage shot in Europe. And those poor people of Murphys Creek.  To think people were inside their houses  worrying but hoping for the best, keeping a close eye on the rising waters and then an incredible growling noise fills the airways, moments before a wall of water hits your house. No time to think. No time to make plans. Survival is the only thought. I feel just so grateful that my family are only touched in minute way from all this rain. In saying that we do have a unit in Brisbane which has 2 mts of flood water in the garage...but minisculein relation to others.

Snakes alive. Yikkes even inside the house! Yep there it was just through the front door heading for the old

singer sewing machine when Alvin opened the screen door and almost stepped on it. Needless to say Bluey was called to attention and we both jumped onto nearby furntiture.All the rain has made them hungry and randy so please everyone be careful. Keep doors shut and keep an eye out when heading across the lawn. 

Tamworth Country Music Festival Look Out! The Jahbutu Band is heading your way rain hail or snow. Last time

Alvin Rostant visited Tamworth was with "The Cavaliers" some 35 years ago, so things are going to be a little different this time. Last time The Cavaliers played in the Town Hall to a packed house (of course.) This time its about earning your strips on Peel Street. The Jahbutu Band will be busking their little hearts out.

As I've explained before The Cavaliers were one of the first groups to busk but  35 years ago in Australia it was unheard of, especially in Tamworth. Now the town prides itself on it.  Aparently its great fun  which is what attracted us in the first place. Our inside informant says so anyway! Lets just hope the floods don't ruin it for everyone. We are confident it going to be a hoot just like it was 35 yrs ago and  we have a few ideas about how to help too...We will be donating some of our profits to The Flood Apeal.

Much to Alvins surprise Amral Khan rang out of the blue last night asking for details of his achievements since

immigrating to Australia, especially anything involving the steel drum. What a blast especially as we have been reliving  the past and rereading his books and doing research about The Cavaliers. As I understand it Amralis about to do his 3rd book following up on all the achievements of past Cavaliers since leaving the band and finally when the whole "enterprise" folded. Awesome. Alvin has been been busy sourcing all the old write ups and newspaper articules for Amral. I hope this is helpful. Apparently Amral was amazed to see how much of him was on the internet when he googled his name (suspect someone did it for him!) It a timely call as they all get alder and the history of The Cavaliers" need to preserved. I am grateful someone is putting pen to paper, fingers to keyboards- you know what I mean.

Another amazing gig is over for Alvin. This time it was the seniors citizens at Beaudesert. Blue card gathered 

all those  who could physically attend to a day of Christmas cheer and beautiful Harry Belafonte songs sung by Alvin. There was even dancin!.Dancin is their walking frames!! It was a fantastic sight. Admittedly nuses hovered nearby but what the hell it was lovely to see the oldies singing and swaying along to their favourite tunes from their heydays. And they knew all the words. The Centre in Beaudesert was a perfect setting and congratulations to the staff for the tea and biscuits and cakes  and slices and sandwiches...they were sensational.

Trix and his trusty box cause a stir with the audience. People are always amazed with

the different sounds Trix can get from simple instruments like a wooden box, a triangle,  shells, cow bells. If you visit  the link below you can see first hand Alvin and The Jahbutu Band in action at a steel drum and percussion workshop and see and clearly hear Trix playing the sides of his congas to get a different sound to fill the spaces in the classic Aussie anthem Waltz Sing Matilda- a tune played as a demonstration piece for the students- a song well known to all. Its a perfect illustration of how percussion fills the empty spots and en-hences the melody. It is not uncommon for Trix to have 4 percussion instruments going at the same time in the one song in the one bracket. Punch in  "The Caribbean Arts Company-Smooth Operator" on YouTube to see for yourself. It is amazing and very inspirational to the students and a visual testament to Trix- Australia's Master of Percussion. Now wonder Alvin Rostant  and Trix  have been asked to teach at The Conservatory 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmBTIsq-e7M     See Trix played 5 percussion instruments .

 

Bluedog reunited with his real master. After a long year away Jack has managed to

visit home briefly. And Bluedog  hasn't left his side since. Here the a pair can be seen doing the dreaded computer work, keeping their world updated on Facebook is such hard work, and so is  keeping the snakes at bay now that its not raining. On the first walk Jack and Bluedog encountered a large green tree snake in long long grass down near the dam. Not much else to say but goodbye snake and a little reminder to Jack thats why we have dogs in the country. Admittedly the property is a bit like the Serengeti with knee deep grass and bees frantically pollinating every blade of grass as they make up for lost time.Soon we will have Wilder-beast trekking thru. Can't wait for the ground to dry off a bit more so Jack can at least mow, with Bluedog barking andfollowing closely behind. Yes Jack ..mowing!.... to give the snakes a chance.

Cabarita Beach Bar and Grill is a fantastic little venue. You can see the ocean from the every angle. Imagine

dancing away the day in the cool sea breezes overlooking manicured green lush grass onto the sand dunes and pandanus trees capped with a deep blue sea and delicious white fluffy clouds hanging in the clear blue sky.It was just a perfect setting for Alvin and The Jahbutu Band who helped the patrons relax on the first Sunday of 2011. The staff were attentive and many, the decor modern with minimal stairs to negotiate to see the view, good car parking, the food looked excellent and of course the music was an added bonus. Plus the magnificent view andwilling dancers made it one of Brisbane'sbest band for hire  Jahbutus' best gig and venue! Elaine  is our number one NSW fan having invited all her friends from far and wide. And they came, and they danced, and they partied.Thanks for the testimonial Elaine- I havepassed it onto Jo at Topnotch Productions who is bound to get us back there very, very soon.

As promised I have reread parts of The Saga of Amral Khan and I have found a new depth of understanding

and appreciation of how hard the music industry is. Even in the 70s and 80s it was hard and nothin, NOTHING has changed. Only technology  and talking about technology..... in Amrals days there were no FAX machines, just snail mail . OMG say the young ones!!! In 1975 when Amralwas organizing a tour of SA with the South Australian ARTS COUNCIL imagine the logistics of organizing a 10 piece band with heaps of excess luggage, plus personnal from 25ooo kms away in Trinidad. No wonder the phone bill was TNT$5000. Now thats a telephone bill and that was 35 yrs ago !!

Fortuneately the SA Arts Council helped with gigs , transport, lodgings, however the SA Arts Council didnt have the budget to cope with the size of the tour so Amral employed them( SA Arts Council) So who was taking the risk ?....Amral. Amazing andit paid off because the band was then signed up with the Arts Councils of NSW and QLD followed by tours to NZ.

Amral Khan loved cricket andsaw the advantage of embracing international headliners combining both countries Trinidad and Australia. Heresthe proof.(Andgetting The Cavaliers several tours to Aus and NZ.)

The articule states

"West Indian Entrepreneur Amral Khan will make a return journey of 24,000km to hand over his losing $500 bet to Australian fast bowler Jeff Thomson."

Perhaps we need more of this to help the Aussie Cricket team Today.

The wager was about Thommo taking more wickets than West Indies' fast bowler Andy Roberts.

 

 

The Circle on Channel 10. A Circle of difference or just the circulation of the same same famous faces........

(mostly people with good publishists me thinks.) The same same, not different really. I love The Circle "girls", the presenters and the fact they are "not in your face" famous. It gives me hope that its a show worth watching....but as far as I can see its the same chefs, same sports hero's, same  social commenter's, same famous musos, same 1%ers. Et Al. Shouldn't some of the stories be about ordinary people doing ordinary things, living ordinary lives. Not too many nobodies seem get a Guernsey onto The Circle. Can't those of the 99%ers of us who are ordinary and think they are worthy of a chat on The Circles join The Circle? Why is that? My inside source has told me that as soon as they put music on the program, by not so famous people on The Circle the TV audience turns off.

Why Why Why? Is that genre based I wonder? Is it that most of the audience is female? Does it happen to guru garden designers? Or handsome chefs? What about female chefs?  Is it  specific  to music only ? If its not the David Campbells of the music the girls turns off. Where do they go? ( another channel doing the same same) Anddoes that mean the TV audience walks around the house with the remote strapped to their waist. Really I just dont get it. A song only lasts a max of 3 minutes and with the special effects available today surely they disguise an "ordinary" ordinary and hold the audience.

I think back to the days of Ray Martin and Ernie Sigley. Australian icons and masters of day time TV. All these shows had a music segment .What has changed since those days. Well there is the obvious.... they were male ( easy on the eye, well spoken and respected too, but, well,  those can be debated!)

So do you think if The Circle was hosted by gorgeous male presenters the audience would flick away when the music starts.Would male presenters gain more respect from the audience? Would they hold the audiences attention thru a 3 minute ordinary moment?

Ummmm an interesting thought. I am going to become a "Circle" twit. For research purposes of course. I will report back in a month.

Days of 5 please

I want my days of 5. They say its a five day cricket test so why don't we have 5 days of cricket. (Isn't that false advertising?) I'm not blaming or defending the captions,players, umpires, advertisers,TV excuts or  the fans....I just want my dose of 5 please. I havecarefully negotiated gigs around my dose of 5 ( not really but when it coincides I'm grateful). My suggestion would be to have a Twenty/20 match scheduled on..in a just in case basis..ready to take to the field at a moments notice. This team can be domestic state cricketers with special appearances by internationals etc.It saddens me to see the Aussies loose so badly but Hey..... the West Indies have been down there for many many years now that its time someone joined them in the fall from greatness to horribleness. I meet Viv Richards earlier this year and was very impressed with his wise words about how to fix the state of cricket affairs in The Caribbean, which makes me think its going to so much easier for Australian Cricket to fix our problems.....starting with the selectors!! New blood needed everywhere from the top down. Maybe but be careful not to throw out the wise with the bath water so to speak. I think new blood in small doses at regular intervals is the strategy. Any which way................... I want my dose of 5 please, any which way.

Lovely to see old friends and spend some time reminiscing about the past. Calvin and Alvin took time to enter

tainus with stories of The Cavaliers and the crazy things they got up to and how clever a salesperson Amral Khan was. He had such energy and commitment and great business contacts to make it happen. I have read Amrals autobiography called "The Sage of AmralKhan, One of the Most Travelled Men of the World" andthe stories are amazing. For example he pitched up with one of The Cavalier groups in Singapore with no gigs but after a meeting with "big international Hotel Merlin " walked out with a months worth of gig. Other times when the band had to lie low in between shows the guys were sent out into the CBD of the city they were staying, did 20 minutes of playing then went out into the crowd and sold records. This is possibly the first recorded form of busking documented. The money raised helped to pay for the guys food and lodgings between gigs. I will have to read the book again to eakk out other little gems. Of course what Amral Khan wrote about was from a different angle to Alvin Rostant and Calvin Jacobs entertaining memoires.

The Book is for sale on the Ragga Range page.

Below is the link to Alvin Rostants old resume booklet which was a first class edition and anyone interested in Alvins history should check it out as it has alot of sentimental moments in it eg from his national soccer days in Trinidad, also Expo 88 Brisbane pics, Waranafestival letters of thank you, Woodford testimonials and much more about the history of Brisbane's music scene. The Ernie Sigley Show, Ray Martin Show and The Today Show get a mention too.

http://www.australianmusicmanagement.com/PDF%20Files/Alvin%20-%20bio.pdf

STAND FOR SOMETHING OR YOU WILL FALL FOR ANYTHING.

Who's going to Woodford ?

Here is a trip down memory lane..... Alvin played at Woodford years ago and here is the proof. I just have one thing to say. It always at rains at Woodford.....so  I wonder what might happen this year considering the drought has broken and rain IS FORECAST. Advice to those attending 2011,pack extra towels, gumboots to your knees, umbrellas and those sexy plastic pounchos. You will probably need them!

Terri Begleyis doing a Stirling job for 612ABC in the drive time slot over the Christmas break. I was listening

other day and thought I recognized the voice. Had to wait for the segment to finish and for Terri to introduce herself and sure enough it was her. I immediately sent off a text to her requesting help with finding Alvin and The Jahbutu Band a NYE gig (didn't mention reasons as I'm sick of reliving it) and wished her every success with the new line of work. I was hoping she might havedone her last minute shopping at the Kelvin Grove Mkts where I last saw her (after the initial Faces Of Brisbane interviews she did with Alvin and Trix.) but no she must be an organized bunny and have all her shopping done already. Isn't that right Terri!

Love your work girl.

If a "tweet" is 100 words and a "blog" is approx 500 or more............. whats in between????????.........

a Twog?   Send variations on this idea to me via contact page ..please.

Cherries a la natural. Quickly followed by cherry pie. Enter stage left poached cherries with nutmeg eaten with

my weetbix every morning for the next few weeks. Alvin R couldn't resist buying a  5 kilo box at the market and oh boy they are plump and yummy. Being empty nesters I think we in for a long happy haul to the toilet Mr Rostant. Thank heavens someone developed preserving fruit cause I'm going to need help with all these cherries. My finger tips are crimson already and its only day 1..........Go ahead POP MY CHERRY BABE.

Caxton St was alive and kicking last night as Jahbutu revisited old gig venues Casablanca, Cartel Bar and The Calypso Bar.

Nice to see all the venues full of revellers. New owners of the Cartel Bar have changed direction from the previous owners andwell I'm not sure but hey ten points to them for keeping it alive.Young guys given it a go -its great to see. Actually the new owner and Trix had something in common- they are both from New York. Kings of Calypso... Alvin and The Jahbutu Band are delivering the Caribbean Afro Latin Spectacular up the hill  at The Paddo Tavern in 2011 so watch out Caxton St. JAHBUTUs back in town! At all 3 venues people recognized Alvin and Jahbutu so it was nice to be remembered. Thanx. 

Thank you Lord for keeping the heavens clear for The Kelvin Grove Markets last night. All the stall holders

were most grateful to get a full night marketfinished without a single drop of rain. Actually it was a beautiful night with a hint of pink colour in the clouds just at sunset accompanied by a gentle pleasant breeze.. Jahbutu were as ever well received andjoined in the second set by Simeon, a small boy of 2 yrs who blew the cricket horn that's been banned at all the cricket matches. For the life of me I cant remember the name of it. Anyway he tookcentre stage with Alvin Rostant and Jahbutu and provedto be a natural entertainer. It was so cute andhis mum was very appreciative that the guyzfostered his natural ability and gave lots of encouragement. See you next year Sim. Greg from Onstage Productions  popped up too and it was lovely to have a chat between customers. Greg hasn't seen The JahbutuBand play for a while and it was a good opportunity to refresh. No doubt you were impressed Greg! Onstage Productions was one of the first agents to book Alvin some 30 odd years ago. Its been a very long and rewarding relationship founded on professionalism that continues to work today.

Calypso, Caribbean, Reggae, ZouK, Soca, Limbo andConga, Steel drum, Pan,Carnival, Carnivale,Latin,there

are so many words that mean The Jahbutu Band. When you hire the Brisbane based band Jahbutu you get frontman Alvin and the reassurance that The Caribbean Arts and Entertainment Company are looking after all your entertainment needs. Rest assured your best interests are our main concern. If you want meet and greet style caribbeanmusic or uptempo carnival music from the world of the reggae giants we can deliver, absolutely, guaranteed. Having a frontman of Alvins calibre is the defining point of difference. He lets his gorgeous vocals do the mesmirizing andfinishes the crowd off with his delicious pan skills.

Just too good to miss.

Rain rain ..let us have one, no 2 days of sunshine so Alvin and The Jahbutu Band can entertain market persons

wanting to pick up last minute Christmas gifts. 3 wet gigs.... soon we will need flippers not microphones! Santa would like a dry run too if posible , especially if he's coming from Europe and the UK. Fortunately most markets havededicated dry spots for the entertainers and this works well but its taken the drought to break for some marketers to think about it.Whilst we had  drought it wasn't a problem obviously. Makes me wonder why Brisbane doesn't have  indoor pavilion style markets like Vic market in Melb. Shade or rain everyone would be catered for including great  Brisbane band for hire  Alvin and The Jahbutu Band.

Weddings are such a special occasion and by the time you get to think about entertainment you've aready

spent a bundle. Yet it is the music that gives soul to the event creating an everlasting memory for you andyourguests. Having a band that plays and reads the emotions of the crowd andcan improvise to suit the moment is better than having just a DJ with a box! Its a proven fact that liveentertainers as opposed to recordings adds that something extra, the human touch, the human smell, the human feel. Smell touch and feel ....so very important . Alvin and The JahbutuBand have played at so many weddings its hard to focus but the one that stands out was one where the bride arrived by gondola serenaded by Alvin andhis steel drum. The proceeding reception was an absolute hoot withtheguests dancing all night. In fact the bride had to do a quick costume change when the bridal gown gave way to too mush fun on the dance floor. Although this doesn't sound a very formalaffair it was actually with some cricket greats in attendance andheld at a very famous resort here on the sunshine coast.If planning a wedding for 2011 please book your music early. Band hire is complicated and the good bands get booked out months in advance, Alvin and The Jahbutu Band have a booking for a 2012 wedding  so there is someone who really is planning ahead!1 Start by giving us a call Alvin and The Jahbutu  Bandspecialize in making your wedding day special.

Alvin (solo) played at Brendan and Hannah Nashs wedding at Twin Waters. Brendan plays for WI Cricket.

Every frog known to man is trying to get some purchase

on the lawn or swimming pool edge  and I cant concentrate for all the noise. This place has turned into Frogs Hollow, a summer camp for f*#%* frogs.The hail from the other day has shredded the new PawPaw leaves but the fruit survived, half the gum trees have lost their  leaves  the litter of which decorates my pathways. andtheground is just plain soggy like weetbix.The drive way is full of mogels its  an off road adventure to leave home. Ahhhhh for rain and frogs and hail and thunder and lightning. This is definately Queensland at its finest.

Christmas is nearly upon us. Here is the Caribbean Arts and Entertainment Company Newsletter wishing everyone a fantastic Chrissy.Highlighted are a few pics of Alvin and Jahbutus successful events for 2010

 

 

"A Day On It!"...what a great bunch of locals. Rain affected Plan A sent the "A Day on It" group to the Logan

Village Pub to rejoice with Jahbutu. "On what" we asked and still to this day we are none the wiser however we think they were celebrating laughter and good friendship. They danced and laughed and welcomed each song with cheer...and then dancing. They weren't too alcolhol affected  either so it was sincerely a rollicking good time .We hope their party continued in good spirit after Jahbutu departed after a busy 6 gigs in 3 days.

The Caribbean Arts and Entertainment Company has been asked to showcase a new arts festival held on St Maarten in The Caribbean. I have cut and past relevent information for your interest.

Avant-GardeArts Festival to Launch in St. Maarten/St. Martin; Monthly Festival Curated by Top Caribbean Artists

 

 

 

 

 

ST. MAARTEN--(Marketwire - December 8, 2010) - St. Maarten is set to welcome some of the Caribbean's finest artists for the inaugural "Arts in the Plaza" event taking place on December 22nd, 2010. Held in the plaza at Porto Cupecoy, the monthly arts festival will be of the first of its kind to combine visual, performing and musical arts from St. Martin/St. Maarten's avant-garde arts scene.

The festival promises to be one of the most important arts events in this part of the world, featuring Dutch, French, Indian and Island Caribbean influences. This month's launch, taking place December 22ndfrom7-11 p.m., will be open to the public, kicking off the high season on the island.

A prestigious curator committee has been assembled to select the various performers for each of the "Arts in the Plaza" events. The individuals tasked with this are among the most recognized and respected not only in St. Maarten, but also in the Caribbean and worldwide: Clara Reyes, founder of the ImbaliCenter for Creative Movement; RolandRichardson, the iconic artist often called the "Father of Caribbean Impressionism," along with wife Laura Richardson; Neville York, one of the most recognized steel drum players in the world; and Thierry Gombs, Director of Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs - St. Martin.

Watch video interviews with Caribbean artists: http://stmaartenlife.com/.

According to Ms. Reyes, the festival will consist of not only the island's finest art andmusic, but also a series of unique performances choreographed specifically for the event. "The Arts in the Plaza festival will be innovative, interesting and different. St. Maartenis a multi-cultural society. We can offer anything from classical Indian dance to Capoeira, from the Brazilian martial arts movement. I have seen fire artists andamazing stilt walkers who dance five to 10 feetoffof the ground," said Reyes.

Additionally, the gourmetrestaurants in the plaza will be offering specials for festival guests, and the shops will stay open late, offering specials of their own. The marina will be offering complimentary dockage on festival nights for mega-yachts and pleasure-craft visitors from St. Barth's, Anguilla and other marinas.

The event is free and open to the public. The festival will continue into 2011 with new performances and exhibits each month scheduled for January 19, February 16, March 16, April 20 and May 18. A complete listing of featured artists will be announced prior to each event at www.portocupecoy.com. For festival updates like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/artsintheplaza. Orient Express Hotels, La Samanna Resort, Porto Cupecoy and Dom PerignonChampagne are sponsoring the festival.

 

Stocking Fillers are available for Christmas. Alvin has 2 CDs avaliable  . Click the link below to purchase.

Eftpos is available. Ring Jane  07 55487843 to order. Our stocks are getting low but new stock to arrive any day now......

 

 Desperate measures...... require plenty of happy hormones, namely serratine and dopamine to turn things

around for  Northshore Tavern. We cant be bothered with all the angst chasing our pays and constant changing of managers. No wonder they havestuff ups ..they can't keep staff. When you do as you say you will ...well then we may revisit but not one day before. So folks find another venue for Christmas Eveas the music is boundto be second rate.

3.12.2010

Christmas is arriving quickier than I ever expected. Only 21 days left to Xmas Day. Oucch- I havent even thought about it till now. There's the pressies,(I hope youv'e been saving all year for mine darling), Xmas tree to decorate ( must find it first!!) then all the gloroius food and table seating and chairs to gather for the table. OMG all the chairs will need a wash down and spiders removed. Can't have a Daddy Long Legs running up someones leg can we. And christmas cards..oh my lord I haven't written one and REFUSE to send any that haven't got a little bit of information about the family in them. I think its a waste of time and money to send a card with just "Love from"  written in it. At least you could  add "Alls well!!"

And "alls well aint here " obviously......must go now and do the cards, then the.............

What a stuff up. Lazy new hotel manager creates fear and loathing. Can anyone guess who is not on my

Christmas Card list?  To think we stood by loyally while they organized themselves. Double bookings, a new manager every month, rearranged rosters, late payment every week.......How they ever stay in business one wonders. I should have walked away a long time ago but I am a fair person and say it as I see it and this place needed good music. Any musician wanting to know email me  but be warned...they will forever be problematic. Here is a hint- one local and one not so local.Small fry in the grand scheme of things. Small fry and small minded.

Things are tough out there. Our little trip to our accountant was not full of joy and happiness and.... "yes your

 millionaires!" No indeed... it was "time to up the prices my friends." So sadly our prices will increase as of 1st Dec 2010. All new bookings will incur the price increase. We wish we didnt have to but I can not pay the electricity bill with CDs!

What does it mean to be 50 something?

Alvin and  The Jahbutu Band have been busy helping a few baby boomers celebrate half centuries. Sounds like cricket and you know what life sometimes imitates a good game of cricket. You have to take whats delivered and if your lucky maybe hit a few 6's along the way. At 50 your used to different wickets and certainly should be able to cope with a little banter, sledging etc. Of course wearing all white in the tropical sun is a good look too. Internationally known as cool clothing.... wrinkles et al. The Band wowed the 50 somethings over the weekend and the crowd showed true sporting spirit. The first party included a conga line in a pool ( visualize that one!!) andthesecond was a dance marathon. No great surprise here as the 50 somethings are living life as the new 40s and of course they experienced the 70s full on so they KNOW HOW TO PARTY!!! And Jahbutuknows how to party with em......andtakes care of those who come to party with the band.

If you have experienced the power of the Jahbutu party machine make a comment about it, tell the world how good it was.

The JahbutuFan Club Official Site On Facebook. Check it out.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_125858197470441

or get to it by going to Catherine Jane.

Cricket anyone? Jahbutu cool tunes anyone? Mystic Olympic Races? Well its all possible on Sunday 21st

November 2010 at the Graceville Oval starting at 11am. The band will be helping rev up the crowd especially when the ball is hit for a 6 and no doubt the bar will be well patronised. Its all for a good cause so quickly get to church then get down to the oval. c u there.

Super Butcher gigs at Eagle Farm on Friday and Saturday mornings have been

called of for the time being. They need a little time to catch up with us so we've stepped back a bit to help em out.  We strongly recommend Super Butcher as they definately have the best meat available. Every time I have been there the car park is full to overflowing. Its no use going unless your prepared to buy bulk as most of there shops are in industrial estates... but take it from me, its worth the trip. The specials are excellent value and last years roast pork for Xmas was the best Ive ever made. Back to the music it may take awhile for Alvin to get back there , have to play the waiting game.

NorthshoreTavern gigs are Fridays 3 weekly now witha special Xmas eve show.

The last gig at Nothshore 5th November 2010 was very memorable. It must be hat week, aka Melbourne Cup etc etc..... because 2 customers hijacked Alvins hat during the evening. The first was an unknown lady who swapped her hat, a knitted number, for Alvins grey one.  He wore her hat thru the whole next set. During the break he managed to rescue his grey hat back and return the ladys original one. Thinking about head lice he realised he was ok as any  self respecting headlice on his head would starve on his shaved scalp! Having said that the lady was in good hands, sorry  heads too.

The second hat episode was far more rewarding anda total surprise. The third set was a little down on numbersuntil 15 young guys in their twenties  arrived andseated themselves down near the front of the band. They partied along and sang all the songs but no dancing, content with being entertained by Alvin and Trix. At the end of the night they grabbed Alvinshat andpassed it around andproduced 50 odd bucks to give to the guys. WOW totally unexpected and very appreciated. The guys are training to be pilots at the nearby airfield and were just out for a quiet Friday night!!! They were raptedwiththeband and were pleasently surprized . Just proves age is no barrier when the the band has real talent.

Facebookhas a The Jahbutu Band Fan Club page. If anyone

wants to follow the band go for it. All feed back gladly received, be it good or bad. However the gig guide will remain on this site as its too hard to put all our gigs on all the social sites. I am yet to work how to link to all these sites it but working on it.

Fanny Fanforce is another page to follow but its on twitter. Fanny Fanforce is dedicated to all things Jahbutu. As twitter is small talk it will be random comments about the bands daily grind, moods, rehersal info and postive feedback. All welcome to comment.

There is also a myspace page. Search The Jahbutu Band and another page Alvin R. The Alvin R site is great as it has  all the old beautiful songs that he did years ago and you can listen to them and download songs like Savannah Moon from the Easy Listening CD.

And why is it Alvin R- well if its just Alvin its full of chipmunks!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone wanting to know more about the steel drum or learn to  play the steel drum, or even better join a steeldrumbandshould contact us too. We can point you in the right direction whatever your needs. Below is a picture of the inside of a steel drum with Alvin and the Jahbutu Band explaining to the audience how it is made, how it is configured and what it sounds like acoustically.

If you google search'steeldrums australia" The Academy of Steel Drumswill come up. Alvin is the director of that organisation. Alvins details are on that website. The academy is responcible for The Banana Joe Showand setting up Brisbanesfirst steel band called The Rivercity Steelband.

 

Melbourne Cup- a crazy 24 hours for Alvin Rostant. 10 gigs in 8 days has

taken its toll. After a solid weekend of gigs in Brisbane and Northern NSW Alvin headed off the Melbounrewith "Montserrat" The Jimmy Buffet Tribute Band to  Bobby McGees venue. The gig was spot on andthen wham......Alvin came down with asthma and didnthave an inhaler with him. A quick phone aroundby reception left Alvin with no other alternative than to go to the nearest hospitalA&E for help. Some hours later he boarded the plane back to Brisbane with a lung full of air,thank heavens. Andstraight off to gig number 10... Calypso Bar Caxton St with all the punters still partying after the big race. Wow what a crazy busy couple of days. Alls well now but I'd like to bet  double to nothin Alvin doesn't forget his inhaler next trip!!!!

The JahbutuBand5 pce wowed corporate Xmas revellers at Dreamworld with

the dance floor shakin" all night long. It was a sight to behold. The company even went to the effort to have shakers made for the 600 plus guests- thats some expense as they were very good quality. The whole evening was a great success andwell done to the event organizersfor having it down pat (almost) andgetting the perfect band for hire..... Jahbutu!Photos to come soon.Thanks MS.

The Banana Joe Show has taken a back seat of late however as of NOW its on

the front page of Child Mag and booked again thruthe Qld Arts Council for terms 3/4 2011. Alvin is so versitile I have trouble keeping up with all the different acts such as ALVIN: solo act extrodaniare, The Jahbutu Calypso Band- a world class band that can explode from duo to 13 pce, Rhythm N' Steel Workshops that give participants an opportunity to have fun with steel drums and of course the latest and greatest The Caribbean Music LEGENDS Tribute Show, celebrating the lives of the heroes of the Caribbean from Harry Belafonte thru to Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff, (who is coming to Aust this January 2011) and last but not least  Alvins most famous and prosperous charecter Banana Joe (Show).

Ladies and Gentlemen you can't go wrong with Alvin.

 

I've been doing a bit of market research recently. Yep I've

visited 6 different markets in the last 3 weeks and I'm none the wiser as which one is the best, which one offers the best deal  to stallholders or which one suits my products the best. I am just plain confused. The music is not a problem its the horse art that requires futher investigation. Of course in the meantime I will enjoy the people watching and fun atmosphere that makes markets a favourite place for shoppers and tourists alike. As stated below I am a little indifferent to the music at some of the markets but I can rest assured it works when Jahbutu plays. Testiment to the happiness and audience interaction and rave reviews received from everyone ....see below.

 

 

A quick visit to the Eumundi Markets revealed big dreams (!) gone haywire.

There were 4 bands all touting the digeradoo and not a black fella in sight. Please I mean no disrespect to anybody but 4 diges in a half acre is more than enough and does little to enhance the musical variations available in this day andage.WHAT HAPPENED TO A MULTI- multi talented, multi instrumental,multi genres, multi, multi, multi something. I found it all a bit disappointing. As a major tourist attraction I think it can be better. Admittedly I went on a Wednesday but I understand its not much better on a Saturday.  I can hear what your all saying- there are 8 tarrot cards readers and heaps of fashion stalls but if music is the windows to the soul surely they need alot more windows!!!!!

Music is our profession not our hobby. Jahbutu takes care of all those who come

to party with them. See Alvin as a solo artist at Super Butcher every Friday and Saturday morning and experience the tantalising sounds of the steel drum plus velvet smooth vocals. For something a little more substantial step up to the duoact. JahbutuDuo is world class with both Alvin RostantandTrix having toured the world withthier music respectively, one with 'The Cavaliers" andone with"Roberta Flack". This is an act not to missed. Check out the you tube clips of them both. If you have a bigger stage that needs to be filled Jahbutu trio and up can supply everything including lighting, production and of course first class musicanship. Frontman Alvin will take you on a journey of dancing and singing all around the Caribbean Islands- just perfect for parties.

We appreciate the help getting our name in front of google and the internet

public and read by google URLs ,SEOs etc but honestly to have our name and photo on a website when asked twice to be removed seems crazy to me. Anyway we will take it any which way it comes. Being in breach of copyright may prove to be a problem in the near future but hey its a risk yourtaking. Legal advice is your risking alot than we are. Emails to the industry haven't sent any agents scurrying away in fact the reverse. Communication is the key andI keep in touch with those loyal to us. The shame is when something goes wrong or there is a complaint you immediately think we are the wrong doersinstead of supporting a band that has supported you time andtime again. I mean where would you be without us. There are plenty of clients  andmore around every corner and bands but...... good, professional bands with world experience....not so many.

 Think about it.

Multicultural Festival, Roma St 17/10/10 a big hit for Rivercity Steel Band as they

usher in Anna Bligh no less. They performed admirably andlooked the part with all the costumes lent to them by Alvin Rostant. The 45 minute performance was tight andvery well done. Anyone wanting to join a steel band should contact me andI will put you in contact with them. It great fun, you don't have previous music experience just enthusiasm. Its actually easy to pick up and mums if you want your child to take up music but the child is hesitant steel drums often clinch it for the kids as its cool and fun.

Visit Entertainment drop down box on the home page for all the relevant information.

Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CARIBBEAN MUSIC LEGENDS TRIBUTE SHOW

The Caribbean Arts and Entertainment Company presents "Caribbean Music Legends" The Tribute Show,the ultimate show celebrating Calypso, Soca, Zouk, and Reggae music and its creators such as Harry Belafonte, Mighty Sparrow, Lord Kitchener, Daddy Cool, Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley.

Trinidadian singing sensation and premier steel panist Alvin Rostant dons glamerous costumes and brings to the stage heartfelt authentic renditions of  famous Caribbean songs "Banana Boat", "Rivers of Babylon", "One Love", "Island in the Sun" and more. The audience relives the heydays  from the 60's, 70's to the present day with songs that put the Caribbean Islands on the world map.

"Its an honour to represent my homeland heros" said Alvin. "Its easy to be inspired as I've been performing most of the songs for years. I've enjoyed researching their persona and the costumes too" he said."Rehersals are going well for a 2011 launch, its exciting" manager Jane Dear added.

Alvin has toured the world learning, teaching and performing steel drum. Joining Alvin on stage is The Jahbutu Band- multi talented musicians who share melody, harmony and percussion roles to create a solid but easy "carnival" groove. Including steel drums, percussion, keys and guitar Jahbutu have the  moves to get everyones toes D'tappin, vocal chords D'hummin, and the dance floor D'shakin.

Booking contact Jane Dear 07 5548 7843, 0421 008 668, www.alvin.net.au

10.10.10 is an easy date to remember and and will remain memorable for many reasons, namely the Haiti appeal to be held at St Johns Catherdal, Ann St,

Brisbane City. Alvin and the Rivercity Steelbandwill be entertaining the crowds immediately after the second morning service around 10.30am. There will be  morning tea and excellent authentic music from the Caribbean. Come along and help the victims of the worst earthquake.

Bluedog hit the pavement with a thud 4am the other morning and stayed there

until I found him at 6.30am paralysed from a disgusting tick. They are the grossest animals that I know ....I remember from my childhood much pleasure picking them off the horses, tying them onto a (live-redhead) matchstick with sewing cotton and then lighting the match to watch and hear the ticks explode.Someone has suggested that the RSCPA will be after me for cruelty to animals but I think not. Sometimes we even put them into the matchbox and set them alight. Blue had one tick  on his leg and the other was on his chest. Alot of money later after only 3 days in hospital Blue has come home a changed dog. Being older he runs the risk of pneamonia.He is to be kept quiet and unstressed for the next week. As Bluedog gets older he is becoming more of a house dog than an outside dog. Everyone in the family is mellowing I fear!!!! Ive had to hide all the balls and hockey sticks.

Change of venue at the last minute...not playing at Paddingtom Tavern but Corinda Tavern this Sunday 10.10.10 starting at 3pm

Come andjoin the the fun with Jahbutu- Brisbanesbest bandfor hire. In fact forgetjust Brisbane try anywhere there is electricirty!!!!!! of course the best band for hire Jahbutu travel to the Gold and Sunny Coasts weekely and even into NSW. And Perth on the 25th, and Melb on the 1st...so its no exageration that its THE  BAND FOR HIRE australia wide my friends

KRANK Rhtymn N Steel workshops run by CAEC and Logan City Council during

the September 2010 school holidays have been a hugh success with Alvin delighted by the kids enthusiasn and the numbers attending. With minimal advertising by the Council each day there has been 8 or more keen students, actually 4 kids came to each workshop- 4 in total.Designed to be for 13 th 17 yrs olds the workshops havebeen attended by boys from Boystown plus severalyounger students from local schools. Jason andZach are so keen they are going to keep up the lessons privately with Alvin. Look out River City SteelbandandPan school another steel band is starting in Logan and about time too dont you think!!!!!The Caribbean Arts and Entertainment Company have the halls and the approval from LCC and Access so its going to happen.

Hows this for a good publicity.......

A young girl  called Natalie who  regularly visits the Northshore Tavern withher family came back last week for a very special reason. Two weeks ago she was in a serious car accident andlost her foot. She now walks witha prosthesis(wooden leg). She came back last Friday night to dance her first dance withher new legto the music of her favourite band.... Jahbutu.How special is that. When Alvin found out he was really touched. He knows the family well as they have been coming to the tavern to see Jahbutu for 6 months or so and always are some of the first to get up and boogie. Thank you Natalie for blessing Jahbutu with your smile and support and we hope to continue to help andsupport you on your road to recovery with our music.

Band for Hire Jahbutuhelped launch the new book about/by world surf champion Occy....

Mark Occhilupo at The Royal Pines Resort. The launch  was meant to be poolside (entertainment) however wetweather forced everyone into the ballroom.It was a big affair with what seemed to be half of the Gold Coasts VIPs  in attendance. Alvin Rostant was happy to be included in the photo shoot.. not that we will ever get a copy as someone anonymous insisted on taking the photo.

NewsMail Bundaberg Articule (Wed 1st Sept 2010) about the Rhythm N Steel Workshops got it right..

when the journo quoted Adam Wilson, music teacher at North Bundaberg State High School..."said it was a wonderful experience for the youngsters. These are really unique instruments. Its great the students have the opportunity to play and learn them. For many of the students it will be a once-in-a lifetime opportunity. Even the teachers were very entertaining"

Sad News- The Cartel Bar is closing its doors for the time being.

We are not that shocked as Alex has always been sick and the late nights andwintery weather were playing havoc withher health. We wish you all the very best and hurry  and get better Miss Alex. Take time out to gain your strength. Jahbutu thanks you for all your help and supprt over the last year.Hence all gigs at the Cartel are postpones till futher notice.

SHOWTIME IN BOWRAVILLE.

Fancy Dress. Palm trees. Crazy lighting. Drag Queens. Whimsical skits performed by 7 woman dressed in blue wigs and yellow raincoats and not much else. It was a celebration and may I suggest Bowraville really knows how to celebrate. Everyone seemed to be in fancy dress and the dance floor was full right from the first song.It was a wonderful night andJahbutuis so proud to be involved with the BAC 10th Birthday celebrations.Well done everyone, especially Dale andher band of volunteers.

What a fantastic place. A little bit of paradise half an hour off the Pacific Highway south of Coffs Harbour.

Bowraville has so many heritage listed buildings and all in use so when you drive down the mail street its like stepping back in time to the 1800s. Nothing new in this bu"t all the buildings are beautifully restored and lead different lives to the past. Some are cafes, folk museums, gift shops etc.We stayed at the Coachhouse Inn sleeping in hugh 4 poster beds,showering in iron "ball clawed" baths, dining at roundtables with cedar back chairs.It was a lovely feeling. The Pub is glorious however I suspect its the Theatre that really unifies the community. The theatre has been faithfully restored, (althou changed to accommadate a cafe/bar) including all the seating which still has all the original springs. The town has a few social issues and again the theatre is involved. Ages ago the aboriginals were ushered in "when the lights were out" made to sit right down the front ( where food was thrown at them (which they didnt really mind as they ate it), sat on hard church pew like seats, andthen ushered out "before the main lights were turned on again." Now the theatre is mostly used for live performances and is in demand as the acoustics are great and all shows andmovies are open to everyone . Thank heavens. The aboriginal elder Martin greeted the JahbutuBandto Bowraville with open arms andstated "this is fantastic-a black band entertaining Bowraville"

 

My preceptions of Woolgoolga Northern NSW have changed since my childhood. I always thought of Woopi as

Coffs Harbours "Little Sister" town. Not anymore. It has an identity all of its own. Including sexy wild girls flashing the band all night (shame the guys couldn't see  as the stage lighting was  very low) and believe it or not..the drug squad popped in mid gig for a surprise raid.  Dispelling all rumours about Caribbean bands we were coolhowever a few patrons didn't make it thru. There were about 8 officers anda lovely labradore dog. No patting allowed!!.  They came  into the venue "en force", withan officer posted at all exits. One officer, about 6 foot tall plus  spent the whole time stationed at his said exit with his hand on his gun.

Then the dog was introduced and sniffed everyone there.The action started outside when the dog sat quietly beside a guy. It was half an hour of intense sensations for everyone. Doubt is a terrible emotion.

Anyway the gig as was well received, though a smaller crowd than normal due to hugh funeral for a very popular young  girl who was killed last week. Actually I know of the family, it was very sad. Then it was off to stay at the iconic Hoey Moey (Hotel Motel) in Coffs. Another resurection but you will have to speak to me personally about The Hoey Moey as it featured alot in my youth!

Addendum-  I was right.A QLD team won!

Alvin and The Jahbutu Band head off into enemy territory ......

down to the beautiful town of Bowraville in Northern NSW. The Bowrarille Ball is on and Jahbutu is set to shake some cool dancin moves and grooves into the locals. Jahbutu were asked to play at the iconic Hoey Moey in Coffs Hbr on Sunday night but declined as the NRL footy semis are on Alvin Rostant  feared for our saftey as a QLD team is likely to be playing and Jahbutudidntwant to be chased out of town! Only joking but we will be busking at the Jetty on Sunday morning is anyone wants to join us. Its at the ol' Treasure Island complex. Of course Alvin and Jahbutu are playing at The Woolgoolga Tavern Friday night which will be a hoot.Check the gig guide.

The Waterfall Cafe at Nara Resort is a fantastic little venue. Jahbutu played there

last week and found the acoustics and atmosphere just great for a medium sized gathering.If your in need of a good venue check it out andas for music...well you know where to come to - contact Jane to book  Alvin and The Jahbutu Band or make an enquiry right here on our website .......but be quick 2011 is starting to lookbusy already. The staff at the Waterfall Cafe were very very happy with Jahbutu and invited them back anytime.

Band Hire-Alvin Rostant and Jahbutu - perfect for any ocassion.

Clive Roydhouse really enjoyed brushing up on his percussion skills recently when a Rhythm and Steel Workshop was held at NorthBundaberg High School after the Bundaberg Multicultural Festival.

Clive teaches geography and social science at the school, and also his passion "percussion". Clive and Trix took to the corner for a good half hour before lessons started. We almost couldn't stop the pair from jamming. Funnily enough Clive saw Trix perform when he toured with Roberta Flack many years ago. Clive went to the Sydney show. Although not a music teacher as such Clive teaches djembe,congas and all things drumming  to keen students. The workshop was a greast success and the students enthusiastic , good listeners and  quick learners. I have photo of the pair chatting and will post it shortly.

The Truth Will Prevail-

but not if you don't getthe spelling right. It is spelt with a "J", like Jack andJill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water (to throw over you), not with a "G", as in a gill which a fish breathes thru, you idiot. Get it right or don't do it at all.

The Percussion Gathering Competition went off without a hitch..so much so that Jahbutu were asked not

to play but come back later in the year andteach percussion to the students at the QueenslandConservatorium. WOW what a turn around.Vanessa Tomlinson ( co director) meet the guys at reception and suggested the alternative much to Jahbutu's pleasure as the distance from loading dock to stage was lengthy!!!Jahbutu are thrilled to be asked and really look forward to teaching enthusiastic and willing participants. What a privledge for Alvin Rostant andTrix. The only problem was that both Alvin Rostant and Trix were really keen to see their competitors andimmerse themsleves with like minded persons. Never mind........ now they will get an even better opportunity to see all the students in action on a regular basis. This is very exciting news.

To hear Alvinsinterview for "Faces of Brisbane" with Madonna King on 612ABC..................................................http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2010/08/faces-of-brisbane-alvin-rostant-from-republic-of-trinidad-and-tobago.html?site=brisbane&program

or go to abc.net.au/brisbane and click onto the Trinidad and Tobago segment.It was a really heart felt interview and Terri Begley asked all the right questions to evoke  emotion about Brisbane and why Alvin Rostantchose to stay. Stay tuned to ABC612 to hear the interview with Alvins off sider Jorge Morales from Pueato Rico. It should be on soon.... posibbly tomorrow as they did the interviews straight after each other. I am not sure if Alvins original arrangement Latin Dance was played, I have to wait to hear from Terri but she did promise,fingers crossed as its the most beautiful song combining all the musical influences that make The Caribbean one of the most exciting places musically speaking. Band for hire Jahbutu plays Latin Dance and alot of caribbean soul therapy tunes andwhooping good time carnival music.Bandhire is available directly from us andif  you want to have liveeneteratinment it is only one phone  call away or fill in the enquiry form at the beginning of this website. Only too hppy to help withall your band for hire needs.

 

Alvin struck down with septicemia- blood poisoning so had to cancel gig in Airlie Beach. It was a tuff call but come Friday morning I knew it was impossible for Alvin Rostant to go... so I flew into action so as to not leave our long time customer in the lerch.

 After a handful of phone calls it was all cool. Thankfully the Badjohns  could fill in..I hope they enjoyed the 5 star accomm, food and hospitality  and warmer weather on our account.As I understand it all went well...thanks guys. Enjoy the extra $$ too !!!

 

The locals loved us..(which I knew would happen.) The Logan Village Pub gig was a total

success. Thanks to all the locals who showed  their support by turning up. Alvin and the Jahbutu Band really appreciate it.

All our dates till Xmas have been booked out- sorry punters...

and to think I was doing a little panic about cancelling the tour up to Darwin. I am forever gratfulto Jo who told me to stop worrying.Worry only rots ya guts an' all. Wise words from a lady who is in the business too. So now Im concentrating on 2011 and already theres a few takers.  Its amazing how Xmas seems to be a mental block for most.Its only one day but people seem to make decisions up to then and forget that the smart ones have pre booked past  Fathers Christmases quick fling.

I hope this is the returns to normal for the industry- bring back the corporate sector....

It looks like things are back to

normal at Casablanca. Club High Life which is Joel and JoT are still playing out the back. Looks like the place was having a little refurb tis all!! Good the hear guys as now The JahbutuBandare playing every secong Sat at the Cartel so we'll be seeingya around. CAIO

Name in lights.

Finally our local pub has seen the light and got The Jahbutu Band down for a couple of gigs. The locals are pumped andeven our fans from the Rocklea Markets are coming. Some even droveout to The Logan Village Pub  last week to find it andhavea look around. I suggested they get in early as seating may be an issue. I laughed when they told me of their little drive into the country. We must be  used to it now anddon't even think twice about the distance however I do remember telling Alvin  when he first took me to Logan Village .......I couldn't live here-its too far out. That was about 6 months before I took the plunge and  suggested we seriously start looking for acreage. Although the distance can sometimes be a problem the positives far out weight the negatives. Besides the houses' interior being beautiful I just loveall the bird calls first thing in the morning. I particularly listen for my little mate the Willy Wag Tail. In summer  he andshe live around the house but in winter they move over to the scrubby forest on the boundary. But every morning while its still darkish- just turning...he comes over and sings, dances andshuffles in the golden cane andtree ferns around the pool. I know his gun fire call followed by a cheerful whistle. Such a little character.

Anyway all welcome to come out to the Logan Village Pub for a Sunday session with a difference.Sunday 8th August from 2pm.

"Do you get any gigs from the advertising on your van?" someone asked me yesterday.

Yes. Most certainly. It has paid for itself many times over. I can think of a few straight up-USQ University, LEC Festival inRocklea, The Ekka, Brisbane City Council, and alot of private parties. Country pubs always ask too. It certainly catches everyone eye.

Tis a cryin shame but longeviety in the music industry is not a given.Can it be true.....

Two of Brisbanes iconic musicians have moved on or were pushed, not sure till I get from the Horses Month. Joel amd Jo T were not   at Casablanca last week, andBIG Mama was a NO SHOW too. Wow , Amazing. Unthinkable really. Of course they were replaced by other islanders of dubious musicianship and singing abiltity but still hijacking the Caribbean sounds....... Most musicians in Brisbane are amazed J andJ lasted sooo long anyway (20 years or thereabouts) with all the trouble it takes to getpaid after each gig etc. It will be interesting to see how it pans out with the newies....beleive me they will have some big friends to help support their cause! Good luck to Joel andJo T..c u around the traps.

ABC 612 Interview for Madonna King

Terri Begleyfrom 612ABC interviewed Alvin for the "Faces of Brisbane" segment featured on Madonna Kings' morning program. Alvin was asked "why he chooses to live in Brisbane?", "what he likes most about Brisbane and QLD?", " how long haveyou lived here?", "would you go back to live in Trinidad?" and alot of other searching, thought provokingquestions that one never really thinks about until someone sticks a microphone under your nose and asks. After the interview and the microphone was turned off and during the photoshoot Alvin, Mr Jahbutu..... said "Damn... Now I can think of a lot of things to say!!!" After interviewing Trix, who wasn't lost for words!,  they gathered to get photos for the ABC web site. Terri was keen to have a CD so that Alvins original "ALIA" song could be played to introduce the interview when aired which will be in a couple of months. We are looking forward to hearing it. Thanks Aunty. Love your work Madonna and Terri. And Richard,Kelly and Spencer, and Macca on Sundays as we hit the road heading for a market somewhere.

It was not Alvinsfirst interview withthe ABC. During the Winton Outback Festival 2009 Alvin was asked to "front andcentre" at 6am down in the main street with drum in handfor an interview withthelocal station.They visited us proir to the interview to getall the background history and have a cuppa. Alvin had meet them before when THE BANANA JOE SHOW broadcast a few songs and stories on the School of the Air..so he knew the procedure.

 

The  Gold Coast Marathon was so enjoyable.....  2010

The JahbutuBandheaded off early both mornings to give all marathon racers encouragment .Tunes like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE  brought alot of smiles from the competitors- can't say "runners" as by the time they got to Jahbutusome were walking!. Andlater in the day the crowds gathered around Jahbutu and their infectious music and andadded another dimension to "inspiring" those that need inspiring.....................dancing in the street to the beat of the drum no less. A most enjoyable day for everyone...including the heros of the

occassion-The MARATHONERS !!!!!!!!

---

 

 

I thought all snakes

were asleep for winter by now.  It was a cloudy 21 degree day as the nights havebeen dipping down aroundthe 11 degrees AND cooler mornings no less......Champion Bluedog pounced in to protect Alvin from a large snake today-LATE JUNE. Admittedly it was not a dangerous snake but really......  it should have been asleep. Anyway it was down tools for Alvin who didnteven want to drivethe tractor. So no wood for the open fire until I was called to drive the tractor and gather the kindling. I went to inspect the snake but too late as Bluey had it by the neck and shaking it wildly left and right, bits of snake flew past me too- left and right. I made a quick retreat. It reminds me of a time when we first moved into the Jimboomba acreage. The past owners stored all the left over wood andbricks  from the house near the back fence. Too close to the fence actually because we realized we had to burn the piles of wood as they were infested with WHITE ANTS, yep the tiny destroyer of castles!!!ecchh. So we diligently moved all the wood away from the fence, plank after plank, until there right before his eyes was a green tree snake asleep.This was AUGUST admittedly so snakes SHOULD be asleep. Anyway we moved all the wood and burnt the pile with Bluey getting a small taste of what was to come!. Not long after I  was called  into the bedroom by ALVIN, the place of eternal and wise pleasure (as apposed to taking drugs to get high eg a natural high under the right circumstances!) andthere was the mother of all snakes.  Don't get me wrong.......... IT WAS A REAL GREEN TREE SNAKE. damn. I rallied as Alvin lost it, swearing never to enter the house again. I tried to give focus to the situation by asking ALVIN to get a shovel from the shed. Happily he crept away. As I watched the snake desperately try to EAT GLASS I saw Alvin out the window  "bumpin" along,.....BUMPIN along means walkin SLOWLY. Oh God I thought.. "RUN" I yelled out the window to immediagte responce. Minutes later he fronted with said shovel......and after handing it to me promptly left the room. Shit I'd never willingly killed anything in my life but here goes...........I stabbed at the snake andfinally seured it under the shovel blade. As I composed myself for the  last thurst Alvin said,,, behind the half closed door,,, "have you killed it yet?" Thats when I lost it ..... man, snake ,dick,  carpet, western red cedar walls, bed, linen, shoes..it had to over as I wanted no more of this.....whatever.  Green snake =0, Black snake =0, Jane.. 1.

The Jahbutu Band plays NORTHSHORE TAVERN.......... surprizingly the coldish weather is not affecting it. Jahbutu

can feel a bit of a ground swell happening which concidering all the music problems of the past... ( not Jahbutu, but other musos being fined for going over the noise restrictions!!TRUE, and the musos had to pay the fine) ............ its impressive to hear the staff and locals being so keen about Jahbutu. It is a credit to the pub that they have the hindsight, or is that foresight, to have continuity in music giving Alvin time to use all his skills andSunshine Coast history to create a following. Alvin was a localon the coast for many years playing at The Beach Chalet and then at The Just Cool Caribbean Rest at Coolum. Bothvenues were famous with the locals, and hence tourists for its quality music. Touring may interrupt the progress but when Alvin and The Jahbutu Band return in mid October 2010 hopefully its will flow onwards and upwards....fingers crossed.

On all accounts Fete De La Musique in Brisbane is a great

success for all concerned. The JahbutuBandwere particulatly happy as the location was fantastic with the setting sun disappearing behind the city skyscrapers. Not very good for a photos but nethertheless a terrific outlook.The river cats andferries below were busy with commuters,  the Kangaroo Cliffs hijacked by absailers and the parks ful lof joggers, walkers and dogs on leads., grannies pushing grandchildren in strollers and themseves! And what a surprise when they heard in the beautiful music in the distance. Most passer bys stopped and enjoyed the music andview. Some even abandoned the exercise till after Jahbutu  finished their set.Alvin gave a lenghty interview so keep an eye for the footage of the 2010 Fete.

 

 

1. The Jahbutu Band performs in the 2010 Fete De La Musique.

2. Kangaroo Point Bema "World Music Stage"

3. 4.15pm to 5.30pm.

4. Fête De La Musique also means: make music!

5. Fête De La Musique was established in France in 1982 and has been staged in more than 110 countries and 350 cities worldwide including London, New York, Berlin, Rome, Sydney, Bamako, Tel-Aviv, Havana, Tokyo and Cairo

6. It takes place every 21st June, the day of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere.

7. In France and now other cities around the world, Fête De La Musique is celebrated with group upon group of musicians, whether well rehearsed or completely off the cuff, invading cafes, terraces, streets and squares. People sing and dance till dawn, swept along in an infectious wave of celebration that touches the whole nation

8. The event has become a social phenomenon in France and even had a postage stamp devoted to it in 1998

 

International charter

 

 

Fête de la Musique takes place every year on 21 June

Fête de la Musique is a live music celebration aimed at enhancing the scope and diversity of musical practices in all the musical genres

 

Caribbean Identity Under Seige!

Aussie Caribbean people need to stand up and be counted. Your music andhow  it is delivered is under siege. "Caribbean themed" corporate gigs are being delivered by persons far removed from the Caribbean Sea, with not a steel drum,dread or tropical palm tree anywhere to be seen. Its such a shame when there are at least 4 authentic larger bands already existing in Brisbane.The Jahbutu Band refuses to be lulled into situations where Jahbutu are portrayed as token Calypsoians so as to add authenticity to ones corporate gig. A better place would be to have the true Trini and Caribbeanites centre stage backed by other nationalities....... if necessary.

WAKE UP AND GET ORGANIZED CARIBBEANITES......... DO AS DO....

"Beware" Unwary Bands doing gigs with .....

Mad keen about performing your music to a live audience. You jam and get better and better and when confident start to perform in the general public. Bingo all goes well and even better....a music agent  approaches and asks if your interested in getting gigs thruthem.Oh boy..its too good to be true. Or sensing the time has come to start playing live you take the photos,lay down the MP3s and approach agents to see if they are interested in your act.......great ...the agent lists you.

Well be wary ..any gig the agent gets you ....you will be locked into a contract that says you can't approach the client for 12 months.Minimum.And if its yearly gig..bingo the agent has you locked in.

Now that may not sound like much but if a client approaches you directly and you do the gig.....the agent still expects their commission and will demand it.

The worst part is in the fine print on the contract...probably around clause 5.... THE CONTRACT IS VALID WETHER YOU (THE BAND) SIGN IT OR NOT!!! Can you believe it....The fundamental fact is you are bound to something wether  you sign it or not. The fact that you do a gig (thru the agent) means you agree to the contract wether you sign it or not, wether you return email it or not........!

With the advent of free websites any band can have their own webpage and are open to be contacted by anyone- new or old .Our experience is not to enter into contract agreements...put it in writing that your happy to do the gig but dont want to be contracted to the agent for ANY length of time after the gig.

Don't get me wrong agents have their place but they need to "disclose" LOUD AND CLEAR. Like Insurance companies! Besides most agents these days don't bother with contracts  as they (1) cant police referrals and (2) would not win in a court of law due to RESTRICTIVE TRADESpractises. One gig per client per year constistutes unreasonable restriction of trade...believe me a fedral court judge assured me! Any agent worth their salt will understand that the internet has changed the way business is done, how the general public contact bands and agents alike. The whole world of "networking" has changed. Attitudes have changed. Agents need to change attitude too.

"Sista Sista" where art thou.....100% well done!

Intelligent,strong minded,well spoken, compassionate, songful, smokey, appreciative, helpful,public, confident, loveable,caring, hempful,enthusiastic,now a tenor pan player, cooking queen, wordsworth,songful, cool sista

HOORAY

"CROWD PLEASERS"

Yep thats how a BCC employee discribed The Jahbutu Band at the recent Drugarm Healthy High gig in Queen St Mall. What a compliment. We were thrilled to hear it as he would know, he works in the Queen St Mall and sees all the action on a daily basis.Queen SteetMall hummed with onlookers tappin toes and swaying from side to side as the infectiuos tunes of Jahbutu caught their souls. Some even had a little lunch time dance!

BlueDog GoalKeeper

This is Bluedog Goalkeeper.See him on Youtube helping the socceroos  WIN in South Africa for the World Cup.He is a champian dog ...

WOT ROT

Middle men have a bad name. Well some middle women are just as bad. Such drama, such theatrics, its wayout and very weird.The lack of respect for Alvin who has been in the industry before they were out of school shows how little they know about the industry they proport to work in. A principle is at stake and they should know we don't need them- loyality has to earned and when they don't support us..well loyality goes out the window. I suspect  they took their eye off the big picture and focused on handbags instead of the core business.It is a great shame  our agent couldnt see her way clear to support us when we had supported her for years instead of lending approvalto some other arrogant coked up middle man.......It is a shame but Im grateful for the learning curve - we won't be bullied or threatened. No way. The internet, google etc has changed the face of business forever andit is up to us to keep up with it..and thats what we are doing right here,right now.

Zion Sundays to end Sunday 20th June 2010

Jahbutu's last Zion Sunday will be 20thJune 2010. Its been a fantastic 8 months for both Jahbutu andThe Calypso Bar andwe wish the Calypso team all the best with the sale of the Bar anda rosy future for everyone. Thanks heaps guys. The Calypso Bar- the grooviest bar in town, Jahbututhe grooviest band in town!!!!!

 But word has it Jahbutu will be back on a Friday or Saturday soon!! Shall keep you posted.

Anthems at the Gabba, WACA and MCG 2010 cricket season.

 Alvin  at sound check at the Gabba at 6am in the morning!

June 2nd 2010 is a very very special day.

Alvin R officially launches his free download  of the Ep "That's Love"  for his 3rd CD called RISE at the Queen Street Mall gig for Drug Arm "Healthy Lunch". It has taken Alvin 6 months of solid work to get it all organized. Read all about the recording of the EP in India and follow up in Aus and go to the promotions button if you would like to download "That's Love".

Biggest Corporate Conference in Brisbane for 2 years

she said. And she was right. It was a big event. Jahbutu 4pce played  the grandfinale for the petroleum conference  at South Bank Beach to a packed , appreciative audience and ravereviews.Well done guys.Andwhat a back drop for the photo withtheBrisbane City skyline in the back ground...just beautiful.

 

 

Cartel Bar

Another bar in Caxton Streethas taken out a residency with The Jahbutu Band.Check out the gig guide to see when Jahbutu plays Cartel Bar.Nice

Zion Sundays

Once again The Jahbutu Bandhave been given a specific job.....increase the numbersfor Sunday arvo trade.First of all we  were asked to get patrons straight after work on Friday afternoons. That was successfully done..so now Jahbutu's new goalis the do the same except on Sunday afternoon.So after Jahbutus' Cool Man Tour to Gladstone the band swapped to Sundays starting 18th April 2010.Mission accomplished by 30th May 2010. Six solid weeks of good PR and street advertising all worked well for The Calypso Bar, Caxton Street,Paddington.

So if your wanting some good vibes on a Sunday arvo you know where to go.

 

Alvin sings WI Cricket Anthem at MCG

Alvin was invited to sing the WI Anthem at the MCG  for the One Day International  Feb 7th, 2010 between obviously Australia and The West Indies. I asked Alvin who he would be barracking for...... and he said "It's a hard one as both are my team." "So I suppose you go with the one who wins?" I suggested. "Yeah well that'll be the West Indies then" he announced. Doesn't matter anyway as it was a great day at the MSG and a great day to catch up with "d'boys" and get a few autographs.

Cricket Heroes

Its True- Alvin is a cricket fanatic. So there was no saying "NO" to the 5 hour drive and no fee to play at an evening hosted by Sir VIv Richards and Rodney Hogg.  Besides Alvin and Viv had meet previously and it was time to catch up again. The event was held at the little sleepy town of Woodgate, just south of Bundaberg. It was a big night for the town too as the only club in town , The Woodgate Bowls Club was booked out. It was great evening with Sir Viv and Rodney, and the food was great ( new kitchen), the decoration very impressive and money was raised for local charities. Alvin set the scene with some light music and after proceedings got the locals up and dancing. Well done .

Operation CD RISE

Part One

"Lets Go...If we don't go now we never will....I Will Organize It." I said. It was going to be a tight deadline as we needed to be back in Australia for Alvin to sing The West Indies Cricket Anthem at the MCG for the first One Day International against Australia, but well worth the effort. A few quick enquires and our man in Bangalore,South India (Paul Santiago) had our accommodation sorted and booked. I then looked after the air fares....then the visas. Bummer.....Alvin's passport was due to expire and with less than six months left before expiration. The Indian Government denied him a visa unless it was renewed,pronto... so he quickly shot off an application to the Aust Government for a new passport as we were due to fly out in 10 days. Time to get all the music organized, melodies to create, songs to write!, scripts and words to complete.....seriously it was a tight deadline. Amazingly the passport arrived with 2 days to spare. DONE AND DUSTED..we were going to Bangalore to record Alvin's 3rd CD solo album.

Part Two

Bangalore at night can be a little daunting especially when its your first time to India. Negotiating the taxi fare to our accommodation was the first of many such dealings....."negotiations" and I suspect an "overpriced service especially designed for tourists".  The taxi was a new model Toyota, with real working air conditioning, windows that wound up and down, and the standard blinker ....called a horn, luxuries we grew to appreciate the longer we stayed in Bangalore. On the hour trip to Maxims Guest House we  watched wide eyed the passing parade..men walking along the streets and gathering around curry house or bars, dogs, not many women around, light bulbs without shades and we took in the traffic chaos.Our request for bottles of water bought our taxi to several stops outside little shops ( more like double doorways) dotted along the pavements, and finally our taxi  driver reappeared with 6 dusty plastic bottles, thank heavens. He wiped them clean before giving them to us.

We were greeted  by the night porter (who slept on a church pew at the front door every night and worked by day somewhere else) who kindly carried our suitcases up to our 3rd floor room. Just as well as we had our first bout of breathlessness.We hit the bed literally as it was rock hard, but no matter as we had jet lag to bring on the ZZZ,s.

 

Part Three

India is very very very busy. Bangalore almost has half total population of the whole of Australia and its just one of many huge cities in India! The roads are full of motorbikes and scooters, rickshaws and small cars.They blow their horns to let people know they are coming but as there are so many of them it just becomes a noise in the background until they are almost upon you.We have seen a few cows wondering around the streets-they are sacred and just go anywhere they like.If I were a cow I'd get out of the city!

I love to see all the ladies in their Saris. They are all different colours and prints.The women even work on buildings sites in their flowing Saris ....they carry besser blocks on their heads up scaffolding in saris its amazing to see. Some even scoop gravel and dirt into hessian bags and carry then on their heads into the building sites. Groups of children play in the piles of dirt whilst their mothers work. It's like a work-site daycare centre. One little girl was about 18 months with no nappy on but a plaited decorated string worn like a belt around her waist. She was cute and happy.

The food is great but you have to like spicy food like chillies. So far no dellie bellie as we are drinking only bottled water. The food is really cheap. We go out to lunch everyday.The accommodation is satisfactory but the mattress is only 2 inches thick placed over a wooden plank, It really is a bit hard on the old bones. But I'm not complaining as I have a real toilet that flushes, (not like the starters blocks (swimmers terminology)) and a running hot water shower.

The morning after arrival we received a phone call from Tullu, he was the drummer for the sessions. He informed us the he would pick us up to attend a meeting with Alwin, the MD and the other musicians to plan our course of action. As it turned out the meeting point was at Alwin's  house (guitar player and MD) which was right around the corner and took a whole three minutes to get there.

Alvin has started  to record his new CD and is getting very excited about it.... the musicians are excellent.The only problem is 2 notes on Alvin's drum were damaged in transit (thanks  Singapore Airlines) and we need to find a hammer to fix it. Looks like we will get a few gigs as well.

Part Four

"Yes my darling Jane" he said " you were right again..this is  a fantastic experience....., and fancy "Recorded In India" will be on my next CD. *(I knew all along it was the right move.)*

 Alvin is busy rehearsing. The musos are fantastic. The real studio is booked for next week so they have3 more days to organize pre production on  5 more tracks. I hang around and take photos  and videos. We go to lunch everyday which is a highlight. Prakesh, the bass player is in charge of "eating and menus" and so far the food has been delicious. And so cheap.... we shout most times as its the least we can do.....costs about $7 for 5 of us for a full meal. Mostly curries, masala chicken, rice, flat bread, hummos, pickles etc. All the Indians eat with their fingers. So far we've had traditional Indian, Thai and Moroccan food. All yummy and spicy.No idea whats on the menu today.

Pre-production  is at a studio above the guitarists house. His name is Alwin- one letter out from Alvin!! He is married  to Rashim who is an ENT specialist (doctor) and stunningly beautiful.They have 3 children who are so cute especially Gia -the youngest. Alvin is going to write a song about her one day. Everyone speaks English so Im having long conversations about Tom and Jerry etc. Mary the maid has good English too. Mary has a child but her grand mother looks after it whilst she works  for Rashim. Alwin is in demand for his music- even Bollywood calls him.

.The accommodation at Maxims is clean, like a house on 4 levels but we don't go down to the bottom level. The entry is on the 2nd level.Too embarrassed to ask about the bed- must be getting used to it now. I often stand on my Juliet Balcony and take in the views..... traffic,buildings, some trees  and pollution. We are getting asthma a lot and suspect the smog.

The traffic is crazy. Alvin has mastered it but I'm still hesitant. Alvin says we'd never get anywhere if we waited for me..or for the traffic to die down.The cars and bikes don't go fast its just that there is so many of them. They dodge the walkers and other traffic but there is no centre line or from what I can see road rules. Everyone walks on the road as the pavements are very unpredictable, sometimes non existent.

I spent half of today with the tailor. Business shirts are $8 but that's the expensive ones with cuffs for cuff links. 2 Aussies came in whilst I was there.. from Perth. we had long chats..they lived just down the road as children and had returned to visit old family  and school friends.I haven't made it to the markets yet but will organize it for this weekend as Alvin will be working both days solid. Got invited to a gig last night but Alvin worked. Next week we should be able to see a few.

Part Five

On Saturday we ventured into Commercial Street. Good name - no guessing there! The Markets.

We got in there about 10 am to findmost of the shops closed as the markets start around11am. It was great to wonder the streets ans watch as the locals get organized for another commercial day! Slowly the place came alive- andto be sure the place was humming withhoards of people by 12 md. We went into a few shops one in particular was a brass shop full to the rafters with brass door knobs, bells, gorgeous hand blown glass and brass lanteens in every colour imaginable, elephants etc. It was a treasure trove but we didnt buy anything due to the weight.

We hired Tanveer and his rickshaw to get us into the CBD. Tanveer was a mad cricket fan with Ricky Ponting his favourite. He swapped scores  etc the whole way with Alvin.We read the Indian Times every morning  over breakfast(60rupee omelet which Shanti cooks for us daily) (and I would like to say..in a tranquil beautiful setting but unfortunately the Bangalore traffic serenades us) and in every issue Cricket is front page news and its often about the Aussie Cricketers.There are 85 channels on the TV and at least 10 are dedicated to cricket. No complaints here.

So back to Tanveer and his mighty rickshaw. We had to be a the American Express office by 2pm. We went to the original office to find they had moved to another location. Tanveer took it upon himself to get us to the new office hell or high water. "I make it Mam...he said. Into the traffic we went manically scooting around all the cars, rickshaws, motorbikes, pushbikes, dogs and people, swerving  left and right to get a better position in the already heavy traffic. It was a thrilling race against time ( well for Tanveer at any rate) and yes we made it just in time.

 There is an add on TV for trainer wheels for scooters that are very popular. The add is directed at the saris wearing drivers of the Indian population, but not very encouraging for we tourists. There are plenty of girls who ride the scooters with their saris flowing behind them and I have even seen women riding the scooters in their burkas (Muslim), with just their eyes visible.At the local supermarket their is a security guard posted outside guarding open lockers for customers.I watched a young girl arrive in her black burka and then proceed to remove it, put it in her locker and walk into the supermarket and commence work as a check out girl. Not sure how that works but I did see it with my very own eyes.

The other night we went out to watch Nick andPaul (PAN- Aussies.. withPaul having worked withAlvin in The Banana Joe Show). It was a lovely restaurant,  food good, clean, modern, with a fantastic terracotta tiled ceiling and a fab little venue for music. Alvin andPaul will play there next week.Yesterday  we jumped into a rickshaw to go to a very good restaurant that we had been to with the musos. The driver assured he knew the place.We knew he was going the wrong direction but we sat back and took in the sights and sounds- we saw a horse pulling a beautifully decorated cart full of PVC plastic pipes longer than the horse andcart put together!!!, saw roadside butchers withgoat carcasses hanging in the wind( read flies, dust, smog), saw a man walking along carrying dead ducks in bothhands, saw roadside vendors with clothes displayed up a 6 meters high rock wall and the whole wall was covered. We went thru Commercial St missing the pedestrians by inches. Finally we made it to the restaurant, had a delicious lunch andalmost repeated the drive home albiet a more direct route. Headache material. The total cost of our little excursion which included rickshaws, lunch, 5 rupees to the beggar outside the restaurant,and a tip for the restaurant...$9.00 AUD!!!

The Herb N Spice Restaurant, Bangalore is sponsored by the Havana Club...

Part Six

Home after a day at the real studio..and vegetarian curry lunch. Oh boy the CD is going to sound great. Today the drummer laid down his tracks,Alvin should be singing tomorrow, and steel pan the following day.We are extremely impressed with the whole set up. Including 2 airfares etc we should be ahead $$$ wise as the musicians are so accomplished. Being here means you concentrate on just one project and can fast track every detail. Alwin is highly sort after for Bollywood movies and is just the nicest helpful  man. All the musos are very enthusiastic about the CD.

Ive been observing the Indian habit of the head wobble and have come to the conclusion that its an essential part of Indian communication. As a silent gesture it can mean anything...noun, verb, adjective and when combined with words its purpose/ meaning is empathized.... almost a double meaning. What ever... its a lovely mannerism that I find fascinating. Every Indian does it too, man woman and child.

One the way to the bank and Alwin's house there is a lady who strips sugar cane (about 3 meters long) and proceeds to crush it into a drink which she sells to passerbys. Today must have been maintenance day as she was had the machine all in pieces,( lying on top of a banana leaf) using a spanner, hammer, and oil to repair it. All this as she squatted on the roadside in her pretty yellow sari. We haven't tried to drink as she mixes it with water but business is brisk when shes there.

Just down the road on the way to Alwin's house we pass the "ironing couple"- a husband and wife team ( and a teenage daughter who helps when not at school).They have a little trolley about 1.5 mts long with a covered top which they park on the curb under a light so they can work late. Actually its a drain which the husbands stands in so he can iron on the  stone pavement which is about a metre high (ironing board height)The wife uses the  trolley as her ironing board. They use old irons filled with coals from a fire they lit in the drain. I think the  coals are like the ones used in webber BBQs in Aust.The coals last about an hour. The weight of the iron is a bicep workout  to say the least. It costs 4 rupee a shirt which is about 10 cents..they work from 10 am to 9 pm everyday except Sundays. I asked them there names but  I am unable to write them down as each word has about 15 letters in it.

Its a good thing the ironing couple don't rely on electricity as most days that we havebeen recording at Alwin's the electricity has been cut for 4 hours at a time.It has been annoying but what can we do except go to lunch! It is quiet common as the grid is overloaded.We found out alot of the idiosyncrasies of Bangalore from Paul and his sister Kate and their friend Moralie. Paul toured SouthEast QLD with Alvin andThe Banana Joe Show for 10 years with QLD Arts Council and it was Paul's idea to visit India and record there. Paul and Kate grew up in Bangalore andvisit their mother who still lives there. We spent a few night with Paul and Kate but missed meeting mumsey- a shame as we heard alot about her life.

 

Part Seven

This morning we woke to the sounds of the randiest pigeon in Bangalore. The traffic noise had already kicked in but Mr Pigeon was on a mission. Fortunately SHE moved on taking him with her. Last night Alvin and I went out to celebrate end of pre production. Done and dusted. 7 songs in 9 days. Alvin and I went to the Sherlock Bar in Frasertown. We drank Kingfisher beer, watched Australian Cricket Week  and wrestling (USA)  and listened to early eighties disco music all at once. The walls of the bar were marble..floor to ceiling in salmon pink and chunky textured cream. Ummm. I was the only woman there until at the very end another Indian lady joined the scene. There was no dancing and the place was 3/4 full.  The 2 Indian men sitting beside us drank straight brandy and honey with water.

Yesterday I meet a friendof Prakesh, the bass player. Meenia comes from Kerelle, an overnight bus trip east from Bangalore. She is 45 yrs, childless, an artist andlives withher retired German husband.(ex antique dealer) She lived in Germany and Holland for some years but left saying it was too sterile andorganized !!. Whilst the guys were working we popped out to the local Art Museum and College ( her old college). There was an exhibition of modern art by Ramesh Terdal - very good artist.The museum was a very old colonial building in need of a good paint. The lighting was very poor and did nothing for the artwork on show. The paintings were hung from star pickets nailed to the wallsabout 5 metersoff the ground. They were once painted white but now the rust was showing thru. The whole place was in darkness and as we wondered from room to room a lady turned on the lights for us. Outside in the yard it was hard to distinguish between artwork in progress or rubbish but as we left a group of men were creating a masterpiece in the central roundabout.

After lunch Meenia and I away-ed to Commercial St as Meenia is going trekking soon and needed a new, dark blue backpack, big enough to carry all her art gear, easel and cameras etc. It needed to be a dark colour so as not  frighten the birds she wants to see, photo and paint. She specializes in birds and plants painting them in detail. She is trekking thru the largest Indian National Park which borders Burme, China and India. it is very remote, and she will need a guide with her at all times. Apparently you can see into the valleys of China from the highest point- altitude sickness does not bother her. Meenie also suggested that Alvin and I are suffering from mild altitude sickness  as Brisbane is at sea level almost and Bangalore is on a pretty high plateau.

As usualwe are eating fabulous  Indian food withour friends. Curries taste better eaten with the fingers I am told... though I havent tried it .Alvin and I are the odd ones out when dining. The dish we order the most consists of 6 bowls containing 4 different curries, curds and a sweet dish, a larger bowl (teacup saucer size) of rice and then pickles, salad  andchutneys placed directly onto the large ( bigger than dinner plate size) stainless steel serving tray with a lip at the end.( so the food doesnt fall off the side) The trick to eating all this food is to take all the smaller bowls off the tray, upend the rice in the middle and then proceed to add the curries andmop it up with fingers or chappattis. It is a ritual for them.

Whilst waiting for the guys to finish recording a guy approached  to make offering to the hindu god. Meenia explained the process. A flame was burning in a small cup representing one of the most essential elements of earth..fire. It burned with incense. We stood, smelt and waved the flames( incense) into our noses ( I instantly go asthma) and then proceeded to decorate our foreheads with red and white dots. The red comes from a sacred tree and the white comes from ash.Red is for fertility and white is for godliness. This is done twice a day. Now I know why half the population has decorated foreheads, some quiet elaborate.

Part Eight

I was born and breed in Coffs Hbr- home to the Big Banana in Aust. My father even had several hobby banana plantations. I thought I knew a few things about bananas but in India I have seen more different types of bananas than I ever imagined. Besides the good ol" Cavendish and Lady Finger I have seen the cutest miniture banana, only 2 inches long and so so sweet. They are served withlunches as just described in part 7. I bought some hugh  bananas from my local fruit vendor which tasted horrible but Alvin informs me they are called Plantin and they have them in Trinidad and need to be fried.  Shanti the cook took care of those.

India is certainly a dusty place.. its true.. and there is a lot of rubbish..a lot, everywhere. Streetsweepers sweep the streets with their cocyea brooms then collect the piles of dirt and leaves, dung and house rubbish and  place said rubbish into  communal piles of rubbish in designated places. The big piles of rubbish are favourite haunts of the cows and stray dogs who rummage through it, pushing the rubbish  every which way and making even more mess. Sadly even people go thru them too. About twice a week a smaller truck comes andpeople man handle the rubbish(again) into the back into the truck, only to go around the corner almost, to join a larger pile of rubbish. It is such a business someone oneday will coordinate the whole messy thing and become a millionaire.The good old plastic bottle and bag have such a lot to answer for- the world is drowning in plastic and it will kill humans  eventually I am sure. Recycled plastic bags- fiddlesticks - they last 1000 years in stead of 3000 years that's the only difference.India is  a fine example of how long they last. The Indian Government advertizes to ban the plastic bag which is a start.It appears to me most people keep there own patch clean its more the bigger picture that's missing.Sometimes there are signs on walls "Do Not Dump Rubbisb Here" so I suspect the locals just choose the dumping spots until told otherwise. The is no such things as wheelie bins etc.

India has the fastest growing "middle class" of any society in the world at this very moment. Mainly thru IT developments. Bangalore is the fastest growing city in Sounthern India. It has doubled in size in 10 years andthe economy is booming.The government is trying to cater for the huge population influx - they are building a skyrail around the city CBD and out to the airport, in order to get rid of the rickshaws that cause so much congestion and pollution. Today we passed a new IT city built on a 35 acre swamp. New buildings with lots of glass, mostly a blue colour. There are plenty of adds for call centres..."Wordsworth training- Learn to speak nice English" It is amazing to think IT is so successful here, especially when just outside my Juliet Balcony at Maxims telephone wires are held up by a dead tree.

Alvin andI discovered our local park the other evening at sunset. It is about a 1/4 acre in size with walking paths around the perimeter and down the middle. There are seats, a small rose garden anda huge tree, andas its watered GREEN grass. We joined the locals in walking around and around in circles, well squares really. For a change we walked down the middle and changed direction! Some people even jogged but mostly they just walked... for hours round and round. Since then we have noticed alot of parks similar to ours but we have the best because of the huge tree.I think its the nearest we've been to real oxygen since arriving too.

We went to street art show on Sunday- its was fabulous. The whole street was an avenue of huge trees and the  for 2 miles was closed to traffic. All the art was displayed on the fences, specially erected frames or pavements, some was amateurish but some was excellent. Some of the paintings were 4m x 4m big. We bought 2 painting of "ruins" which we are visiting tomorrow. They were already framed and we got a lot of head wobbles when we asked for them to be unframed! I could have bought heaps.

Then we tried to go to Safina Plaza but the rickshaw man said it was closed and took us to a silk shop ( where he gets commission). Didnt matter as the jeans were great and Alvin got 4 pairs plus I got some shirts and tights too. Then he took us to several other shops but we didn't buy anything- much to his dissappointment. He was a bit cheeky as he asked us  "to cooperate with his family" (meaning food for his family etc) After the 3rd tourist shop that we were just not interested in Alvin said.... "its time for you to cooperate with us and take us to our restaurant, we are hungry and 2 hours late and if we have to cooperate anymore you'll have to PAY us!" He laughed.He drove us to Suzie's Kitchen for a Trinidad lunch which was really good. Yummy salads which I hadn,t seen much of.The rickshaw man slept in his rickshaw whilst we chatted to Suzie who comes from Tobago, married an Indian in London, moved to Bangalore and was so homesick for Trini food set up her own restaurant. Photos of Viv Richards and other cricket memorabillia decorate the place. She came to our gig at Herb N Spice and danced the night away. Felix was another Trini who came and he played against Alvin in the National Youth Soccer League.Silly me thought the rickshaw man would drive us stright home but no... he had 2 more shops for us to visit. Again we didn't buy anything so finally he gave up. We were exhausted.

Part Nine

Our last day in Bangalore was full on- sightseeing trip to Mysore to see temples, palaces,churches and of course tourist shops. Actually we spent more time at the shops than at the attractions,.Best of all was the Maharajah Palace which he still lives in. We had a guided tour and had all the painting decribed to us. They are amazing as the eyes of the horses, elephants and Rahs follow you as you moved about. The columns were fantastic , so inticate and so much gold! Weren't allowed to take photos so we bought a DVD from the tourist shop. I asked the attendant if she had meet the Maharajah and she said she had. Then I asked if he was a nice man and she said NO! We meet a lot of interesting people on the bus, we were the only....whities I was going to say but no...non Indians is more correct. Sorry Darling. Cricket was a common theme in most conversations and Alvin was very popular when they found out  he  will be singing at the MSG. We ate in tourist 'eat' houses and yes I went to the toilet and it was a starters block and when you flushed the water spreads out over your shoes. Knew it had to happen sometime. When we left Maixims I had the courage to mention the hard bed and was told they were in the process of replacing all the mattresses.......so on that note I said "I'd be Back!"

Last smells-

The small of India lingers in my clothes..curry, rickshaw smoke and rickshaw vinyl, petrol smelling smog,open sewerage drains 6 meters wide with not much water in them!,incense, cow dung, sandalwood, curry

Last visuals-

A lady jogging in her burka in one of the parks I mentioned, 2 sheep being transported in a rickshaw, plastic rubbish, temples as small as 3m x 3m with hindi priests bowing with hands pressed together, a real freeway like we have in Aust, 3 lanes wide but 6 cars abreast, free trolleys at the airport but porters wanting a tip, saris in every colour possible and worn by young and old, fat or thin, dark stright hair in one plait, head wobbles

Last auditory's

Beeping horns, talk of cricket, bollywood songs and movies, traffic, beeping horns My last impression is of a race of people who are so accepting- of religions,creeds,colours,hard work,no work, clean,dirty- a truely amazing country.