Greetings!
 
Caribbean Music Expo 2000 has been a pleasant and enriching experience on the 
Caribbean music buisness.  This event is being hosted at the Renaissance Jamaica 
Grande in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. I must compliment them on the hospitality and for the 
most part a smooth program. The showcases of artists have been good and the 
conferences have been a knowledge increasing and appreciation of the buisness.
 
The opening night reception started a bit late but sounded good.  The backing band 
Gumption opened the night. Then a very impressive stage show was put on by Aisha. 
She is a singer and dancer that had awell choregraphed show put together. Her sound 
was more R&B than anything. The culturally oriented Muziah, who was a winner in the 
CME/Irie-fm talent search, entered with the title track of his upcoming cd "I Come In 
Peace." He kept the culturally oriented reggae vibe alive throughtout his short set. The 
evening was closed by another CME/Irie-fm talent search winner, the rising singing 
sensation Stevie Face. He performed his latest singles that included "Teach The Children,
"and  his most recent on the Arrows label "I'm In Love." 
 
The night continued at the Little Pub, just a two minute walk down the street. There it 
was the Caribbean Alternative Rock showcase. First from Barbados, Desire hit the stage 
as apop/rock outfit they was real polished. Their sound is real clean. Orange Sky from 
Trinidad was performing for the first time outside of their homeland since their inception 
5 years ago. A real roots,rock group in which the lead singer carried an almost special 
aura to him. They were good but by the end of their set you ready for the next band. 
The most talented band of the night, Tantric played avariety of styles of music. They 
played rock, reggae, jazz, r&b, and more. The band is managed by Rupert Benet of 
Third World and he actually played guitar. They also have Richie Cunningham, one of, 
if not, the top percussinist in Jamaica. One member is also a former member of the Jamaican 
Olympic bobsled team. You could not define their sound . Lastly, it was Big Fat Hen 
from Panama. By this time a majority of the crowd had left. This very young quartet 
had the look of every surfer in the States.  Their alternative/punk sound was also very 
typical of the bands in the states. They did show sings of punk, ska and reggae. 
 
The night saw  rock/alternative bands that are a dime a dozen in the US. The fact that 
these groups are from the Caribbean are their pluses. These bands are obviously looking 
to the US and Europe for their audience. It will be very slim in the Caribbean. It's going 
to be tough for them since these bands are so plentiful in their prospective markets.
 
The conferences started on Thursday Nov. 30. The first was "Music Promotion and 
Distribution on the Internet." Jon Cooper from tucows.com was the  morning's moderator. 
The panel consisted of Dean Garfield, an attorney for the RIAA, Maureen Carter, Arista 
Records promotions and artist development, and Mishka Brown of Dispora. Mishka's 
company now do consulting and marketing as well as online production for African and 
Caribbean companies. At this session, royalties became a major issue. People were 
interested to find out how they were going to get paid royalties from the internet. At 
this point, that was not answered as the panel indicated that it was still being worked out. 
The issues of security, different ways of promtion, especially through exclusive means, 
and the rising distribution of music throgh cable were all discussed. 
 
It was lunch time and it was time for me to introduce a new jazz guitarist named Seretese 
Small. A very nice touch inside the hotel. Sertese was very delightful and perfect during 
lunch. 
 
The conference on "Music in Advertsiing and Sponsorship" was interesting but did not 
produce  a whole lot of intriguing information. There were a few valid points made in 
reference to producing material to show your sponsors the success of your event and 
the exposure they received. The most important point stressed by the panel was execution 
of your commitment to the sponsor.
 
"The Media and Music" was very interesting and created some heated discussion. The 
opposing views of the panelists added  fuel to the fire. One point was stressed that the 
Caribbean needed to support their own much more, while the opposing view said thT 
WE as media should have the freedom of what to play. Then of course produced the point 
that the media force feeds us and don't play what the people want... and so on and so 
forth. The fact that so much of the regions royalties were being paid outside the region, 
attested to the fact that there was more support to "foreign" music.
 
Werzon, from St. Lucia, is a soca band but played plenty of todays reggae hits. The group 
was nicely incorporated in the hotel entertainment. This not only exposed them  to the 
CME audience but also the guests of the hotel. This got them an audience that they 
normally would not have gotten had they performed at the Littl Pub, like a majority of 
them. So, now it was time to head there and see. The latin showcase of the event. There 
was two groups: Ore Guma from Cuba and Bayanga from Puerto Rico. Ore Guma was straight 
up latin salsa with a beautiful young lady that sang lead. Bayanga closed this showcase. 
Their sound was more a latin and reggae fusion.
 
It is now Friday morning and I should be at the "Artite Management" seminar but I'm 
here writing you. Still to come are some of the highlights of this years event. The 
conferences include "Music and Sex," an open question and answer session called "What's 
on Your Mind,"  "Challenges to a Growing Caribbean Music Industry," and lastly on 
Saturday "Production & Songwriting Workshop." Musically, there's new poet Jonah, 
Case and the CO2 band.  "Night Vibes" will feature  Yogi, Steely & Cleavie, Spragga Benz, 
Sean Paul, Kiprich, Evette and Aaron Hall.  "Reggae Music" Saturday will have Oku Onouru, 
Chrisinti, Bushman, and Abijah at Little Pub. Sunday will first have "Lunchtime Gospel" 
with Glacia Robinson and then the Beach Party" will have Morgan Heritage, the Marleys, 
Jr. Kelly, Doug E Fresh, Aaron Silk and hosted by Mary J Blige. 
 
Respect,
LANCE-O
KULCHA SHOK MUZIK
"REGGAE VIBES"
www.kulchashok.com