Someone asked me a question yesterday; “How do you choose a Mas band?” simple question it seems but to give a proper answer I had to think about the question for a while which lead to me questioning myself. What really drives us to associate with a particular band,. is it because we see a representation of ourselves in the overall composition of the band and thus we choose a band that we feel we “belong” to?
My advice to the person who asked the question was to choose a band they would be comfortable playing with, but honestly that was just a superficial answer. What I really should have said was that there are so many diverse mas bands to date and each one caters to a specific type of masquerader that to first choose a band you have to understand yourself.
With this understanding you can then choose the band that fits you; your lifestyle, your personality, your age as well as your pocket. The thing is though, that lots of people have pre conceived notions about mas bands so sometimes trying to select a band that truly represents you might also be an effort in separating fact from fiction. I have a very good friend who would not play with me in TRIBE, her reason being that the band is too “red”; what she really means is that her perception is that the majority of masqueraders in TRIBE are of a complexion that she determines as “red” or light skinned for those who are not familiar with the Trini way of describing someone of a lighter complexion.
But, you want to know the weird thing about her analysis, she considers ME “red” (which is not the case since REVLON told me I am Caramel) and she and I are the same complexion. In addition, I have seen masqueraders of all colours enjoying themselves in TRIBE, not only the one dimensional view that my friend sees. As a result since she cannot “see” herself in TRIBE so she chose to play with another band, a band with which she identifies.
So it just goes to prove that basing our decisions on an impression might rob us of experiencing something and then having the power to make an informed decision. Which brings me to my rationale for choosing a band to play with. Coming from a background of playing with Harts I have to admit I too had my own ideas of what playing with Poison would be like and held off trying it myself for a few years. Upon playing with Poison my first experience was not that great, but I decided to give it another try and had a good time. In all honesty I think that from then on my personality as a masquerader changed, I identified more with the Poison slogan that “we have more fun!” than what I thought I wanted with Harts. I guess at that point I learned more about myself and got a self awareness that led me to where I am now.
My choices for playing with the band I eventually chose does say a lot about me, who I am as a person and to some they might associate everything they have heard about such band (both good and bad ) with me. I consider myself to be a smart, young(ish), savvy, fashionable, young woman who has reached a station in life that I can enjoy the fruits of my labours and yes, I can see that reflected in my choices when it comes to playing mas.
So, I ask of you, do you believe that you choose band that is a relfection of yourself and what characteristics do you identify with in the band that leads you to say yes, this "fits" me?
