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Congratulations on your web page, its the best. I decided to play with Pulse 8 after a contentious DKrewe 08. I visited the mas camp, and decided on Flamin Sambuca because the costume matched my sneakers. I am of the older genre and put comfort before anything else. On collection day within thirty minutes, I paid and collected four costumes. I was impressed with the warmth and efficiency of the staff.
The costumes looked like the prototype, did not check the amount of feathers but the costumes were impressive. I know it is a choice of wearing whatever on Monday, but $80.00 for a t-shirt was too much, considering the price of the costumes. On the road, both days we had to look for the band because we were late, but when we did find the band, we had a great time. Drinks flowed literally like water, nothing ran out.
The bar staff should be given a bonus. The lunch on both days was delicious and plentiful, so were the snacks. Good choice of the doubles van. On the occasion that I used the wee-wee van, it was always clean and well stocked. Security reminded me of lock down, they were vigilant.
Dear Island People Mas,
I am writing this email to let you know about my carnival experience with hopes that no other masquerader will have to endure what I just endured for the grand cost of over $3000 TT.
As an overseas masquerader that has heard of the drama associated with carnival, my friends and I decided that we wanted to play in a REPUTABLE band, because we work too hard to be throwing away our money.
We chose Island People because they were assuring us GREAT SECURITY, HELPFUL STAFF and some really PRETTY COSTUMES. Basically, we were getting our money’s worth.
I should have known there would be drama from the get-go. Registration was a joke. As we are not in Trinidad, we asked someone to go to the mas camp and register three of us for Rays of Light. During the day, current went out and registration continued. When current returned, the administration for Island People realized that they had over-registered certain sections. Rather than asking the masqueraders what sections they would like to be switched into they arbitrarily put people in different sections. Catch the joke, they thought it was OK to split up our group putting, one person in Rays of Light, one person in Love and yours truly in Touch!
Did I mention that I am not a Trinidadian? This would mark my first time in Trinidad and my fist time playing mas in Trinidad. When we tried contacting your mas camp about the issue we were told that we could jump up together all we wanted; all we had to do was get in our sections before crossing the stage.
Another major issue with your camp was the lack of communication, for all the emails I sent to you, all I ever got was the automatic reply saying that “I will get a response within 48 hours.” If you do not intend on responding to people’s questions or concerns, don’t tell them you will. That only pisses them off. Why did I have to call the mas camp and get irate to finally get a receipt, several emails should have been sufficient.
Since, I’m on the communication tip, please inform/train your staff. I was growing really tired of calling the mas camp to ask questions, only to get “Well, I’m not too sure...” It seemed as if that was the only thing you trained your staff to say when people asked questions.
Your staff told us that we could do fast-track payments right up until costume collection. Why then do we call only to have no-one answer the phone? The voicemail says “the mas camp is open...” So if the mas camp is open, why is no-one answering the phone? Come to find out that the mas camp wasn’t actually open, you just forgot to change the voicemail. Suggestion: if are not going to be at the mas camp, forward the phone to a cell phone at the stadium so that someone can get in touch with staff to ask their questions. Oh wait, it seem you people don’t like being asked questions. Forget that!
Costume Collection
By the time costume collection came (Saturday before mas!), we were group four girls from Canada and the U.S., all playing in Rays of Light with the exception of yours truly, who chose to bypass the costume switching shenanigans and remain in Touch.
Fist let me say that the costume was beautiful! I loved the quality of the headpiece as well as the girl distributing my costume. She should have trained the other girls at the desk in the art of multitasking! Look into that next time.
Mind you, getting to the final stage of costume pick-up was not without issue. I fast-tracked; this means I don’t have to wait in line to pay. This also means that I should have a more seamless collection process. Psych!
Unfortunately, not all of us girls got a chance to do fast track (remember no one was answering the phone) so me being a true friend, waited with the others (to a certain point). Now, all the signs at the complex clearly state that if you have done fast-track you should proceed to the collection line and get your costume. So that is what I did. After waiting in the collection line for about 20 minutes, I showed the attendant my receipt. I was then informed that I needed to go to the cashiers and have them print me another receipt. Now I’m pissed, because I have to go into the line with all the other people that haven’t paid off their costume? She tells me I don’t have to wait in line “just go give this to the cashier and she will reprint it for you.”
Now I’m especially agitated at the girl working at the information desk, giving not one bit of information. If she had been doing her job instead of liming at her station with her friends, then fast track masqueraders would have known that the signs were not correct and we needed to take that additional step, before getting our costumes.
Another masquerader pointed out that she was pissed because there were heaps of people by-passing the line and just walking in and getting their costume, (While I am sure that kind of foolishness was going on for real), some of us were the brunt of un-necessary attitude. Why was I getting screw-face and steups from everyone in the line as I went to get my receipt re-printed? Even the security guard had the audacity to come and tell me that I couldn’t pass. I see with all those people, because if you had told people that the people by-passing them in line were fast-track masqueraders, the attitude might have been avoided. Better yet, if you had just taken my copy of the receipt, there would not have been a problem. What, my paper, from my printer wasn’t good enough for your standards?
Overall, my collection time was about 45 minutes (including the time to go re-print my receipt). I’ve learned that fast-track is the way to go. So after the fours hours of waiting for the other girls, I began thinking: Why are we picking up our costumes so late? It’s only 4 days before carnival. Shouldn’t we be focusing on alterations right now? Island People sold out of costumes within days of registration, so why did we have to wait until days before carnival to get our costumes?
Another problem at time of collection was people not getting their headpieces or their costumes at all. Why were the larger sized costumes for “Natural Mystic” not available at all? I don’t condone people getting irate and cussing out anybody...but if I come to collect my costume on the last day of collection and you tell me that my costume is not there AFTER waiting in line for hours...you better believe somebody is going to get told about themselves. Period.
To make matters worse, why were the goodie bags looking so hungry? Early in the week masqueraders mentioned that many things were yet to be delivered to the camp. We assumed that because we were collecting our costumes last that we would get the additional items that were missing from the beginning of the week. But no; our goodie bags were filled with COUPONS! Can you believe this, coupons? Not even a tube of sunscreen! We were expecting to get trial/sample sized items that would fit in our beautifully decorated bags! Because of this, we had to wear larger bags to hold the full sized sunscreen, etc. that we had brought to Trinidad.
Despite the whole costume mess, we left extra excited, big grins and all because our costumes were the bomb! They were beautiful and looked exactly like we expected. We had to make at-home alterations, because there was no way we were making it to the mas camp on Sunday; especially not after Insomnia. Once again, costume distribution should have been earlier. The only people that should be congesting the camp should have been the international masqueraders, who have little control over when they can pick up their costumes.
On the road
After our at-home make-up application, and our Monday outfits, we were ready and set for the road. Monday was amazing! The band left at 10:15 when they said to be there for 10:00. Great start to the day! The drinks flowed like water, and the people were amazing. One masquerader even took the time to give us carnival dos and don’ts to survive two days on the road.
After our day of getting on bad, we went home and got our rest, with preparations for our big day. In short, our Carnival Monday experience was wonderful! Good music, great drinks, amazing people (fellow masqueraders) and some wicked vibes. Unfortunately Carnival Tuesday wasn’t the same.
Once again we were leaving from the Jean Pierre complex. I loved my headpiece, but on Tuesday, I couldn’t help but notice that all costumes were not created equally. My girlfriend’s headpiece had one flimsy piece of elastic on the back and to make matters worse, it was too big. When we tried to tie the two ends together, it broke. She was almost in tears. To come all that way and spend all that money to play mas, only to have your headpiece break was traumatic. When we tried finding someone to help with last minute alterations; no one to be found. Luckily, we had some safety pins and worked some magic to hold it up for a while.
And if the phone conversations weren’t bad enough, when we asked a “marshal” on the road what was going on with the sections, we were told “I don’t really know, you will have to ask a marshal.” Please imagine the dumbfounded looks on our faces, because this girl was wearing a shirt that said “MARSHAL” on the back. These shirts must be the newest trend in street wear – because we incorrectly assumed she could answer some sort of questions.
For the rest of the day I will use bullets because the issues are just too much to note otherwise:
- We were never in sections. To tell you the truth, I don’t know how many stages we crossed because I only remember crossing the first one. If we have a planned route, why must the marshals wait until we are at the foot of the stage to try and move us into sections? This should have been organized way better. No wonder everyone says that IP is always a mess crossing the stage. The jewelery we received in our accessory pack was great but after the rains we noticed that some metal pieces of jewelery were turning people’s skin black! In the future, you should think about skin allergies especially when providing key pieces such as the necklaces and arm pieces.
- Cold, tasteless food on the GO. What happen to lunch breaks? And was I really supposed to enjoy the “tuff rice” pelau you tried feeding us? And can someone please explain why ALL the food trucks were at the back? Food trucks should have been dispersed throughout the band. Luckily, they had aloo and fruit to hold me over for the majority of the day Running out of non-alcoholic drink options. Not a good look especially for those of us that are actively trying not to get alcohol poisoning on the road. No water in wee-wee truck since noon! That’s nasty! Luckily, I walked with my sanitizer!
- Poor security – they had no control over stormers whatsoever, and why were they more interested in bubbling on the masqueraders than protecting their backsides? Why did I get burned by a stormer’s cigarette and why did security stand back and watch as a vagrant made his way through the band trying to catch wine on everybody.
- It was clear who was winning road march; and it was not Machel! Although the song grew on me throughout the day, I was really tired of crossing the stage like “wild ants”. I don’t care if Machel is part of IP. Unless he pays his money, puts on a costume and jumps up with the rest of us then his needs should not supersede those of the paying masquerader’s. The flow of the mas was not very good. We had periods on the route where we had to wait in the same spot for more than half and hour and then we had to literally run after the trucks after leaving the Savannah.
- After another stop in the road for over 30 minutes on some residential street in St. James we heard the DJs bidding us goodnight! Goodnight? Where the hell were we? We expected that we would end in the same place that we started. I don’t know where St James is! Why would you leave people in the middle of nowhere knowing that there are newcomers to Trinidad in your band?….you’re going to leave them in the middle of nowhere given the state of crime in Trinidad? Luckily, one of my girlfriends is persistent and doesn’t take no for an answer and managed to get us a ride back to the stadium on the medic truck…so we could meet up with our ride!
NO AFTERPARTY!!! We spend $650-$700 CDN on costumes and no afterparty? Since we barely got any goodies, and it seems like you cut corners on staff, where did all the money go?
SUGGESTIONS
Care a little about what your masqueraders say, at the very least, please pretend to care!
Create a map of the planned route so that family members and friends can see us on the road in all our glory; and please try your best to stick to that route.
Get more people to deal with payment at time of collection – how are 5 cashiers going to deal with the hundreds of people that have to either pay or print receipts. Simple mathematics; it can’t work!
Pick somewhere else to distribute costumes. The bottleneck at the complex was frustrating and inefficient.
Have some form of “informed” admin working Monday and Tuesday to help organize masqueraders and answer their questions
Organize! Organize! Please try and look like the mas process was a year in the making and not a month in the making.Fool me once, shame on you – fool me twice, shame on me! Island People will not be getting our hard earned money nor our endorsement in the future. We know that there are glitches with every band but IP’s oversights were not glitches; they were seriously playing with the safety of their masqueraders, and that is unacceptable.
With that, we say so long and good bye Island People and for the sake of future masqueraders, we really hope you get yourselves together.
Dear Tribe,
Just wanted to give you my review of Tribe 2009...all sent with good intentions.
1) I thought the band was going to be downsized this year? It certainly didn't feel like it; and at times felt very much AKA Poison..very scary indeed. To spend that kind of money and be claustrophobic at times is really something to think about.
2) Section line-up - Pheasant was a huge disappointment, and still lead the band? The color and execution was just blah...and so not fair to the several other spectacular sections that followed. I am well aware of the Max-factor but still??? Similar mind-set on Blue Tanger; although it looked better than I expected; it was far superseded by sections that followed. Brazilian Macaw deserved to be at least where it was, also Caged Canary; but Spangled Cotinga, the section which supposedly sold out b4 the band launched placed at #7?? I know it was a huge section, and couldn't lead the band, but in all fairness, it deserved to be in the top 3, if not top 5. Hummingbird up front was also not justifiable. Kiskadee also made sense in the top 5. Section line-up is a huge deal with the majority of your die-hard masqueraders; the same ones that are waiting on line for hours; or sitting at their computer terminals overseas, at point zero. It seems only fair that the hottest sections/first to sell out, should be placed accordingly.
3) Lunch stop - good food and service, however the bathrooms were a huge disappointment over last year. First of all, the facilities weren't enough for the crowd, and the lines were way too long. Also, what happened to the spray sunblock, wet wipes and spray deodorant, etc from last year?? I was actually shocked to see roll on deodorants on a few tables..who would dare to use that??? Also, the lunch stop seemed a bit too long both days. On a bright note, the timing of lunch on Monday and Tuesday, was a lot better than last year.
4) Overall, the food and beverage service on both days was outstanding. Drinks, snacks later in the day, pizza, sandwiches, etc, were on point. I was especially impressed by shark and bake being served after 7 p.m. on Tuesday; that was indeed awesome.
5) Security - overall, very good..felt very safe most of the time; which is a huge priority with everyone; especially lately; with the obvious state of the country.
6) The costumes overall this year were spectacular; best year that I remember, especially with the fantabulous front-lines.
7) Tribe still stands out as the leader among the band choices. I look forward to being a part of the Asian theme for C2K10, and I am confident that based on your attention to customer service and concerns; that Tribe will come even better next time around.
Hi Saucy,
I'm DQ..an avid follower of your blog. Just wanted to tell you keep up the good work on a great job you're doing. It gives Carnival lovers like me such a great forum to express views, gain ideas etc. etc.
I was wondering though, would it be possible for you to write an article on TRIBE costumes on the road (seeing that was the band you played with). Specifically:
1) Which costumes surpassed your expectations on the road
2) Which costumes you thought were really hot but didn't quite live up to your expectations on the road
3) Which costumes surprised you i.e. weren't all that great at the mas camp but looked quite good on the road
4) Which costumes you thought were just as 'blah' as always.
Its just a suggestion, but i think it will foster great discussion (and probably arguments lol). I would also like to hear from other bands too..IP, Spice etc. on what they thought of the costumes on the road in general.
Dear Tribe,
Let me firstly say thank you for the experience, considering it was my second time around playing mass and first time stunting as an Individual.
Feb 16: Pick up Day
As I drove up to the destination to pay off my balance, have my fitting done and to finally meet the people I’ve been having countless conversations with via phone and email. I was excited; I got to the hotel a bit early and had to wait outside with my Dad and his friend who was also visiting for carnival. At around 5pm I was invited in by the designer of my costume to talk about the costume and do my fitting this took about 20 minutes and then I was asked to sit and wait for someone to take me down to walk me through the process of paying and getting my ID bands etc. That wait was for about an hour and a half then I was taken to the area where I had to make my final payment which I calculated to be let say $630.00US. with money in hand I handed over my id to the rep when then informed me that I was not on their system it took about five minutes and a few call checks to figure out my name was not spelled correctly.
I was told then after my “info” was up then my balance was now $730.00 it was at that point I lost it, I was pissed I informed the rep that the payment of $130.00US was made on the 16th of Jan etc. I was sent back upstairs to wait until things were figured out. I waited for an hour and some and then I decided to use my dads phone to go on-line to show my payment receipt that confirms my claim of payment. Long story short I was not able to log into Sendvia I then asked if I could use one of their computers to access my account to which I was granted permission to. As I looked at the time on the laptop it said 7:45pm my dad was pissed he had to go get his sleep so he could go feet later, I was pissed and tiered and wanted to cry. After I got the information I it was taken to someone I was again sent to wait for another thirty minutes, during this time I met with the individual doing my makeup and also talked more with the designer of the costume, we went over a few details of what I should expect on the road etc.
I asked about a handler and I was then informed that there would not be one and I would just have to ask someone to put the backpack on a truck. I was assured that the staff provided would help me with this. At around 8pm I was taken back to the room to make my payment of 630.00 I received my receipt that said paid in full and I was told that an investigation into my payment would be made with sendvia and when I return on the 18th, everything would be set. My dad expressed how pissed he was when I got to the car he said cockroach going to a cock party I did not know what he meant by that but I was like whatever I just want to go home.
Feb 18th Drama Day:
I got to the spot at 5:30 I was instructed by the designer to give him a call when I get there to which I did he came down and took me up to the room where my costume was and I was so happy that everything turned out so beautiful my boots was banging, I forgave Tribe for the bull shit they put me through on Monday. I was taken to Danielle who informed me that sendvia returned my payment for whatever reason and hence I had to pay the balance off $130.00 I did I was then taken through the process of receiving my ID bands and bag and my beautiful costume and I left and hour and forty-five minutes later.
Carnival Monday:
I got to the band late but it was cool I went against wearing my costume even though I was told I could wear it if I wanted but I had to be careful not to get it dirty. I left the band right after lunch because the beach was a better spot for me to hit on Monday.
Carnival Tuesday:
I got to the camp at 6am to get my makeup done, by the time the artist got there not only did he have to do the makeup but the designer had to do some fixing of my boots the glue cam off, small thing. I got to the band late so I ended up to the back of the band, my backpack was so bulky that I found it a task to try to go up-front so I stayed to the back until I had enough of DJ Dane and his crap called music. I made it up to the first stage everything cool up until it was time for me to cross the stage security wanted to put me out the band because I was not in my section I told them some things I would not repeat but long story short I crossed the stage and it was fab. It was about then I had enough of the backpack and wanted it off.
Need I say NO ONE WANTED TO HELP ME. Finally I met my husband who helped me take the backpack off and I placed it on a truck with the help of some dude that took the time out of jumping to HEAVY T. At lunch time I was spent and I was having a good time thanks to the H and redbull. I met a few people from the blog who expressed how nice I looked and one in particular express how pissed she was that the service I received was not what was paid for. But regardless I was happy with my costume and I had a good time. I did take lots of pictures with lots of people I don’t even know and I was even asked for my headpiece by a kid to which I replied sorry I am taking it home with me, lol. I was pleased with the security, the food was ok. In the end I really did enjoy myself and I did learn a lot form the experience and in 2010 I will have a handler and I am not going to use sendvia I will use western union. Lol
Quality matters
Gomez said assuring all masqueraders get quality for money is always high on the band’s agenda. “When you think of IPM mas, you don’t only think of jumping up. We offer a quality mas experience.
Lewis asserted: “The masquerader playing with us can expect an all inclusive band, exceptionally good catering services, high security, among other amenities. We want our masqueraders to have a true heavenly experience.
Hey Saucy the Post carnival 2009 Megamix is now available. Only includes the biggest songs and riddims from Carnival 2009 with all the road mixes and remixes. Hope you all had a lot of fun if you came to Carnival. Thanks to all who rolled with Tribe and supported the Red 96.7 truck on the road.
Remember you can join the facebook group at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8386917788 to get any other mixes.
Instructions
Go to http://djprivateryan.libsyn.com/
Then left click to stream the mix
For Safari Users Right click the link and selct download linked file
For Internet Explorer users Right Click and select save target/ link as
There are also other mixes available on the site. More will be uploaded soon.
Enjoy and leave feedback
This is the last soca mix for a while as i will now be featuring other genres of music so feel free to leave suggestions on what you want to hear next!!!!!
1. Wont Stop – Machel Montano
2. Floor on Fire – Machel Montano
3. Floor on Fire Precision Rd mix – Machel Montano
4. Ole – Ricky T
5. Get on Bad - Skinny Fabulous
6. Head Bad – Skinny Fabulous
7. Haed Bad Scratch Master Rd Mix – Skinny Fabulous
8. Ready SMJ Rd Mix – Iwer George
9. Living Water – KMC
10. Clear the Road – Bunji Garlin
11. Traffic – Berbice
12. Stabby Guard – Stabby
13. Ravin – Machel Montano
14. Sway in the Mas – Patrice Roberts
15. Meet Super Scratch Master – Rd Mix – Fay Ann Lyons
16. Meet Super – Fay Ann lyons
17. Bacchanal – Destra
18. Bacchanal Razorsharp Rd Mix – Destra
19. Wild Antz – Machel Monano
20. Wild Antz Precision Rd Mix – Machel Montano
21. Tusty – Blaxx
22. Tusty Hit Lab Rd Mix – Blaxx
23. Radica - Kenneth Salick
24. Break up to make up – Ziggy Ranks
25. Fly Away – Machel & Collie Budz
26. Make it yours – Shurwayne Wincehester
27. Slip Away – Zan
28. Hold you Down – Zan
29. Rum and Roti Rd Mix – Patch & Mastamind
30. Tight – Peter Ram
31. Head Bad Remix – Skinny Fabulous
32. Bashment Winers – Lil Rick
33. Drop It – Alison Hinds
34. We Like It -Iwer George & Ziggy Ranks
35. Jep Sting Rd Mix – Hunter & Kes
36. 2 Days Remix – Kerwin Dubois & Baba Shanta
37. Bumpers – Devon & Ziggy Ranks
38. Bumpers Rd Mix – Devon & Ziggy
39. Push Bumper Remix– Machel Montano & Busy Signal
40. Look Hot – Patrice Roberts
41. Bum Bum Ville Rd mix – Shal marshall
42. Wuk Me Rd Mix – Tizzy feat Richard Trumpet
43. Block to Block – Umi Marcano feat Machel Montano
44. Sweetness – Shayne Bailey
45. This Sweetness – Kes the Band
46. Thunder Illusion Mix – Kes the Band
47. Drunk Again – Benjai
48. Tante Say – Benjai
49. We Done Dey – Bunji Garlin
50. Give it up – 3 Suns
51. Bum Bum – JW & Blaze
52. Wine Faster – Fay Ann & Bunji Garlin
53. Heavy T – Fay Ann Lyons
54. Banana – Buni Garlin
55. Yeast Refix – KMC
56. Bumpers Rule Refix – Nadia Batson
57. Plenty Gal Refix – Bunji & Beenie Man
58. Obsessive Winers – Destra feat. Alison Hinds & Denise Belfon
59. Minis Pumps – Kerwin Dubois
Hi Saucy
Thought I'd leave you with some of my feedback/experience.
FEED BACK FROM A FIRST TIMER WITH TRIBE
Last year I played with Island People and I must say of the 2 bands Tribe were better organised on the road.
Positives:
1. Food and drink. Good variety. Great lunch. . The lunch time stop (although a bit too long) provided everyone with a chance to meet fellow friends, freshen up (I was impressed with the mirrors and hygiene, body products provided)
2. Security. Excellent
3. Cool down zone. Loved it
4. Las lap in Jenny’s. Great!
Negatives:
1. 6 hours to collect a costume. It took a friend 6 long, ridiculous hours to pay the remaining balance and collect his costume. By the time he collected the costume, he couldn’t get any amendments done, because that section had closed! Imagine close to 11 pm people who had arrived during the day were still trying to collect costumes and were then told to come back tomorrow.
2. Super glue. I was happy with the end result of my costume (pheasant) as it did not stray too far from the prototype (although I agree with a previous blogger that natural light is needed when taking photographs) HOWEVER, Tribe need to invest in super glue, as the beading and embellishments were falling off my costume within hours of collection. By the end of day 2 my bra was just plain gold!
3. Velcro. Tribe need to be alerted to the fact that Velcro on arm bands is not practical. They do not securely fasten and do not accommodate different arm sizes. Ribbon would be a better option.
4. Accessories are needed. No earrings, not even a bangle! Island people do well for their masqueraders on this front. Tribe need to catch up. I don’t think a TT$30 bangle would break the budget (given the amount spent on the costume)
5. Social. I observed (& I am very much generalising) that some Tribers seemed way to social. Too many small wines not enough bacchanal on d road! That said I enjoyed my time
6. Wee Trucks. Why at the back? Why only one? The band is so BIG. Have one in the middle & one at the back.
FEEDBACK ON MAKEUP BY NATASHA ERDOS
No offense, personally, I was not impressed with the service and makeup.
Although I wasn’t expecting it, snacks/refreshments were not provided nor available.
The makeup artist was not vocal with regards to what they were doing, the options available or what they thought would look great.
I felt as though I had asked a friend to take time out of their busy schedule to do my makeup.
I did not find the application of makeup precise nor flawless. In short, not enough attention to detail.
I was however happy with the jewels.
From my experience, I will not be using this makeup artist again.
FEEDBACK ON BOOT BY DARYL (FROM ISLANDPRIDE FAMILY)
Excellent. Daryl worked his magic on my old, broken into boots.
He was reliable, friendly and done a very good job.
As I was arriving in Trinidad quite late, I was apprehensive as to whether he would (a) find time to do my boots (b) actually do them. BUT Daryl was EXCELLENT in fitting me around his holiday (which I was and I am appreciative for). I dropped my boots off and within a day they were complete – No messing around. That’s what I call a good service.
I’d definitely recommend him. (oh gosh please don’t all rush him…there goes my space for next year..!)
Attached are pics of
(a) My boots in their sorry state (I had tried spraying them gold).
(b) The finished product (please bear in mind the gold ribbon was something I had to use as my boots only secure with Velcro and it only dawned on me the day before carnival that velcro would not be secure enough for 2 days on the road. So I purchased ribbon to secure the boot (spoiling the design somewhat)
Dear Island People Mas
I am a three time masquerader with your mas band and therefore was triply disappointed at the service that was meted to me by your organization. There is a need to personalize this because it was I who made the conscious decision to fork out a mammoth $2,695.00 in the hope of having IP mas deliver to me nothing but a surreal experience on the road. Many things contributed to this and I believe it is incumbent on the management of IP mas to unequivocally apologize to all its loyal masqueraders for the multiplicity of issues faced on the road.
SECURITY
It is my honest opinion that a CEPEP gang could have done a much better job than the Security Sweep team IP boasted of having. Stormers infiltrated the band on both days and will even go on to say that it was evident that some of these illegal masqueraders were associated with some of our “illustrious” security detail. Additionally, even some of our masqueraders took the liberty to bring their sisters, brothers, man, woman and cousins six times removed illegally into the band. Personally, I do not care who you love or don’t…once you do not have a legal band on your hand you should be ejected forthwith from the band.
I had first hand experience being harassed by these “wining space bandits” as I was chipping to the Victoria Square stands on Monday.
Hi Saucy,
Here's my review on Pulse8 2k9.
COSTUME COLLECTION:
I collected my costume on Carnival Wednesday, since I paid for my costume in the allotted due date, which was no problem. The lady at the front desk informed to go around at the back which I gladly did. Another lady handed me my costume, informing me of the pieces and the good bag. Thanked her and went on my merry way. When I got home I tried on my bra, low and behold the bag is too big, which is a first for me, since I am a 42D. This bra had to be a 42DDD or 44DD. I immediately called Pulse8, informing them on my problem, the lady said just come and they will make the necessary adjustment. Return to the Mas camp met with the section leader of my section, and she informed me that she will make the necessary adjustment.
The only thing I didn't like about my costume is that only half of bra was only decorated. I raised this problem to the attention of the section leader, and she informed me that due to the size of the bra only half is decorated, I find that odd since I paid extra for a tankini, and if I wanted whole bra to be decorated I would have to pay extra. I continue to asked the section leader, why didn't Pulse8 email me on this problem. "No reply from the section leader".
I receive my bra and it fit somewhat OK, I was not going to let this get into my way. My only problem is that the way the bra is decorated anytime my arm rub again the bra, it irritated my skin alot, which I hated.
CARNIVAL MONDAY.
Met with the band around 12:10pm. The music was nice, met up with Saneman, VM, and Island Soul. Everyone was enjoyed themselves. I made my way to the bar. The bartenders were very nice and friendly. I always said my "please and thank you". We stop at Woodford Square for lunch. Lunch consists of; Vegetable Rice, Lentils, Green salad and three (3) pieces of chicken. The meal was very tasty, Alt of food I must say I couldn't eat all of it.
Later on during the day we stop for snack which consists of: Accra and Potato pie, quite tasty. The drinks were flowing the music was good, everyone was friendly and nice. Even if you came alone Pulse8 will welcome you with open arms they will take care of you. Security was very good.I had a wonderful Carnival Monday.
CARNIVAL TUESDAY.
Played in the Hot Ice section.
Got up early since I had a makeup appointment at 5:30am, got there late lucky for me no one was there as yet. Makeup done by Natasha Erdos, I did airbrush makeup, Natasha was very good, my makeup look fabulous even got compliments. the the costume look real nice. it rain quite a bit, I've notice my costume was unsticking, the braids and beads were falling out. Not a good sign. I'm beginning to wonder what kind of glue they were using. My friend who was playing mas with me sated that maybe its the rain that cause it to unstuck hm mm. I wonder. Please not that using 1'4" ribbon to tie and hold up a heavily decorated belt would not work. Maybe they should use: Velcro, ring or a heavier sequin corded would of work better.I have notice alot of masqueraders were trying to tie their belts, some were even asking for pins.
Even my armband just unstuck with the touch. I was not to please. The Wee-wee truck was clean, amply supply of feminine supply. There were ladies there to make sure the portables were clean at all time. Ample supply or running water to wash our hands.Good choice of breakfast consists of: sandwiches: ham, saltfish, tuna, cheese, doubles, fruits etc.
There were ladies going around the band offering shots of different drinks, fruits, even salt prunes soaked in tequila, had a couple of those taste real good.We crossed the Savannah late, stopped at a park in Woodbrook for lunch.Lunch consists of: Soul Food, BBQ, and Vegetarian. I had the BBQ consists of: Macaroni pie, lentils, BBQ, salad. Again another good lunch every tasty, alot of food. Even got a package of tamarind and paw-paw balls as a snack was a nice touch. Later on in the evening we stopped for a break. Snack consist of: Boneless geera chicken tasted delicious. A nice gesture of Pulse8 was that of a touch-up tents, for us to reapply our makeup, glitter, a variety of hair supplies for us to beautify ourselves.My hats off to the Security Team for a job well done.The band made it way through St.Clair then back to the Oval between 7:00-7:30pm. The band disburse around that time.I must say it was quite an enjoyable day. Had lots of fun. Even made a stop at the week knees bus,
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENTS:
The rest stop, please provide blankets for us to sit on.
More table and chairs.
Please provide garbage bags for us to put the empty containers, cutlery, bottles etc were left all over the place.
Have a shuttle bus for the latecomers, some of us had to walk all over town looking for the band.
A working phone number with a person informing us the location of the band .
The costume belt keep falling apart, the belt was not holding up, using 1/4" ribbon to tie and hold up a belt will not work. I've notice alot of masqueraders tying their belts, using pins to hold it in place.
Overall had a good time playing mas with Pulse8.
Next time I would choose my costume more carefully.
Thank you.
Elsa.
Hi Saucy as Rene already done a review I have not done mine in so much detail
My costume collection for Paprika was relatively smooth. I went to collect my costume on Saturday afternoon, now the only beef I have is if you say camp opens at 2pm then let it start at 2pm not before for "friends/family" only. I understand they may have preferential treatment, but lord don't make it so obviously and when asked why there are ppl already and paying point, you avoiding de question and telling me to sit down and wait.
Anyway 2pm come, the "queue" for payment wasn't very orderly in the sense that it had chairs line up against the wall, and if yuh wasn't careful to watch where u were in the queue people would end up being served before you get to the desk (maybe 20 mins wait) the lady could not serve me because I was an overseas masqueraders and I had no receipt, so she handed me over to another person, who was very helpful, she got my details up on the computer, and paid my balance and went to the collection point.
I was met by a very nice gentleman, who took my receipt got my costumes went thru the contents of my costume. He advised me to try on the bra, now i have been overly blessed in that department so I was worried that the bra would not fit.......... no complaints the cup was a perfect fit, the back was a lil big, but that's small ting. Collected headpiece, collected goodie bag, and I was out of the building, maybe an hour no more than an hour and a half, my friends who went much later on were in there for 3 hours!!!!! so I'm glad I went early.I didn't go on the road on Monday was limin with my god daughter, looked for Spice but couldn't find them.
Tuesday as Rene said meeting point was 6.30AM, well i was still getting my make up done and i reach about 7.30 only to find that the band didn't leave til around 9am. I know they were havin issues with "where" they could serve breakfast. they tried on 2 occasions, each time getting moved on... eventually for those who didn't get, they had to wait til the truck joined us on the road. The drinks truck was a lil high ... no sorry very high, even me at 5ft 11 had problems to reach comfortably.Wee wee truck was on point until it decided to leave de band (around Fredrick street) without a word of warning!!!
Shuttle bus was good, but only held about 25 ppl so a good few ppl were told no they cant get on. Stopping for lunch was ok..... needed a lot more tables and chairs, food was ok could have been a lot warmer.I don't recall lollies and aloo pie on de road, but that could be because I was slightly intoxicated!!!!!As it got darker security became more lax (as seems to be the norm with any band I play with), I left the band before it got back to camp, as I saw my ride home!!!!
Overall Spice performed well for their first attempt, just a few lil snags that they need to fix up for next year, my friends have already said that they are playing with them next year, which is a good sign from them because before hand IP could do no wrong.
I think for Spice, it was a year for them to be so fussy as to who tot tots too big for a section and how you not taking extra money for a more decorated bra because in the end they done it....... I am a 38F so yuh know big cups, I sent down a bra to a friend to pass on so that they knew the actual sizing and I paid an extra 200 dollars for it to be decorated.
Overall marks out of 10 hmmmmm 6.5 I think is good!
This year I decided to "jump ship" and play an individual in Harts' presentation "Persian Empire".
Most of my friends playing this year were going to be in the band, therefore I will follow.
Now I was told beforehand that Harts takes care of the regular masqueraders before even thinking of the individuals/section leaders. I have to honestly say that the experience with Harts was far and beyond what I expected.
I arrived in Trinidad the Wednesday before and drove by the mas camp. There were so many people out there waiting to pick up costumes as well as asking if anything was still available. Upon entering the gates to the mas camp, a guy told me right away "no female costumes available, sold out", I was like "damn" and he doh even know what I come there for. The place was so crowded that I decided that I did not want to even entertain the thought of entering this super busy hub.
I stayed in contact with a representative of the band for a couple of days thereafter and soon was asked to come in for a fitting the Friday before.
I entered what seemed to be a converted garage alive with excitement and workers on various tables, as well as section leaders toiling away on their own costumes, males and females alike.
ALL OF THE COSTUMES BEING WORKED ON WERE FANTASTIC!!! IT WAS AN OVERDOSE OF VARIOUS TYPES OF FEATHERS, BEADS, WINGS, SEQUINS ETC. I did not know where to look first.
I met a group of 3-4 employees that were working on various parts of my costume. One was working on the headpiece, another the beading of the swimsuit, another one on the boots. As i arrived I was shown all of the various parts of the costume which seemed to be endless. I was also given a Monday costumes also fitted with arm pieces, leg pieces, a small headpiece as well as earrings and necklace to match. I FELL IN LOVE, THIS WAS THE BEST COSTUME THAT I HAVE EVER WORE!!
I was taken into a room to try on the swimsuits and anything that needed to be fixed was adjusted right there and then. I had lost weight, however they made the adjustments without batting an eye.
I was asked to leave my boots and they told me what they had planned to do with them. My headpiece was on a table with a million feathers still to be added and I swear the girl that was working on it looked like she needed a drink! Lol!!
Carnival Tuesday all the section leaders met at the mas camp for between 4:30am-5:30am. I thought that they were joking but everyone was very serious. Being the "new member" of the Harts crew I was welcomed with open arms and on the road if so much as a bead got hooked into my boots, Gerard Hart came out of no where to set it right.
This band gets 4 stars from me and most of all it was $$$$ well spent, they will definitely get my dinero again.
MOST OF ALL THIS BAND RESPECTS THE INDIVIDUAL AND GIVES THEM SPACE TO SHOW THE COSTUME. ALSO BEFORE THE BAND PARADES, ALL OF THE INDIVIDUALS GET TO GO A LITTLE "JUST UP" BEFORE THE REST OF THE BAND FOLLOWS. YOU ARE ALSO GIVEN TIME TO GO JOIN YOUR SECTION TO "JUMP UP" ONCE AGAIN. IT WAS A JOY
This year was Kaotic's first ever presentation in carnival and the theme was 'Life Unleashed'. I have attended Trinidad carnival on several occasions but never played mas, so naturally I was very intrigued to see how it all goes down. My section was called 'Aqua Abyss' and the colours used were blue and green. I totally loved my costume as it was very bling and had so many jewels on it. As soon as I saw the costume on the website I knew that was the one for me and I had no complaints about the way my costume looked or fitted. It was very comforting to know that Kaotic were willing to give you a bigger or smaller bra, belt, bikini bottoms if you required it.
I thought that the band had really good vibes, everyone socializing well with each other. The music was really good and everyone was well entertained. Kaotic staff seemed very friendly and helpful, particularly for someone like me who came from England and had no mas experience in Trinidad. Whoever organized the band's schedule for the carnival Tuesday did a good job and I think they selected a good location for us to rest and have lunch. During lunchtime I had an opportunity to speak with other masqueraders and they all had positive things to say. For instance, they liked the fact that the prices of the costumes were reasonable considering the current economic difficulties. I people I spoke to said that they definitely got value for their money and would look to join the band again next year.
My criticisms:-
One: The lack of experienced security. Please provide more security in the band next year as they seemed a bit sparse.
Two:Tell the djs to be clearer when they are giving instructions to masqueraders about keeping away from the trucks when they turn corners. People were a bit confused prior to facing the judging point at the Savannah.
Finally I wish to state that Kaotic have made an encouraging start this year and that I believe that they will achieve great things in the future.
