Skyy Rock Festival 2017 Review

Rockers living on a rock named Trinidad in the Caribbean would hear "Rock Show" and figure that’s going to be three maybe four random bands in a little bar, with some makeshift lighting and that's it, unless, it's what they would dare call a "Big Show". Then, add another 3 bands, some more lights and a shirt booth and call it a "Big Show". Aside from that we never really had a next step a “Massive Show” but we might have just found... the BEST SHOW Trinidad has seen in quite some time in Skyy Rock Festival.

Knights of the Old Republic - Jointpop

GSD Productions held their first Knights of the Old Republic award show on April 9th at the Little Carib Theatre. The ceremony serenaded Trinidadian rock and roll band Jointpop as the band of honor with covers of their songs by local artists, friends of the band and those influenced by their contribution to Caribbean music.

A Home for Caribbean Music

Finding music online is easy, one google search later and just about any song you can think of can be streamed or downloaded that's is of course with the exception of those made in the Caribbean. Granted, there's a lot of soca, calypso and dancehall readily available as those are our most popular music exports, but in general music from the Islands have suffered for a long time because of the global shift in music discovery to streaming services while leaving the Caribbean in a pre-21st century disc based world. Caziq is an upcoming digital archiving, distribution and streaming service for Caribbean music. It promises to be an affordable, convenient and legal source for high quality Caribbean made music, accessible through either their website or standalone app which will be available at launch for either Android or iOS.

The Bass Factor

If you are a dance music fanatic and have not yet given up on radio, you have likely found yourself flicking through stations saying "shit, next, urgh … news, gaza, basic, mainstream shit, just give me god damn EDM!” at this point you either settle for whatever shit the radio feeds you, or be your own mp3 DJ. But, there are a few gems hidden among the midfield of filth that plagues our airwaves. One such gem is called The Bass Factor. Run on Hott 93 every Friday with DJs Alex The Executioner and Luvglo, the show promises an electrifying and unique experience where any listener can discover their next personal anthem.

The Spirit of Christmas Metal

The annual Frost Fest held by local rock group, Trini Metal Headquaters to aid children's homes, hosted the fourth festival on November 6th. Prior to the event, we spoke to event organizer Riad Ali about the expectations for Frost Fest IV.

Frost Fest 4

On November 26th Trini Metal Headquarters will host it's 4th Frost Fest at the Himalaya Club San Juan. Event promoter Riad Ali promises a bigger and better event than ever before. This year features an additional band to a total of 7 performances. Alter Rootz, Epitaph, Goodnight Parliament, The Supernormal Band, Lynchpin, Infernal Death and Black Rose will be appearing at the charity event. The Toy Tank drive supported by Frost Fest over the years, is an initiative to spread the Christmas spirit to less fortunate children.

Life Less Colorful

One June 18th LIC Trinidad struck again with a new line up headlining Steve Aoki at a new venue, Jean Pierre Complex. Some of these changes were welcomed while others could use further revision.

Huge Turnout for Granny Lan

Trinidadian local rock bands Incert Coin, Orange Sky and Krash took to the stage for a cause. Rock Jam for Granny Lan was a charity event for Sylvia Newallo's (Granny Lan) medical expenses. The local rock community has a big heart and came out rocking in their numbers for the event.

The community was not the only ones to show their support; Mike Ross took to the stage to represent Jack Daniels with some give aways. The concert was not only excellent but it was one many rockers wanted to see for a long time. Supernormal guitarist Jhonothan Agostini wishes he could have been there "those are all bands I love, Orange Sky, Incert Coin and Krash on the same stage is one that can't believe I'm missing".

Krash's return to the stage put some perspective to the bands growth. These are not the raging rockers they used to be but they are still as zealous as ever, the performance was more focused on the music and the same songs they performed years ago held an air of cleanliness and maturity. Phillip was not present however they musically pulled no punches. Dax and Vince never left the rock circuit and have always been excellent but compared to when we last saw them with Krash their progress was very clear.

We hope this was not a one-time event for the band, their refreshing presence on stage would be greatly accepted for the foreshadowing rock revolution. We also hope that Granny Lan's expenses are now covered and she is well.

Check out the full photo album here

Parliament in Session

Goodnight Parliament hosted their first rock out dubbed “Parliament in Session” alongside Hail the Hatter and Devin Harry Paul in the Randy Sitar Experience. This also marked the Twenty2 Sports Bar’s first rock show. The cozy bar is tucked snuggly under Denny’s Maraval for those hungry rockers after the show.

Krashing Back into the Scene

We have not seen these guys in action in ages! 2015-2016 has had a resurgence of local rock bands, from Jointpop to Tie Dye Kitty but Krash ... we believed we had it on good authority that these guys were done. The Carters were on their own beat, Dax frequently playing with Orange Sky after the band broke up. Vince was cranking new tunes in the SKE band, these progressions seemed to allude to the unlikelihood of the band ever reforming.  Little did we know they were planning their big come back in the shadows.

5 things NOT to do at LIC

To the Life in Color or LIC for short initiated, we know you feel the excitement remembering last time and just thinking about what’s to come, but to the LIC virgins we’re here to offer you just some advice on how to prepare yourself for one of the wettest parties to hit T&T.

There are a lot of things you do at this event and honestly we really don’t need to tell you how to turn it up if you’re Trinbagonian, it’s kind of in your DNA. More importantly there are some definite “Don’ts” that we think should be brought to your attention, so that you have a most enjoyable night and not end up in a sobbing heap in the lame in the lonely corner. There are even things that you just don’t want to learn from experience … trust us.

#1 DON’T Dress Inappropriately

Funny enough, we always thought this would not have been a problem to us Trinbagonians seeing that we’ve all either experienced J’ouvert first hand or seen the effects of it through friends or family. However we’ve come to the understanding that it’s not that we don’t understand how to dress but that we underestimate the madness that is Life in Color.

Competition Lynched

Five bands went in. One band came out. The W:O:A metal battle Caribbean has ended and  Lynchpin, the  death metal band out of Trinidad were the ones crawling out of the pit. For them this means performing in the Waken Open Air stage in Germany. Earlier today Lynchpin declared their victory on Facebook.

Ultimate Rejects New Release Announcement

EDM Producers Ultimate Rejects announced May 6th as the launch of their two new tracks, "Up Dey" and "Everybody Dance". The announcement came over social media, it reads...

W.O.A Metal Battle Caribbean, Supernormal Guitarist Johnathon Agostini Q&A

On April 30^th local rock bands The Supernormal Band and Lynchpin will be representing Trinidad in the W.O.A Caribbean Metal Battle Caribbean. Since we last spoke to them at their The Fire Inside Album Launch in April 2015 The Caribbean flavored rock band has been destroying the local rock circuit at major concerts such as Frost Fest 3, Skyy Rock Festival 2 and several shows at The Big Black Box just to name a few. Lynchpin held their fundraiser to support their band's trip, at that event Supernormal band members showed their support for their competition. Their guitarist Johnathon Agostini gave us some his thoughts on the upcoming competition.

Lynchpin the Road to Suriname

On April 30^th local rock bands Lynchpin and The Supernormal Band will be representing Trinidad in the W.O.A Caribbean Metal Battle Caribbean. Band members Jignesh "Jiggy" Khatri - Bass/Backing Vocals, Sievan Siewsarran - Vocals, Gerard Ferreira – Guitar, Aaron Maharaj – Drums held a well received fundraiser at Shakers on the Avenue to fund the trip.

Skyy Rock 2k16 Review

If you’re on the ground for the local rock scene you have probably heard whispers and rhoumors about this … “Rock Revival”. We may have found the first major event to catapult this revival in the Skyy Rock Festival.

Sunset Returns 2015

EDM in Trinidad is coming to recognize December as the month of Sunset Festival. After last year’s Skrillex performance a number of fans were wondering how could the folks at @SunsetFestivalTT possibly top that. Two words Martin Garix. This really did it for the crowd not a one up on lord master Skrillex in our opinion but the crowd would beg to differ. If this year had a theme it would be “bigger” this year everything was turned up to eleven, as we entered what it now jokingly called EDM Park “O2 Park” from first sight you could tell that this was going to be epic.

Alias Halloween Party

Off the bat I admit, I went to this event with no intention of writing about it. The Halloween party review was intended to be one of the parties at Zen, Aria or Tzar the following day. However after attending Alias Halloween Cosplay Party I was compelled to write about this phenomenal small event.

Sinner's Sonata

It's one week of chill and thrill
For Rock and EDM blood would spill
In this time we dance and feast
Colored in the guise of ghouls and beasts

A pact made true
We bring to you
The All Hallowed tune
Under, blood moon

Our wicked opera
Of melodic macabre
We invite you to gather
In our Sinner’s Sonata

Our favorite time of year at REDM creeps ever closer. Yes it’s Halloween! Reeking of creativity and bubbling with excitement it's any rocker or ravers ultimate celebration and we’re here to help you get in prime form for your rocking or raving adventure. This is the REDM guide to a Trini Rockin Ravin Halloween.

A Tinge of Grey

Shay Grey, Trinidad contemporary rock scene 

Shanice Juman aka (Shay Grey) is a rock and roll soul. She is an alternative contemporary artiest operating in Trinidad & Tobago. From the young age of 9, she recognized her musical affinity after getting a toy synthesizer for Christmas and never let her love for music go.