IS YOUR FAVORITE BAND READY if this HMI disaster strikes?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 11:47 am
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I can never understand why our bands continue to do the following..............(Read Below)
TIME AND TIME AGAIN, it has come back to explode in many bands' faces when they GIVE TOO MUCH POWER TO THE LEAD SINGER OF THE BAND in terms of a marketing standpoint. YOU ARE MESSING WITH YOUR HMI BUSINESS if your group takes the chance of just "selling" the lead vocalist of the group to the public.....but there are cases where that is NOT the case; and there are others where certain bands have no choice.
While we understand that the vocalist is the face of the band, but there are plenty of cases where it is "A MUST" for the bands to take the CARIMI APPROACH of always trying to sell more than 1 member to the fans/public...just in case SHIT HITS THE FAN. I can tell you that while there is absolutely NO DOUBT that CARIMI took a huge major blow when vocalist MICKAEL GUIRAND decided to hang it up...heck, it put an end to the group...BUT IF BY SOME CHANCE THEY DECIDE TO COME BACK ON THE SCENE; they will still have a very good chance of being successful simply because of the FACE/NAME RECOGNITION of the 2 other members RICHARD CAVE and CARLO VIEUX; who were "sold as FACES of the band" to the public from the very first day the group hit the market. The fact that they are also proven hit makers/producers also helps.
When GRACIA DELVA could no longer be part of Zenglen after he had to go to Haiti; that "nearly" destroyed the band....if not for RICHIE who had started selling himself to the fans since the "5 DWET" CD before Gracia's departure. Richie with his skills and name kept the group relevant. When LAROSE quit MISSILE 727, do we need to tell you how that ended? When MANNO OBAS had issues with with MIZIK MIZIK and was no longer part of the group after having sung a very popular CD "DEGER"; and a HIT SONG "WEBE" (The 1 song he sung on the next CD); the other "names" that were being sold in Mizik Mizik FABRICE ROUZIER and KEKE BELIZAIRE stepped up to the plate and brought in ERIC CHARLES and kept the ship sailing for many years after...with other hits. That is what you call PERFECT GROUP MANAGEMENT in terms of preparation for disaster.
When you take OKYJEMS and ANBYANS...as soon as Okyjems left that band to go create his own...that band was NOT the same on the HMI map...even though Okyjems himself hasn't exactly done anything yet to justify making the move with his own band. Having said that, I guarantee you that most fans know OKYJEMS more than any of the other members of his former band Anbyans.
There are cases where the BRAND NAME is just simply TOO BIG to be affected by a lead vocalist leaving the band...examples are institutions such as TROPICANA and SEPTEN. It does not matter if a singer leaves because THE BRAND and BAND have established themselves throughout the years.
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There are different cases for different bands, which present different scenarios in our bands today. Let's take a look at them.
*KREYOL LA: Something happens to TI JOE ZENNY right now, or he decides that he wants to quit....do you honestly see the group having the same WEIGHT on the market and in the eyes of the fans if they decide to continue? TI JOE is such a strong popular personality in the group, and in the eyes of the fans...I just don't see the fans taking a Kreyol La without TI JOE. TI JOE is "ONE" of the owners....NOT the only owner; but in terms of marketing...he is such a huge force and so above the rest of the other members of the group in that department...it would NOT make a difference. If TI JOE says BYE BYE...you can pretty much say the same for Kreyol La.
*HARMONIK: This is the band who comes the closest to adapting that CARIMI marketing approach of SELLING MORE THAN 1 MEMBER TO THE PUBLIC. They sell MAC D, NICKENSON, and SANDERS. Each one of those 3 can actually stand on its own as 1 person and get the credibility in the eyes of the fans. If MAC D. were to quit or leave the band today, while that could be a major major blow for the group; but if they were to find a capable adequate replacement for him (Looks, vocals and other intangibles); I do believe they would be able to survive that blow. NICK made his name BEFORE the group as a member of Zenglen, as a solo artist, as well as a studio producer capable of writing HITS. Sanders has started to come into his own and has scored major points in the eyes of many on the last Harmonik CD, as well as with a couple of outside productions.
*T-VICE: When they were younger, JESSIE tried to always sell BOTH FACES (Roberto/Reynaldo) as the faces of the group. Having said that, because of Roberto's LEAD SINGER POSITION, as well as his personality being more out there than his younger brother Reynaldo, he stands above the T-VICE name as the FACE that sells the band most of the time. Having said that, if REYNALDO decided that he no longer wanted to do this, YES, it's easy to say that another keyboard player could come in in his spot...BUT DON'T GET IT TWISTED...It would NOT be T-VICE because the SOUND of the group musically...SE NAN MIN REYNALDO li ye. PA GIN T-VICE SAN REYNALDO. At the same time, if ROBERTO decided that he had enough, you could pretty much say IT'S A WRAP because his voice has been T-VICE's vocal identity for over 20 years. You can't change that. PA GIN T-VICE SAN ROBERTO. This is the perfect case that BOTH GUYS NEED EACH OTHER FOR THE "T-VICE BUSINESS brand" because they both contribute 50/50 to what makes it what it is.
*NU LOOK: The move that ARLY LARIVIERE made when he decided to go to the front of the group to take control of his group's destiny; while to some it is seen as a bad move; to many others, IT IS THE BEST MOVE HE COULD HAVE MADE FOR HIS BUSINESS. When you say NU LOOK now you say ARLY LARIVIERE...so the day Arly decides to stop...NU LOOK ceases to exist. He is the ONLY FACE of the band in terms of selling the product. You WON'T see a flyer featuring Nu Look that does NOT have Arly's face on it.....I rest my case.
*DISIP: Pretty much the same case like Nu Look. GAZZMAN is the face/business owner. Gazzman stops...NO MORE DISIP! Period.
*ZENGLEN: This one is a bit complicated and straightforward at the same time. It "looks" like the group is selling 2 singers to the public; but if you clearly look, you see who they are putting their marbles on in terms of selling the band.....WID. WID had the first and only music video so far; and he is also the ONLY REASON why the group has NOT gone on the all important tour of Haiti to sell their latest CD...because in their eyes NO WID means NO HAITI. Having said that also, if the singer or singers quit the band.....ZENGLEN would actually be in a position that they have been in many times before....e YO PA PANTAN LE YO PEDU CHANTEUR.....because they always survive the departures of singers; heck, they survived the departure of their composer RICHIE....so that says a lot. While ZENGLEN can be labelled a band with no discipline or structure by many people; what you CAN'T say is that they are not survivors. THEY WILL ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO SURVIVE as long as BRUTUS is there.
*KLASS: Here is an interesting one. PIPO is the one that came and got the KLASS machine rolling once he joined the band and became a co-owner. The band did NOT have the success before that. Having said that...PIPO is having the KLASS success with the MUSICAL GUIDANCE of the producer/band leader RICHIE. Yes he had HITS from DENER CEIDE on record; but in terms of the LIVE aspect/circuit...which is a band's bread and butter...RICHIE is the one who is the motor and feeds the material to Pipo to do his thing. If for some reason PIPO can no longer continue, can we honestly say that KLASS would continue to have the same success? If for some reason RICHIE can no longer continue, can we honestly say that the group would still have the same success? Another case of BOTH NEEDING EACH OTHER for the success of the business....even though Richie has proven before that he has what it takes to lead a band and make it work (Zenglen)...and Pipo has yet to have the same success on the Live circuit before Klass. PIPO and RICHIE are both marketed to the fans when it comes to the group...but they both are entities that can stand and sell on their own....but NOT BETTER THAN KLASS. Therefore it is the best move for both to keep the Klass sessions going together.
*MASS KONPA: GRACIA DELVA is MASS KONPA....Don't get it twisted. The band sells solely on the NAME and FACE of Gracia Delva. Garcia can always replace every single one member of the band with other musicians, and people would still say Gracia Delva Mass Konpa. Now you take Gracia Delva out of Mass Konpa and try to sell the band WITHOUT HIM.....I rest my case.
*DJAKOUT #1: In my opinion, DJAKOUT is the band that has the most members that are RECOGNIZABLE on their own away from the band in the HMI. POUCHON, SHABBA, TI REGI, RORO, MAMANE, TI POUCH...The 6 owners are known by a lot of people. Having said that, if Pouchon were to leave right now, could the band survive his departure? There are those that would say that if you judge strictly on the last studio CD...the 4 most popular songs were sung by Steeve Khe, and once he departed, the band's popularity on the Live circuit was hurt by it...even though they continue to get booked. Steeve Khe has not been "as active" on the circuit as Djakout, and all that goes down to the BRAND being in business for many many years. SHABBA is a huge force in terms of the marketability of the group as well; which means DREAD LA is NOT the only musician that the fans know and see from the group...but make no bones about it...for Djakout fans...POUCHON remains the most popular NAME/FACE of the group...because when performing LIVE...while the group "can" play/perform without Pouchon...but LE "DREAD LA" PA SOU STAGE LA....OU SENTI JAZ LA MANKE YON BAGAY! It's all about visual aspect and "star power".
*GABEL: Delicate situation. Both singers KATALOG and FLAV bring their own crowds to the table in terms of fan base. I am NOT sure what would happen to the band if either one of the vocalists decided they no longer wanted to do this. If KATA decides he's had enough, can the band survive by replacing him with a "like for like" compas direct vocalist and not feel it? If FLAV decides he's had enough, can the band survive by replacing him with a "like for like" in terms of all that he brings to the table? Very difficult to say in both cases. SI TOU LES 2 BAY POZE A....Is it a wrap for Gabel?
*DAT7: The group has made no bones about it by showing that they LIVE and/or DIE with their frontman Olivier Duret. Yes they do know Ti Tanbou, Ti Eddy, and Vlad; but none of those guys combined have the likability and marketability weight that Olivier Duret has with the fans. Therefore...if Duret goes....DAT7 is a wrap....unless replaced by a major name.
KM!