CARIBBEAN TODAY


 s/N T E R T A I


Inner Circle opens up to a new world of music


 DAMIAN P. GREGORY
Sitting comfortably in a
 leather chair in his Opa
 Locka, Florida living
room, guitarist Roger Lewis
casually supervises the goings-
on and talks with excitement
and confidence about politics -
both. Jamaican and American -
religion, and how the music
industry continues to evolve -
all of which will be reflected in
his group's latest project.
 Lewis's Inner Circle, the
quintet of Jamaican-born musi-
cians which first came to the
fore in 1970s as a regional
group, strives to keep the
music flowing. The group,
fronted by Jacob Miller
through many of its formative
years, gained commercial inter-
national success a few years
after Miller's death. The other
members are Roger's brother
Ian, who plays bass guitar, key-
board player Bernard "Touter"
Harvey, lead vocalist Kris
Bentley, and drummer/percus-
sionist Lancelot Hall.
 When Caribbean Today sat
down with three members of
the group that became interna-
tionally famous more than two


(CONTINUED ON PAGE 16)
gramming on Jamaica's
RETV, TVJ, and CVM. BET
has a ways to go to catch up to
those stations," he said. They
(BET J) might not know who
Eek-A-Mouse is, whereas
local producers have a lot
more to offer because they
live the culture."
 McGregor lauded the
efforts of a network station,
Caribbean Satellite Network
(CSN), that was in existence
up to the 1990s.
 "CSN was our little BET,"
he said. "When Mr. Cowan
was struggling with CSN, none
of them (mainstream network
companies) would help
although they saw the poten-
tial. Those were the only
times Caribbean music had a
chance to be aired across the
Caribbean.
 "BET never had any
interest. After CSN went
down there was no more
Caribbean videos to be seen
in the region. There was no
network that would carry any-
thing Caribbean. All they are
doing is sucking out what is
left from the poor Caribbean
people that they care nothing
about," McGregor added.
"Basically, our industry has
always been supported by us,
nobody else."
 Winsome "Lady C"
Charlton, founder of the
ReggaeSoca Music Awards, is
one such supporter. First pre-
sented in 1994, the awards
show, sometimes dubbed


decades ago, they were busy at
work in their North Miami
home. But they remain low-key
despite the opulence of their
recording studio and neighbor-
ing home, where they work on
new recordings, mentor new up
and coming artistes and run
their own business.
 Lewis is happy calling
South Florida home.
 "I have adapted a little bit
of Jamaica here," he said.
 Though the group has
been together for more than 25
years, to most of the world
they are known primarily for
two songs, "Bad Boys" the
1993 hit that is still the theme
for Fox television's "Cops",
and "Sweat (A La La La La
Song)". The group, though
happy for the success of both
songs, is borderline indifferent
to it.
 "Just another song," Roger
Lewis told Caribbean Today.
 "We have worked hard for
so long and have done so many
other songs," band mate and
brother Ian agreed.
 As for the critical acclaim,
the group has received a
Grammy Award. Yet that,
too, they take with a grain of


"Fiwi Grammy", recognizes
reggae and soca artistes
throughout the region, tradi-
tionally left out of the popular
American Grammy Awards.
 "It has taken them a long
time to recognize the incredi-
ble talent in the Caribbean,"
Charlton said. "I hope they
will look into other programs
like the ReggaeSoca Music
Awards as well."
 Charlton explained that
BET could go way beyond
producing Caribbean music
programs.
 "We have so much more
than music," she said. "There
are plays, carnival, jerk festi-
val, fashion shows, and other
cultural events. These are the
kinds of programs our people
want to see on channels like
BET."
 However, the fact that
mainstream media is recogniz-
ing Caribbean music and cul-
ture is what's important,
Clarke said. The bottom line
for him is that "people are
appreciating reggae music for
what it is just great
music... I've seen the music in
a slump for so long, and I've
seen it at its worst. There is no
way that this move by BET
can be negative. I welcome
more people in the market-
place because the only way to
grow reggae to the level of rap
or rock is to expose it."

Dawn A. Davis is a freelance
writer for Caribbean Today.
0


salt. Awards are more
about popularity than
about anything else, they
say.
 "Gimme something
from Jamaica, it mean
more to me," Roger said.
"Gimme something from
my own Jamaica people
and Jamaican musicians,
say bwoy, dem man deh
wicked. That mean more
to me."
 On the horizon for
the group is its next
release, tentatively titled
"The State of the World",
which members say will
chronicle its experiences Inner Circ
in the post 9/11 world. and Ian L
Harvey said the album will
be less constrained than some
of Inner Circle's past efforts.
The members plan to distribute
the record IhL mLIIIM S without
the help of a major record
label, which they claim makes
more financial sense.
 "You don't have to sell a
lot of records to make back
your money," he explained.
"With the label, they go for
bottom line 300 to 400,000 in
America and maybe a 500 to
600,000 worldwide, to make
back their money...because
they look at it this way, 'if I
invest $100,000 in you I have to


;le members, from left, Hoger Lewis, KriS Bentley, Lancelot Hall, Bernard outere" Harvey


make back ($400,000)'. They
got big overheads."
 To avoid that, they hope to
ride the wave of success of digi-
tal media that has captivated
the music industry and sell
directly to their fans via their
website www.innercircle-reg-
gae.com.
 The group estimates it gets
200,000 visits to its site from
all over the world, and that is
enough to make them viable on
the scene for a huge internation-
al audience.
 "It is about the process,"
Roger Lewis says. "It is about


making something from noth-
ing" that still gets him charged
up about the future. Band
members say both their kind of
music and dancehall can co-
exist on the musical landscape
and appeal to different audi-
ences.
 "Music is always chang-
ing," he adds. "As long as it's
spiritual and meaningful to the
people."

Damian P Gregory is
Caribbean Today's deputy
managing editor.
0


BET targets Caribbean music...


,77 7;


O n August 6, 2006, the island of Jamaica ':
 marks the 44th Anniversary of its
independence as a sovereign nation.
 Caribbean Today invites the business
community in Jamaica and the United
States to celebrate this significant
milestone.
 OUR INDEPENDENCE
SUPPLEMENT! Jamaica at 44~ to be 4
published in July 2006, will pay tribute
to Jamaica's history, culture, growth and
development including the achievements and
global contributions of a remarkable people.
 Promote your products and services in this
40-page keepsake edition, to be distributed
widely throughout Florida, New York, Atlanta,
and the Caribbean.


 CALL NOW TO ADVERTISE!
 1-800-605-7516 305-238-2868
 Fax 305-252-7843
 e-mail: sales@caribbeantoday.com

ADVERTISING DEADLINE: JUNE 23rd, 2006


May 2006