- FileHalf Pint, left, and Coco Tea
Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter
FOR artistes, that tour, the experiences on the road can be good and bad. There are close calls and of course minor problems. However, it isn't all bad on the road.
Recently, deejay Elephant Man was robbed and another deejay killed in England while the 'Energy God' was on tour in England. However, artistes such as Freddie MacGregor and Half Pint say in all of this, it is not that dangerous to tour.
Freddie MacGregor, who has toured almost every country with the exception of Australia and Brazil, said some of the bad experiences he has had on tour was with the promoters. "Sometimes the venue isn't sold out and so the money has to be cut. It's also gets really strenuous on the artistes," Mr. MacGregor explained.
Singer Half Pint also agrees with MacGregor. For him, sometimes the venues that they are booked to perform at are too small. Apart from that, Half Pint, who is known for his songs such as Suzie and Greetings, said that another part of the problem he had with touring was with the inconsistency of the promoters.
He explained that at times, some promoters stage their events at irregular intervals, hence he could not depend on that promoter the following year when he was touring again.
Of course, there are experiences where lives could have been lost.
Half Pint recalls an experience in 1986, when the Irish were on a bombing campaign in England, when he had heard that one of the clubs he was supposed to perform at was rumoured to be among the buildings being targeted. He said in the end nothing happened and the concert went on.
MacGregor still has the boarding pass for the PanAm flight that was blown up by terrorists over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988. Freddie also remembers that he had left Boston on September 10, a day before the planes took off from Boston to slam into the World Trade Center on September 11 this year.
"I haven't had any dangers on tours; I've been in a bus accident in Spain once, but there were no serious injuries," MacGregor explained.
Singer Cocoa Tea points out that tours are generally good. He however adds that it can be dangerous if you stir up grievances or have enemies. The singer, who hails from Clarendon, said that a person in a strange land should know how to conduct themselves and know where to go. He adds that in his case, he usually goes from the hotel to the venue and back. Still, the experiences are not all bad news. The artistes say they all enjoy touring. Cocoa Tea, for example, loves the response to his music by fans when he travels to the various countries and he's there to spread the message of love and he enjoys how the audience enters the venue with the same love . For him, the only drawback is the food, since his diet does not include certain food groups.
"The food part is the hardest part. It's a nice experience to tour, but you have to decide that you're going to starve or eat only fruits and drink water for the duration of the tour," he said.
Freddie MacGregor sees touring as going about his mission in life to spread peace, love and unity among mankind. Of course, Half Pint takes a similar position. To him, the vibes of the persons at the venue make touring worthwhile.
