The bands exist. The fans exist. But rock music in T&T can sure use a lot more support. That’s what lead vocalist and founder of The Supernormal Band Andy Rambharat told the T&T Guardian ahead of the band’s upcoming trip to Suriname for the Caribbean Waken Open Air (WOA) Metal Battle.
The band will play with the Caribbean’s top rock and roll bands like Aeons of Disorder (French Guiana), Luguber (Suriname) and T&T’s Lynchpin. The competition is the Caribbean leg of Germany’s biggest summer open air metal music festival which takes place in the small village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. It provides a forum for rock bands across the globe to show off their skills.
This might be a high point for the Trinidadian rock bands but heavy metal is far from having a significant place in the local music industry. He is not the only one who feels this way, as over the years, other rock bands have openly voiced their concerns about the lack of support for the genre.
Devoted rock fan, DJ Mike Ross supports the local rock scene with his total local show on radio 95.1FM. He told the T&T Guardian in a previous interview: “It’s tough keeping a rock band together in Trinidad. We play the same venues over-and-over, almost for the same people all the time.”
Rambharat said some people view rock music as shouting, rather than singing and for others it ‘s just poor taste.
“We rockers understand, as rock music is not a traditional genre, it may take a while for it to become palatable. It may even take well after I am done rocking for us to have a thriving local rock market,” he reckoned.
He said as a rock artiste it can be a daunting task at times because you are basically doing it for the love of it. “It is not a money making market in Trinidad. It will be challenging for one to make a decent living off of this because there just isn’t enough money generated from the market locally for that to happen.
Despite that, Rambharat took what he calls “a leap of faith” and left his full-time job last year to fully focus on and promote his band.
The 40-year-old’s love affair with rock music began in the 1980s when his older brother Anil and his friends listened to bands like White Snake, Iron Maiden and Motley Crue. Rambharat confesses he “did not know what the heck that kind of music was” but it was certainly more appealing than the Indian and reggae music that blasted from radios in the Malick community where he still lives.
He would attend as many local concerts as he could and watch lots of rock videos on television. But what really excited him, was a video of now defunct band Odd Fellows Local which was then led by Gary Hector, now the lead singer of Jointpop.
Eventually, Rambharat bought himself a bass guitar and started jamming with other musicians who were all cutting their teeth in the industry. He eventually got his first gig at the then Infinity Bar at UWI, St Augustine. The performance was not all that good but nonetheless his determination grew.
To hone his skills, the former Malik Secondary student began band hopping. It was while playing with the bands Alexis Machine and The Boomslang that Rambharat shot to fame. It was not long after he formed The Supernormal Band with a varied sound which incorporates all genres indigenous to Trinidad.
Rambharat has recorded over 100 songs and some of the band’s more popular hits include Swaha and Fishnin, The former is a collaboration with local rap artistes Chromatics and reggae and dancehall singers, King David and Yellows. Fishnin, inspired by neighbourhood fish vendors, racked up 68,000 views on the band’s YouTube Channel.
“It might seem strange but we wanted to go along the path of being a bit more rootsy. The band is one that inculcates our culture.
“Who doesn’t remember the fisherman passing through the neighbourhood yelling out the different types he has for sale and not understanding a word he said?” Rambharat said with a laugh.
Speaking about the band’s involvement in WOA, he said it was a huge deal for T&T and by extension the Caribbean as this is the first time the Caribbean will be represented at the festival.
The Supernormal Band didn’t get any sponsorship for their trip, so they raised funds with a series of concerts. The four-member group—Rambharat, guitarist Johnathon Agostini, bassist Anthony Borde and drummer Mitch Ramberan—rehearses three times a week and they’re very positive about their appearance at the WOA Metal Battle.
They leave on April 27 and will return on May 2.
Rambharat said the band is working non-stop to push rock music in T&T. He said everything in the world “began with a struggle” before prevailing in the end. He hopes all local rock bands can come together to continue advocating for this music to eventually stand on its own among the more popular genres.
The rocker’s advice to anyone wanting to get involved in the rock music industry is, “In these days where everything happens at the press of a button, people have to know that whatever they want to achieve in life will take time. Just hang in there and the journey itself will teach you everything you need to know to gain success.
Don’t dream halfway. Dream all the way!”