Highs and Lows from Sandy Eggo

Greetings Friends,

I'm writing to you from San Diego, where I am spending a few days with my family after the passing of my Grandma -- Kay Sallas, who lived to be just shy of 90. (Technically, my Mom is really my aunt, who adopted me when I was 14. Nevertheless, she has been like a mother to me, and her mom, Kay, was like a grandmother to me). As I sit and type this on my laptop, my Mom's computer is adjacent to me, and the screen saver is scrolling through old photos of my Grandmother and our family. Screen savers that randomly pull up photos, like iTunes with its random shuffle of the music library, can completely surpise you with moments (or music) that you have forgotten and which bring back a flood of memories and emotions.

My grandmother's passing has made me reflect a bit on where I am in my own life, what is important, and ultimately what imprint I will leave on our spinning globe. I love my family; I treasure my friends; and to be honest, I'm happiest at a house party with a bunch of people jumping up and down to SpinCycle DJing :-) Sooner or later, there is another major road trip with SpinCycle making friends and DJing across the world that will have to happen!

In the meantime, I need to throw a few random things your way.

1. Carnival!

Being in America during this time of year is tough! I'm usually in Trinidad, or sometimes Brazil -- like last year. It has been 4 years since I've been to Trinidad--which, I still consider a second home, and in which I have a second family, the Steuarts from Woodbrook. Ironically, my Riddim Brother, Robert "Bobby" Wallace came to see me this past Saturday night--as it was Carnival Sat. and we had spent so many years together in Trinidad for Carnival. I busted out some old videos of him and me, playing Mas, covered in paint and mud, and playing with our band Starlift -- led be Ray Holman.

I love Trinidad, and have been there 10 times, but Bob named one of his daughters Libery "Calypso", and the other "Trinity" Salem -- so dat is a raaaayl Trini to de Bone.

Bobby went down in 1996 and decided he was going to play in a steel band. And when that man puts his mind to doing something -- stand back! He joined Starlift and played the six-bass! The next year, he got me to come along, and I joined the band playing in the "engine room" with my shekere.

Steel bands, are mostly Trinidadian, and mostly Afro-Trinidadian. There is the usual smattering of Europeans and Americans that join a band playing the tenor or double-tenor--which are considered more "melodic". But it is quite rare to see whiteys like Bob and me playing six bass or in the engine room, which are part of the "rhythmic" heart of the band. Thus, Bob and I were both quite proud to have gained acceptance into the upper echelon of the riddim world!

We had played several years with Starlift, but both of us had to sit Carnival out this year. BUT, Starlift had its best finish since the 1970s in Panorama (the steel pan championship) -- they came in THIRD!!! Also: Some Starlift Photos

There really is no substitute for seeing a 100+ steel band live, but I will post some video clips on my website in the future.

Included are two photos of Bobby and me doing "the Carnival pose" just before competing in Panorama during two different years. One of the pictures is blurry, because the guy taking it had been drinking rum. The other picture came out clear, which makes it obvious that I had been drinking rum!!

2. Black History Month

What was really interesting was that this year, the end of Carnival, know as Fat Tuesday for Mardi Gras, coincided with the end of the month--Black History Month. A kind of irony, that an event probably celebrated by more of the African Diaspora than anyone else--Brazilians, Trinidadians, New Orleansians--ended at the same time as the month we celebrate Black History, particularly given the Katrina disaster in which it became obvious the disparity in which we continue to treat people in our society.

So here's a little trivia question that virtually none of my friends, Black or otherwise, ever get right.

In which sport was there a first-ever recognized Black world champion?

The answer is NOT: boxing, or sprinting. The anwer is ...

...

...

...

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..Bicycling!

For more read: Major Taylor : The Extraordinary Career of a Champion Bicycle Racer. And yes, I have signed up for the Amazon Associates program, so if you buy the book -- I get a little commission, nuttin' wrong with that :-)

Peace to you all. Give you someone near you a hug, forgive someone who has wronged you, add to the positive in this world, G*D knows we have enough negative already.

Respect,

Jim (SpinCycle)

P.S. Stay tuned -- Looks like I'm playing in the city next Friday. And Ras Nii and Kofi the X Man are hooking up with Omar to throw an African party celebrating Ghana Independence on Mar. 18 -- details will follow!