Compasfest Statement
It was never my intention to go public about the T-Vice contract, but after reading Mr. Cerenord’s statement regarding the reasons T-Vice will not participate in Compasfest 2009, it is fair enough that I let the fans know the “Real Reason.” T-Vice was one of the few Bands that performed at the first Compasfest in Miami when the festival had about 2000 attendees. We have a great deal of respect for “Noel and Cecibon” for bringing the Festival to where it is right now, a very successful event.
We in the Vice Camp have given our all to promote the Festival all year long and we have always managed to give the Best performance possible with the Budget that we were getting. T-Vice has grown as a Band, from 4 musicians to 8. The Compasfest has grown as well, going from 2000 attendees to 30,000, from $15 to $40 entrance fees. Many Sponsors have joined along the way, and Compasfest has become one if not the Biggest Haitian Festival.
The Fans are asking for Diversity, people do not expect to see the musicians wearing a T-Vice T-shirt any more, it is normal that each year they expect us to give a bigger show than the year before.
Mr. Cerenord said in his statement to Kompamagazine that T-Vice did not accept the invitation to participate in this year’s Compasfest. No Band ever gets an invitation from Compasfest, it’s when Noel and Cecibon announce the Line Up usually around Labor Day Week End that the Bands know they have been chosen and that is why I did not wait for the Line up to go out, I sent a contract to “Noel and Cecibon” with some changes.
They responded by email to tell me that they could not meet our requirements, there was no negociation. Instead they cancelled all the contracts that we had with Noel and Cecibon for the rest of the Year, I guess because T-Vice DARED ask to make changes to the usual contract in order to make a Bigger show than what we had the years before. The Attitude of the Compasfest owners shows clearly that they do not respect the values of our Artists and our contribution in making the Compasfest a successful and lucrative festival every year. It also shows that they, the owners, are the only one to Grow. Therefore if we have to continue to give the same show every year and can not give our Fans what they expect from us, we T-Vice prefer not to participate since the budget that we have been getting for the last 5 years remains the same.
There are many other Big Festivals as well in Miami, Canada, Haiti, Orlando and Paris in which T-Vice will participate. Mr. Cerenord from “Noel and Cecibon” said himself on Kompamagazine that without T-Vice and Kreyol La back in 2005 the festival had more attendees, a way to justify T-Vice’s absence from the line up. Is it also a message to tell the Bands that people do not come to the Festival for the Bands but for “Noel and Cecibon”.
Please note that even if we do not participate in the Compasfest, T-Vice will be scheduled to perform that entire weekend in Miami. Thank You For Your Patience and understanding on this matter.
Jessie Al-Khal
T-Vice Manager
