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FITO FARINEN (YEAR 2000)!

 
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 PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 5:00 pm    Post subject: FITO FARINEN (YEAR 2000)! Reply with quote Back to top

Party Promoter Fito Hyacinthe of Farinen Productions
Interview conducted by Patrick Desvarieux


Fito Hyacinthe

1) Fritz, what is all the fiasco going around between your company Farinen and the group Top Vice about?

FARINEN: Honestly I have no idea. On Tuesday July 4th, 2000, Farinen held its annual party at Vincent’s nightclub. Top Vice and Djakout Mizik were hired to perform for the night. The highlight of the night was supposed to be the legend awards that was being presented to Robert Martino and Claude Marcelin. However, things turned sour when Robert got upset because he felt that his band did not perform long enough and left the club without accepting his award.

2) Did you kick Top Vice off the stage at your 4th of July party to make room for Djakout Mizik like Robert Martino stated to us earlier this week?

FARINEN: Absolutely not! I would never do such a thing. Top Vice was given a schedule several times prior to the party. They were supposed to start playing at 10pm and end at 11:45 PM. The award show was to take place immediately after and take no more then 15 minutes allowing Djakout to start their set promptly at midnight sharp until 1:30pm.

I got on stage at 11:55 PM, ten minutes after they were scheduled to end. Robert and Charlot became very agitated because I would not let them play one last song. Time did not allow us to accommodate them. Maybe if we were in New York or Miami where there aren't any time restrictions, it would have been possible to let them play one more song. However, in Boston 1:30 means 1:30 am and they know that, this is not their first time in Boston. Djakout played from 12:20 am to 1:35 am and Top Vice played from 10:15 PM to 11:55 PM. You figure it out.

3) Has your reputation been damaged by the allegations by Mr. Martino that Farinen does the same thing to other bands that they are not promoting? (We mean Kdans, Djakout Mizik, Konpa Kreyol and Ti Doz).

FARINEN: Not at all, everyone who has dealt with Farinen knows how we operate. We treat every band with the utmost respect. I’m sure every band that has ever performed for Farinen will agree.

As far as us promoting our bands, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Top Vice has their guy working on their behalf, so what ‘s wrong with Djakout, Kdans, Tidoz and Konpa Kréyol having someone looking out for their best interest.

Remember Farinen had 3 events with Kdans before we became a direct representative for them. Strings till this day are asking us to bring them back to Boston. Djakout performed for Farinen twice without being aware of how much money they would get paid. All of that are direct results of their appreciation and respect for Farinen.

I can remember one incident in particular when Kdans and Top Vice were on a mini tour of New York and Boston. Bazile Entertainment was the promoter of that tour. Farinen's involvement with the tour was solely on behalf of Kdans (making sure they arrived on time etc.…) the night before in New York, Kdans agreed to perform 1st and everything went well. However on the 2nd night in Boston, although Kdans assumed that they would play 2nd, that did not happen.

Kdans was not given the time to go and change, they were in fact taken to the club directly from the airport. Top Vice, who were also at the club, had the opportunity to go to the hotel and change. Kdans was still forced to play 1st unprepared because Top Vice would not play 1st while they got ready. I guess this time they had their own promoter working on their behalf.

4) We understand from you that a lot of effort on your part went into making this party a special affair. Please explain.

FARINEN: We wanted this party to be better than ever. We were under pressure form friends and radio spokespeople to drop Top Vice from the event. Top Vice was in Boston less than a month prior to our party, the budget for the party was getting too high and fans were complaining that there wasn't enough time for two bands to play specially when the party ends at 1:30 in the morning.

Although there were several obstacles, I decided to go ahead with the party as is. I wanted to honor Ti Claude and Robert that night and according to their promoter in Boston, Robert would not fly to Boston for an award if Top Vice were not playing even if the band was not scheduled to play that night.

The Crystal Plaques were purchased at Shreves, Crump and Low an exquisite jeweler distributor. We were ready to have a bash and wanted nothing but the best. Unfortunately that did not happen.

5) Are you still holding the special plaque that you had made for Robert Martino?

FARINEN: Yes, it’s on display at our store.

6) When will you give it to Robert Martino?

FARINEN: I have no plans to give it to him. He refused it and disrespected our fans that were present to witness the event including my father who was a fan of Martino since the beginning of his career. Furthermore, he disrespected me directly when he said in public "li pa **** besoin caca award mwen an!" (I don't need that f.... award)

7) Will you guys ever consider doing a party with Top Vice again?

FARINEN: I can’t answer that question. We will see what happens.

8) If you saw Robert Martino today, what would you say to him about his allegations and about what transpired that night?

FARINEN: Nothing, I tried to talk to him that night and he told me to go and screw myself. If he has something to say to me, that’s fine, but as far as me bringing up the subject, you can forget it. He knows what really happened. Besides I never hold any grudges.

9) What was Ti Claude Marcelin's reaction to the whole thing?

FARINEN: He felt that the award show was ruined because Robert did not accept his award in person when everyone at the party knew he was there. He did not understand why Robert was upset and had no comment after the party. He was too busy enjoying his award and interviewing with the local Haitian media. Besides Ti Claude and Djakout offered to play 1st if there was a problem, I declined. It’s my party and I decide how I want everything to go.

10) Farinen is known as a big Mizik Mizik fanatic. Will you be doing any Mizik Mizik concerts on their upcoming tour of the U.S for the Boston market?

FARINEN: We certainly hope so. Mizik Mizik is a big part of who we are today and we would be very surprised if we were not involved in their next Boston appearance.

11) Did your involvement with the group Lov' at one of your previous "4th of July Annual parties" get you in hot water with Mizik Mizik? We heard through the grapevine that you probably tried to push Lov' as Mizik Mizik at that particular party. How accurate is that? Please explain.

FARINEN: Yes, very much so. I want to make it clear that Fabrice and Keke were not upset that I did a party with Lov’. They understand that I am a promoter and I can choose whom I want to perform for us. They were upset at the fact that Farinen used the Mizik Mizik logo as a tool to promote our party.

The whole problem began when Fabrice and Keke canceled their annual 4th of July appearance in Boston just 2 months prior to the date because they were fed up with the business. I was stuck with no band and a $3500 non-refundable deposit to the club that I wasn’t about to lose.

My first intentions were to replace Mizik Mizik with Kdans, however Kdans was not available. Although Lov’ was less than a month old, they were the only band that I had at the time. Our only concern was how we were going to promote a band that no one knew with less than 5 weeks to go before our big event.

Well, after several days of brainstorming, Greg,( who is my partner and marketing director), and I came up with "Lov’ of Mizik Mizik". Our flyer had the Lov’ logo and the Mizik Mizik logo almost twice the size of the Lov’ logo with only the work "of" separating the 2 logos, giving the appearance that Lov’ was actually the new name for Mizik Mizik. That is when the problems started.

12) If you had a choice of doing a party with one of the two groups right now, who would it be?

FARINEN: Mizik Mizik.

13) Is Farinen associated with the label Nouvel Jenerasyon in any way?

FARINEN: In a way yes. As you know, Joubert is very busy these days and there is so much he can get accomplished by himself. Although he is accustomed to working alone, he asked me to take over the "live" tour aspect of his business because he had such a good experience working with me on his 1st Kdans New York, Boston and Canada tour.

We work as an agent for Nouvel Jenerasyon. Farinen is in charge of taking care of the bands that Joubert is involved with when they come to the United States. We take care of the bookings, itineraries, visas, transportation etc.… We have a good relationship and we respect each other. So far we have arranged several events for Kdans, Djakout Mizik, TiDoz and soon Konpa Kréyol.

13) What's in the future plans for Farinen?

FARINEN: We have several surprises for the end of the year 2000, including Kdans, Tidoz and Konpa Kreyol. For more updates about Farinen, visit our website www.Farinen.com. It’s being updated as we speak.

14) What has been Farinen's best Party to date? And why?

FARINEN: Mizik Mizik July 4th 1996. It was our first annual party and it was a huge success. Mizik Mizik was at it’s prime and the club they played in "the Roxy" was the best Club in Boston. Top Vice on Thanksgiving in 97 was our second best party also at the Roxy Jukebox.

15) What was Farinen's worst Party to date? And why?

FARINEN: Lov’, July 4th, 1998. We had everything against us that year. Lov’ was a new band, we were in the middle of a Mizik Mizik controversy and the venue was not the Roxy.

16) Any final words?

FARINEN: I would like to take the opportunity to thank you Pat for the interview. I would also like to thank the Farinen fans for supporting us after 5 years.

Moreover, for the record I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to Fabrice and Keke for using their name (Mizik Mizik) to promote my event. Although this happened 3 years ago, I never had a chance to address Fabrice personally about the incident. I did clear things up with Keke who is also my cousin. And also for the record, Lov’ did not agree to have Mizik Mizik’s name used as a way of promoting them. This was strictly a Farinen decision. Thanks.
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