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ZAGALO OF DZINE ON ARLY BEING KICKED OUT OF BAND!

 
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 PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 4:46 pm    Post subject: ZAGALO OF DZINE ON ARLY BEING KICKED OUT OF BAND! Reply with quote Back to top

Zagalo Desir (Dzine percussionist)
Interview conducted by Patrick Desvarieux


Zagalo Desir

KM: Why was Arly kicked out of the band?
ZAGALO: That decision was not Zagalo's or Gazzman's. It was the band's decision as a whole. Maybe Zagalo and Gazzman took charge in making sure that it happened, but the decision was the band's as a whole. This is a band that belongs to all the members. It's not Zagalo's band, it's not Gazzman's band. It's a company. This is a business that we have. Someone who does not want to follow the order and discipline that the business requires does not belong in the band.

KM: What was Arly doing or not doing that made it a must that he be kicked out of the group?

ZAGALO: Musically speaking, he is a very good musician. Everybody knows that. However, he made things in a way so that every business concerning the band had to go through him or it wouldn't happen at all. We made a lot of enemies because of him. Promoters, it's him. Everything is him. He's been managing the band's business financially in a way for three years. We thought that things could've changed one day. When we saw that nothing different was happening, the band took a decision regarding him.

KM: Why was he ousted on stage in front of a crowd? Could it have been handled in a different manner?

ZAGALO: The whole band did not want to do it that way. However, we realized that it was the only way that it could've happened with respect. Even though a lot of people were not happy with the way that he was ousted, we also have to think of the band, because we see Dzine first. We spoke to him before and he did not want to accept. We've asked him to resign as the maestro to let someone else do it while he could remain with the band, he never accepted. That was the only way to do it. We knew that it wasn't a good idea to do it that way, however, he left us no other options.

KM: Tell us more about you guys asking him to resign before.

ZAGALO: We asked him to resign before and every time we've held a meeting about it, he somehow managed to curb the subject.

KM: Was a vote taken before where they wanted to see if they had enough votes to oust him as the maestro and it ended up in a tie?

ZAGALO: Yes, it did happen. We were acting on emotion at the time.

KM: Gazzman is/was probably known as Arly's right hand man in the band. Is it true that Gazzman was forced to participate in this coup or else he would've been asked to leave with Arly as well?

ZAGALO: Whatever Arly did, the band was not aware. It's not a question that Gazzman found out about this at the last minute and would have been ousted if he did not take part in this. That's not the question. Arly used Gazzman badly. I'm the one who invited Gazzman to join the band. I've known him ever since he was younger back in Haiti. Arly made Gazzman turn against me. He's the reason why Miami can't stand Gazzman because he used him. Gazzman has made a lot of enemies in New York and Miami because of Arly.

The people when they are expressing their anger about Arly, they also include Gazzman in there because of his association with Arly. Arly did what people call divide and conquer. With Delly, Gazzman does not have any problems with him at all. Arly is the one who's behind the whole thing. He speaks in Gazzman's ear about Delly and vice versa.. He does not want two forces to merge at all. It has to be only him.

KM: There are a lot of people who do tell us that indeed there was a problem between Gazzman and Delly.

ZAGALO: Gazzman and Delly really did have something between them. It was because Delly Francois was acting badly in the group, and Gazzman told him Delly that he is a singer and there are a lot of things that he should not be involved in. Gazzman told Delly that he had an image to uphold.

KM: How did the coup happen while you were on the stage?

ZAGALO: We were on the stage and there came a time when we told him that he couldn't continue. We told him that before we got on stage. He does not want to accept himself not being the band leader at all. (Upset) He did not want to accept it, so it was the only way for him to go. The band could not continue with him as the band leader anymore. (emotional)

KM: Was there friction in the band because Arly was the one composing most of the songs?

ZAGALO: Arly Lariviere is an excellent musician. However he is the type of guy that if someone else would write a song, he would find a way to slide in there and put his touch on the composition just so he can get credit for the song by himself. Secondly, a musician could compose something, and he would make you believe that it's not good while telling you his way was better. Thirdly, even if someone else in the band would make an arrangement on the song that would warrant that person getting credit as an arranger on a particular song, it all became about Arly Lariviere. Did you get that correctly? (Emotional)

I must also tell you that this album was a group album. Arly Lariviere did not do all the work on it. Our bass player Felder worked on the album just as much as Arly did and he received credit on only two songs. Wilson Jean (drummer) wrote the lyrics to a lot of songs, Arly took them out just to put his own lyrics in order to get the credit himself. I'm not the type who likes to put his mouth in people's business, however there comes a time when you have to put your foot down.

KM: Do you see Arly ever playing with Dzine, even if he's not the maestro?

ZAGALO: That would be the band's wish for him to return, however would he become disciplined?

KM: You would want him to return if he's not the maestro?

ZAGALO: That's it. He will return in the band, however it will not be a game. I don't mean to brag, you will see what I'm saying, now we have a band. Everyone from the public, to radio announcers think that we have a band that is open.

KM: The negativity on the band before, was it because of Arly Lariviere?

ZAGALO: Yes. It's because everyone in the band was laid back and he just took over. Now we don't have that type of a band anymore. We have a band that's working together.

KM: Who has replaced Arly?

ZAGALO: We don't have anyone who replaced Arly. We are trying out people. We have a business that is in jeopardy right now, so we can't really go and react on emotion.

KM: When did you guys decide that this was going to happen. Ws it the day that it actually took place?

ZAGALO: NO. Of course not. When you look at it, I must tell you that he's the reason why it happened the way that it did. I will tell you again that we did not want it to go down like this. It was the only way. The band knows that he is a very good musician. The band is willing to play with him again. He always said that he was the only one who was never under pressure. Everyone in the band was always under pressure. This is not a band that plays only for fun. We have bigger goals. In this band, there's no such thing as one is higher than the other. Everyone is on the same level. Everyone is equal. We do not want to make those same mistakes time and time again. That's what we're trying to avoid.

KM: Was Felder forced to take over the job of band maestro?

ZAGALO: Felder was not forced to take over the maestro's job. (Laughs) You see you, this is the first time that someone has been able to make me talk like this. (Laughs) Anyway, there is no one in this world that does not like to be in charge. However, listen very carefully, Felder is one of the people who did not want this job. You know why? Because Mr. Arly Lariviere intimidated him. He would have never taken that spot if Arly Lariviere was still in the band. We could've asked Wesner or anyone else in the band and they would've said why not, I can do it. However Felder has his own character. Anyway, Felder accepted the job, and at the same time he gave us his conditions that we respect him, and work together as a group.

There are people who take the maestro role as if they are the only ones who can do everything. No, no, , and no. There is nothing of the sort. A maestro is a band leader on stage. I want everyone to learn this thing. A maestro is a band leader on stage, not the leader of the band for everything. Everyone has a role that they fulfill in a band. I remember when I was younger, Alfred the congas player for Bossa Combo was the maestro. Haitian people have the tendency to think that a congas player in a band doesn't really do anything. Anyway, Felder our bass player has accepted the job with an open heart right now.

KM: What guarantee does Felder have that the same thing that happened with Arly will not happen to him?

ZAGALO: I told you that it's an organization that we have. Right? So everyone has to do what's in the best interest of the band. Like I told you before, Arly was not kicked out because he was conceited or because people didn't like him. It's not that at all. Arly just didn't do what the band required of him. The band has been suffering for three years with Mr. Arly Lariviere. We decided that enough was enough. (Very emotional and forceful)

KM: Did the band get paid for the last CD?

ZAGALO: Not yet. Maybe Arly. (Laughs) We haven't received a single dollar.

KM: Do you think that Arly has been paid?

ZAGALO: (Stops) First of all, this CD was not supposed to be a Dzine CD. It was supposed to be an Arly Lariviere CD. He's the one who made his contract. When we speak to the producer Antilles Mizik, he makes us understand that he did not have a deal with anyone but Arly. What else do I need to tell you? It's been two weeks and not one musician has received one dollar.

KM: Have you guys confronted Arly on the matter? What did he say?

ZAGALO: He told us to wait. He told us to wait. He also slipped it in there that the money was not a lot. He said that the money went to pay for the studio sessions. The band has never seen a receipt of the studio bill in order for us to see how much money was spent in the studio. When Arly writes a check to the studio, he doesn't want us to see.

KM: Did the fact that the musicians in the band did not play enough on the record cause friction in the band?

ZAGALO: We had no problems with having invited guests on the record. However, if you are an invited guest, you can't play three or more songs. He could play one or two, but it can't be four to six songs. It didn't make a big deal to me because I do what I do well. When he didn't want me to play on his album, I just didn't pay attention to him. After the album came out, I was invited to go play on an album by Tuco Bouzi and they made me feel so comfortable. I said I wish I was comfortable like that in my band.

I will tell you this again. Arly is a very intelligent individual. He does not do anything in a forceful manner. Psychologically if he tells you or shows you something, he will find a way to make you believe that his way is the right way. I told the guys that we should not ignore the fact that Arly is a very smart guy. You know how he excluded me on the album? You want to know how? (Emotional) He used psychology on me. He knows that I go to work at six in the morning, so he wants me to come to the studio at two, three, five in the morning to come play. When will I have the time to play here? Tell me?

The earliest he's ever invited me to come to the studio is at two in the morning. Tell me? He did not tell me not to play, but if you have a conscience. Sometimes I would be in the studio for one whole hour not doing anything, wasting my time. Then it would be time for me to go to work, therefore I would not be able to play on the songs. The same thing happened to Wesner (drummer).

Besides, Arly is not an individual that is easy to get in contact with unless he decides he wants to answer his phone. If you can't find him, you have to wait for him. I'm talking about the whole band. When he finally got around to contacting Wesner, Wesner in turn stayed home with his wife to be by her side.

KM: Is Arly Lariviere done in Florida as far as having a band?

ZAGALO: I will not say he's finished, however he might not have any credibility in the eyes of a lot of people. Even though you might not be happy about what happened, everybody knows what kind of a guy Arly is. I could never say he's finished because if I'm not mistaken, the day before yesterday he turned twenty nine. He's a young guy. He's a good musician. However he might not have the credibility around here to create a band.

KM: We've heard rumors about Delly coming back in the band?

ZAGALO: It's not a question of it being a rumor, Delly Francois is coming back.

KM: I've always heard from several people that Zagalo is the most powerful/influential member of Dzine inside the band.

ZAGALO: I want to avoid that because it's things of that nature that causes problems in a band. I'm powerful/influential in my own way. All of that talk is bull. Everyone is valuable. Gazzman is the same, Wesner is the same. I'm extremely flattered that you've been told that, but I will not apply that.

KM: If you were speaking to Arly today and giving him a message, what would you say top him?

ZAGALO: I would say that he's a young guy with a bright future ahead of him. A good musician, who's clean in his own way, even though he was trying to destroy. We wish him good luck in continuing. We also hope that he can become a little more sincere in what he does.
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