CARIBANA PARADE, CNE Stadium onto Lakeshore West, Saturday (August 1), 10 am to 6 pm.

CARIBANA MUSIC, ARTS AND CULTURAL FESTIVAL, Olympic Island, Sunday and Monday (August 2 and 3), noon to 8 pm.

DAVID RUDDER, at the Guvernment (132 Queen's Quay East), Industry (901 King West), and the International Centre (6900 Aiport), all Friday (July 31).

DAVID RUDDER, at the Caribana Parade (with the LOUIS SALDENAH MAS' BAND), at the Guvernment and at Cutty's Hideaway (538 Danforth), all Saturday (August 1).

DAVID RUDDER, at the Caribana Music, Arts And Cultural Festival on Olympic Island, Sunday (August 2); and at the Docks (11 Polson), Sunday and Monday (August 2 and 3).

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

DAVID RUDDER

* 1998 Beloved (JW Records); No Restriction ­ The Concert, Live (Lypsoland)

* 1997 Wrapped In Plain Brown Paper (JW Records)

* 1996 Tales From A Strange Land (Rituals)

* 1995 Lyrics Man (Lypsoland)

* 1994 Here Come The West Indies (Lypsoland)

* 1990 1990 (Sire Frenzy)

* 1988 Haiti (Sire)

* 1986 The Hammer (Charlies)

DAVID RUDDER'S TRINIDADIAN SOCA STYLE CASTS CARNIVAL SPELL ON CARIBANA

By CAMERON BAILEY

It's bacchanal time, but we're vexed and suspicious. Caribana brings out the quarrel in this town.

We know the chorus. The hotels rob us blind. The new CEO doesn't know soca from saltfish. The politicians are too busy sniffing each others' ras-holes to care. No matter. I feeling to party.

I'm on the prowl. It's the 31st time we've shrugged on the wire frames, the harnesses, the full weight of turquoise and vermillion, to do this thing right. It's three decades since Trinbagonians brought carnival to Toronto, and even if the spirit of Caribana seems lost under botheration, we can still track it down.

I figure it lives in the solemn glee of a child just before she slips on a tower of feathers for the Junior Carnival. I see it in the orbit of middle-aged hips at the Calypso Monarch finals. And I know a whole nation still seeks it in the high priest of soca, the chief controller of all soca controllers, the man they call King David -- David Michael Rudder.

But my first stop is Geary Street.

I phone Courtney Doldron on the way to his mas camp, Jewels of D'Caribbean. Courtney's thirsty. "Walk with a two-four," he half-jokes. "We dying here."

I show up half an hour later, beerless, but he talks to me anyway. Looking around, I can see why he wanted relief. Fans churn hot air through what feels like a concrete bunker. Two narrow cots sit upstairs at the back, ready to accept bone-tired workers.

A woman sits at a table, working on glittering bits of detail. She's surrounded by racks of costumes and headdresses in emerald, scarlet, silver and gold. When Fernanda Monohar and Doldron's daughter Melissa lead this band into the parade on Saturday, they'll make this knuckle-breaking labour look like it just crystallized from a stray rainbow. That's the idea.

Doldron's been playing mas at Caribana since 1975. He's flexible enough to have welcomed Puff Daddy's presence last year, but he's not above regret.

"The traditional mas is no longer there," he says. "Everybody is into the fancy mas, the Vegas mas, the spectacle."

The spectacle is what draws visitors from three continents, and this year the spectacle is booming. All the bands are back after 97's boycott-hobbled affair, including Louis Saldenah's top-ranking crowd.

I find Saldenah overseeing work at his camp in a Scarborough industrial mall. I can't make out if his Ontario -- Yours To Discover theme mocks the corporate tourist-baiting that's crept into Caribana, or just surrenders to it.

"I lost that excitement," he admits. Maybe it's the constant bickering within the carnival fold. Maybe it's the uphill struggle to win respect from the government and corporate types who reap profit every August long weekend. Maybe it's because "They still owe me prize money from 96."

***

On the way up to talk to Tommy Crichlow, leader of the PanMasters steel band, I float a private theory. Maybe Caribana needs this kind of conflict. Maybe fracas and bacchanal are as traditional as tamboo bamboo.

That would explain why everything in carnival is a competition. Calypso Monarch, King and Queen of the Bands -- these are not inherited titles. Each year they're fought for with razor wit, radical invention and pure Caribbean flash.

Summer shorts

Greeting me wearing only summer shorts and his charm, Tommy Crichlow looks like proof. We sit at his dining room table, surrounded by the tools of his pan music. He explains why he has no time for what he calls Caribana's "petty grouses," including the one that says the whole thing's in danger of going down the multicultural drain once Brazilian and Chinese revellers join in.

"This is a black thing. That don't mean Scottish people can't come down the road with bagpipes," he shouts. "It's open for who wants to come in!"

I leave Crichlow's spot and suddenly Iwer George's catchy, outlawed tune Bottom In The Road floats into my head. The refrain -- "Ah had Chinee, Ah had Syrian, Ah did African, Ah did white woman, But ah never did an Indian!" -- ripped up Trinidad's carnival this year. It's incorrect from every direction, and carnival to the core.

I'm ready to talk to Rudder.

***

Rudder is routinely looked to to save the essence of carnival. Over the course of 15 albums, he's delved right to the heart of calypso, then fused those traditions with jazz, hiphop, soca rave-ups and African rhythms, including the beats and song struture of his mother's Shango Baptist faith.

Headline writers call him the Bob Marley of soca, but that does injustice to both men. Each stands as a single, unrepeatable event.

Rudder was once an accountant with the Trinidad Bus Company, which either proves that there's hope for anybody, or that accountants in Trinidad are a different breed.

His recent work has grown more spiritual and contemplative, but he's always ready to change you up. He titled this year's CD Beloved, but opened it with a track called Savagery.

He's sure to play this year's hit, High Mas, at his many performances this weekend. Briefly condemned by some Trinidadian clerics, the song found the common ground between Catholic liturgy and the spirit of carnival. This winter it soared right across the Caribbean, coaxing even the most die-hard Rastaphobes to sing its chorus, "Oh, give jah his praises. Oh, let jah be praised."

Constant change

Rudder believes in the persuasive force of Trinbagonian culture. For him that force means constant change.

"Which carnival, outside of its own environment, is spreading all over the world?" he asks. "Which model? I don't see the Rio carnival all over the world, or the New Orleans carnival. It's the Trinidadian style."

It's what he calls "the Caribbean energy."

"Sometimes carnivals get stuck in a time warp. You never see improvement, you see the same tired costuming. And then the usual Caribbean conflict. This committee versus that committee. It happens in Miami, it happens everywhere. Caribana is now the main victim of that."

If that strife comes from trying to define what a carnival should be, it's a false controversy, as far as he's concerned.

Carnival, he says, "must take a British face if it's in England or a Canadian face if it's in Canada. So if the Chinese decide to bring out their trucks, too, if the Brazilians decide to samba, too, that shows it's working. If it's stuck in a Trinidadian time warp, it's in trouble. The point is it must grow and embrace the entire society."

He laughs. "If the Croats can come out and wine with the Serbs, that's the whole essence of what carnival is about."

Rudder is no simple, sunny optimist. His albums have followed him into what he calls ugliness, but now, he says, "I tend to look for the little lines of energy, the pockets of fire within the society, and tap into those things."

To all the Toronto mas players and artistes exhausted by the fight, Rudder's advice is direct.

"If you sit down and say, 'Look, I done with Caribana, I ain't bringing no mas again,' you kill your own self. Because you're stifling what you've been put here to do."

Come parade day, Rudder will give a rare road performance with Louis Saldenah's band, and thousands of fans chipping along behind his flatbed truck will know what they were put there to do.

It's an instinct. He come up behind she and she come up behind he, and she on she and he on he and everybody wining up and sweating out the rum.

All of them. The poom-poom shorts girl. The shiny legs. The wutless so-and-so in last year's T-shirt. The big belly man. Everybody.

Up on the flatbed somebody shouts out, "Wine ya waistline! Wine ya waistline! Wuk up! Wuk up! Wuk up! Wuk up!"

Oh, god, how it sweet.

The party now start.

NOW JULY 30-AUGUST 5, 1998

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As the carnival spirit spreads throughout Toronto, here's a handy guide to related events that keep the pulse of Caribana beating.

SUNSET CRUISES -- Caribana presents cruises in Toronto's harbour on the Trillium, with music by Charlie's Roots, DJ Grenada and Soca Boyz. 6 pm. $35. Board at the foot of Bay. 465-4884.

BERNARD HEYDORN -- Guyanese author Heydorn launches and signs Long Time Days. 6 to 9 pm. Free. A Different Booklist, 746 Bathurst. 538-0889.

KING AND QUEEN OF THE BANDS -- Mas designers unveil their King and Queen costumes, as part of Caribana. 7 pm to 1 am. $15, stu/srs $10. Lamport Stadium, 1155 King W. 465-4884.

TORONTO EMANCIPATION PROGRAM -- Workshops, films and live music are featured at Caribana's Toronto Emancipation Program. Today and tomorrow 10 am and 3 pm. Free. New College, 300 Huron. 782-8637.

SUNSET CRUISES -- Caribana presents cruises in Toronto's harbour on the Trillium, with music by Ossie Gurley and D'Relatives and DJ Love Man Nick. 6 pm. $40. Board at the foot of Bay. 465-4884.

AFRICAN IDENTITY IN THE CARIBBEAN -- Jan Carew lectures on the history of African identity in the Caribbean, plus traditional carnival-related events, as part of the Emancipation Cultural Program. 8 pm to 3 am. $30. New College, 300 Huron. 782-8637.

CARIBBEAN FIESTA! -- A celebration of Caribbean culture features dancing, food and music by David Rudder and Charlie's Roots, Ronnie MacIntosh and Blue Ventures, DJ Dorenzo and more. 9 pm. $35. International Centre, 6900 Airport. (905) 451-6050.

EMANCIPATION DINNER -- Caribana's Emancipation dinner features a cultural show, mas competition and dance. 8 pm to 3 am. $30, dance only $15. Wetmore Hall, 21 Classic. 782-8637.

LIZZY MAHASHE/AMAMPONDO -- Harbourfront Centre's AfriCaribeat presents R&B diva Mahashe and South African drumming and dance combo Amampondo playing Molson Place, followed by Jamisse Jamo, Kobena Aquaa-Harrison and Richard Underhill in the Brigantine Room. 8 pm to midnight. Free. York Quay Centre, 235 Queen's Quay W. 973-3000.

REGGAEBANA -- A three-day festival features reggae in all its forms, with Nana McLean, Leroy Brown, the Sattalites and others. 10 pm. $20/door, $15/advance. Island Club, Ontario Place, 955 Lakeshore W. 870-8000.

AFRICARIBEAT -- A four-day festival offers up reggae, soca, fusion, calypso and dub at Harbourfront Centre. Today 6 pm to midnight, tomorrow and Aug 2 noon to midnight, Aug 3 noon to 7 pm. Free. Various venues at York Quay, 235 Queen's Quay W. 973-3000.

CARIBANA PARADE -- The Caribana parade features costumed masqueraders competing for the Band of the Year title, plus dance, crafts and food in Exhibition Stadium. 10 am to 6 pm. Free. (Stadium $15, child/srs $10, fam $35.) Exhibition Stadium and Lakeshore W. 465-4884.

REGGAEBANA -- A three-day reggae festival today features a tribute to Bob Marley. 10 pm. $20/door, $15/advance. Island Club, Ontario Place, 955 Lakeshore W. 870-8000.

KWESI SELASSIE/DIBLO DIBALA -- Harbourfront Centre's AfriCaribeat presents reggae king Selassie and the High Energy Band plus soukous guitarist Dibala and Matchatcha playing Molson Place, followed by Jason Wilson and Tabarruk in the Brigantine Room. 8 pm to midnight. Free. York Quay Centre, 235 Queen's Quay W. 973-3000.

VINCY CARNIVAL JAM -- Rudeness on the Road, Soca Boyz and others perform. 9 pm. $25. Howard Johnson Hotel, 2737 Keele. 490-7774.

CARIBANA MUSIC, ARTS AND CULTURAL FESTIVAL -- A festival on Olympic Island celebrates Caribbean culture with food, comedy, dance, crafts and international music, today featuring Ky-Mani Marley, David Rudder, Xtatic, the Eternity Dance Group and others. Today and tomorrow 11 am to 8:30 pm. $15, child $8, srs $10, fam $35. Ferries leave docks at foot of Bay. 465-4884.

REGGAEBANA -- A three-day festival showcases reggae in all its forms, today featuring Bounty Killer and others. 10 pm. $20/door, $15/advance. Island Club, Ontario Place, 955 Lakeshore W. 870-8000.

JAMAICAN INDEPENDENCE -- The anniversary of Jamaica's independence is celebrated. Flag-raising ceremony 2 pm, Nathan Philips Square, 100 Queen W. Church service 4 pm, St Paul's Anglican Church, 227 Bloor E. Free. 746-5772 ext 222.

JUMP-UP 98 -- A Caribbean-style outdoor family carnival features soca by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. 4 pm to 2 am. $25, child $15. Shangri-La Banquet Centre, 50 Esna Park, Markham. 616-6801.

CARNIVAL IS RED -- A funder for the Toronto PWA Foundation features a Caribbean-style carnival with the Pan Fantasy Steelband, the Moka Jumbies stilt dancers, DJ Black Cat and others. Noon to midnight. Free. Btwn Crews and Wilde Oscars, 512-514 Church. 752-4425.

MERRITONE MUSIC CARNIVAL -- Jamaican DJs Winston Blake and Bunny Goodison host the entertainment. 7 pm to 2 am. $40. Toronto Colony Hotel, 89 Chestnut. 497-2878.

AFRICARIBEAT -- Harbourfront Centre presents singer and lokembe player Achilla Orru (2 and 3:30 pm), highlife singer Ibadan and reggae band Messenjah (8 pm) at Molson Place and pan-Caribbean septet Steady Vibes at the Brigantine Room (11 pm). Free. York Quay Centre, 235 Queen's Quay W. 973-3000.

CARIBANA MUSIC, ARTS AND CULTURAL FESTIVAL -- A festival on Olympic Island celebrates Caribbean culture with food, comedy, dance, crafts and international music, today featuring the Humming Bird Tassa Drummers, Nana McLean, Wayne Rodriques, Anslem Douglas, Ronnie MacIntosh and others. 11 am to 8:30 pm. $15, child $8, srs $10, fam $35. Ferries leave docks at foot of Bay. 465-4884.

FANTASY BOAT CRUISE -- A dinner cruise features music by Carla Marshall, Cobra, Merciless & Crew and more. 7 pm. $40. Board at docks at foot of York and Queen's Quay. (905) 812-9900.

THE GRACE THRILLERS -- Jamaican gospel group the Grace Thrillers perform, with guests. 3 pm. $8. Revivaltime Tabernacle, 4340 Dufferin. 870-8000.

YAN KUBA SAHO -- Harbourfront Centre presents Ghambian kora master Yan Kuba Saho with guest Daniel Janke playing Molson Place, as part of AfriCaribeat. 2 and 3:30 pm. Free. York Quay Centre, 235 Queen's Quay W. 973-3000.

YOUTH OUTREACH MASS CHOIR -- Gospel group the Youth Outreach Mass Choir performs. Noon to 2 pm. Free. Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen W. 392-0458.