Perhaps the news of Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s victory skipped your house. Sure, you were too busy Googling your homework and missed Apple’s unveiling of the iPad. Maybe, just maybe, you didn’t realise Beyonce was coming to Trinidad. But you’d probably find it near-impossible to convince someone that you’ve never heard Palance.
Only a mega-hit could prompt Travis Gazayouth Windsor to change his name on Facebook. The Vybz Kartel-loving fans and even the diehard Jerkers have over the past two months been switching their allegiance.
As the palancing hysteria spreads through the country, names all across the social networking site have been adjusted to include a reference to the Jason Williams (JW) and Ancil Isaac (Blaze) track.
On their morning show at Red 96.7, the comedic pair has attracted a faithful audience. They have a major influence on their listeners, as many of the catchy phrases they use on-air spread like wildfire.
The origin of palance is still up for debate. Some say it might have its roots in the actor Jack Palance, who was both outlandish and outspoken. When Palance, at age 73, won an Oscar for best supporting actor in 1992, he dropped to the stage and did one-armed push-ups to prove that he was still physically strong. In some parts of the world Jack Palancing means to dance.
But whatever the origin, no one doubts who should take responsibility for the popularizing of the word. "Palance" has been used during JW and Blaze’s morning show for the past two years to mean having a good time.
In a chance meeting with Kernel Roberts at the mechanic last August, Blaze asked the ace songwriter and producer if he would be willing to create the song. By November, he came to them confident he had a big tune. He was right.
The very first live performance of Palance began the Road March chant. But not everyone is comfortable with radio personalities commanding the attention reserved for soca artistes.
And while JW does not see himself as a singer but as an entertainer, he thinks everyone who works in the industry understands music.
“Whether you are a DJ, a mike man or a singer, we are all first cousins — it is all related,” JW said.
“We’ve seen in recent years a kinda cross-fertilization where people who are artiste doing radio now. Ricki Jai has a programme on radio. I’ve never heard any radio presenter get upset and ask why Ricki Jai doing radio.”
Despite murmurings from some quarters, he believes there can be no rule regarding who is eligible to sing. He said the ultimate judge is always the public.
This is not their first foray into soca. In 2007, they collaborated and released Eat ah food; they then went on to do Bumceeology (2008) and Hunting (2009).
Nothing can compare, though, with the response they have received so far in 2010. They have been booked for fete after fete after fete and have also made it to the finals of the Soca Monarch. All the attention has meant long nights of revelry, excitement and fawning fans.
Dealing with the adoration has proved to be one of the more difficult elements of their work as entertainers.
“They listen to us every day and they think that we are their personal friends, the personality they hear in the morning, people think we are like that all the time, so sometimes they would approach you (arms outstretched in loud voice) RAHHH,” Blaze said.
“But we can’t be going 100 miles an hour all the time, we enjoy our quiet time.”
While interfacing with the public can sometimes be a little unsettling, they know it comes with the territory. With the spotlight on them as often as it is, they have also come to terms with their role-model status.
Aware that their listeners are largely young people, both men insist that conveying a responsible message is important. But it’s not just the things they say that are under scrutiny, but their actions, on and off the stage.
Isaac said, “Normally, somebody will give me a bad drive on the road and Jason was the man who say ‘Hersheys doh move so nah,’ we have to tweak because you in the public eye, yuh don’t want nobody saying, aye, look Blaze, cuss up a man.”
Their work has always been keenly associated with plenty of girls, and not in a good way. And while they admit that entertainers usually behave in a way that encourages and basks in groupies, this was not something that they want for themselves. Insisting that they were the very opposite of the stereotype, Blaze said they were family men and not womanizers.
As fathers, they make an extra effort, even during the Carnival season, to spend time with their family. Williams has a son and Isaac has a new baby girl. So after the on-stage antics are complete, they’ve decided to limit the partying in favour of heading home.
“Our motto is shake a flag and we gone as we walk off the stage. We gone is not like we don’t want to be around, it’s just that is business,” Blaze said.
And business has been good. So good that what might have previously been unthinkable now seems very likely. With the Soca Monarch and Road March crowns within reach, soca-loving people everywhere are predicting Palance will win a title this year. Even if it does not happen, these guys are pretty satisfied.
Said JW, “we have no pressure, we are the only people that have nothing to lose.
We come like Trinidad, we just glad to be in the World Cup, we just glad to be accepted, and if we go and turn the thing upside-down, so be it, but we just glad to be in the arena. Everything else is icing on the cake.”
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