eProbe
Making sense of entertainment zones
Published:Sunday | January 19, 2020 | 12:00 AM
The idea of entertainment zones (venues/areas specifically dedicated to hosting parties and other entertainment events) has been, for the most part, welcomed by players in the industry, but although it is seen as a step in the right direction, there are still concerns as to what this plan will look like going forward.
Already earmarking Fort Rocky as the first designated entertainment zone (a recent visit showed clean-up activities under way, with a plan of how the new Fort Rocky will look, posted outside the venue).
Olivia Grange, minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, in a recent response to eProbe, said the Goverment was considering “the streamlining of entertainment spaces, to include the development of entertainment venues, entertainment districts and entertainment zones with specific rules surrounding the type of activities that may take place in any entertainment space, the time and/or duration of the activities, as well as regulated decibel levels, infrastructure, security and other considerations”.
eProbe sought out members of the entertainment industry to get from them what they believe some of the likely pros and cons are likely to be of the potential zones.
Cultural commentator Clyde McKenzie said that one of the things that has to be taken into account is that there is always a need to strike a balance.
“So promoters, selectors, vendors and others have a vested interest in seeing this (entertainment zones) unfold. But we have to be careful also, because in trying to make a living, we can affect others [ability] to make a living as well. So we have to balance the thing. Not because somebody is poor, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have a right to peace and quiet,” McKenzie said.
He argued that zones are necessary in creating that balance, and to address a problem that currently exists, but added: “It may not be a perfect solution, as some of these zones will be in remote areas, and we will now have to think about travel and transportation. So we just have to find the best possible way where everybody’s interest is considered.”
Entertainer and promoter Tony Rebel, whose Rebel Salute show has been enjoying the comforts of the Grizzly’s Plantation Cove, St Ann, in recent years (his show going until 7:30 a.m. on opening night this year), said he likes the idea of entertainment zones.
“I think it is a great vibe to have zones, especially when you’re talking about the Noise Abatement Act. It’s good to have venues where people can come and you can go until late and you’re not disturbing anybody, because the disturbance is the problem. So we need those zones. I have no problems with those,” he said.
Rebel, however, warned that there are important aspects of Jamaica’s entertainment culture that should not get lost in the mix.
“We also need to continue with some parts of our culture that we are used to, but maybe with some form of adjustment,” he added.
Street dances and events staged at the community level are seen as a vital part of that culture.
Community zones
It might just be for this reason and others that Damion Crawford, opposition spokesman on youth and culture, believes in having community zones as, he argued, there can’t be just one type of zone.
“The solution is twofold. One is to go to the communities and say we are also going to have community zones. Because if you only have paid zones, economics alone mean say most of us can’t afford it,” he told eProbe.
“Like Fort Rocky, for example. They say it can be a zone. But if you only have one place where you can go, then every selector, every promoter a guh go there enuh, so how much you have to guh pay for it each weekend?”
Such a venue, Crawford said, would have to be booked “all three or four months in advance”, and would also only cater to the needs of the big established promoters.
“A likkle regular man (promoter) who would want to pay down on that venue, him out enuh, because he can’t find the booking money six months in advance. Plus, the patrons wey a guh fi him regular event might not own a car. Suh when yuh a try send an event now into the bushes, yuh haffi presume that they can get there, because JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transit Company) don’t run a night. And if you extend it to the fact sey a man can done him party at 5 a.m., because its a zone, if him cyan reach home… . But is not sey him cyan reach home, him can’t afford it, to take a taxi. Because the people dem wey a come have a disposable ting fi buy six Guinness.”
Gyete Ghartey, promoter for events like Mello Vibes and Yesterday, also highlighted transportation as a possible issue.
“Zoning can work, but we have to be mindful that we have a transportation problem in Jamaica… . So these places have to be accessible,” he said.
“Probably if you could build like a party venue or zone in Portmore [in St Catherine], it wouldn’t be bad, because at least you could have that audience over Portmore you could deal with,” Ghartey suggested.
But Ghartey, like other promoters, remains hopeful, as “this thing is much bigger than just entertainment and there are so many people who will be affected who can make money and help stimulate the economy”.
The issue of party lock-offs due to noise nuisance is not limited to Jamaica, as eProbe caught up with Bobi Wine, the Ugandan entertainer-activist who was in island for Rebel Salute over the weekend. He weighed in, comparing the two cultures and described how he faced similar challenges back home in Uganda.
“I think we had a better situation until recently. In Uganda, we have big stadiums and venues [where parties are held]. I personally own a resort beach that hosts more than 200,000 people, so we have everything set [for entertainment],” he said.
But in recent times, Wine said there has been a suppression of public gatherings, and there was even one instance where “we have been pulled out of studios, because the police say we are inciting violence through our music”.
Entertainer Al Third [of One Third] said he was all for entertainment zoning, as he believes it is important for music to have its own special space.
“I think zones are very important, because we need space. In everything that we do, whether recreation or the arts, there is a space for that… . Music definitely needs space, whether it be Port Royal, or in the city of Kingston, or whether it be the west or the east, there should be a zone that is designated definitely for music, so we the artistes, the fans, can go there and know that this is for us and we can enjoy in a safe area, some nice clean music.”
Chi Ching Ching sceptical
Entertainer Chi Ching Ching was not so welcoming, as he was sceptical of how the zones would work.
“I don’t think the entertainment zones will work out. And the reason why I say that… to go one place and party all the time, the vibe is not going to be there no more, the type of energy not going to be there no more. So if they are going to have entertainment zones, they need to have different spots, and set them up differently, because a whole heap a land dem have a Jamaica,” the artiste said.
Chi Ching Ching, also urged the Government to “analyse the situation the right way and put the plans in place correctly and link with people in the fraternity”, who can also have an input.
Veteran DJ Flourgon, who recently won a settlement in a copyright case against United States pop star Miley Cyrus, also had his reservations where zoning is concerned, telling eProbe in an interview shortly after his performance at Rebel Salute, Saturday morning, that these special zones might not serve the interest of the poor.
“It can be good and it can be bad. When people start mek special event now, it a guh come out a di poor people hands, because a nuh everybody can afford fi guh rent some of these venues that they are going to be putting in place. So we still haffi guh have wi likkle corner dance, wi likkle corner party, wi likkle small shows dem wey we keep,” he argued.
Flourgon said Government also needs to recognise that, “is not everybody a guh can afford fi tek taxi or drive guh a certain venues … . People still waan keep dem likkle ting inna dem likkle community. Suh wi haffi careful. This a poor people joy and a lot of people live off the music, suh sometimes we feel a way when you a guh mek changes, but yuh jus haffi careful when you a mek changes, because you can’t take away the music from the poorer class of people.”