Connector wants a play

Joel Davis considers himself to be a full-bred TT native, even though he has been living abroad since 1987. He keep his native spirit alive, however, by returning home each year and also doing what some believe Trinbagonians are best known for  —calypso and soca music.

Known by the stage name Connector, Davis began his singing career in 1992 when he entered a talent search competition in Toronto, Canada, (where he resides) and subsequently placed first in the soca/calypso category. The 2003 Soca Monarch of Canada will perform with the International Chutney and Calypso Roving Tent and plans to participate in all the competitions that are open to him. He began making strides in  the calypso arena in 1995 when he released his first soca single, “Bump and Shake Yuh Bam Bam” followed by “Doh Hide It” which he says was number one for two weeks in Trinidad and remained in the top 25 listing for two months. This song was the 1996 Road March at Toronto’s Caribana.

Explosive, his first album was released in 1999. In 2000, he was a semi-finalist in the Soca Monarch competition with “Juookie-Juookie” and placed fourth in the Arouca Calypso Monarch finals.  It was his hit song, “Ah Feelin to” on the Caribana compilation CD for 2003, however, that won him the 2003 Soca Monarch of Canada competition. Davis is not only a singer and songwriter, but an actor as well. Since 1995, he has been a member of a national organisation of Canadian performers working in film, television, video and other recorded media. Blues Brother 2000, In Too Deep and Ladies Man are just some of the films in which he has been featured. He confesses that he always had a love for calypso and soca and was greatly influenced by songs from Kitchener, Sparrow, Calypso Rose and SuperBlue.

For him, the art form is more about educating, and not for fame.  He believes he will continue with the music, provided he does not give up. Why would he? “The art form is based on certain people alone, no matter how hard you try or how good your music is. They call me a foreigner and that’s our downfall- not accepting our own as our own. There’s a clique, unfortunately,” he laments. However, he is optimistic. “Even though I may not get any air play or exposure, I am certain that my talent cannot be taken away from me- that’s instilled in me. What makes me different is that people will get me in my songs, and my own style — I am not in any race to compete with other artistes.”

Off stage, the father of two says he’s in “his late 30s” and works in the medical field. He is also a certified masseur. Some of his hobbies include competitive bowling, martial arts and cooking: “I love the kitchen.”  Davis stated he likes to interact with young people as well. Asked if he will eventually return to TT he said, “If things get better, only then I will relocate.”