All Stars win, a win for Full Extreme

Full Extreme already has a victory, as the winning song of 2017 Panorama champion Massy All Stars which copped its tenth large band title in Saturday’s final at Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.

Massy All Stars human resource manager Stacy-Ann Patrick is predicting a Road March win for Full Extreme and, ultimately MX Prime and the Ultimate Rejects.

“I think Full Extreme embodies a sense of resilience,” Patrick said yesterday.

“Somehow, it speaks to the people of this country that know that unconsciously we have to fight.

Everything could be falling apart but we still have to fight. There are really good songs this year, but I think Full Extreme will take over.

And if they do not win, they are already the kings of the road.” All Stars won over Desperadoes, the 2016 winner, with Leon “Smooth” Edwards’s arrangement of Full Extreme, moving from one point behind Desperadoes in the semi-finals to beating them by three points with a 286 tally.

Patrick said the song seemed to resonate with people of all ages, and that was one of the reasons the band chose to play it.

“At the beginning of the year, Smooth would come and put down a verse and a chorus for one song or another and depending on how people react to it, he would select that song for the band to practice,” said Patrick at Massy All Stars Duke Street, Port-of-Spain panyard. “This year was no different, and he played a verse and a chorus for this song and that, but when he played Full Extreme, he realised that no matter who was around, young or old, they would gravitate toward the song.” It has been six years since Massy All Stars tasted victory. For their last championship win, in 2011, they played Anslem Douglas’ Its Showtime.

Last year they placed sixth.