Call him a magician if you may, but there is no question that this make-over guru is truly a master of make-up.  A former student of Diego Martin Secondary School, Ephraim Hunte was born in Trinidad and migrated to the United States at age 18 to pursue his academic studies in Electronic Engineering.  Some 30 years later, he’s coming back home to complete the statement he started making in Manhattan, only, this has nothing to do with engineering.  Hunte revealed back then make-up was not on the agenda, far more for it being a career, now he admits “…I’m a perfectionist!” He admits that it took him years of studying and applying make-up for him to be at his acquired level…and what a level it is!  Hunte spoke of the 1980s which he described as his “hay days.”  He talked about his primary work with fashion models for runway shows.  After which time he started doing beauty make-up for magazines. He has worked with celebrities in the modeling industry and boasts of his love for what he does.  “Make-up is an art, it goes beyond just the application of products.  One needs to design a look and then create it.” 

Hunte specialises in make-up artistry, aesthetics, massage therapy and photography.  He also conducts certified classes in make-up artistry.  “I maintain a ‘no hold back’ policy in my classes,” he informed.  Hunte said he believes in sharing his knowledge and giving his all to his students.  “I love to see women looking beautiful, and whatever knowledge I have that can assist in that process, I am more than willing to share.” Hunte revealed that his first local student was make-up artist Leas-el Rovedas.  He said that he was on a shoot in Trinidad and when Leasel saw his work, she insisted that he tutor her. When asked about his goal for make- up in Trinidad, Hunte was quick to inform “EPH Make-up Academy. I would like to create a sourcing umbrella for beauty.” Hunte is aiming towards establishing the forum for a make-up school by the end of November 2003.  He also aims to create an agency for people in the make-up field but in relation to the more technical aspects of make-up artistry.

Hunte’s work has been described as unbelievable, (but believe it, I have seen it myself).  He does indeed create a look, so too can he enhance, refine and revolutionise.  “Make-up is supposed to be applied to suit the shape of the face and it should be done well.  It matters not the length of time you have to apply make-up, a five minute job deserves just as much perfection as any longer period of time”.  Hunte stated “No matter what you do, somebody will see it, someone will notice, so do it well.” Questioned about the best work he thinks he has done, he reflected “I like most of my work most of the time!”  Beauty make-up and special effects are what he cites as his strengths.  “I miss nothing when it comes to make-up, it must be done right, it must be done well.”  Hunte has done extensive work in make-up and make-overs and the end results are astounding. He highlighted the fact that when someone loves what he does, he would go about it with a passion for perfection. So when will the permanent move to Trinidad be?  “Maybe 2004,” he said smiling.

“Triniscene who?” was the response “computer wizards” Edson Reyes and Kevin Lee Yuen, founders of Triniscene.com, received when they approached party promoters to cover their pre-Carnival events. “Slowly, it has turned around, promoters would call us,” Edson related. Some two years later, the duo has not only built up a steady clientele in and out of Carnival, but has been receiving requests to highlight sporting events, fashion and music. And they’ve moved from operations beneath a staircase on Chacon Street, Port-of-Spain to a flood-free office at Long Circular Road, St James.

What is one way to engage the interest of Carnival-lovers around the world? Hook up a website showcasing Trinidad Carnival, of course! After brainstorming with names too “weak and horrible” to mention, Edson and Kevin invented “www.triniscene.com” — a website “that streamed Carnival live on the Internet.” Edson and his small team (teens to 20-something-year-olds), would don t-shirts with their insignia boldly emblazoned across the back, taxi across to the event to which they must receive an invitation, flash their Ids at the door, filter through the crowds, mix, mingle and snap. Of course, preceding the taking of photos an introduction is given. It goes something like: “Hi, I’m … from Triniscene.com and we’re taking photos that feature Carnival to the world to post on our website…”

The mixed reactions are many. “Some tell us ‘no.’ Others pose for the shot after taking a lil time to fix their hair and make-up,” Edson said. Then, there are the ones (men in particular) who, after their picture is posted on the website request that it be removed. According to Triniscene.com’s policy, a photo can be removed following the submission of an email to do so. A day later, the party-holic who missed that one event can log on to the now popular webpage and view the highlights captured. To be chosen for a picture, photographers keep a keen eye for “people having a good time” young or old. Covering the highs and lows and telling the story, in brief, of events all year round was not what the group imagined. Their full-time staff now comprises Edson, Kevin and Casey Cumberbatch. “We have an extended staff of Peter and Allan Limchoy, Jason Winteroach and Thema Lessey who assist with photography, web design and picture editing. And then there’s the extended, extended staff who help out when they have free time.” Promoters now advertise their events on the site. They’ve secured corporate sponsorship for events and banner advertising. Now, the jobs are flowing in.

Edson describes it as “a work in progress.” “This is not like we sat down one night and put together Triniscene. The am-ount of work that went into it and tweaking it…we’re trying to broaden its focus,” Edson told People. Kevin, who has extensive knowledge in web design, gravitates to behind-the-scenes. He designed the initial layout of the website. Edson, who attended Bordercom and is the holder of a degree in Zoology and Biochemistry, updates the events. Though he would rather take a cruise down the islands or quickly opt for a beach lime than hit the limelight, the two are dedicated to their pet project. They’re not deterred by the uncomplimentary comments by people “who think we promote shallowness and posers and how we could spend so much time doing foolishness, something that is vapid. We’ve been called racist, shallow, that we encourage promiscuity. We realise that we can’t please everybody. We know our limitations. “One time we were told by a Christian group, ‘why don’t you come to our gospel event’, but we have limited staff so it’s hard to say we will expand in all areas. We have been to Massalamania and the Country Club, we try to spread it out. “We want to incorporate more cultural events, more writing staff, more people who can edit pictures — to give everyone a home on Triniscene.”

One of the popular features the site offers is the “Forum” which highlights a topical issue for discussion. An average of 2,500 “unique hits” — the number of times a new visitor to the page joins the forum — are recorded per day. A daily average of 15-27 persons log on to the forum simultaneously. “Le Petit Caf?” invites surfers to engage in hearty discussions on movies, books and art. Edson and the gang recently returned from Tobago where they covered Great Fete weekend. They also captured highlights of Crop Over in Barbados. Edson revealed: “We’re toying with the idea of us in another country, social scenes outside of Trinidad… We had this New York Triniscene crew comprising Trinidadians write us and tell us they’re representing (us) abroad. They participated in an AIDS walk over there and represented us. They say Triniscene is like a piece of home abroad.”

Sunil Ramsook of Main Road, Princes Town is well known in music circles for his excellent command of the tabla and the dholak (hand drums). He is one of the most sought after musicians in Trinidad and Tobago. He has now decided to open his own recording studio so as to get a selected kind of music on record for future generations. Ramsook leads a hectic life meeting the demand for tabla music in many countries of the world.  Speaking from his home in Princes Town, Ramsook said that ever since he could remember—maybe just three years old—he was beating the dholak. “I was at the time living in Mc Bean, Couva and as far as I could remember my home was always bombarded with East Indian music. I grew up loving this music so much so that I would try to imitate the various rhythms of the drums that accompanied the songs of India,” he said. He was determined to master that rhythm.

Sunil’s father Deo Ramsook (now deceased) also encouraged him to become a musician. His elder brother Krishen Ramsook, who is a well known keyboard player, was responsible for Sunil starting in drumming. “My father and brother would sing and I would beat the Klim (milk) pan to accompany their songs and it was so enjoyable that it was a favourite family pastime when I was a kid,” he said. The love his brother and father showed him was enough to push Sunil in the right direction. He was eager to get his hands on a drum and when he did he surprised everyone with his ability to ring out the correct ragas (scale in East Indian music). Many claim that this self taught musician received a gift from Mother Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge. Today the people of Mc Bean are still amazed at his ability. Many say that it is the devotion of Sunil’s father that is now resulting in his excellent performance. Sunil explained, “My father was a very religious person. He was known for his keen ability to sing verses from the holy Ramayan (text of Hindus). And people would look up to him. This impacted on me a lot and I guess I wanted to make an impact on people myself,” he said, with a  slight smile. Sunil recalled an incident where he was faced with one of the most difficult times in his life. “I was in New York about four years ago and after playing music till 2 am one morning I went to sleep and woke up realising I had lost all feeling on the left side of my body.
 
It was so frightening that I cried out aloud. Imagine I could not move my hand or feet at all.” He recalled the painful days as if it were just yesterday. “I remember thinking that I would never be able to walk or play music again. I believe that my life ended there. This experience really woke me up to a new way of thinking. I value my health and my life now that I have control of my muscles,” he said. Back then it took him three months to regain strength and movement on his left side. The doctors could not tell him why this had happened to him, except that the muscle movements were stalled. He had to visit the hospital on a daily basis for therapy, among other tests until he started gaining strength in his fingers and toes. He was involved in intense devotion at this time. “I said prayers out loud for help and I recovered by the mercy of God,” he said. During this ordeal Sunil could not wait to get his hands on the drums. Although the process was slow, he was able to knock the drums like he did before he lost the strength in his fingers.

Today, Sunil is the proud owner of the Planet Rock Studio located in Couva. He noted that as a musician in TT it is always difficult to get paid for a job. “I believe that musicians generally are not treated with respect in this country. The singers are not willing to pay the musician for their work and as a result the musicians are not wealthy people. At least most of the musicians of Trinidad and Tobago.” “This is why I wanted to do something other than music,” he said. Sunil’s studio is open to anyone who is interested in recording any item for television or radio. This gentleman is well respected by some of the popular singers of India. He had the honour of playing tabla for the well known gazal singers Mehdi Hassan, Bankin Pathak, Mohammed Aziz, and the world renowned Nusrat Fati Ali Khan. He has graced stages in the UK, New York, Canada, Holland, Washington, Guyana, Suriname, Florida, Jamaica, and Guapeloupe. He has since played on 346 CDs made by artistes from many countries of the world. And he continues to travel and record music for local and foreign artistes.

Life’s journey is simple yet it has been described as difficult and complicated. However, there is a need to live a fulfilling and productive life. The words of a full fledge Hare Krishna devotee, Shri Kanta Dass, 46, of Jerningham Junction, Cunupia. Dass who was formally Karan Gayadeen, termed himself the servant of God. It was in 1985 that he made a decision to surrender his life to God and as a result he began a spiritual journey that is in service to Bhagvan Krishna. Dass is an employee of the Ministry of Health for the past 25 years. Speaking from his home, he told People that it was out of curiosity that he visited the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in 1983. “It was around this time that a young lady named Juliet Tam went missing. There were reports that she was hiding out in the Hare Krishna temple in Edinburgh.

I went as in disguise, as a someone who was interested in devotion to see whether Tam was indeed staying in the temple. I did not find Tam but I found someone who changes my entire life, Shrila Prabhupada,” he said. He explained that Prabhupada was the founder of ISKCON and there was a life-size murti (stone image) of him on the altar in the temple. “I was taken back by the fact the devotees were actually worshiping the image of Prabhupada. I thought to myself that this individual must be someone great. Then I started reading about Prabhupada and without knowing it I was building a relationship with a someone whom I never saw in my entire life,” he spoke about his encounter with spirituality.

Dass grew up in a Hindu home and he knew of the teachings of Lord Krishna. But the way in which Shrila wrote about the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is Krishna, really woke him up to a new light. He knew that the teachings of Prabhupada was the philosophy he had been searching for all his life. Since becoming an initiated devotee of the temple, Dass has turned his life around 100 percent. He now serves Lord Krishna in everything he does. “Life is now more meaningful because we all serving each other in some way. Therefore, we are serving God’s children. Many people do service so that they can gain personal benefits and other serve because they consider it their duty to God. Service should be done for God at all times in everything one does. If anyone would consider this simple philosophy then life becomes easy,” he said. He continued to say that cleaning ones home and preparing food should be done for God. When this food is offered to any person it would be of such a high standard that the person can only do one thing and that is really appreciate what is being offered. Dass related the teaching of ISKCON saying that while many may say that idol worship is wrong, there is philosophy behind the worship of idols in Hinduism and in the Hare Krishna. “The mind of a human being is built in such a way that it can be easily wavered by what is happening around. And in order to keep focus one must look at the gurus (spiritual teachers) and teachers who mastered the art of mind control in order to control one’s own mind.

The guru renounces the world in order to preach the word of God. His life is an instrument of God. And in this regard the guru should be worshipped as the highest connection with God. Through him one can get the teachings to reach God,” he said. Dass further explained that his guru Shrila Prabhupada, is the last in a succession of gurus from India who was chosen by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to preach the message of the Srimad Bhagvatam (Hindu text) to the western world. Prabhupada was 70 years old when he made the journey to the USA. He set about chanting on the streets and during the period 1965 to 1977 he initiated thousands of devotees and established 108 temples, with magnificent estates across six continents. He was able to write and translate from Hindi into the English language, 51 volumes of books. Dass noted that if this is not the work of God himself then he would not know what is. “The Shrimad Bhagvatam has the answer to life’s most complicated questions. Who is God? Where is God? How can one realise God? The average man spends his entire life accumulating wealth so that he can have all the luxury, but he is still unhappy. While there is a need to find comfort for the body, the soul yearns for much more and Prabhupada had the method to gain the ultimate happiness,” he said.               

In TT there are three temples operating in Debe, Chaguanas and in Arouca. Devotees have been following the original teaching of Shrila Praphupada on a daily basis. Like Dass, devotees rise at 4 am and set about to do their rituals before attempting the chores for the day. They decorate their forehead with a long mark that leads from the nose to the top of the head. This mark is sacred since it helps the eyes to become focused. They are seen carrying around a bag with beads. This is called the “japa mala.” This is composed of 108 wooden beads that are used to chant the name of Krishna throughout the day. The devotees do 108 chants of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, 16 times for the day.  Dass explains the meaning of the chant: “Oh God, the all attractive, all pleasing one, please indulge me in your service.” Dass is married to Nandimuki Devi Dasa who is a devotee and they have three children who are also devotees. All members of the family are strict vegetarians.

His very name (Audie) causes one to stumble a bit. It’s derived from the Latin word audio, meaning “sound”. Unfortunately, some pronounce it “Audi”, like the car. He doesn’t seem to mind much… that’s how cool he is about most things. You will know Audie Hewitt as the newest member of the local singing sensation H20 Phlo, whose current single and video “A Little Closer” is making headway locally. The oldest of three, he was a former student at both North Eastern and St Joseph’s Colleges; it would be at the latter where he entered the Mr & Ms St Joseph contest, winning the crown by singing Babyface’s “When Can I see You Again”… and of course he won! “I was never a performer as a kid, but I had the desire and the dream,” he began softly. (For the record, his voice stayed at that level throughout the interview.) “I basically grew up in a musical, urban environment. My uncle was a DJ. My father Dennis had a band, but oddly enough, I never heard him perform. From what people tell me, he was an excellent guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. They say I inherited most of his talents, you know? I guess it’s in the genes. My singing wasn’t something that I broadcasted (I always had that awareness that I could sing), but people knew that I could do it.”

Hewitt would then spend three years working with Sterling Gittens (95-98) before becoming musical director of a gospel musical group in 1998 called Raydiance. His life took a strange turn later that year while living in St Lucia, he met up with the lead singer for the band Third Eye, one of the leading Jazz bands in that country. It led to the gig of a lifetime. “The night before I was to return to Trinidad I happened to meet that person and she told me that she was looking for a singer. Luckily I had a CD with me and she loved what she heard, and that led to my touring with Third Eye, and also singing with the American group Soul II Soul (of  “Back to Life” fame) for about a year. Now I am already six feet tall, so you could imagine the visual of me with these women in the group who were even taller than I am, and singing at the top of my lungs! Even they got some kicks. But all in all it was an exciting and educational experience for me.”

Fresh from that gig he came back to TT a year later and joined the group Abstract (again as a lead male vocalist) before settling with H2O Phlo and producer Richard “Charsu” Ahong. “I’ve known the guys a long time, plus I’ve worked with Nigel Soyer, so there was always that  mutual respect for one another, so when the group (H20 Phlo) was minus one, they called me,” he quipped. But what is giving him the most joy these days is his new project, entitled 20/20 Vocal Vision, where he is teaching others how to sing Urban Style at the Caribbean Sound Basin. According to Hewitt, one of the main “problems” that up and coming singers encounter is that most receive classical vocal training as opposed to a more Urban style. “They want to sing like Whitney, but it sounds like an operatic Whitney,” he said. “Urban style includes hip-hop, R&B, gospel, soca, calypso… anything that isn’t a true classical music style. My classes are not broken down into modules per se, but when people come to the camp, I would make them sing and see what they are capable of, and work with what they have. My job is just to enhance what is already there.” Hewitt compares vocal training with going to the gym. To him, the voice is a muscle that can be affected by how much you use it, therefore, he approaches vocal training from a holistic approach, encompassing diet and regular vocal exercises. “Vocal exercises are not that complex, but it does have a lot to do with your determination and desire to train hard and exercise it properly,” he explained. “I train them how to ad lib, how to curl (Think Mariah Carey’s whooa-oaah, ooohh in ‘Vision of Love’)… sometimes I play some R&B and have the students do vocal exercises to the music, or even breathing exercises. Let’s just say I like to experiment a lot.

For one of my lessons on breathing power, I had lit a candle and had each of my students take a turn in blowing it out from a certain distance. In another class they had to attempt to hold up a piece of paper against a wall, by blowing at it for as long as possible. All of this builds their strength, making them capable of sustaining notes for longer periods.” His programme includes basic principles of songwriting, intonation, tone development, vibrato and much more. He designed it particularly with young people in mind, and of course, it’s all fun. Classes for his introductory programme have already begun (August 18-22) and will be  followed by another run from August 25-29 at the Caribbean Sound Basin studios in Maraval from 9am to 12 pm and at Da Crib Studios, Lady Chancellor on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm to 7pm. For more information, call 776-1467 or send email to vocalvision@hotmail.com.