CC.- Please introduce yourself to our fans ? To someone who never heard of
you how would you describe yourself and your music ?

FR.- I am 34 years old. I was born in Port-au-Prince. I went to school in
Haiti @ St Louis de Gonzague. I have a degree in Business Administration
from the university of Baltimore. I am a pisces. I try to play many
instruments but my main axe is the keyboard. I play a variety of music that
ranges from Jazz to Reggae to Bossa Nova. About ten years ago I concentrated
on the Konpa style with my band Mizik-Mizik. We are , in the process, of
revamping the "troubadour" style and it is getting a good chunk of favorable
support.

CC.- Who is your favorite Compas Artist ?

FR.- There are too many for me to list them all. But I would surely say that
Coupe Cloue is among them, Joel and Mushi Widmaier and a lot of contemporary
musicians that I admire.

CC.- What style of music influenced you most ?

FR.- I grew up with konpa but my influences are a mix of all different
musical genres.

CC.- Do you have kids ?

FR.- I have a wonderful 17 months daughter

CC.- Who are the members of your New group ?

FR.- On drums we have Rolls Laine and new comer Franckern Theophile, On
percussions we have Choupit Jacquet and Wesner St Louis, On bass we have
Marc Harold Charles , on guitar we have Keke Belizaire, on keys Augereau
Brouard, Karlill Francois and myself and on vocals, Eric Charles, Clinton B
Jean and Mamina Jacquet.

CC.- What can we expect from you and the group in the near future ?

FR.- We are already hard at work recording songs for our next album. We hope
to be in a town near you by June of 2000. We are also producing other
artists' recordings that should be out at the end of this year.

CC.- A message to the children ?

FR.- Log out of the internet , turn off the TV set for a while and go out and
exercise. Make God a big part of your life. Stay in school even if it's
boring at times. Drugs are your number one ennemy. Respect your elders.

CC.- The Internet is now considered the fastest Way to reach a bigger
audience , How do you intend to take advantage of this media ? Have you gotten
any contract as a result of your Internet presence ?

FR.- We have just posted our website: mizikmizik.com and we intend to update
it often.We have not gotten any contracts because of it yet, but we do
receive a tremendous amount of fan emails and suggestions...

CC.- Is there anything you would like to say to the public ?

FR.- I want to thank the public for their support throughout the years and
specially for the warm reception that they gave to our latest album "Blakawout"

CC.- Who do you think is the greatest musician or group of this decade ?

FR.- The 90s saw a lot of great performers. Among them I could cite Sweet
Micky, Boukman Eksperyans, Skandal...

CC.-Live CD's are everywhere now. Any opinion on the practice ?

FR.- The public enjoys live performances and it's a testimony to the
performers talents. It's great that you can get a " party-to-go" on a CD.
The only bad thing about it is that some jerks will come to a show with
recording devices and all of a sudden you end up with a live CD that even
the band members have not heard about or worse have not made any money from....

CC.- What do you think is your greatest achievement ?

FR.- I am very proud of my family life. I hope to make the bonds among my
family and my friends as strong as can be.

CC.- What is Your greatest disappointment ?

FR.- My greatest disappointment is with my fellow countrymen. We have a
beautiful community , a very beautiful piece of land and each one of us
still looks out for his/her personal interest instead of the interest of the nation.

CC.- Where do you see yourself in 10 years ?

FR.- I hope to become a better person, a healthier human being, a better
musician and I also hope to reach a comfortable financial situation.

CC.- If you were President for one day what would you do ?

FR.- Nothing concrete can be achieved in one day. It's an ongoing process. I
would, however, initiate many ideas for the office to come clean. The first
one would be to instill in people's mind that government people (from the
president to the guy that cuts the national palace's grass ) are here to
SERVE the people. After all, these people are payed with our tax money.
First and foremost, there has to be in Haiti a great deal of INTOLERANCE for
thieves. All of these ideas are printed in the 1987 constitution but have
never been put to use. At the basis of it all, when someone takes or leaves
office, he/she has to file a report of earnings. Has that ever been followed
thoroughly since 1987? NEVER...Our current president(s), have not filed such
a report as required by law and all have very questionnable earnings and assets...

CC.- What is Your Latest release ? how many albums have you released ?

FR.- Our latest album is entitled "BLAKAWOUT". It is distributed by the
Antilles Mizik label. Mizik-Mizik has released 5 albums so far.

CC.- Sweet Micky,T-Vice, System Band seem to dominate the Compas scene? How
do you view them as entertainers ?

FR.- They are all fabulous entertainers. One could debate about their musical
talents but their charisma is undeniable. Sadly, some people in our
community are generally unsupportive of people that are succesful and always
wish for their downfall. To the opposite, we should widely support these bands.

CC.- A: How do you describe your relations with other groups ?

FR.- I have worked with almost everyone in the business. I enjoy the
interaction with other artists because it opens up my horizon and it expands
my knowledge of music and of people. I can say that I have good relations
with almost everyone in the music business.

CC.- B: Do you work with other groups, exchanging ideas and experiences ?

FR.- As I answered in the previous question, I have worked on over 200 albums
in a span of 15 years. Konpa, Jazz, Ragga, Racines , Zouk, R&B, Rap... You
name it. I have worked with Sweet Micky, Emeline Michel, Beethovas Obas,
Tabou Combo, Boukman Eksperyans, Jacques Sauveur Jean, Tines Salvant, So
Kute, King Posse, Haiti Rap and Ragga, Masterdji....and countless others. My
partner Keke and I have a studio ( Bwa Moket Multimedias ) and we always
welcome newcomers and veteran musicians.

CC.- what would you associates these names with ?

FR.- a. Cubanno
One of the greatest singers. Skah Shah was my favorite band. It is sad
that the original band cannot get back together. But I for one know how
things like that happen...

FR.- b. Wyclef Jean
Today's first and foremost producer. What a mind ! Would love to work
with him someday.

FR.- c. Nemours Jean Baptiste
The originator. I have the utmost respect for his music and for what he
did but I think maesttro Webert Sicot was a better musician.

FR.- d. Loubert Chancy ?
Again, Skah Shah was my favorite band. We love the guy so much that we
hired his alter ego, Mamina Jacquet ,to play Skah Shah tunes in our sets.

FR.- E. Sweet Micky ?
Top Charisma. It is sad that he does not improve his music and focuses
on his cursing and else. Great voice and superb knowledge of Haitian music.

FR.- F. Eddy Francois ?
I love his last record. I really thought he was going to make it REAL
big.

FR.-G. Guy Durosier ?
The Crooner. I hear the big band sound , the B3 organ sound and the
sultry saxophone sound once I hear his name. Class !!!! He's still alive in
my mind and in my ears.

FR.- E. Jojo Lorquet ?
No Comments.

FR.- F. Robert Martino ?
Constant Innovation. One of compas' greatest composers.

FR.- H. Ti RoRo ?
I have been fortunate enough to be on a float with him for carnival when I was 7. Good memories...

FR.- I. Ti Manno ?
Wish he was still here...

FR.- J. Dadou Pasquet ?
Incredible artist.

FR.- K. Hermann Nau ?
One of the best drum sound in compas. I hope his new job won't jeopardize TABOU's future.

CC.- Haitian music receives very little international recognition, what do
you think can help bring Compas & Haiti to an international audience?

FR.- Management, Money, Devotion and Hard Work.

CC.- Zouk is slowly becoming a very popular style, given its roots, why do you think compas still fails to reach a similar level of popularity?

FR.- Zouk???? You must be kidding me. COMPAS is still MUCH more popular than Zouk.

                                                                  Jean Jacques Stephen Alexis                     Archives