By Avia Ustanny,
Freelance Writer
Rudder
INTENSITY. SUBMISSION. Surrender.
Anyone truly familiar with the bacchanal of David Rudder will not find it a hard thing to associate these quiet terms with the 'High Priest of Soca'. He who has refused to take titles, but who, in the hearts of thousands, is the undisputed King says that a meditative attitude is the might behind his on-stage impact.
"I feel as if I live on the stage, so (going on-stage) is just a question of going home and trying to give everything to the people. It's like you bury yourself into the song... if you bury yourself deeply enough then the people stop seeing you and they start seeing the song, surrendering the personality... It is giving people a challenge to get into the song," he said.
His affection for his own style and indeed his own name, is rooted in a core belief.
"Titles like Mighty and Count are basically things that we (especially those who made the Middle Passage journey... we from the Americas, Jamaica, Trinidad, Brazil, all over) use to express feelings. It feels good to know that you are acknowledged, but my purpose is really to give music to people. Regardless of Kingship, or what have you, at the end of the day you are just a glorified servant," Rudder told The Gleaner.
Pensive and self-contained off stage, the rallying chant you hear from this artiste on stage is from childhood years spent with the chanting Shango Baptists of his grandmother's religion. And how soca lovers have responded to his irreverent, yet heavenly, combination of praise with bacchanal.
Between 1989 and this year Rudder has released 17 albums, including most recent CD, The Autobiography Of Now. Among the others are Zero', International Chantuelle, Beloved, No Restriction - The Concert - LIVE!, Wrapped In Plain Brown Paper, Tales From A Strange Land, Gilded Collection - Volume 2, Gilded Collection - Volume 1, Lyrics Man, Here Comes The West Indies, Ministry of Rhythm, Frenzy, David Rudder's Greatest Hits, 1990 and Haiti.
Rudder sets himself a tough pace, but knows how to take a break when he needs it. "I try to be as calm as possible off stage by reading," he said.
The performer likes golf, cricket and places where he can mingle without being too much into people - "be there, but not be there."
Is this possible? "It depends where you are. There are some people who can't leave you alone and some times it does not happen. I love the cricket ground," he continued.
The soca priest feels that home in Trinidad is sanctuary, "but yet it could be a humbug, because between 8 a.m. and noon, there are 100 calls coming through. Sometimes mother or somebody deals with it, so I am shielded, but other times I have to deal with it. That is why I prefer the road or just driving around.
"The golf course is great. I do not work regular hours so I go during the day, when few people are on the green. This is in the western part of Trinidad, where there is a lot of natural rain forest. It is peaceful, " Rudder said.
His girlfriend Christene is mother of his three sons aged 16, 12 and 11 months old.
"I usually go home in October and start my recordings, between October and November. I live in the studio then and I am on the road after that," Rudder told The Gleaner.
It is the way he likes it. On the road, there is inspiration everywhere.
"The gift of the artiste is to transform the mundane into a creative work. My inspiration is from the man in the street, from passing words thrown away, (but which) sounds like magic to me," he continued.
Fans are the ones who make favourites of Rudder's songs, but each composition gets its moment of passion from him... until the other comes along.
"My favourites are the ones I am writing now because I am putting all the energy and love in it now. Anyone can become a big one because of all the love and the intensity it's getting," he said.
When he is not composing, he also relaxes by reading "Any-thing West Indian, or South American. I love the South American writers because they deal in a magical realism. It's almost like reading about the Trinidadian society."
The music is also about the society. "Calypso is fun music, but it is the most political music on the face of the earth," Rudder said.
And it's music made for him.
