By Darcel Choy Thursday, February 14 2013

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Brian Mac Farlane has made history as being the first bandleader to win the Large Band of the Year title seven years in a row, but it is a bittersweet victory as this is his last Carnival.

Mac Farlane won with his presentation “Joy’ — The Finale” breaking the record held by late mas man Wayne Berkeley who won the title six years in a row.

Speaking to media at his mas camp at Rosalino Street in Woodbrook, Mac Farlane said it was great knowing he won the title seven times.

“That’s a great feeling to think in all the years of the history of Carnival we have come to this, that is an amazing feeling,” he said.

When asked if he will reconsider his decision not to return for Carnival in 2014, Mac Farlane said he could, if all the right incentives were put in place although it would be hard to do so.

“After you have taken years to build a band and members and stop and come back is a very hard thing to do, so it will be a lot of consideration going back and everything will have to be right,” he said.

The prize money for the band of the year is $300,000 but Mac Farlane believes it should be $3 million, $2 million for second place and $1 million for third.

He noted that the other big bands which offered different facilities including “wee wee” trucks and massage trucks are able to make money because of the number of people in the band as well as a low cost output.

“They will continue doing that unless the right incentives are there for them to become creative, right now they don’t need to be creative. We need the incentives to keep us going, to have all the facilities, I can’t afford to have all those trucks,” Mac Farlane said.

Mac Farlane took the title although he was disqualified at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain judging point for going over the 30-minute presentation time by an extra 30 minutes. The mas man described the disqualification as ridiculous as no large band could cross the stage in that allotted time.

He noted the band was able to win because they went to all the judging points which they have done every year. These included Adam Smith Square, Victoria Square, South Quay and Piccadilly Greens.

Coming in second place was Ronnie and Caro with their presentation “Mystery of the Cascadura” and third was Trinidad All Stars Orchestra with their presentation “Fleets In”.

Newcomers in the mas Colorz Fuh So placed first in the medium category with their presentation “The Conquest”.

Committee member Oba Stoddart said it felt great given that it was the first year for the band which was born out of the large band Trini Revellers.

“After all the hard work and no sleep for everyone involved it really is a good feeling to know that we won something in our first year,” Stoddart said. Celebrations are in order for the band but he said he was not sure when that will be.

“We have been going for three days without sleep, everyone on the team is exhausted but at some point we will have to meet to decide how we are going to celebrate and we also want to do something to thank all our masqueraders,” he said.

Stoddart also wanted to thank well known dancer and choreographer Carol la Chapelle and Kimmy Stoute for helping the band with their presentation.

The band is led by Mike Johnson with committee members Brian Chin, Gerard Barnes and Junior Jones.

For next year’s presentation, Stoddart said they had a few ideas in mind but nothing was solid yet.

In second place was Wee International with “Magnifique...Earth’s Most Colourful Creatures” and in third was Maurice Chevalier with “Sobeit”.

Winning in the small category was Belmont Original Stylish Sailors with “Under the Big Top”. They also placed first in the Fancy Sailor category and third in the costume design category for small bands. Bandleader Ancil McClean was not aware of the results until Newsday spoke to him. He said he was proud to get back the title as they lost it last year placing third.

“After last year, I decided to go all out to win and that was my whole aim to bring back the title,” he said.

In second place was The Word and Associates with “Leviticus” while Rosalind Gabriel and Village Productions with “Revellers in Paradise”, placed third.

In the mini category, The Original Jab Jab won with “Original Tradition”, while Rhapsody in Blue was in second place with “Slaughter Devils” and Abzal Shaffie and Michael Roberts with “Cheyenne People,” coming in third.

This year’s results were released on the National Carnival Bands Association’s (NCBA) website as well as their Facebook page. In a statement yesterday, the NCBA said they will have a press conference today.