Krosfyah
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Krosfyah is a Soca band from the Caribbean island of Barbados.
They are best known for their hits "Road Jam", "Pump Me Up", and "Sak Passe". Formed in 1989 by Edwin Yearwood, this band is one of the most known and successful Soca bands of the Caribbean.[citation needed]
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Present Members:
Edwin Yearwood: Vocals
Khiomal Nurse: Vocals
Adrian Dutchin: Vocals
Anthony "Tony" Bailey: Guitar/Vocals
Morris "Trevor" Cassell: Keyboards/Drum Progammer
Corey Jordan: Keyboards
Neil Burnett : Drums
Ryan Clarke : Bass Guitar
Edwin Yearwood is a natural born entertainer whose accolades and songwriting genius establish him as the undisputed Soca King.
Yearwood, or as his band mates affectionately call him, "General", is a mighty talent. His intimate relationship with melodies and lyrics manifests itself in a creation of hit songs that are not only the very essence of krosfyah, but music that has rocked the hips and soothed the souls of krosfyah supporters worldwide.
From the painfully shy youth who would sing from behind the drum set, to a ""Superstar"" who can simply utter ""Oh gawsh!"" and turn a whole stadium into an uproar, Edwin is a prodigy with more than his fair share of talent.
One of the region's hottest vocalists and songwriters, his career started at the tender age of 14, when he won a talent show on his first try. He had the audience spellbound and in tears as he rendered Billy Preston's ""You Are Everything To Me"". Since then, Edwin has been captivating audiences with his unique vocal styling to Soca music, capturing international attention and collecting awards all too numerous to mention.
In 1995, again on his first try, he won all three titles on the Barbados carnival scene- 1995 Calypso Monarch, 1995 Party Monarch (repeated in 1996) and 1995 Tune of the Crop Monarch (repeated in 1997).
In 1996, he was honored by the city of Boston when he was awarded the keys to the city by the Mayor's office. In 1997, Trinidad bestowed on him one of their highest music honors, giving him the award of Best Song for the smash hit ""All Aboard"", performed by a Trinidadian band.
One of his most recent major international achievement has been winning the ""World Soca Monarch Title"" from a field of the best soca artistes worldwide.
Only recently at the 2001 Kadooment Festival in Barbados, Edwin doubled with Khiomal Nurse also of krosfyah and made history in Barbados by winning the Road March title with a slow jam entitled ""Sak Pase"".
Edwin is the sexy, charismatic lead singer of krosfyah. He is happiest when on stage and has the ability to communicate music from his soul; an ability he uses in a magical way to reach the very core of his audience.
Anthony Bailey, whose true identity is concealed behind his long bronze-colored dread locks, forces fans to feel his vibe his guitar. A man of immeasurable talent, Bailey affectionately called ""Rebel"", provides krosfyah with the unadulterated street-savvy, which helps to keep the band members connected to their roots.
Rebel is so full of character and personality that he can be described as intense. His musical background is in hard rock and the blues. In fact when the guys first met him, he was a "raggedy" looking guy, sitting on the corner of the road playing blues riffs; a total rebel, but with musical talent "you could feel in your soul".
It took some coaxing to get him to join the founding members, "I was pretty rough in those days, and they looked so clean cut." Persistence paid off, and Tonys infectious character prevailed, to the point where the band took on his style and image. Rebel is krosfyahs guitarist and a truly talented composer and songwriter. Tony and Edwin are often referred to as the Simon and Garfunkle of Soca music.
In 1996 he made his solo debut at the "Edwin- the Concert" production in Barbados, with a self penned bitter sweet blues piece in the style of "Wah-Wah" Watson, performed with such depth, that he mesmerized the audience and the international press who attended. His guitar versatility and vocal skills extend to Soca and Reggae, and add a unique dimension to the total krosfyah product, as does his dramatic stage presence and performance.
Rebel dropped his ever soothing Album entitled "Unheard Message" in the summer of 2002, with memorable hits such as All I Need, Call Me, Cell Block 3, Waiting on Love among others. It's a must have for your CD collection.
Morris Trevor Cassell, known to his close friends as TC, was born on the beautiful Nature Isle of the Caribbean, Dominica. He grew up in Montserrat , enjoying the simple, uncomplicated lifestyle of the Eastern Caribbean, which has shaped the individual that he is today. Trevor loves seafood, cricket, zouk/creole music, and is very well known for his friendliness. When asked what accounts for his decorum, he smiles and says, that is how my aunty Margaret raised me! As a youth, Trevor was influenced by his uncle, Arrow, who is well known for his famous hit tunes such as, Hot! Hot! Hot! and Tiny Winy, and to this day, his uncle is still one of his most trusted advisors in the business of music. He also learned to play the steel drums while in secondary school, which paved the way for greater things. Although trained secularly as an office machines engineer, Trevor moved to St. Maarten in 1985, there he learned to play the keyboard, and joined groups such as Youth Waves, Heart Beat & the Hart Attack Band, and later moved to Antigua, which put him one step closer to his calling, and became versatile enough to play any gig, ranging from festivals to hotels. He also took on drum machine programming . His talents drew the attention of Onyan, former member of the Burning Flames, and thus began Trevors tours as a musician with the Bayon Band. He traveled all over the Caribbean, the United States, Holland, as far as Paris. His musical journey brought him to Barbados in 2001 (where he now calls home) as a member of the energetic band krosfyah.
Exciting, mesmerizing, and energetic are just a few words to describe krosfyah vocalist, Khiomal Nurse. Whether he is singing or wining his waist, Khiomal certainly keeps his fans attention with his talent. Hailing from the island of Barbados, Khiomal is adding to the list of why Barbados is one of the leading islands for soca and calypso music.
Performing comes natural to Khiomal as he captured his first award with the 1996 Pinelands Calypso Monarch title when he was fourteen years of age. Hes since captured numerous titles including the Pinelands Calypso Monarch title a second and third time in 1997 and 1998. He also won the Junior Calypso Monarch of Barbados title in 1998.
At the young age of 17, Khiomal went on to leave the junior competitions to compete against some of Calypsos top artistes at the Pic-o-de-Crop Competition. Here he became one of the youngest finalists and placed third runner up. He also won the award for the Best Nation-Building Song for that competition.
Khiomal was a lead vocalist for the Caribbean Music Machine where he started his presence on the hotel and nightclub scene. He later joined Double Xplojun in 2000 until he was sought by top soca band krosfyah. He considered the offer a dream come true, as krosfyah was always a favorite while growing up. Here he has gained international exposure performing throughout the Caribbean, North and South America and Europe. In 2001, Khiomal alongside Edwin Yearwood and krosfyah, captured the Tune of the Crop with Sak Pase. The song became an instant classic and has since been recorded in Creole. His most recent achievement however was placing 5th among 20 in the Party Monarch competition 2004.
An integral role in krosfyah, Khiomal has sharpened his writing skills and gone on to write and sing hits such as Hurricane, I Want You and Strong Back. Khiomal can sing anything from a sweet slow ballad to a high energetic tune. With a great stage presence, he always keeps his audience entertained. One cant help to think what he cant do. With a waist like rubber and a voice like sugar, Khiomal intends to make his mark in soca music. Never a dull moment while performing, its not unusual to catch a glimpse of females trying to grab some part of him as his movements can be hypnotizing.
With a love for all genres of music, Khiomal can sing anything from R&B, reggae to of course, calypso and soca. Rather quiet and soft-spoken in nature, one would never know as soon as he is given a microphone. Hard working and a perfectionist, Khiomal is truly a young star on the rise.
Neily as he is affectionately known, first role in music began with the playing of the steel pan in 1993 at the Garrison Secondary School.
In 1996, Neily found his heart beat and switched from the steel pan to the acoustic drums.
He later went on to play drums with the Garrison School Steel Orchestra (later known as the Ambassadors Steel Orchestra), one of the leading steel bands in Barbados, for most of his musical career.
Neily quickly developed his skills as a drummer and was welcomed into the world of entertainment through a stint with the band Double Xplojun working the night club circuit in Barbados.
Neily later moved from Double Xplojun to the band X-ta-c formerly known as Coalishun, where he continued his musical journey on the nightclub circuit.
In January 2003, Neily was embraced into the krosfyah family after being offered an opportunity to fill the position of drummer. Being overwhelmed, Neil thought this to be an offer he could not refuse considering that he was a fan of the band for many years.
Proud to be a part of the FYAH family, Neil aspires to be one of the best in the business, and promises to leave his mark on your mind and in your heart. Ladies, do not be fooled by that shy off-stage persona. Be prepared as Neil pulls you into his musical tornado and further ignites your FYAH.
The talented Corey Jordan began playing the piano when he was just seven and since then, his career has strengthened. This exceptional keyboardist gained musical recognition when he performed with the Lodge School Ensemble at NIFCA in 1996, 1998 and 1999. In 2000 he joined the band Electrik, then later, Double Xplojun. In 2001, Corey swept into the Soca arena and added fire to Krosfyah. He loves pizza, computers, cars, and is rather quiet in nature. Currently, Corey runs his own studio and production company, produces/records/mixes/masters records for bands and solo artists. He also plays drums, bass and flute as well as does sequencing/programming for studio projects and live performances. He sees his work as a continuous, ongoing musical journey.
What can be said of krosfyah's newest addition, Bass guitarist Rian "SsaB" Clarke. So called because he hated people calling him bassie, some genius once called him ssab (bass) and he liked it. With his boyish looks and energetic performances he has mesmerized audiences throughout his musical career. Easily identified by long draping locks with blond streaks and a constant smile. He's become a definite favorite with the girls.
Rian however has not always been a bass guitarist even though he was performing professionally from the age of 16, Rian's first love was classical music. His musical career began at the age of 11 at the St. Michael School and upon graduation was drafted into the Royal Barbados Police Band in 1993. There he was a brass player, only later being introduced to the bass guitar by his friend Elvis Edwards who at the time was also a member of the R.B.P.F. and later krosfyah's bass guitarist.
After discovering that the bass guitar was his true calling he left the band to pursue a career in Soca and in 1998 joined the Caribbean Music Machine as their bass guitarist and musical director. His talents were however sought after by many other groups and artists, and in an effort to improve his musicianship, Rian has played with other bands in other forms of music. Rock, RnB, reggae, funk, soul, and jazz to name a few, hes certainly no stranger to the music scene in Barbados.
Rian's career has gone full circle. In 2002 he returned in full to the soca world with the calypso tent Bacchanal Time where he has been a stalwart member and now with krosfyah joining them at the start of Crop Over 2004.
Rian definitely no stranger to the stage has made his presence known and felt throughout his native country Barbados and now as a member of krosfyah, to the world. A completely different person when he has a guitar in his hand, when met in person a sense of calm, which is quite often mistaken for shyness is felt, but upon seeing him on stage one is left only to wonder.
