For Carnival 2012, rapso group 3Canal is continuing to do what it does best – meld social commentary with the arts. The dynamic trio is preparing for the 2012 edition of The 3Canal Show, a new album and even a pan tune written with Pelham Goodard, "Auntie Pat", which is a tribute to Pat Bishop and will be performed by Exodus for the Panorama competition.

In 2011, the album was Re Evolution Time while this year it's Reborn, but even without the "re" this theme of renewal has always been a part of 3Canal's music. "Looking back is something that we tend not to do in Trinidad. We tend to always feel that we have to be creating stuff new and not looking back at the tradition and the whole platform of the music that was done before which is the base of everything, the early calypso," says 3Canal vocalist Roger Roberts. "We always would refer to the tradition, refer to the early calypsonians and the griots when we make our music. Looking back and being aware of our history is a very, very important part of it. Carnival is a cycle of life and death and rebirth as a kind of a metaphor. So being reborn is like going into a new phase but always mindful of where we came from and the platform that was made before us."

Off the 12-track album singles released thus far are "Can't Done," "Work it Out," "Sacrifice," and "The Pappy Show" with productions by Keshav "Laza Beam" Chandradath Singh and Greg Assing. There are no collaborations on the album but one track features a chorus with youth from the NGO Tallman Foundation. The 3Canal Show, which returns to Queen's Hall after being the first performance at the renovated Little Cairb Theatre in 2011, will include two acts, The Pappy Show and The Reckoning, a combination of elements from the show for the past two years that will take a humorous look at the current affairs in T&T, according to bank vocalist Wendell Manwarren. "The PappyShow is more in the vein of the Jam It show in that it's very theatrical and The Reckoning is more in the vein of the Re-Evolution Time which was much more song and movement oriented. For us it's pleasing both sides of ourselves and pleasing both sides of the audience because we have the fans of the theatre and the fans of when we just do our thing. What's also new is that Penelope Spencer did most of the writing and normally we would do that all ourselves," he says.

The show will include appearances by performers such as Spencer, Cecilia Salazar, Mark Nottingham and Conrad Parris. The guest artistes are still to be determined. The selection of additional performers will take place at the Backyard Jam Sessions to be held at 33 Murray Street, Woodbrook, Port of Spain through a jury by the audience and band members. Manwarren feels it is important to give lesser-known musicians much needed space to showcase their talent.  The space is also significant to the band's history. "This is a very active yard. Godfrey Sealy, the late local playwright, this was his home. A lot of the early theatre that we were all a part of, the rehearsals would take place back here. It was a space that we were familiar with. It had a nice vibe," says Manwarren.

This year they are also working with Mang Car Studios on a documentary – or "revo-mentary" as they call it – covering the day-to-day preparations and rehearsals for Carnival. The 3Canal Carnival season will end with their Jouvert band which is this year is themed "Occupy 2012" in homage to the US Occupy Movement. "The Jouvert band is the culmination of the whole vibes. That's when we take the music to the streets, to the people. That's when people come out of the house and enjoy the vibration. Occupy the streets. Occupy the road. Occupy Trinidad. Occupy the world!" exclaims Roberts. "The idea is that what these people are doing is what we do ritualistically every year. We occupy the streets. The road make to walk as Kitchener say. The intent is different. Their intent when they occupy is to speak to the system and speak to the establishment that is oppressing the people. When we do it here in Trinidad we just do it because we're having a good time. So we're trying to bring some of that into it so that people are aware of some of the things that influence their lives on a daily basis. The things that impact their lives and to make that statement together with us."  

Tribute to Pat Bishop

This year 3Canal is also returning to the panyard working with Pelham Goodard on the tune "Auntie Pat" in tribute to Pat Bishop. The band has worked with Goodard previously on the song "Festival Time". "Auntie Pat" is the Exodus tune of choice for Panorama 2012.

Bishop worked with Exodus for more than 14 years, helping with repertoire selection, conducting and, as Goodard puts it, "shaping the music". Goodard says all members of the band took her death as a major loss because she was highly respected many times bringing practice to a standstill when she entered the yard.

Goodard says when he came up with the melody he called Manwarren because he wanted a group, rather than an individual to sing, so that the track would sound like the entire band saying thank you to Bishop not only for the work she did for the band but for the nation. "What the nation should remember about Pat Bishop is her talent, her knowledge. She's also an artist. When she came to drill she took things in stride and she got into every detail about everything. She's a good person, a teacher, a lecturer. She's all sorts of things. She's a people's person. That was a loss to all areas of society and even the government or authorities of arts and culture are at a loss," says Goodard.  

Although, 3Canal never worked professionally with Bishop they note that no practitioner of the arts is outside of her influence. In fact, Manwarren had met with Bishop two nights before her death and agreed to work on a production with the Lydian Choir and Stanton Kweley, 3Canal vocalist, worked with her at UWI. "My experience was different with Pat because she was a fellow staffer at UWI when I was a lecturer there. She would be one of those people who would pop in and watch what you're doing. My students would ask her for advice and she was just somebody you could bounce ideas off of. You really couldn't miss Pat Bishop she was like a saltfish in everything," described Kewley.  

Goodard says the song has received positive responses from players as well as audiences and was pleased with the outcome of collaborating with 3Canal. "People don't know that these guys are so talented. They know how to put over a lot of things and intelligence plays a big part in it because when you get a song about Pat Bishop you have to be careful with what you write."

The 3Canal show runs from February 12th-18th at Queen's Hall, St Ann's. The backyard jam sessions are on Friday 27th January & Friday 3rd February at 33 Murray Street Woodbrook.