Being one of the newer bands, Legends has brought forth a different kind of look to Saint Lucia carnival. We sat down with Jenna-Anne Gaston, Zinaida McNamara, Maundy Lewis and Jenella Gaston, the founding team, who were happy to shed some light on how they’ve gotten to where they are now and what we can expect from Legends in the future.
Dazzle: Tell us about Legends Carnival Band.
Legends: Quite a few people know our history, so we want to say something different. We want to say something that’s not already on our website. I think what’s really important is that we’re all friends. Before we started the band, we were friends. Being female for one, people believe that we cannot work together. Of course, there’s always going to be arguments and disagreements but we still manage to push through, and we still manage to maintain both friendship and being business partners. We’d like to send a message out there to say that you can do it. We did it, and it wasn’t easy, it hasn’t been easy but you can do it and be successful.
Dazzle: What inspired you to start a carnival band?
Legends: We wanted to do carnival our way. We travel all over the Caribbean and we experience different carnivals, so we wanted to incorporate the things that we liked about the different carnivals we experienced. We wanted to have a quality carnival band that we would be proud of.
Dazzle: Now that you’re celebrating five years in carnivals, how do you plan to improve the reveller experience this year?
Legends: I don’t think there’s any band on the road that’s perfect. I think you can improve every year whether it be costume, service, food, drinks…I think we do our homework and assess the year beforehand. We see where we fall short and say, ‘Okay, you know what, we’re going to do this a different way.’ You can’t do it all unless you have all the money at your disposal, which we don’t. So we pick out what’s most important and we upgrade.
Dazzle: In terms of events, what’s new on the calendar this year?
Legends: Last year we had two major events and a few small ones. We had Destination, which was a boat ride that took you to a secret location. It was the first year for that, and then we had something a bit smaller- Chill. It was like a Sunday barbeque party, mostly for the revellers to hang out and socialize. Then we had Mess, which was chocolate, confectionery, sprinkles that turned into ‘Mud.’ Basically, it was a hot mess but people love it and its growing. Last year was the second year for Mess and people have already started asking about it for 2018.
Dazzle: What challenges have you faced over the years and how have you overcame them?
Legends: I think for Legends, because of the standard that we set for ourselves, in terms of being innovators and giving that ultimate reveller experience – because it’s unlike any experience you’ve had before – there’s a lot riding on reveller experience. For every band, there’s a time when their costumes are just a mess and last year, that was Legends. I think one thing that has persisted on the road throughout the years is the experience. Despite how agitated revellers might be leading up to carnival, during costume distribution or before we hit the road, when it comes to reveller experience, I think Legends is unmatched. For us, it’s really about coming up with innovative ways to bring carnival to our revellers.
Our events, a lot of the things that we do, are one of a kind. They’ve never been done in Saint Lucia, an example being Mess – the chocolate and sprinkles. They are unique. Some people are asking for the band to grow but we want to keep it as a boutique band, so to speak. We want to keep that familiarity and togetherness amongst our revellers and knowing what one person prefers over the other. I think it’s really keeping that togetherness that will be the ultimate challenge.
Dazzle: How are you different from other bands?
Legends: Well, our size is one of the key ways, like we previously mentioned. We pay attention to a specific service and maintaining quality. Our experience, our vibes…we’re a luxury band. There are things that you will find in our band that you won’t find in other bands. We have a mobile makeup-touch up station and we do five-star catering on the road. We’re also the only all VIP band on the road. Everybody is VIP to us, we don’t treat anyone differently. We have the best international DJs from around the world and I think that just gives us an edge over the rest.
Dazzle: Where do you see Legends in the future?
Legends: Some people ask us how we pull off what we do, especially our level of service, and we’re always at it. Managing a band, one like ours, is twenty-four- seven, around-the-clock hard work. We try to build our team and they’re absolutely amazing. We depend on them because we don’t know it all and we want to give others the opportunity to add to the experience. Once you’ve set the bar, you either go up or you go out because falling under is not a viable option. It’s a lot of hard work trying to please everyone. Do we see Legends continuing in the future? Definitely. We have a great band and a great team, and once we keep it that way there’s no reason for us not to move forward smoothly.
