Greenz United Unveils “Ravish” for New York Carnival 2013
Greenz United Mas entered the 2013 New York Carnival season with “Ravish,” a new presentation from the Grenadian-rooted Brooklyn mas band.
Only two years after Greenz United was formed, the organization was already developing from its original T-shirt road presence into a full Carnival band with costumes, a Brooklyn mas camp and its own presentation for Eastern Parkway.
For 2013, Dave Louison served as band leader, with Kim Chinlee as co-band leader. Greenz United operated from 5902 Ditmas Avenue in Brooklyn, with “Ravish” listed as its presentation for the season.
Watch Greenz United “Ravish” 2013
Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosted the Julianspromos coverage, while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage.
The video was uploaded on June 30, 2013.
Greenz United Was Still a Young Band
Greenz United had only been established in 2011.
Louison later explained that the idea began with his desire to give Grenadians on Eastern Parkway a stronger musical experience. He felt the sound system supporting the Grenadian contingent needed to compete more effectively with the larger systems surrounding other groups on the road.
The first Greenz United appearance was simple: masqueraders came out in T-shirts.
Costumes followed as the organization grew.
That makes the 2013 season an important stage in the band’s development. Greenz United was moving quickly from an informal Grenadian road presence into a more complete mas operation.
By the time “Ravish” was introduced, the band had leadership, a Brooklyn base and a full Carnival presentation.
Grenadian Energy at the Center
Greenz United’s identity was closely connected to Grenada.
Louison, originally from Gouyave, built the band around the music and energy Grenadian masqueraders wanted to experience on Eastern Parkway.
That meant the sound was just as important as the costumes.
In later years, Louison continued emphasizing Grenadian Soca, Jab Jab, DJs and powerful sound systems as major parts of the Greenz United road experience.
That approach gave the band its own personality within New York Carnival.
Eastern Parkway brings Caribbean communities from across the region together, but bands like Greenz United also give individual islands a space to bring their own musical character and Carnival traditions onto the road.
For Greenz United, that character was unmistakably Grenadian.
“Ravish” Takes the Stage
The band launch gave prospective masqueraders their first look at the costumes Greenz United was preparing for Labor Day.
Band launches are one of the moments when New York Carnival begins to feel real.
A theme that may have existed for months as sketches, designs and ideas finally appears on models. Masqueraders can see the costumes up close, decide whether they want to join the band and begin imagining how the presentation will look once hundreds of people are moving together on Eastern Parkway.
For Greenz United, that 2013 presentation was Ravish.
Rather than defining the theme beyond what Greenz United itself presented, the focus stays where it belongs: on the costumes, the band and the start of another Carnival season.
Growing Into Full Costume Mas
Greenz United’s progression happened quickly.
Starting with T-shirts in 2011 allowed the organization to establish its presence and focus on the road experience. Moving into costumes took the band into another part of Carnival culture entirely.
A full costume band requires designers, section coordination, production, registration, a mas camp and months of preparation before Labor Day.
By 2013, Greenz United was taking on those responsibilities while continuing to build its community.
The band was still young compared with long-established New York Carnival organizations, but “Ravish” showed that it intended to become a regular part of the Brooklyn mas scene.
Photos from the Greenz United “Ravish” Launch
The four-photo gallery offers another look at Greenz United during its 2013 launch, including the costumes and people surrounding the presentation.
Labor Day Did Not Go as Planned
The 2013 season ultimately took an unexpected turn for Greenz United.
On Labor Day, the truck intended to accompany the costume band was not authorized onto the parade route after failing a law-enforcement safety inspection. WIADCA officials said the inspection involved concerns with the truck’s tires and brakes and that approval of parade vehicles rested with law enforcement.
Louison disputed aspects of how the situation unfolded, while WIADCA rejected suggestions that Greenz United had been deliberately blocked.
It was a frustrating ending to a season that had begun with the excitement of the Ravish launch.
But it did not end Greenz United’s New York Carnival story.
Greenz United Keeps Growing
Greenz United continued participating in New York Carnival in the years that followed.
By 2015, the band was presenting “Mystique,” again under Louison’s leadership. (julianspromos.com)
And by 2017, Greenz United was preparing a much larger road presence with “Aloha,” as Louison spoke about a team that had continued growing while maintaining the Grenadian music and atmosphere at the heart of the band.
Seen within that progression, “Ravish” belongs to Greenz United’s formative years.
The band had started with T-shirts only two years earlier.
Now it was launching costumes and building a full mas organization in Brooklyn.
Julianspromos Coverage
Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosted the Julianspromos coverage of the Greenz United “Ravish” launch.
Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the footage, which was uploaded on June 30, 2013.
Together with the four photographs from the launch, the video revisits Greenz United at an early point in its New York Carnival journey — a Grenadian-rooted band growing from a small road crew into a full mas organization.
For 2013, its presentation was Ravish.
