D'All Starz lays new path for 2026

“Most of the guys, including myself, have been here for over 30 years…,” Carlysle "Juiceman" Roberts said in a recent interview with Newsday.

The All Starz in its various formats has become synonymous with Trinidad and Tobago music.

The late band leader and founder Roy Cape built an enviable musical foundation, since its start in 1980. He and the band received many accolades and awards and released eight albums before he retired in 2017. When he left it rebranded and became D’ All Starz. Cape died in 2024.

After he retired, the band rebuilt with Juiceman at the helm and the late Dexter “Blaxx” Stewart as its lead vocalist.

Admittedly, his untimely passing in 2022 left a hole in the band, Juiceman said.

Juiceman has been unable to play since Blaxx died.

“To this day, it still affects me,” he said.

However, the band believes it is on the path to another rebrand that would sing to this generation with College Boy Jesse as its lead vocalist. Singer Anika Berry also recently joined the team. Ding Dong and other artistes will be guesting with the band for Carnival 2026 season.

In the face-to-face interview at the Kairi People and D’ All Starz new establishment, Beats on Tragarete, Gordon and Juiceman spoke about the band rebuilding for a new, youthful audience.

A hit was needed to cement the band as a voice of the new time while still maintaining the structure left by Cape, the band’s manager Richard Gordon said.

Juiceman said, “When Roy passed it on to me. We decided, ‘Music is one thing but marketing and everything is another.’” And so Gordon was added to the team to achieve its marketing goals.

A young keyboardist, bassist and drummer have been added to the team. The band has maintained Cape’s structure with respect to rehearsals, time, spending hours in the band room etc and mentoring younger players.

“We try to pass on our legacy which Roy Cape gave to us. So we try to maintain that so we can keep D All Starz name going.”

In D’ All Starz learning is not a one-way street, with the youth teaching older players the trends in a technologically developing world.

“With music, in life, you’re never too old to learn and music has no ego,” Juiceman said.

Over its many years, the band was home to many of the soca’s popular faces like Destra Garcia, Nigel and Marvin Lewis, Kurt Allen and Ricardo Drue.

Juiceman said Voice was once a part of the band but then decided to move on.

Asked how the format of big bands intended to thrive in an age of AI and AI singers, Juiceman said that question was difficult but also not so.

“I think we have to stay on the path and keep doing what we are doing because we know what it is to play good music and thrive on good music.

“We feel if we put out good product every year, good music every year, we will thrive.”

For marketing, Gordon believes adoption of the best new trends were necessary but it was also important to stay true to the roots of the band.

“It is a balancing act…you have to keep up with the trends but horns, for example, is something we will never, ever abandon.

“We will never move away from having live horns in our set. That distinguishes us from the others.”

He said with technology there were certain things the band would have to adopt without changing the band’s focus, sound or feel of the band.

But no matter who led the band, D’ All Starz’ style and sound would remain the same, Gordon said.

His role as manager is to find new markets and Juiceman’s job was to keep the sound.

However, finding new markets currently is challenging.

Gordon said penetrating new markets was not going as “good” as they would like it to go.

“I don’t want to rest it solely on the fact that Blaxx is no longer around but it is a factor. Had he been around today we would have been piercing those markets without a doubt.”

The band is looking at this phase as a rebuilding.

“We are not closed for business, we up and running but it is certainly a rebuilding. In time to come, hits is what takes you out there.

“Those hits are coming soon, we feel for Carnival 2026 we have stuff in the making that will show we are getting there.”

The band anticipates that College Boy Jesse’s 2026 offerings, BenOva with Sackie and Vitamins, will being D’ All Starz’ musical ascend again.

Gordon likened the band’s rebuilding process to that of a hand-crank ice cream maker.

“Hits churning and we are piercing the market. People who would not listen two or three years ago, are now giving us a hearing.”

It was just a matter of time as the band was composed of young bright people who were energetic and had ideas, he added.

The band has an open-door policy between management and players that facilitates a free flow of ideas and suggestions, Gordon said.

“You could join the band last week, the door is open, bring your ideas,” he said.

Not every idea would be chosen but he wanted its members to feel free to share, even if their first idea was not initially chosen.

Juiceman said Blaxx also took a while to gain wide acclaim, even though the late artiste had many songs before.

“When he did it was a sight to see, in his performances, his reaction to people, everything… We always look for new talent because we know age is a ‘b****.

“We saw Jesse in 2020 when he won the groovy soca monarch. I didn’t really know of him then but I looked at his performance and I listened to his voice. His tonal quality, his diction was a little “thing” when coming to soca.

“I knew his wife and mother-in-law and he was Blaxx’s first cousin.” But the band saw its next lead vocalist.

It plans to be one of the leading bands for Carnival 2026 despite the challenges of venue restrictions and the increase in alcohol prices.