Boothman's revival

GARY CARDINEZ

VETERAN musician and artist Michael Boothman gave his family and friends a big scare two weeks ago when he ended up at the emergency department of the Port of Spain General Hospital on Charlotte Street.

Resting comfortably at his Cascade home last week Thursday evening, the renowned guitarist, composer, arranger and producer told the story.

“I had a mild stroke. It was related to my blood pressure. I ended up in the hospital after I fainted. I must say my son and his colleagues moved rather quickly in an effort to save me,” Boothman explained.

“At hospital they did a CT scan along with some other tests and brought my vitals back to normal. This was a real scare for me. I thank God for his mercies."

He also wanted to thank "all the doctors and nurses, who were very professional in their approach, they treated me very good. I spent the night in the hospital and was discharged today.”

Boothman was advised to “slow down,” as he has been pushing himself lately. He has been working on new music in the studio, and his art exhibition Rhythm on Canvas has just ended at his Bougainvillea Art Studio.

Boothman was one of the first local musicians to hit the American Billboard charts, back in 1975, with a classic called Heaven.

“Music is my life, it’s all I do," he smilingly said. “I want to put out some more music. I have so much bottled up inside of me. I have already recorded several songs, one called All I Have which I composed way back in 1969. It has a vibe like Heaven. One of my friends from Rockerfellars days, Dr Clarence Charles, wrote the song with me and he even came back home to work on this track. It was also mixed by Howard Howie Lindeman, aka The Doctor, the same engineer who did Heaven. He also mixed my 2017 CD Break Away.”

The other songs Boothman is working on are Reaching Out, Off Red Room, New Friends and Kes’ Savannah Grass.

He is also engaged in a new project, which he says gives him great pleasure. He is currently working on several songs for Lord Nelson (Robert Nelson). This he says, is a reunion, as the two worked together in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Nelson credits Boothman for helping to create his musical style.

Boothman said having his own studio is like a dream come true, as he always had the idea in the back of his mind. He admits that he has to share the studio with his son Stephon, who is always working on new music.

The award-winning guitarist said he has rebranded his band Kaisofusion and the musicians are working on preserving local music in its true form.

“I want to see and hear orchestration in our music. Calypso was here before most of the other genres of music. We just can’t let that go. I call my new brand neo-calypso.”

Fans can hear Boothman’s music as he celebrates his 70th birthday with a concert Mike at 70...60 Years of music on November 18 at Kaiso Blues Cafe.