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Posted: Tuesday 15 April, 2014 at 5:57 PM

Mic Stokes moulding the minds of future musicians

Michael ‘Mic’ Stokes’ Heyliger
By: Entertainment Reporter, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MICHAEL ‘MIC’ STOKES’ HEYLIGER, during his many travels and experiences, has learnt a number of things that he now teaches and mentors future musicians while still a performer.

     

    In our last publication highlighting the life and work of this great musician, Heyliger explained that in his early years music had always surrounded him. He added that by the time he was in his teens he had made the crucial decision of leaving the Federation and not having contacted anyone for four years.

    Heyliger explained to SKNVibes Entertainment that while the band in which he was performing was on tour, he made a decision to return to the Federation before it made a stop in Guyana. 

    “I was told that they were going to Guyana to perform and I said to myself, ‘Boy that is too far!’ And that was the end of the line. So I came back home and I joined a band called Group Impressions.” 

    The Group Impression’s (GI’s Brass) Band, as it was popularly known in the Federation back then, was formed by a group of musicians from the Pioneers Club, Heyliger said, adding that he was then offered a position in a band in St. Maarten, which he accepted.

    “I went to St. Maarten and I played with the band for a few years and then I returned to St. Kitts and worked with Ellie Matt and the GI’s Brass. That is where I started to tour the entire world.” 

    Heyliger as a musician in the GI’s Brass Band was also a song writer, and in the 1970s he wrote his first single called ‘One Shot Man’, which earned him the title of National Carnival Road March King in 1985.

    This veteran musician did it again in 1991 with his next single called ‘All kinda Tings’. 

    Although a great musician and singer, Heyliger said that competiting in the National Carnival Senior Calypso Competition was never on his agenda.

    “Well, after the band broke up and so on, I performed solo at a couple of events in St. Kitts, and shows at the Apollo were no more so I did what I had to here and there,” Heyliger said.

    He further explained that after breaking away from the band, there was one point where frustration was enormous after paying for his own passage to perform and record songs in St. Maarten.  

    “I wanted St. Kitts to sound good so I made that sacrifice because I wanted when foreigners hear our music it was spectacular. I did it also not for the love of the money but my country,” Mr. Heyliger said.
    On return from his recording, Heyliger said he was faced with unemployment, which posed a serious setback for him. “I was not getting any work, not even from the queen shows or any of the events that they had.”

    Mentoring upcoming musicians

    In addition to his undeniable melodious voice, Heyliger is also a profound drummer who now holds classes every day, teaching the next generation of drummers in the Federation. “It is my way of handing down this art to the younger ones who love and appreciate music.”

    Where is he now?

    After a few years of still recording his much-appreciated music, Heyliger is now an executive member of the Royalties Band which plays at a number of venues across the Federation. One of the band’s lead singers is the reigning National Carnival Queen, Kaeve Armstrong.

    Heyliger, who still performs to the likes of the audience whereever he sings, explained that his last large crowd performance was at the St. Kitts Music Festival in 2012. 

    Heyliger also runs his own repair business on Fourth Street. 

    Editor-in-Chief’s Note: SKNVibes solicits suggestions from the public in identifying other individuals who have made significant contributions to the Calypso art form in St. Kitts and Nevis. Feel free to email us at newsroom@sknvibes.com or call us at (869) 466-9242 or (869) 662-3901 and pass on the relevant information. 
     
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