History
Rubble Records founder Geoff Yenson went to Haiti after the January 12, 2010 earthquake with All Hands Volunteers to help out with relief efforts. During a trip with friends to a small mountain community named Boutilliers, he had the good fortune of meeting the guitarist Pouchon. A guitarist himself, Geoff was astounded by Pouchon's impeccable technique and complete mastery of the fretboard. When asked if he'd ever recorded his own songs or released an album, Pouchon said no -- he'd only recorded as a session guitarist on bigger bands' albums. They spoke briefly about recording some of Pouchon's songs and putting them online before parting ways. Geoff left Haiti in June but had already started thinking about coming back.
After several months of planning, Geoff returned to Haiti in December 2010 armed with a digital recording device, a couple of microphones, a classical guitar, and a rough plan: record Haitian folk music, sell it in the States, and direct the profits to the musicians and to a music education program. The two main goals for this trip: record music and find a good school to work with. A colleague, Keely Kernan, introduced him to Natacha Marseilles, the director of the MEVA School. "We have a small music program here," said Natacha, "but not many instruments and only two teachers for 250 students."
Recording was a success, too. Lacking a proper recording facility, Geoff set up an impromptu studio in a small Boutilliers field overlooking the city of Port au Prince far below. Pouchon and a rotating group of backing musicians recorded nearly four hours of songs during the course of only a few days, routinely playing well into the night. The lively music often attracted members of the community, many of whom would sit down and listen for a few songs before continuing with their daily routines.
However, all progress came to a grinding halt on December 7, when the results of the December 1st election were announced. In Haiti, if no candidate wins the majority of the votes, the result is to be decided by a second election between the top two candidates. Many supporters of Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, a popular kompa musician and the third place candidate, alleged that the vote had been rigged in favor of Jude Celestin, the current administration's candidate and the son-in-law of current president Rene Preval. According to the December 7th results, Celestin had edged out Martelly by a tiny margin. This enfuriated much of the anti-Celestin camp, many of whom took to the streets in protest of the election results. For three days political protests paralyzed Haiti. Demonstrators took to the streets, clashed with armed police, and blockaded the roads with trees, boulders, and burning tires.
On the evening of Friday the 11th, when everything seemed to be calm, Geoff learned that an old high school friend, who happened to be outside of Port au Prince, would be driving to the Dominican Republic the next morning. Although the protests had ceased during the weekend to allow people to tend to their affairs, nothing had been done to placate the demonstrators. They left Port au Prince first thing in the morning, and after a few days of intensive beer-drinking in Santo Domingo, Geoff flew back to the United States to continue working on the project.
In February 2011, Rubble Records incorporated as a limited liability company after a lot of head-scratching.
After several months of planning, Geoff returned to Haiti in December 2010 armed with a digital recording device, a couple of microphones, a classical guitar, and a rough plan: record Haitian folk music, sell it in the States, and direct the profits to the musicians and to a music education program. The two main goals for this trip: record music and find a good school to work with. A colleague, Keely Kernan, introduced him to Natacha Marseilles, the director of the MEVA School. "We have a small music program here," said Natacha, "but not many instruments and only two teachers for 250 students."
Recording was a success, too. Lacking a proper recording facility, Geoff set up an impromptu studio in a small Boutilliers field overlooking the city of Port au Prince far below. Pouchon and a rotating group of backing musicians recorded nearly four hours of songs during the course of only a few days, routinely playing well into the night. The lively music often attracted members of the community, many of whom would sit down and listen for a few songs before continuing with their daily routines.
However, all progress came to a grinding halt on December 7, when the results of the December 1st election were announced. In Haiti, if no candidate wins the majority of the votes, the result is to be decided by a second election between the top two candidates. Many supporters of Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, a popular kompa musician and the third place candidate, alleged that the vote had been rigged in favor of Jude Celestin, the current administration's candidate and the son-in-law of current president Rene Preval. According to the December 7th results, Celestin had edged out Martelly by a tiny margin. This enfuriated much of the anti-Celestin camp, many of whom took to the streets in protest of the election results. For three days political protests paralyzed Haiti. Demonstrators took to the streets, clashed with armed police, and blockaded the roads with trees, boulders, and burning tires.
On the evening of Friday the 11th, when everything seemed to be calm, Geoff learned that an old high school friend, who happened to be outside of Port au Prince, would be driving to the Dominican Republic the next morning. Although the protests had ceased during the weekend to allow people to tend to their affairs, nothing had been done to placate the demonstrators. They left Port au Prince first thing in the morning, and after a few days of intensive beer-drinking in Santo Domingo, Geoff flew back to the United States to continue working on the project.
In February 2011, Rubble Records incorporated as a limited liability company after a lot of head-scratching.
Copyright 2011 Rubble Records LLC
