THE title ‘Creole Rock’ may be familiar to most, after local ‘rocker’, Gavin Mendonca pushed the envelope to create a whole new genre of music by infusing heavy metal to revamp Guyanese folk songs on his debut album.

Now, Gavin’s work has received international attention after being chosen as ‘Artist of the Month’ for October 2016 by Online music company, Global Rockstar.

Global Rockstar is an international multimedia platform that allows thousands of people from around the world to vote for their favourite artists.
Founded in 2013 in Austria by songwriter and producer, Christof Straub, and marketing professional, Ronny Steibl, the company is known for its global competitions which allow artists to gain international recognition.
The competition for Artist of the Month caught Gavin’s eye after constantly showing up on his Facebook feed. Still rife with the accolades he has been receiving since the launch of ‘Creole Rock: The Beginning’, which dropped in April, Gavin decided to enter the competition to see how his work would fare on a bigger stage.
By entering, Gavin was required to submit several pieces of material, including his music video of ‘The Great Rebellion’, which is a song that tells the story of Cuffy and the 1763 Berbice Slave Rebellion.
TAKE NOTICE
First, Global Rockstar took notice of Gavin’s music, and selected him to be their ‘Artist of the Day’ on October 5, 2016, which later led to his being eligible for the ‘Artist of the Week’, which he also won.
Winning this competition then placed him in the ‘Artist of the Month’ Competition for the month of October. Gavin went up against four other international musicians from different countries. And just as they did before, Gavin admits that it is support from local friends, family and followers that helped to gain him the win.
The prize for the competition was an AKG WMS420 Wireless Microphone/Instrument system.
“I’m overwhelmed by the positive and kind words expressed by members of the public about my own brand of music; Creole Rock is truly a Guyanese work of art,” Gavin said.
“I’m grateful to have been a part of the competition; the experience has introduced me to some new, wonderful music from around the world, and has shed some light on the ins and outs of the international music industry, and what it takes to be successful as a musician from Guyana, using today’s technology,” he told The Buzz.
HEAVY METAL
Gavin is also the bassist of local heavy metal band, Feed The Flames, which performed in Trinidad for the first time back in July. The band is currently recording their debut album, which will be launched early next year.
The artiste says, however, that there are still some challenges when it comes to selling music, as locals are not always willing to pay the full cost for original CDs in comparison to purchasing bootleg material or downloading from Online sources.
To combat this, Gavin seeks to promote local music via the airwaves, and highlights the urgent need for the amendment, and enforcement, of modern copyright laws.
In the meantime, he continues to promote the sale of his album via video ‘ads’ on Social Media, and through select businesses. ‘Creole Rock: The Beginning’ costs $1,500, and can be purchased at Howard’s  Restaurant in Eccles; Chetson’s on Wellington Street; and Zoon Online Shopping locations.
The album is also available on CDBaby.com, iTunes and Amazon Music, as well as other Online merchants.