early show 13 episode 1

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Transcript by James Barber for SurvivorFever.net - 9.15.06

HARRY: On Survivor: Cook Islands, the controversial decision to separate the tribes by race doesn't explain why jazz musician Sekou Bunch became the season's first casualty. That was more of a male-female decision.

(clips)

HARRY (shakes Sekou's hand): Sekou Bunch, good morning, good morning. Nice to see you. 

SEKOU: Good morning, Harry.

HARRY: First things first, when this was first announced a few weeks ago, when Jeff was on the show, I said, "I just don't know about this dividing tribes into race." It made me very uncomfortable. When you found out, what was your reaction?

SEKOU: When I found out about the racial division, I thought wow, how fascinating. In this world today, it's pretty much the same thing. I was raised in an African-American family and taught to survive in the world, go out and compete, do a great job and everything, and I though this was pretty compatible to what's already pretty common.

HARRY: This did not insult you in any way?

SEKOU: No, not at all, because I have a multi-racial family anyway. I have Puerto Rican cousins, nephews, Cuban uncles, Caucasian cousins. It didn't bother me at all.

HARRY: One of the things they did this year was went out and really started looking for folks. Were you a big Survivor fan, or did somebody come and recruit you?

SEKOU: I was recruited, I was called probably in the last stages of selection. I got a call on Friday, and next Thursday I was sequestered and waiting.

HARRY: And off you go.

SEKOU: And I was gone, yeah.

HARRY: When your team loses a challenge, and right off the bat your team has lost, did you know your head was on the chopping block?

SEKOU: Most definitely. I thought about Nathan and I, my other tribemate, and since he's 20 years younger than me, and they think I'm this courageous leader, I may be a threat to them. Their decision was to take me out, which would secure them a position in the tribe to stay in the game.

HARRY: For a while longer. 

SEKOU: Yes, for a while longer. Primarily, we were trying to get that swing vote [Stephanie] to come out. 

HARRY: Did you feel like you were having any success whatsoever? She seemed to be listening to you.

SEKOU: Yeah, she was listening. I had her pretty much almost convinced, but I think she had already made her alliance with the girls. A lot was being - I was being relied on a lot by them, as you can see in the film. You see me laying out, but it was pretty much from exhaustion. I was hammering away, cutting up bamboo that was one a half inch thick, and I'm going from that and going to make fire, which a lot of the audience did not see. When you see me laying there...

HARRY: Your rest was well-deserved. Here's a picture of you, this is what you did with your time in the Cook Islands, the rest of your time in the Cook Islands. (holds up a picture of Sekou with a huge fish) We should tell people you're a renowned jazz musician, and you have a CD coming out when?

SEKOU: Yes, I have a CD coming out, it's going to be released right after the finale, and it's called The Next Level. 

HARRY: Well, you take it to the next level.

SEKOU: I certainly will.

HARRY (shakes his hand): Thanks for coming.