Club Carib marks half century in Oshawa
Posted on October 20, 2016 in Lifestyles
Not long after the organization got its start in 1966, Club Carib made a name for itself in the community by creating a steel drum band. The band, seen here playing outside Sears in March 1972, started after George Kissoondath, then the club's president, decided that Club Carib needed something to celebrate Caribbean culture and bring it to Oshawa.
By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express
When Club Carib got started 50 years ago, it needed something to set itself apart. Within the beginning years of the organization, it found its answer: steel drums.
Evolving from music created using household items to dedicated instruments made from used oil barrels, steel drums got their start in Trinidad and Tobago before spreading across the Caribbean in future years.
So back in 1968, George Kissoondath, then the president of Club Carib, came up with the idea of bringing that sound from down south and bringing it north to Oshawa.
“Because of the nature of the band being a Caribbean band, I thought it would be a great idea to have a steel band,” he says.
“This is part of our heritage and our culture in Trinidad and Tobago, where steel band originated. This is the birthplace of steel band.”
To get the band off the ground, Kissoondath reached out to club member Carlyle Julal, who was first exposed to the musical stylings of steel drums back when he was a teenager in Trinidad.
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