No end to steelband war

The New Today

With the annual Spicemas festival only four months away, government is making a last minute desperate effort to bring an end to a bitter internal feuding within the Grenada Steelbands Association (GSBA).

Jason Skeete – walked out of the meeting

A well-placed source told THE NEW TODAY newspaper that Minister of Youth and Culture, Senator Norland Cox on Tuesday facilitated a meeting along with Attorney General Darshan Ramdhani with the President of GASA, Jason Skeete and two of his Executive members and several persons associated with the so-called breakaway faction involving the major bands on the island.

The source who spoke on condition that he was not identified said that Skeete walked out of the meeting after a certain statement was hurled at him by Andre Greenidge of defending panorama champs, Commancheros of St. Paul’s.

He stated that the GASA President deemed the remarks as unfortunate in light of a legal warning letter that was allegedly hand delivered to Greenidge months earlier requesting him to desist from making similar utterances in the future.

He quoted Skeete as saying that he now has no choice but to instruct his lawyer to take legal action against Greenidge for defamation of character.

“No end to steelband war”

After taking less than a second to digest what I just read in this article from The New Today newspaper, I have to confess there wasn’t anything shocking, surprising or revealing for pause, except the obese/oversized EGOS fighting to occupy a room with such limited space, and if not for the love of Pan I will be interesting to know for what and why. Somebody will inevitably get bruised in that confined space while the this tugging, elbowing and poking continues; and sad to say, the victim/s will only be the Steelbands and those who love pan; yet I continue to ask myself why, not for answers but consolation. Who are the ones that would suffer while this gerrymandering and infighting are taking place? Again, the answer is the Steelband Fraternity (Big Bands/Small Bands) no exceptions. For years we had to fight against stigmatization and marginalization (the latter even to this day), exerting energy and time, not in and for the interest of pan makes one complicit in weakening an already fractured art form. This is not a war, it more like a broken cistern with waste desperately seeking a convenient place to settle. And you don’t need to be a plumber or sewer expert to tell that this current episode stinks to the core. If there is no Panorama this year, as supporters hoist the one for us to blame.

Replies

clevoy depradine April 13, 2019 at 1:57pm

“No end to steelband war”

After taking less than a second to digest what I just read in this article from The New Today newspaper, I have to confess there wasn’t anything shocking, surprising or revealing for pause, except the obese/oversized EGOS fighting to occupy a room with such limited space, and if not for the love of Pan I will be interesting to know for what and why. Somebody will inevitably get bruised in that confined space while the this tugging, elbowing and poking continues; and sad to say, the victim/s will only be the Steelbands and those who love pan; yet I continue to ask myself why, not for answers but consolation. Who are the ones that would suffer while this gerrymandering and infighting are taking place? Again, the answer is the Steelband Fraternity (Big Bands/Small Bands) no exceptions. For years we had to fight against stigmatization and marginalization (the latter even to this day), exerting energy and time, not in and for the interest of pan makes one complicit in weakening an already fractured art form. This is not a war, it more like a broken cistern with waste desperately seeking a convenient place to settle. And you don’t need to be a plumber or sewer expert to tell that this current episode stinks to the core. If there is no Panorama this year, as supporters hoist the one for us to blame.

This reply was deleted.