When Steel Talks has confirmation that two large (120-players) “legacy” steel orchestras will not be participating in the 2017 Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama.
They are Redemption Sound Steel Orchestra out of sister isle Tobago, and Harmonites Steel Orchestra out of Barataria, east Trinidad.
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Unfortunately in this life people only pay attention when you shout a the top of your voice, it is the way of the world I suppose...by that I mean yuh see how you all are paying attention to Harmonites' and Sound Setter's plight? I wonder if it is because they are large bands? Two years ago a Single Pan band from the West, after making the finals for two years back-to-back was forced out of the competition because they were spending all their money on securing mercenary players. I wonder if the reasons for the no show of the above mentioned large bands is not the same?
The rules of Steelband success and wellbeing haven't really changed much over the years. It's not only about Panorama victories and or even money. You have to factor in family, cameraderie, fellowship, love and respect for others around you. Money never guarantees those things. So when bands decide to rely heavily on "crackshots" they must also remember that "crackshots" come to a band for one thing only...MONEY...and the problem with that is that no amount of money will suffice a hustler. That is why people play with multiple bands.
Why do you think that so many Small and Single Pan bands have appeared so suddenly? These bands take much less effort to develop. All you need are a few pardners with like mind and gullible bands who believe that they need help to survive and presto!!...You have a new band to enter Panorama after two years of registering.
So this year two Large band have bitten the dust...yet still Pan Trinbago plans a Semi-Final Round for 15 bands. Seventy-odd Single Pan bands have registered this year...(well we don't know all of them really showing before the adjudicators anyway)....but no Semis in the offing....I can't be so damn stupid...Something must be wrong here. Imagine the country in a recession and our caring government could only see the need to cut players remmitance to $500.00 this year. Why not be creative and really caring and suggest to Pan Trinbago that they cut the sizes of ALL bands in the competition instead? Large to 100, Medium to 80, Small to 50 an Single to 35. That and set up some policing measure to ensure that no-one plays with more than one band. I may be one voice crying in the wilderness, but I'm crying because I am quite sure that we could run all we want to yuh run...we will run Panorama into the ground preety soon...
That and set up some policing measure to ensure that no-one plays with more than one band.
That's why they don't want to modernize, computerize the system for registering the players. In that way you can cross check duplicate players names that may show up playing in other bands. Same with Small, Medium and Large band size. The technology is there to make the process run efficiently and accurately, Less manual work and easier detecting FRAUD.
Why bother to participate if you're not going to be paid for all that hard work?
Redemption Sound seems to think that it will not be any better next year and have pulled the plug, stating low player turnout.
Do you blame the players? Who wants to work night and day for $1000 much less nothing?
Most bands, knowing that they will not win the million dollar prize, play for prestige and love of the instrument, but when they are abused and disrespected, they must retaliate.
They need Ancil Roget to start a trade union for the pan players
Wayne, like Darren Shepard got sick, that could be one of the reason Redemption Sound not going.
I think Pan Trinbago needs to add a new Category to the existing four...Pick-Up-Side...that way some bands won't have to drop out...
True!!! You should give Dr.deLight a free lecture on the "Pick-Up-Side" aspect of the PANORAMA. It almost looks as if players got wind that the hustle is over under Doctor Dolly and doh matter how many bands you play for -- you are only getting ONE CHECK FOR ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
So all of a sudden we might have a SHORTAGE OF PAN MEN in TRINIDAD. That is like a beach with NO SAND!
As a strong leader, surely Claude, I suspect that your utterances can share such luminescence...with us all on the WST family network....
I guess mr George Linsay , is that why you gave in to mr Diaz because you are Weak and Diaz is Strong ? s
Dont worry BEDE, I'm goin to put him to the test, let's see how strong he is, remember I told ya'all about the guy since 2009, when he became President of Pan Trinbago, where prior to that, he sold "Starlift" pans to a band in Florida, when the band was on tour and he was their manager, and where he tried to start a pan factory in Nigeria selling them the rights, did'nt come up with his part of the funding and they wanted to LYNCH HIM, I had to interven, with a correspondant preaction protocol, warning Chief Bui Bui at the Niegrian Counselate in St Clair, that Pan Trinbago does not OWN the technology on the steel drum musical instruments, St James North stars Steel orchestra Enterprise (aka) Pan Am North Stars DOES...
Yuh eh see meh responding to all dem other people. Is like 6 people representing your cause on this forum so I have to make sure that I read what everybody have to say.
Anyway, Noah just address this post in an earlier response. Those two defections is like a drowning man clutching to a straw.
Being a leader has never been my fancy in life. And if there was any avenue related to PAN that I would want to lead in it would be TAKING GOOD PAN MUSIC TO THE WORLD.
So after you OVERTHROW Keith Diaz and you become President -- you have a soldier in that musical war. If you get the rest of the BIG BANDS to withdraw from PANORAMA -- I will give you YOUR MEDAL!
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