March 2011 Blog Posts (12)

ANYONE REMEMBERED  WHO PORTRAYED 'BEAUTY IN PERPETUITY'.??????    .I THINK IT WAS AT KING OFTHE BANDS COMPETITION.

ONE OF THE GREATEST I HAVE EVER SEEN......

Mr.Hoyte I will not dispute Donald's portfolio. I opine he placed psychics

and panmen on the proletariat, but then, I could be wrong again.

It has been a great pleasure hearing from you, sir, It  is an honor and a blessing to meet a sage.

Peace and power.

What's that sound? Mummy what's that sound?

 

Those were my words at the age of four (or so my mother told me) while tugging excitedly on her skirt.  Even before she explained it to me I knew I wanted to know more about steelpan music.  Every year during Carnival I waited for when the bands passed. I begged my mother to let me join one but she wouldn't because of the late practice hours.  Luckily, at 13…

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I wrote the article cited below back in May 2002 when I was living abroad. It addressed the nervousness of some nationals in the diaspora to what was reported as the "conquest" of pan by foreigners. In light of my last note on the design of pan as a factor of optimizing dispersion, which generated heated debate on who did what and when for pan, I thought I would again "go backwards to go forward" with the conversation on… Continue

One day in my yard in Rose Hill, Laventille, I was practising the tune Mambo Jambo on a tenor pan. A voice screamed

"Allan I don't want any panbeating in this yard!!!". The man was The Honorable (sic) Donald Granado, PNM's Minister of

Education ---what a paradox!!!.

 

A few days after I was practising with our newly-formed band led by Winthrop Thomas. At one point, the band stopped

playing abruptly and the players were laughing. I turned around and saw my…

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I am going out of my mind trying to figure out how on earth can anyone reach the idea of making the prize for the King/Queen of Carnival, the same as that for the Panorama Champion. 

As I see it, some calypsonians write and sing their own stuff, while others just sing the lyrics of others.  Therefore, you are dealing with one performer/individual. 

 

A steelband, whether small, medium or large, is a BAND ----many individuals.

When you consider a piece of music…

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Southern Marines Steelband Foundation’s 2011 Panorama season was a success when compared to the last four years. After a long drought a little rain came. We were able to come into the National Small bands Panorama finals, and place third out of eleven participants. That is good, thanks to the hard work of the arrangers, the support crew around the yard, the players who dedicated time for nightly practice over the long season, the cooperation of their parents and…

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I would like to start this Blog and hope that others would add to it so that these performances would be remembered and become known to those interested in Pan Music. Through the years many did "shake" the venues and patrons so lets hear from you. I would like to start with Cavaliers who did this on many occasions but the most vivid are 1966 playing My Brother Your Sister and 1967 playing 67. The excitement those bases created caused the masses to push down the teak fences on both sides of the… Continue

The steel pan still fascinates me as an industrial musical instrument that has the potential to be as commonplace as the electric guitar or portable electronic keyboard. Portability, short learning curve relative to traditional music learning experience, and ease of manufacture seem to be the factors that make the two aforementioend so popular. Some recent innovations by…

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There is an ex member of Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars living in Japan ,his name is Tony ,does anyone know if he is Ok afyer the Earthquake?

CONGRATS FONCLAIRE YOU DID THE SOUTH PROUD

Let's hear it for Pan Times/WST.



I don't know about you guys, but I think that one of the most significant developments in the steelband world in modern times has been the development of the internet, and particularly, of Pan on the net, Pan Times, When Steel Talks or whatever they choose to call themselves.

Their role in promoting  steelband culture around the world has been invaluable.



Their impact on this year's panorama is undeniable, from providing up to date…

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