Blog 2.0

Good Tuesday morning to All: We should all be familiar with the numerous individuals and groups who entered the arena claiming to want to "do something for pan". (Boogsie) From Arnold to Ramsey-Moore, neither of these current or former presidents of the steelbands' association (Pan Trinbago) have ever come remotely close to the long list of successes of the "Godfather" of the Steelband Movement, George "Sonny" Goddard. As Co-Founder of steelbands' major event, Panorama, Goddard's long list of accomplishments are noted here on When Steel Talks. (See. "Who Am I?") Recently, Diaz was interviewed by one of his former executive members (more on that sinister character later), and the former president boasted of his accomplishments, including the International Conference On Pan (ICP) and its accompanying "international Panorama". I published the entire report of the government-conducted audit related to Diaz and his executive's practices during that time, and the reader can form their own conclusions as to Diaz's successes, not in terms of personal financial gains, but in terms of the subculture's masses of "panmen" and "panwomen".

Then, we witnessed a bunch of alliances being formed; the "Concerned Individuals For Pan" (CIP), the Ramsey-Moore led "New Visionaries" (NV), the "Big 5". We saw the Codrinton Pan Family doing their own thing, and Vanessa Headley making news for her contributions, however, when faced with real life situations like disease, neither were financially-stable enough to handle them without reaching out for help. Tragic. I spoke to Dr. Lance Seunarine who tried to get a pension fund going here on this site, and it saddened me to hear that he now faces his own health challenges.

When I graduated from college in 2008, I wanted to put my education to use in serving my community, that being the steelband community in Trinidad and Tobago. I intended to use my knowledge and training in the field of psychology to help shape how I looked at the numerous issues and challenges facing the steelbands, and in particular, their membership. Due to that social science approach, I understood that i needed data; field research became a required step, if I was to even stand a chance to be successful in my goals. And, I wanted all of us to grow together, and that was the premise behind my suggesting we started a When Steel Talks Book Club. The idea never gained traction.

Goddard was successful because he understood leadership. He also understood what it took, if the goal was "building for eternity", which is what he assumed the entire body he represented wanted. This is why, prior to the association becoming infested with political hacks, steelbands experienced their "golden years"; an era referred to as steelbands' "Coming of Age". Goddard laid out a solid foundation that would have withstood the time test, had it not been for those who began chipping away at the foundation, beginning in 1970, and finalized with the Act 5 of 1986.

Foundation removed and demolished, the association became a decaying carcass, and, naturally, the “culture vultures” showed up like corbeaux at the swollen lifeless body of a stay dog, struck by a passing truck on the Beetham Highway. Then King Corbeaux showed up in his Black regalness [sic], and the real feasting began. No one would (or should) judge the “success” of the body (Pan Trinbago) by the well-fed look of the vultures. You don’t judge the success of body, by how well it fed its leader, but by how well the leader fed the body!

Of course, once on solid ground and on strong foundation, “building for eternity” requires the construction of the first floor: values. And, this is where, again, Goddard succeeded and others failed. In my next blog post, I will peel the proverbial onion and expose the “building blocks” needed for both the foundation and the first floor. Without them, anything you build will not be structurally-sound, and will always remain in a compromised position, waiting to come tumbling down like a deck of cards. Building something that will last is not guess work. It takes skill; skill informed by study and research. Skill independent of bias and; or prejudices, and skill that demands truthful, factual evidence, and not premised on conspiracy theories or mischievous intent. Because the vultures have been lauded and praised for their great job at devouring the carcass, they have become enabled and, as such, will continue on their “eat-ah-food” rampage, until all that remains are the dry, white bones of what once was a steelband body.       

 With Regards,

George D. Goddard.

I admit; I am no Christian, but then again neither was the thief who allegedly was offered "everlasting life". I admit; I am neither Jesus Christ, nor a thief, but I am able to recognize which "camps" people belong to ('scuse the grammar). How? BY THEIR WORKS! (Caps, for emphasis.) I know that some people have the ability and skills to serve two (or more) "masters" -- God, Devil, good, evil -- and, today becomes earmarked as the day some return to their "Christianity", having served the "King of Carnival" -- Bacchus.

So, I chose today, as I hope to speak to the "God" in you, and not yesterday's "Devil". Is that okay? (Rhetoric.) The Christian leader allegedly stated that "...it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Think about that extreme use of metaphorical reference for a moment...

Of course, being a (bona fide) leader, he didn't just talk the talk. As written, when offered the entire "World", he allegedly rejected the "Ruler" (you know, "Satan"), telling him that his "Father's Kingdom, is of no part of this World." Those who wanted to be in his presence had to leave ALL their "riches" behind. And, he allegedly asked, "WHAT DOES IT PROFIT A MAN TO GAIN THE WORLD AND LOSE HIS SOUL?" (Again, caps for emphasis only.)

Then, when the soulless "rich man" eventually dies (sorry; money can't buy you eternal life), the family buries them according to "Christian rites", thinking that their "rich" loved one prove Jesus Christ wrong, by getting into heaven, while we ALL know ain't NO camel getting through NO needle's eye! lol. Well; as Bob Marley sang, "...they crucified Jessus Christ..."

Point is; I "know who I am and where I stand in the struggle" (Marley) If those who claimed to be "Christian" are the very ones who crowned their own leader with thorns, I should (and do) expect similar or worse treatment by men, especially the "rich" and those who are all about "that money". Of course, karma catches up to them, as in Trump's case, but even if the laws of men don't get you, the Universal Law (i.e. karma) will. As I admitted; I am no "Christian", but I am no thief either. Just a simple man who continues to be honest to himself and others. ALL about choice! To my Christian peers, safe and happy Lenten season. Protect our women and girls!

George D. Goddard

Pan-Africanism And The Connecting Of The Steel Drum/Steelpan To Black History

Most people with a basic knowledge of the history of the steel drum/steelpan/pan, have no difficulty in connecting the percussive instrument to its Trinidad origins. However, few are able to make the connection between the instrument and “Black History”...

(Click the following link for the full article.) https://panicleusa.com/black-history-month-pan-africanism-and-the-connecting-of-the-steel-drum-steelpan-to-black-history)

NOTE TO WST MEMBERS: While some are unable to find the human decency to respect ALL people, regardless of "race", I have continued to assert that Black people are not inferior or deficient, but, simply different. Afro-Trinbagonian professionals in the social science fields may not know who I am, but I continue to earn the respect of doctorate holders in the field of psychology! I clearly understand that, in order to change behaviors, we MUST address the opinions and attitudes that fuel them. 

George D. Goddard

Trinidad & Tobago’s Phase II Pan Groove, founded by Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, celebrates its 50th anniversary in August. Nigel A Campbell looks back at the pioneering journey in the July/August issue of Caribbean Beat magazine.

Caribbean creative and cultural institutions that have achieved the half-century mark are not rare — the National Dance Theatre of Jamaica and the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, for example. But the ongoing adulation and newsworthiness sometimes peter out — not so much as a sign of decrepitude, but possibly as a signal of lagging public awareness and commercial support.

In 2022, HADCO Phase II Pan Groove turns 50. With that landmark, it joins the pantheon of legendary bands that paved the way for sustaining an original sound born in the Caribbean, and elevates the idea that “the audacity of creole imagination”, as coined by steelpan researcher Kim Johnson, has gone global. The band could be a case study for a modern consideration of steel orchestras.

The names of pioneer steelbands formed in the 1930s and 1940s — Renegades, All Stars, Desperadoes, Casablanca, Invaders — suggest both a combative spirit that was a hallmark of early pan life, and the fantasy of cinematic imagination. Phase II Pan Groove, by contrast, was born in the turbulent 1970s. It was a time that saw Trinidad impacted by American Black Power animus, heralding an awakening of cultural pride among a new generation of musicians. They sought new sounds, and to distance themselves from a colonial past.

Phase II would be the bellwether of steelbands born in this era, as it trod an uneven path towards self-identification, self-sufficiency, innovative creativity, and commercial independence. It survived the flux of Caribbean entrepreneurship. But before one gets to 50, a little historical context is needed...

READ MORE at: In the Groove: Phase II at 50 | Backstory | Caribbean Beat Magazine https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-171/in-the-groove-backstory#ixzz7aDALBMXA

As I hope you all know, I started a small project on The Cape Verde Island, São Vicente.

First part is done successfully, which was introducing and teaching pan. They never heard, saw or played a steelpan before. I was lucky that Nostalgia Steelband from London, lend me some pans, and took them with me, payed my own ticket to get there, and taught them how to play. 

The goal was to form a small steelband together with the inhabitants of São Vicente and play on their carnival parade.

And it worked! ( look at the video Cruzeiros Do Norte) They love the sound and want to learn everything there is to learn about pan.

So now I have to start the Second part of this project.

AND I NEED ALL OF YOU TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

Cape Verde is a poor country, hardly any work available.

How can we get pans over there, with them not having the possibility to pay for the instruments.

The local music teacher Eddy Max, is looking for ways, by talking to the council, to see if they are willing to contribute.

My question to all of you, and especially the big steelbands, is if there is a possibility to donate a pan.

Then they can start a panyard. They would be so grateful if this works.

The Third part of the project will be to learn them how to make their own pans. I can't do that myself, don't have the skills. But as I got in contact with Bowie Bowei from Nigeria, he is willing to help me in this.

PLEASE HELP FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAN!! and sent them some pans.

If you have any other ideas, please tell me and respond to this letter.

Hope we can succeed in spreading pan to another part of the world!

Regards

Deanne Pijl

The Netherlands

"Passion, precision, percussion. The panman dedicates sleepless nights and countless hours to memorizing arrangements of calypsos for competition, the Panorama. The necessity for that element of competition in Carnival is still being debated." Photo © 1997, Cyan Studios Ltd. Excerpted from the book, Return to Kairi: A Trinidad & Tobago Journey (Port of Spain: Jett Samm Publishing, 1998)

I am a steelpan fan, not necessarily an overt steelpan junkie, but I do appreciate the music born here in Trinidad and Tobago and that sound that makes that original music. This is ours, and once a year, we can all participate in a festival that not only celebrates that sound, but reminds those who are sensitive to the subliminal signs of what steelband researcher Kim Johnson called “the audacity of creole imagination.” The annual Panorama competition has increasingly become a “must do” option for Carnival because, to me, it is more than music, it is history and individual biography, it is sociology and science, rhythm and motion, it is tonic and elixir for Carnival. It is fun. I become a “people observer” trying to create stories out of the snippets of overheard conversations, and the sights and sounds of this organised chaos that we call Trinidad Carnival.

First things first: Trinidad Carnival is not a spectator sport but a participatory event, or a series of participatory events: soca fêtes, costume masquerade, pre-dawn j'ouvert, soca and calypso competitions, and the Panorama. Panorama Finals, a celebration of and a competition among the best steelbands nationally happens in the Queens Park Savannah in Port of Spain—or the Big Yard, as we refer to it locally—on the Saturday before Carnival. It includes bands from all over the islands performing eight-minute arrangements of calypsos, although one is now more likely to hear arrangements of soca songs increasingly composed by the steelband arrangers who don't normally produce songs to compete in the hustle and bustle of carnival music.

The Panorama Final is the end of a series of gatherings that awaken a spirit that anybody can partake of. If you are in the island early enough, about 3 weeks before the Carnival days, one can do a panyard crawl to sample the sounds and sights of that urban space where late-night practice makes for a blending of musical dexterity, rote learning devoid of the fully understood theory, and wilful determination towards an oft elusive Panorama champion title. As in the football World Cup, there are just a few winners in the history of Panorama, but that has not stopped bands from all corners of the island from competing for the idea of Panorama champion. Arguments about “who play better,” and “who had more excitement in the pan”, and “that is not a tune for Panorama” resonate for months after Carnival is over. Panorama is more than music.

Panorama is music in motion. Panorama is an awakening of sensibilities that give us permission to behave badly. Music and movement and emotion all in one. The motion of the players rocking and grooving to the sound and rhythm of the engine room, the percussive centre of the steelband. The motion of the fans dancing to this music, percolating at a clip rhythm that guarantees body and tempo should become one. Dancing is inevitable. Dancing in time with the music, more so. Chipping (slow steady sliding steps as you move forward with the bands) and to a lesser extent, wining (sexy and suggestive gyrating of the hips, preferably with a partner), and jumping up (vertical with hands in the air, and in time with the music) are the dances of carnival and the dances inspired by pan music. Shoes, then, become mandatory. Slippers may work, but if pedicures are important, sneakers are better.

When you consider that the early Panorama preliminaries in the 1960s were judged “on the move”—with steelbands in racks being pushed on wheels by partisan supporters from the community—you may question whether we have gone backwards or away from our Caribbean instinct to move. Now we have bands being judged in a static formation on a stage, facing one direction, orchestra-like, in defiance to the urge to jump up. What ends are we serving, a European ideal for conformity or a Caribbean reality for participation, joy and movement? I guess the answer can be better considered depending where you are seeing and hearing the Panorama. For we do have a couple options: the drag or the stands.

The action, the real action takes place on “the drag,” a strip of tarmacadam that wends its way in and out of the Savannah passing in front of the Grand Stand, an evolution of the old horse racing grandstand. (The original was demolished in 2006 to be rebuilt as a clone in 2011). That original pavilion for Sport of Kings birthed a sister stand, the North Stand, which has become the playground of and a magnet for the imitative “mimic men” of the middle classes, pretenders looking to become one with the people. Between the drag and the North Stand, you can sense what the atmosphere of true liberation—and libation—the Panorama can be.

The North Stand is the fun place to be if you're is liming in the stands. A cacophony of rhythmic iron clanging, hand drumming and bottle and spoon beating makes for a noisy air of communal spirit and activity that one may find at an EDM festival or Glastonbury maybe. In Trinidad, rum rules, and the idea of the primacy of music is slowly giving way to the idea of a new kind of hedonism that travel writers casually describe as a selling point for Caribbean people.

All this pleasure becomes evident when you're on the drag. From this vantage point, you can hear all the bands do a final practice performance of their competition tune and it's all free. Restriction and freedom are two opposites that shaped Trinidad history. At Panorama, on the drag, they live side by side to shape what we see and hear. Food and drink, drink and food, the cuisine of the casual participant is the fuel for what seems to be an endless celebration. Time has no boundaries at Panorama. The Panorama semi-final, an important milestone in the series as this allows for a gauge of what is possible and what is really happening in steelband music is normally a 14-hour event starting before mid day!

Panorama, to some, is the apotheosis of the steelband. To others, it reflects a growing decay of the communal spirit associated with the movement and a movement. Commercialism ;and a kind of redundancy, and a number of alternative events have eaten away at some of the appeal of Panorama. But for me, it is a rekindling of hope that we are masters of our domain, not necessarily conforming to the dictates of gatekeepers that rule media and creative enterprises. It is our little rebellion. Our fantasy that for a day, after many days and nights in those panyards, those crucibles of creativity and sweat and fire, we as a nation can make something that will last the test of time. It is also our chaotic and fervent and rhythmic moment when time stands still, literally—we can all move as one to the beat.

* Originally published in the January/February 2017 issue of Caribbean Beat Magazine

© 2017, Nigel A. Campbell. All rights Reserved.

To My Steelband Family:

Since 1960 this man has been tuning pans for the City Symphony Orchestra on St. Paul’s Street (behind the bridge) in Port of Spain. When Carnival finished that year, we were each paid $300TT for an entire season of tuning. During the work session, he liked the sound of my work and invited me to his home in Diego Martin to conduct experiments in tuning.

Afterwards we went our separate ways but kept in touch. He went on tuning for Desparadoes, Tokyo, Flamingoes and many other bands.

He fell ill and sought medical attention in the States. I joined up with him in New York City and helped him tune up a band.

This man is a tradition bearer. He is one of the founders and builders of the steel orchestra movement here in Trinidad and Tobago. He has helped ion bringing the steel pan movement to the stage where it is today. He has brought it to the world where he is well- known as he has spent his life tuning pans in a number of places, the last being the Exodus band.

He is best remembered for his “Wally-tone” on the double tenor pan.

He has dedicated his life to this invention and has done his part to make steel pan a particular industry in this country. We should be proud of his accomplishments as they are ours as well.

We, the steel orchestra family, are slowly losing him. He is now bedridden. He is in need of home care.  Please band together to petition the Ministry of Culture, Pan Trinbago, and the Health and Social Security Divisions of the Government to provide such funds for home care for this icon.

He is presently living in his family home on Poui Street in Movant.

He is none other than WALLACE ”Madman” AUSTIN

 868-460-8475

Please open your hearts for this steel orchestra icon. HE NEEDS OUR HELP!

Thank you,

Hillary “Baga” Rezende

Sour Sop Pan Lab, Inc.

Liner notes (as written) for Boogsie's new CD, A Tribute To the Mighty Sparrow: Len ”Boogsie” Sharpe on the PHI

Len “Boogsie” Sharpe has reached a point in his career where accolades are superficial. He is that temperamental genius who can compose in his head without the enhanced skill of an academy-trained musician, the scores for up to eight mini-symphonies for large steelpan orchestras in one short Carnival season. In Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean diaspora and the world, "Boogsie" is an icon of steelpan, that self-sufficient and brilliant musician who can do it all. In that sometimes erratic mind of his, “Boogsie” can cajole melodies and improvisations from any steelpan family member, making the familiar new, and the new, unforgettable. His new instrument, the PHI is an evolution of the acoustic steelpan into the digital age, and in the hands of this master, we can bear witness to some firsts.

Sun Ra, in 1956 was the first artist to release a commercial recording of the electric piano (a Wurlitzer) in jazz on his album Angels and Demons at Play. Walter/Wendy Carlos’ 1968 recording Switched on Bachwith a modular synthesizer system, the Moog, heralded the commercial breakthrough for the synthesizer to the general public. These are artists in the midst of transition of the possibilities of sound, silencing the status quo and creating new moulds. Calypso music was first recorded in 1912, some five years before the first jazz recordings in the USA. In Trinidad and the world, as a matter of fact, aside from the 1940 Decca recording of the proto-steelpan side, The West Indian Rhythm Band accompanying calypsonian Roaring Lion, Casablanca Steel Band was the recipient of the honour of being the first recorded steel band with Trinidad Steel Band in 1948. [Brute Force of Antigua would have to wait a further 3 years before they could supply the fiction of their claim of being first.] That recording heralded an effort to put into the public domain, the new sound emanating from the urban yards, those laboratories of sweat and spit and fire, where the steelpan was created and evolved. In the intervening years until now, the steelpan and the steelpan sound have evolved to a rich timbre and wide sonic range that have taken a place in the sound library of World musics with commercial crossover appeal and demand.

The technical evolution and skill of these early pioneers still amazes. To actually play tunes, and yearn to improve the sound and the instrument was heady pioneering stuff much like the work of the Wright Brothers or Thomas Edison. As steelpan researcher Dr. Kim Johnson says, it is “the audacity of the creole imagination!” The importance of capturing that first sound must have also been significant. From a foreign sound engineer’s perspective, this early sound might have been as much as he could perceive the steelpan could do for a while or forever! In 2011, that magic of captured innovation is so important to us as a nation. “Boogsie”, with this CD, A Tribute To the Mighty Sparrow: Len “Boogsie” Sharpe on the PHI, is entering that domain of those pioneers by recording his tribute to the Mighty Sparrow on the PHI. This recording is the first commercial recording using this Caribbean-created technology of the Percussive Harmonic Instrument (PHI), an electronic descendant of the traditional instrument. One pan, many sounds; the complete range of the steelpan family is within reach with a single PHI. Compact. Convenient. Creative. With it, “Boogsie” is an ensemble.

In our existence in the Caribbean, to be a first would need a recognition that comes from creating in a new medium, on a new instrument, for a new audience. “Boogsie”, whose infrequent recorded output as a solo artist exists in contrast to his numerous live arrangements, has now created a legacy project which can only add to the increasing catalogue of steelpan recordings dating all the way back to 1940. It also juxtaposes the creativity of artist and scientist in the Caribbean milieu and highlights how far we have come, and shows the possibilities that Trinidad-born Nobel Literature laureate VS Naipaul never recognized during his sojourn in the West Indies in 1960-61 that he had published in his definitive and seminal travel book, The Middle Passage: “History is built around achievement and creation; and nothing was created in the West Indies.” The steelpan was about 20 years old at the time of Naipaul’s indictment, evolved from its accidental birth and willed into communal acceptance. 50 years later, Trinidadian engineers have created an electronic instrument that merges the powerful facility of MIDI with a form inspired by the traditional steelpan. History will be vindicated!

Sparrow, that great calypsonian whose canon is unsurpassed in terms of range of melodies, lyric topics, and superior performance both on record and on stage, represents the ideal starting point for the evolution of the recording of calypso melodies. One pioneer interpreting another on a pioneering new instrument is a legacy that can’t be denied. It is the evolution of pan. It is the indictment of a version of history. It is the genesis of a new Caribbean musical aesthetic.

© 2011, Nigel A. Campbell. All Rights Reserved.

TWO PAN GREATS FOR BALTIMORE COMIC CON 2011
 

Female pan pioneer Daisy James Mc Clean and Jason “Peanut” Isaac of ‘Pan Redemption’ fame will be special guests at the Baltimore Comic Con to be held this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) at the Baltimore Convention Centre, Downtown Baltimore, Maryland, USA. 

Jason “Peanut” Isaac

Daisy and Jason will be part of the touring caricature exhibition of cultural icons of Trinidad and Tobago in Pan, mas, calypso, dance, chutney and the performing arts. The exhibition is the brainchild of Trinidad Guardian cartoonist Keith “Keithos” Anderson and was shown in Port-of-Spain (2008), and San Fernando (2009).
 

Daisy James Mc Clean (standing, front right) - with Harlem Syncopators

The action starts at 10:00 a.m. each day and finishes at 6:00 p.m.; be sure to drop in and meet and greet these two Pan pioneers.  Jason is best known for his stunning pan compositions ‘Ten Commandments of Pan’ and ‘Pan Redemption.’ Daisy is the oldest living female Pan pioneer and is the co-founder of the Harlem Syncopators, a single-pan band. Jason will be playing several songs, including his own compositions, at the Comic Con.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL AWARDEES

A significant award ceremony took place in the Pan world in London recently. The Pan Buzz is happy to report that my heart is always filled with pride when people get awarded for their contributions, however small.
 

Congrats go out to Pan greats Sterling Betancourt, Miguel Barradas, Alfred Toussaint, Lennox Totesaut, Lennox Langton, Russel Valdez, Michael “Natsi” Contant and Angela Christopher.
 

This was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the London Commonwealth Arts and Cultural Foundation, the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission and prime mover Sonny Blacks - a tireless worker for Caribbean Culture.
 

The official function was attended by Pan Trinbago’s President, Keith “Bald Head” Diaz and others. A similar function was held recently at the Shay Shay Tien Restaurant in Newtown, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad for five (the fabulous five) Dixielanders: George Ng Wai, Hady Lee, Mervyn Telfer, Billy Carpenter and Curtis “Wayward” Pierre. They invited Pan Buzz and other members to a scrumptious Chinese food and ‘ole talk’ by narrator Curtis Pierre. These men celebrated 60 years of the visit to London by Dixieland. At the function Dixielanders were in high praise of Sonny Blacks on whose expertise and contacts they had relied on to get settled, and get jobs.

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THANKS AND PRAISES

It’s always good to give thanks and praise to all those who agree, and disagree, with the Pan Buzz. Those who have said wonderful things about the column, still going strong courtesy When Steel Talks (WST). I am having to start responding to members of WST that make sense. Those who wish to bring brawl, and brawl with Pan Buzz, take note. I won’t be engaging you in such nonsense. Time is too short for that. I am just off the boil with the TT $35 million Pan Controversy involving the G-Pan and PHI pan.  Be assured I am working behind the scenes.

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FESTIVAL NOTES

Today, I launch the Festival Notes which will bring you up-to-date on the 2011 National Steelband Music Festival.  Please note it will be the
12^th Steelband Music Festival, Pan Is Beautiful Series.
 

Competition will be held in the various categories: ensembles, duets, single-pan bands and conventional orchestras. The finals will be held on October 27^th at the National Academy for The Performing Arts (NAPA). Panmen, Pan lovers give your support. The last Festival was held in 2008; Sagicor Exodus won.

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On September 1^st, nominations for the PAN BUZZ AWARD (Third Edition) will be opened.  Readers can send in their nominees for the various categories.

• Top Ten Pan Songs/Pan Song of the Year
• Arranger of the Year
• Pan Organization of the Year
• Pan Heroes Awards

A panel of five usually mulls over these awards, and the panel (judges) decision is final, no ole talk, cussing, fussing and fighting will be entered into by the Pan Buzz and/or his associates. Now - nothing is given to winners of the Awards; only ‘mention’ on a global scale, or world stage. In time the Awards, will (hopefully) give a small token based on resources.
 

Now Pan Buzz was threatened and wrongly cussed out by a Pan Song Composer last year who felt his song was good enough to make the Top Ten. I too old to fight with anybody. I will have to call on God to help me. So fellas, have mercy on me please. Last year, When Steel Talks (WST) was voted Organization of the Year.
 

The Pan Buzz Awards will be announced on Friday December 9^th, 2011.

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Until next week, wherever you are in Pan’s Diaspora, keep loving up The Pan.

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 information about all things related to the panorama events, to encouraging dialog and information exchange among pan people, to (IMHO) even helping to prod Advance Dynamics to improve their production values.

Their contribution to the steelband movement in general has been immeasurable.

I know I've said some of this before, but I feel so strongly about this that I do not think it can be overstated.

As a die hard pan lover , I cannot thank them enough, and I like to think that I speak for thousands of pan fans out there.

Thank you very, very much, Pan Times/WST.

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I.

TIME FOR ‘CONGRATS’

Today I am in a congratulatory state of mind as I send out greetings to Terrence Noel and his BT Melodians in lonely London, England on the fine work they are doing spreading the Gospel of Pan. These Pan troubadours have been touring the world flying the British flag in the name of Pan.  They have taken pan to the Middle East, Asia, and far-flung places.  Hooray!
 

I thank God their efforts have not gone unnoticed, because just a few days shy of the historic tour by the, Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO), comes the exciting statement that “the steelband is part of British culture.”  I like that too bad. I like it more than cooked food. You think I vex?  I happy like a golden posey.  I repeat:  I love it more than a curry pelau with hog features.
 

Now that statement was made by the British Ambassador to Vienna, Mr. Simon Smith when the BT Melodians toured there, and celebrated the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.  Today I want to thank Ambassador Smith for recognizing Pan’s worth and value to the British society.  As an old colonialist, myself; I really feel to kiss the man big toe..... and who vex lorse.
 

In Pan’s native land [Trinidad & Tobago], we are yet to recognize its value in a serious way.  Panmen still have problems, and are treated like an outside child, or a ‘dorg’ (my word).  Pan is only taken seriously when politicians want to use the Pan, and deejays want to defecate on Panmen.  I am glad Ambassador Smith is saying “Pan is we ting.”   We continue to bump our gums with our Listerine mouths, paying only lip service to Pan. I will forever praise those who love the pan whether they are “foreign” or local.
 

Cultural activist and pan jumbie Pat Bishop once said “we don’t deserve the Pan” and she is so right.  Now I expect Switzerland, Germany ,Holland and Denmark to say Pan is part of their culture. Hooray!  Bring it on guys. You think I vex?  I love it more than cooked food.
 

Just imagine in ‘Pan country’ [Trinidad & Tobago] a Minister of Culture could rail against Panmen and Pan Trinbago - talking about accountability and transparency, and was found wanting owing the government dollars over the years, the latest being one million. Now this is taxpayers dollars we are talking about, not his money. This is the same man who refused to pay Panmen their TT $1000 stipend, and when they protested threatened - them and started to talk big...like a big Tanto!  He really lucky panmen awoke before the cavemen.
 

In a so-called Cabinet reshuffle he retains his post. How’s that for hypocrazy... not hypocrisy?  That’s why when a Britisher [British Ambassador to Vienna, Mr. Simon Smith] say “Pan is we ting”...... I love it more than cooked food..... I love it, I love it - more than my former wife. Pepe Francis of the British Association of Steelbands, take a bow for 30 solid years of pan in Britain.  You reach!

TIME TO LOOK AT THE G-PAN AGAIN

The time has come to look at the G-pan (Genesis pan) with a view to making it more practical. Pepe Francis, Chairman of the British Association Of Steelbands, is of the view that the pan should be scrapped. I don’t think so; I feel we should re-engineer the Pan with a view to making it more light-weight.  I’ve heard tuners and panmen complain the Pan is an exercise in weightlifting. Now we really don’t want to see panmen with hernias do we?  Nobody is listening to these complaints.  Pepe also pointed out that designer drums are available in London (Coventry), Denmark and Holland.  Why can’t we look at metals and how they could enhance the sound of the pan?  But what are we doing?  Sitting on our hand or playing pocket billiard.
 

I have been clamouring for a Pan Development Institute where young inventors could go and express themselves. This institute could be tied in with UWI (University of the West Indies) and the brilliant Dr. Brian Copeland and his team.
 

Government must stop ‘funding ole talk’ and start with solid projects like the Philharmonic Percussive Instrument - the PHI (pronounced “fie”) Pan, and invest in its large-scale development. There’s money to be made in Pan technology....it’s Pan’s final frontier.  We must put young engineering inventive minds to work. The G-pan should be a work in progress; but then you’ll hear the familiar refrain....no funding.

PAN JAMMING ON CHARLOTTE STREET

The Renegades Pan Theatre will come alive with the sound of steel when six hot bands pelt out music at 8 p.m.  It is the first fund-raising project of the innovative grouping PAN LOVERS INTERNATIONAL.  All bands have come on board, as the Pan Lovers - once thought of as a rival organisation to the ruling Pan body - get down to work, with the aim of helping Pan pioneers in their dying (no pun intended) days, establishing a secretariat, an All-Pan radio station as well as other ideas.
 

For only one blue note (TT $100) you can get a delectable diet of Petrotrin Phase Two Pan Groove, Couva Joylanders, Woodbrook Playboyz, T&TEC Tropical Angel Harps, Bptt Renegades and Defence Force, now celebrating 16 years.

Panmen and pan enthusiasts don’t forget to dress up as the bands and Pan Lovers pay tribute to men from TASPO who left these shores 60 years ago.

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Until next week, wherever you are in Pan’s Diaspora, keep on loving The Pan.  Bless.

A thought occurred to me that I had almost forgotten.

Remember when Carnival in Trinidad used to be a two speed affair?.

Long before the DJs, we had music bands on the road, and their music was at a faster tempo than the steelbands.

Most of the big costume bands (we called them "Historical" bands) preferred the brass bands for their music, and their masqueraders "jumped up" much like they do today with the DJs.

On the other hand, if you played mas with a steelband, it would have been a military mas or a simpler costume like cowboys, lumberjacks etc.

The steelbands held a slower pace, and moving along to their beat was called "chippin". By the end of the day, most people chose "chippin" over "jumping up"

It is interesting to  note that as the steelbands participation on the road declined, so did the "chippin".

Of course, the change in music tastes to the faster soca style also accelerated the disappearance of "chippin".

I remember the calls by calypsonians like Maestro and others for steelbands to pick up the tempo.

But one can not help but  wonder if a more aggressive effort of the steelbands to stay involved on the road would have kept the slower steelband "chippin" style as an alternative to todays manic jumping up on the streets at carnival..

Just a thought, folks!