Panman on the move? Some thoughts about panists moving around, and other pan topics.

[Glenroy R Joseph]

I'm becoming increasingly aware of the movement of pan people around the globe, and it all has to do with Panorama.Not just tuners and arrangers but a lot of young panists are getting the opportunity to travel, and to play the instrument they love.You have panists from Europe, America and as far off as Japan going to T&T (the motherland of Pan) to beat panRecently, members of a band from St Lucia journeyed to beat pan in T&T Panorama.And it is not a one way street either. Panists from T&T travel worldwide to participate in festivals like The Notting Hill Carnival, Caribana and Labor Day in Brooklyn.This is indeed a good thing, both for the development and unity of the steelband movement, and for the growth of the young people involved.On an entirely different topic.Lately I've been thinking about the role that so called "badjohns" played in the development of the steelband, and it struck me that some of the strongest steelband organizations of today are the ones considered "badjohn" bands in days gone by.I think this is no accident.In the old days the leadership of these bands consisted of known street fighters or "badjohns" who were able to defend the band when necessary,and to instill discipline inside the band by force.This was probably the only way to keep control over rambunctious young panmen of the day, many of whom, let's face it, weren't the most disciplined of youth.That discipline kept the bands together, and enabled development of the structures that exists in these bands to this day.So, our history is not all black and white.

[Sante']

As much as i enjoyed this topic, it is wonderful to see all the young folks playing pan.Yes in those days you used to get beat up to beat pan in those bands that were mentioned. or you get beat up when you beat a pan.
Some people get beat up when you did not beat a pan, it is true, today you play with people to play pan.There are no more Badjohns again, we are all pan players, and gooood at that

[Dr.med Hugh A.M. Bobb]

Hello Mr Joseph, I also remember the days of the steel band clashes between hard-core badjohn bands like
Despers, Tokyo, Casablanca, Invaders and San Juan All Stars. Invaders was unique in that it was the
unofficial jour ouvert band for the rich, the poor and those inbetween.
I mentioned folklore in the sense that it is now very interesting to read and hear about the sometimes
unbelievable escapades of the steel band men and badjohns of those days. The youths of today who have
no real idea of the embryonic steel band days, may sometimes regard the true stories as being exaggerated
or not authentic----- a badjohn, withoit a gun. beating up 3-4 men at the same time a la Tarzan. The young
person would think that it is like telling stories about soucouyants or duppies.
When I left Trinidad, pan around the neck was the order of the day. The positive development of the steel
band is not only going from the ping pong to the g-pan. The social aspect also has to be taken into
consideration. That is why I mentioned that uninteresting "sterile" middle class bands like Silver Stars and
Dixieland should be cited by the steel band experts for implementing the social acceptance of the steelband
man who was looked upon as an uneducated lazy hooligan. Although it has nothing to do with the direct
development of the pan per se, I think that it should be an integral part of the pan history.
Thank you for the interesting discussion.

[Foy Barnes]

Hi Ms Sarah-Ann, I have been in the pan game for upwards of forty years. When I started I had to placed on a Coca Cola box in order to reach my pan. So, I have been around for a while. In response to the second part of your staement, I humbly disagree. My observation is that the "LOVE" is still in tact, but the devotion and comittment has waned. Case-in-point! I make the trek home every year for Carnival and I am still affiliated with my old band. It boggles my mind to see the attitude of the young players approach towards Panorama, when I compare them to how we were. For my generation, Panorama was life, everything else just detail. I can remember playing at hotels for an entire year, without pay, to ensure come panorama-time, if we did not have a sponsor we could finance a stage side out of pocket. I cannot honestly say that I personally ever heard anyone complained. That is comittment. Come practice-time, if the practice session started at 8:00PM, the panyard was full from around 6:00PM, because as a player, your greatest fear was that the band started a new part and you were not present and then you would have to catch-up. At Carnival-time once the panorama practice has started your self-imposed routine becomes very deliberate. You rush home from school, did your chores much better that you every did, did extra chores and be real nice to your mom. All this just to ensure that she does not have reason to tell you not to leave the yard. In your mind, you would literally die if you did not get to go practice for panorama. The young players today, going to the panyard seem to be an after-thought. They seem to show up when they have nothing better to do. Granted this is not true of all bands but many bands have this problem. A lack of devotion and comittment.

[Sarah-Ann]

The term BEATING PAN is scarcely used by young people it is playing pan. It makes you wonder about folks who still use that term. If you beat pan you are a liability but if you play pan yes join the band. As they say those words are outmoded. The term is passe as calling someone Darkie

[Sarah-Ann]

Off course the "bad johns" marshalled the players and supporters. The entire village would support a band and there behaviour was questionable at times. But the love and devotion to the instrument is no longer as sharp as it was then, it was a love surely that a parent pays to his/her baby.
The love is different now. I am just glad that as soon as young people get a feel of that instrument they do fall in love with it, in a different way, but just as devoted. As long as you did not brting a "bad john" home to dinner with you all was well.

[Glenroy R Joseph]

I don't know why some people seem to insist on trying to "pretty up" history. there is no point to it.

I'm old enough to remember the days when steelbands men were not considered fit for "decent" company, as Sparrow described in his calypso "Outcast"

I'm also old enough to remember the days when panmen hid cutlasses in bass drums on Carnival day.

Granted, much of the violence in the old days came from band supporters, but it would be naive to suggest that some of the panmen were not involved.

After all, steelbandsmen were not all badjohns and hooligans, but they weren't all angels, either.

The fact is that like many of the African influenced musical art forms developed in the western hemisphere post slavery, be it reggae, blues, jazz, Afro-Latin or calypso, the steelband was created by poor urban youth from underprivileged areas where there was a potential for violence, not in the more affluent middle class areas.

So yes, middle class individuals and bands did contribute to the development of the pan, but the roots are deeply buried in what is referred to today as "the ghetto".

This isn't folklore, Dr. Bobb, this is reality. There is documented video accounts by people who were there back in the day.

These videos are posted on this forum, Dr Bobb. You should check them out.

[Foy Barnes]

We have been BEATING (no pun intended) our collective heads against the wall over the term "Beating Pan" for quite some time, and the beat goes on. It is nothing more than a phrase that as been in the pan lexicon from the very begining. The term has no connotation of aggression or anger. The pan-beaters of old were not this bunch of angry men taking out their aggression of their instruments as some would suggest. This idea is totally absured. As a matter of fact these panmen were some of the most committed and passionate men the steelband world has seen to date. "PAN-BEATING" is nothing more than the colloquial term for the act of playing the steel pan. It was widely accepted up until around 1975 when there was a realization that there was a need for "politically correctness" in various aspects of our lives. The steelband-man was no longer a steelband-man, he was simply a pan-man. Then, with the influx of women into the realm of pan, the term PANMAN was not politically correct anymore so the steelband artform practitioner became a panist. As the instument started to become more main-stream, all of a sudden we were not beating pan we were playing pan. It is difficult for me to think that any panist really makes a conscious effort to beat his or her pan. It is all about passion. As a panist playing in a group there are some songs that you do not give a rats rear-end about. You just do not feel it. Other songs have a part or two that just drive you up the wall. When that part comes, YOU JUST GO OFF. That is when you "get into the zone" where you are play as if the pan is playing you rather than the other way around. Everything is committed to muscle-memory, your hands instinctly goes to the next note. That is when you are "BEATING PAN" my friend. If as a panist you have not experienced this you will not understand it. 'BEATING PAN", Nothing more than a play on words, do not read anything into it. Peace!

[Glenroy R Joseph]

My comments are in general, does'nt apply to all steelbands.

Bands like Silver Stars and Dixieland back in the day were the exceptions, not the rule, since they had a more middle class background.

[Dr.med Hugh A.M. Bobb]

The so called "badjohn" bands now have a certain kind of folkloristic legacy in T&T. That is why bands like
Despers, Renegades, Invaders or All Stars have many more loyal followers from all clases of the society than a "non-badjohn" band like Silver Stars. Many people have forgotten that Silver Stars have also played an
important part in the positive development of the steel band culture. Being a middle class band comprising
of many college students, Silver Stars revolutionized the social acceptance of the "steel band man" in a
positive way by getting rid of his "wagang" stigma.
The steel band historians have not given Silver Stars their deserved recognition.

[Glenroy R Joseph]

Thanks, Jackis. As a matter of fact I see the steelband more as a cultural and community center, than as a potential business, as some see it.

I dream of the day when the panyard could become a viable center of community and cultural activies for all, especially for young people.