Innovativeness in Pan music and music on de road for Carnival, seems like a good place to start, since many of us, pan jumbies, alive today heard classics such as, ‘Let every valley be exalted’ and ‘The bells of St. Mary’s’, that famous steelband recording, a 45 rpm, and super bomb tune. These songs amongst others were played on the road using amplifiers/stereo equipment by Forsyth Hilanders, from Success Village in Laventille, Trinidad. I believe they played the late Lord Kitchener’s, ‘Mama Dis is Mas’ and came third in the Panorama finals that same year. Conversely, in the very late 1960’s, Pinetoppers, a group of Soul party promoters, and black activists, brought DJ music to the streets, imagine chipping and jumping to the late James Brown’s, ‘Say it Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud’, that Jouvert morning, of course with Black African American activists posters like Malcolm X, H Rap Brown, Angela Davis, Huey Newton etc. perched in the air.
These are just two of the many examples of the path already trekked in Pan and music on de road for Carnival. The first hails the innovation of the amplification of Steelband music by world renowned tuner and arranger Bertie Marshall with his strange but sweet sounding amplified pans, ‘Chinee Music’, they called it. Many tunnel vision Trinidadians knocked the innovation and envied it, but it has come back to haunt them, because right now we are still searching for light at the end of that same Pan tunnel. The other, heralds the advent of the disc jockey, DJ, music on de road for Carnival. Note carefully, no calypso music was played by that DJ, (I think it was the late Big Man City), that Jouvert morning. No one believed, or probably gave it much thought, that music on de road for Carnival, music for chipping, jumping and wining was about to move from the clutches of the steelpan to the big boom boxes of the live bands, and more recently the DJ’s.
For decades before the day I opened my eyes to Pan in the mid 1950’s, and up to about the mid 1970’s, before the first boom, Pan ruled the streets as the musical accompaniment for Mas players. Young and old played mas with steelbands, this was the norm. We could proudly archive Coca Cola Silver Stars’ victory and band of the year title with Gulliver’s Travels. Costumes for Ole Mas Jouvert morning, was any old discarded stuff, old clothes, old dresses, nighties, wigs, and parts of last years Indian or Sailor costume. There were some mud and oil, and rhythm sections, but that was reserved for the likes of Oaksville and Jab Jab etc. Monday Mas included, Flour Bag Sailor, Prison, Seabees was the hip thing, printed jersey, black melton sailor pants with painted/ decorated helmet, and Tuesday, Fleets In, Sailors Ashore, French Sailor, Fancy Sailor, Fancy Seabees, Fireman, War (MP’s looking for band fee and bad behaviour), American Indians, Mexican, etc. some steelbands attempted heavy historical stuff like Aztecs and biblical themes like, Ten Commandments.
You could hardly hear the pan in bands like City Syncopators, Invaders, Trinidad All Stars, Casablanca, thousands of sailors or war mas complete with tanks and bazookas, chipping sometimes not to the sound of the steelband, but to the dragging of other players feet grating on the asphalt. Sometimes, the pans were still down on Marine Square (Independence Sq – Lara Promenade) and the flag man/woman waving vigorously by Park St. The Big Mas bands of the day were George Bailey, Saldenah and Edmund Hart etc. Their musicians were on foot like the pannists, with their brass instruments, only the guitars were amplified later on, but they were on foot as well. Bands took their time on the road to the savannah, because the route was up, down, or across any street. Sometimes this resulted in too many steelbands on Henry and Charlotte Sts, or chaos by the Port of Spain General Hospital. Other times, riots or band clashes may have caused some delay, but the general flow/movement of the bands was easier.
When Pan ruled the road music scene, not only did it rule the streets, but none of the big Carnival Fetes/Parties happened without at least two steelbands performing. In fact, no kind of fetes/parties, even weddings or christenings were ever without live steelband music. One of the better experiences as a young man was going to fete Carnival Sunday night, and hitting the street Jouvert morning straight from the party, there was no sleep. The DJs and the live bands would be stagnant. A steelband’s repertoire then, consisted of several calypsos of that year no remakes or back in times, plus classics or pop songs.
A Tuesday night’s final Las Lap chip was a definite, for those who played Big Mas, without the sweet steelpan music. “Dey came to get dey las lap before lent. Now lent was total lock down, if yuh sing, mouthpan- proom praam, proom, pram, ping a ling a ping a ling, hum or whistle a calypso/tune you were entitled to punishment, and if you push the boat a cut arse, until St. Joseph’s day, then lock again until Glorious Saturday”. To me, Lent virtually killed steelband and calypso. If these art forms were respected, appreciated and loved rather than ridiculed and debased, our music and culture would at present be many miles ahead of the game. But back to the topic, plenty tunes was the thing to have, so being bored on the road was out of the question. This is one of the advantages the DJ’s have over pan on the road, besides loudness, they have several choices, without much breaks, no real time for loosing focus, boredom or distraction.
The instruments itself, the playing, presentation, portability etc has had numerous transitions and upgrades during its reign on the road, and is continuing. “Steelpan moved from around the neck, to wheels….skater (bearings) wheels, bicycle wheels (as soon as Xmas done, lock up yuh bike odder wise), then proper trolley wheels, to metal racks, to canopies”. Lately, we have them on trailer trucks, or huge racks pulled by tractors. The wheels served two purposes, firstly they increased mobility and secondly more pans came onto the streets, because in the ‘pan round de neck’ times, only when someone got tired, then you got a chance to play. The racks accommodated the doubling, quadrupling etc. of the range of pans, especially the background pans, and the canopies, for the weather and some claim acoustics. Regardless of the arguments, the mechanics or science to this innovation, without electronics, the sound of the steelband on the road will remain useless, instead of timeless.
Attainment of this level of growth and development, inclusive of mobility and size, created the need for pan pushers, a voluntary task, which more or less favoured the bands with lots of supporters or mas players. Nevertheless, the indiscipline, lack of commitment, and complacency of the pannists on the road, aided by the problem of adequate pan pushers led to an eventual reduction of the number pans. The size of the bands, generally (because one or two of them still retain their size, but on top trailers), were and still are reduced to a package of the main rack or rhythm rack carrying the percussion instruments and tenors, a couple of bass, quads, seconds and guitars’ racks etc. Additionally, limited space due to the width of the streets, the weight/load of the metal racks added to the already heavy steel drum contributed to the downsizing. Maybe the visionaries/organisers etc were already duped and focused on Panorama because of the width of the ‘Savannah’s Drag’ and the stage, and completely ignored the difference between that short run and a day on the road.
As a consequence, did pannists, associations, movers and shakers etc. ignore the clarion call to, not simply make pan mobile but to upgrade electronically, as Hilanders did? This band did some miraculous things; they attracted a lot of players and supporters, especially the younger pan lovers and mas players from all corners of the island. They became a big band, sort of an overnight sensation in record time. Why? Because of the new invention/innovation to the pan music, it was sweet and you could hear and enjoy it from a distance, the sound could accommodate thousands of revelers easily.
Did Panorama/organised competitions, with $$ cash prizes help and/or hinder pan on the road. Bands became larger, and repertoires became lesser. The next level of arrangers, not overlooking those before who composed their own tunes, but the likes of Ray Holman at first, followed by Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe and the rest, pioneered the “own tune” for Panorama trend. The end product being, bigger bands, better range and sound from the tuners, highly skilled pannists and arrangers, which is all good. But, the quest for perfection of one tune and winning Panorama became the real focus and objective, not sweet pan music on the road.
Just as in medicine and everything else, the side effects surfaced, the focus on steelbands bringing mas, began to suffer, and so did chipping and wining, because ‘yuh band hitting the road with less tunes’, in fact many bands still wait for Carnival Sunday, to learn another tune/s. “Let’s be honest, yuh band most times had two(2) tunes, Panorama and Bomb, could you or did you really enjoy that? I certainly don’t”. Calypso music, the steelbands first choice, also experienced some change to Soca music, as the influence and demand for foreign music, especially American, dictated the market. At first Soca was slower and the themes, hook lines etc. suited for pan. This infectious music suddenly became faster and the lyrics not very pan friendly, so the own tune and the die hard calypsonians provided the options. On the other side, fetes/parties eliminated steelbands, because electronics, soul and pop music was in greater demand. The youth especially the women began drifting away from the steelband as well, because they were the gullible targets of “what’s happening” with this new music, new trends, the equipment, the science and the technology.
Steelband generally, for whatever reason, never stepped up, or saw it fit to explore the cutting edge or even the state of the art electronics or technology in Pan on the road or in parties. That certainly has been done for the instrument in the recording industry, stage performances etc. However, it has really remained indigenous/traditional, soft and sweet sounding, unable to readily reach the hundreds, sometimes thousands in attendance at any type of event except small or close up events. To add to the downward spiral, the commercial/business aspect of Carnival/Mas took its effect, the youth and the women became less fascinated by pan, the Jouvert crowds were the first to go. Bandleaders like Merle Lewsey, Victor Rique etc. sold a lot of us on the change to formal ‘ole mas’ costuming. Their music was provided by a DJ and/or live band, and this business began to boom and spread. These entrepreneurs even went a step further with Monday night mas, but no pan. Then the mud mas’ trend, precisely what Jouvert has been reduced to, came and has gone with most of the crowds, leaving pan on the road struggling for revelers and supporters. Another serious point to note is the Steelbands who were eliminated at the preliminary stage, or failed to reach the final round of Panorama, hardly ever hit the streets these days
Profiteering and winning Road March became additional side effects, the ‘Road March was no longer the calypso/tune played the most times on the road by the steelbands. Live bands and DJ’s decided this $$ cash prize winner, and those said revelers(to live bands and DJ’s) represent much of the sector which has reduced Pan to the North Stand (now the Paddock Greens) for Panorama and that’s it for Pan until the following year. The street theatre and elaborate costumes from Bailey and Saldenah began to disappear, because of more appealing designs for the youth/women i.e. skimpier but more expensive costumes…..’the two piece with fries’. “So if yuh woman playing wid Poison or Harts who yuh playing wid Silver Stars”? These big bands are upwards of 80% women, and most of the men are workers, security etc. or watching the women playing mas. Young folks would not give that up, to swing your hips, chip, and jump to steelpan and calypso, that is too retro. The thing is the speeding waist business, and running/aerobics to keep up with the Soca from the big truck.
“So pan friends, be it the national instrument, international acclaim, panorama or whatever, name a better way to enjoy pan than on the road/move. Nowadays yuh cyar go up and across any street, yuh getting drong out, from J’ouvert straight to Tuesday night, yuh fraid to bring mas because it really makes no sense, and………is it too late to amplify and be as loud and quick as the Big Truck? or just settle for winning Panorama and hope for some miracle to change things? I believe there can be a renaissance but, before we attempt any revival of pan music on de road, let’s look at a possible solution to this waste of talent, using the Brooklyn(Labor Day) J’ouvert model, where Pan rules. There are no DJ’s or live bands of any type or size involved or allowed. All the mas are accompanied by a steelband. There are competitions for the mas and the pan at different points. The mas is judged at X venue/corner, and the Pan at Y venue/corner, and all bands proceed along a prescribed route with a scheduled time of 4 to 10 am. Very simple, straight forward, structured business, being used for several years now, responsible for keeping Pan on de road alive”.
Pan Trinbago, look around you, right in your backyard, Point Fortin Borough Day is a successful pan on the move event, especially when they reduce/control the side of the road DJ’s. Yes, it’s a similar problem, but the organizers were probably forced to include this DJ feature, because of the youth, entrepreneurship and corporate sponsorship. Should Pan Trinbago adopt/copy the Brooklyn model or simply piggy back on it by using some of its policies and procedures, because there are several differences/factors? For instance, the available space, permission and assistance from “the City,” complete with New York’s finest, the NYPD, corporate sponsorship, and there are no Carnival Tuesday celebrations. Should steelbands acquire electronics and jostle with the DJ’s on the trucks, or the stationery ones at the side of the route on the up side, but add to the bottle necks and congestion on the down side? What can be done for pan music to at least be significant at carnival time other than at panorama? I would advise a hard look at the Brooklyn model, reasons being, firstly, it is a Trinidadian thing, created, developed and run by Trinidadians, and secondly, it is very successful and has been so for quite some time now.
Being realistic and admitting to ourselves that pan music, especially on the road, is lost, and that pan as an institution failed to really hold the attention and admiration of the youth, is very necessary, and the foundation from which any way forward should be planned. Pan Trinbago is quite aware of what’s happening home and abroad, but probably their vision and mission, does not include a return to the use and impact of Steelband music on the road. Maybe they are blinded by the fortunes or misfortunes of Panorama, Music Festival, and 21st Century etc. Let’s look at going electronic, this is costly, would sponsors add this cost to their contributions, does it make sense adding more big trucks to the congestion, can steelbands attract enough mas players to absorb the costs? I believe the solution to street congestion and re-emergence of pan music lies in setting up an exclusive time and route for pan. Since we have a two day festival, we could probably look at the whole of Monday, from Jouvert till, or Jouvert only.
As for the route/s from the Stadium to Green Corner via Ariapita Ave or from the St James Infirmary(Poor House) to Green Corner, via Western Main Rd and Tragarete Rd. The mud mas and the big bands can have all the rest. In Brooklyn, the big bands have their way on the second half of the day on another route from 11.00 am to 6.00pm. Come Tuesday morning, all routes will again be opened to all bands, big, small, steelband whatever. Pan folks and pannists would have enjoyed their Carnival by then and could look forward to more pan music on the streets from about 6.00 pm to midnight on Tuesday. If only for the love of Pan on the Road - let’s try something new.
Up Next………..Steelband was gang related and the link to today’s gang violence
Produced and compiled by D. Anthony Blackman aka Blackie
Copyright Reserved 26th February 2008