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pandog
 IP: 216.110.118.122 Aug 31, 07 - 9:31 AM |
the genesis of steelpan/by selwyn taradath
The genesis of the steelband was already in place by the turn of the last century. Repressive acts by the colonial authorities such as the banning of the African drum and the attempts to stifle non-European cultural expressions, not only steeled the will of the practitioners of street culture, but also sent a message to the colonials that they would meet stiff resistance to their efforts to brutalise the masses for merely expressing themselves. It became evident in the Camboulay riot of 1881 and the Hosay riot of 1884. The Tamboo Bamboo ensemble took the place of African drums to provide rhythmic accompaniment for the Afro-Creole street culture. Kalinda, Dame Lorraine and carnival parades all swayed to the beat of the tamboo bamboo - an ensemble made up of different lengths and sizes of bamboo which simulated the four main voices of music, soprano, alto, tenor and bass. This was the precursor of the steelband movement. By 1930 other elements had begun to creep into the tamboo bamboo band. The story of the evolution of the steelband is shrouded in myth, legend and biased versions, anyone brave or foolish enough to write a definitive history of the steelband would be subject to refutation and ridicule. The gin bottle and spoon and small scraps of metal were used increasingly to supplement the decibel level of the band, as a louder din was required. The year 1935 is generally accepted as the watershed year for the transition from bamboo to metal. That year the Newtown Tamboo Bamboo band led by Lord Humbugger, discarded their lengths of bamboo and took to the streets for J'Ouvert with a full complement of metal containers. These included garbage bins and covers, biscuit drums, paint cans, brake drums, chamber pots and bottles and spoons. They took the name of Alexander's Ragtime Band from an American movie of eh same name and caused a stir in Port of Spain. Led by Lord Humbugger who conducted the band with a baton, replete with top hat, gloves and coat tails and the "musicians" with their music sheets in front of them, they changed the musical course of this land forever. By Carnival Monday evening most of the bamboo bands had followed suit and the streets resonated to the raucous sounds of people chanting to the accompaniment of clanging, metallic sounds. Tamboo bamboo was soon relegated to village activity before disappearing under the onslaught of the new and popular metal bands, which now ruled the streets on any occasion that Creoles could justify taking a good jump-up. Controversy still surrounds the issue of the first person to play a tune on the pan. There are arguments for Victor "Totie' Wilson of Alexander's Ragtime Band who it is alleged isolated four notes of different pitch on the ping pong. The ping pong was a small hand held pan cut from a paint tin or carbide container. The indentations made by striking it with wooden sticks, were pushed upwards to form small bumps, which were then tuned to different pitch notes. Emmanuel "Fish Eye" Ollivierrie of Hell Yard is another contender for the title of first man to play a tune. He was alleged to have played "Mary had a Little Lamb." Totie Wilson tuned his four notes to the chimes of the QRC clock. Who did it first is not important as the range of the ping pong gradually expanded to accommodate the growing adventuresome of the young pan musicians. Winston "Spree" Simon soon became the acknowledged ping pong virtuoso and his performance before the Governor at the carnival celebrations of 1946 made history as both the Trinidad Guardian and The Gazette reported the impromptu concert given by the young steelbandsmen while his band Destination Tokyo was parading before the dignitaries in the Governor's box. Up to that time the steelband was mainly a percussion ensemble, although the ping pong could carry a melody they were used along with the five-note tenor kittle to provide a rhythmic motif or riff to accompany a chant, which the crowd carried with encouragement from the band's chantwells. Other instruments included a two-note bass drum or du-dup, bottle and spoon, brake drums, a cuff boom, graters and other metal objects. This ensemble was created gradually after 1935 and many innovations came to the fore during the war years 1939-1945. Carnival was banned from 1942-1945 and a state of emergency declared which effectively prevented assembly by more than three persons. This did not deter the young, restless steelbandsmen who took to the streets any time they felt like having a jump, which inevitably led to trouble with the police. The panmen of the East Dry River area sued the narrow alleyways, crowded yards and even the riverbed itself to defy the police who used brute force whenever they succeeded in catching up with the perpetrators. The war was drawing to an end in 1945 and the colonial authorities decreed that when the air raid sirens sounded to |
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