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Trinidad - One of
the pan tuning greats Lincoln 'Delgado' Noel has recently passed,
but the art of tuning the steelpan instrument is alive and the torch
is passionately carried by some of the other greats of his
generation, including Bertram 'Birch' Kelman, Wallace Austin and
Bertie Marshall, to mention just a few. And then there are
those of the 'next' generation - such as Andy 'Mad Max' Neils.
'Max' as he is also known, is one of the most sought-after
pan-tuners in the world, regularly declining job offers to tune
entire orchestras and even individual pan instruments, both at home
in Trinidad and Tobago, and abroad. The likes of Desperadoes,
Exodus, Invaders, Skiffle Bunch and CASYM (New York) steel
orchestras, and many more in the US Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Aruba
and Antigua - all bear the mark (and sounds) of his expert skills.
 But like many steelpan
tuners, there is much more to Andy Neils than the present phase of
his involvement with this unique instrument. As he worked at
tuning a pan at his Barataria-based workshop,
When Steel Talks
(WST)
got an in depth sense of the life of Neils, before he became the
master craftsman he is today.
At age seventeen in
1981, as a soon-to-graduate student of South East Secondary School
in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, a young Neils had spent a short while
with Blue Diamonds steel orchestra, before joining his school's
steelband a mere two weeks before the annual national junior
panorama competition. A sign of things to come was one week
later, when, after he got the tune down on the tenor pan, he was
asked to change instruments and learn the panorama selection all
over again on the double tenor instead because players were needed
in that section. With an even more challenging voice of
the instrument, Neils now picked up and 'aced' the tune on the
double tenor in that one week before the competition. The
arranger for South East panorama that year was Trevor 'Inch High'
Ballantyne.
The tuner says he was
'hooked' on pan since then, and his love for the instrument led him,
not to Trinidad All Stars, just up the road from South East, but to
Renegades. While he was still at South East, Neils had a visit
from Renegades personnel who asked him to join their stageside.
The present-day pan tuner would spend about fifteen years with the
regular panorama orchestra and as a member of its prestigious and
world-traveled stageside. It was here, according to Neils,
that legendary Renegades arranger Dr. Jit Samaroo, stood looking at
him playing a particular bit of music one day. Samaroo then
shook his head at his skill combined with speed on the pan, and
dubbed him 'Mad Max.' To this day, Neils says, many people who
knew him as a player, do not know who Andy Neils is, but are fully
familiar with the pan player 'Max.'
 The present-day pan
tuner said although he was a good player who could execute
practically anything on pan (robotic, as he puts it), he considered
that he could have been better, because at that time, he could play
when someone 'showed him', and play [the music] well, but he was not
music literate then; this would change later on. Nonetheless,
Neils said, he knew beyond any doubt that he wanted to make pan his
life, and he decided to make his career through the national
instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. He took a look around and
saw that the people who had made a business related to the steelpan
were not pan players (only a few of the truly exceptional ones did,
according to Neils), but the arrangers and pan tuners.
Initially, in addition
to his pan performances, Neils set his sights on tuning as his
career move. His first formal taste of pan tuning was during a
six-week course run by Pan Development Unlimited at Belmont Junior
Secondary School in Port-of-Spain. Desmond Waithes
taught the music theory segment there, and would go on to play a
pivotal role in Neils' initiation into arranging on the national
scene.
There were several
parallel paths in the life of Andy Neils at any given point.
In addition to his six-week course, he later became part of a
year-long pilot program put together by Pan Trinbago, which was
supposed to focus on pan tuning. While Neils says that the
course placed more emphasis on pan manufacturing and related support
mechanisms rather than tuning, it was his interaction here with the
late Clive Bradley which made him believe that he could seriously
make a go at arranging for steelpan; this - in addition to tuning
the instrument. Bradley had initially been contracted by Pan
Trinbago as instructor for the music appreciation section of the pan
tuning package, and while another instructor completed that phase of
the program, Neils credits his experience with Bradley for giving
him the confidence to explore the world of arranging. Another
component of that one-year program was a two week-long
apprenticeship at Trinidad and Tobago Instruments Limited (TTIL)
that would serve as a point of contact for Neils within the company
soon enough.
After his boost of
confidence in the area of arranging, Neils contacted Desmond Waithes
at the Belmont Intermediate School. The latter headed the
music program there and at that point, encouraged his arranging
pursuits, and agreed with his idea to have the school participate in
the junior national panorama with Neils as its arranger.
Still a pan player with
Renegades at this point, when Neils approached management for the
use of the band's instruments, they agreed to allow the youngsters
of Belmont Intermediate to use their pans to enter the junior
national panorama. This was before Renegades had its own youth
initiative (Renegades Youth Steel Orchestra) in place. Before
moving on Neils would take the Belmont Intermediate School steel
orchestra to panorama for two years with this concession in place.
Thereafter, his arranging arena became the traditional bands,
starting off with Rhythm Rockers from Arima.
Neils elaborated "Before I was actually recognized as a tuner, I did
a lot of arranging for the traditional or 'pan round de neck'
bands." He worked with several other traditional bands,
including Nutones, and Marsicans, both from Arima,
arranging for the latter Who Let The Dogs Out. While
turning out arrangements for the bands, Neils continued to perfect
his tuning skills. In fact when he was later affiliated with
Hilarks in Belmont he wore two hats, those of arranger, and
tuner.
His exposure to
pan-tuning marked the beginning of his music literacy experience.
It instilled in him a desire to experiment and accomplish more on
the instrument while playing, so he left Renegades and made his way
to Lincoln Enterprises where there was a steel orchestra. Here
pannists were encouraged to 'ramajay' or adlib during playing; the
steel orchestra itself entered a competition at the time called 'Pan
Ramajay.'
The year 1996 was a
turning point for Andy Neils, when he was employed at TTIL, the
company where he had been apprenticed for two weeks during his
year-long program shortly before. Here is where he received
his true education, gaining most of his experience and pan tuning
skills. To hear Neils tell it - when he started at TTIL, he
"...couldn't tune at all. I used to try a l'il thing, but I
couldn't tune at all." This was after completing the one-year
program, which he felt was far more productive in pan making, rather
than pan tuning. In all, he would spend just over one year -
from the time he began through 1998 - with the company. He
initially joined TTIL and was assigned the task to prepare - but not
tune - the small 'souvenir' sized pans which were about twelve
inches in diameter. He was not yet part of the crew that worked in
the upper rooms of TTIL, and who were considered the 'real'
craftsmen, tuning the 'real'/conventional-sized instruments.
But Andy Neils knew he
was capable of and destined for, far more than working on
souvenir-sized steelpans. Toiling determinedly and quietly
behind the scenes, Neils described how later on in his stint at the
company, he would take his lunch hour, and other spare time, and
tune pans that TTIL had cast aside as defects. It was after
tuning one such pan, a tenor, that his skills were finally given
attention by the then-head of TTIL - Mr. Cooper. A tuner was
now needed in the 'upper rooms' at TTIL, and with his speed and
skills, Neils made the cut and was given the job. However, he
was still relegated to working mainly on the small pans.
 The late master tuner
Lincoln Noel had been brought on board by TTIL in an advisory and
teaching capacity, and it was there that Neils encountered him.
In fact, Neils unhesitatingly credits Noel with the great strides he
has made in pan tuning to this day; "it's a blessing he passed
through there [TTIL]!" He told
WST that Noel popped his head in one
day, and asked him to tune a side of a triple guitar. Noel
ignored Neils telling him that he was only supposed to work on
tuning small pans. "If anybody asks you anything, tell them
I told you to do it" Noel told the then-up-and-coming pan tuner.
This late master craftsman had recognized the skills and passion for
pan tuning in Neils, and believed he had an 'ear' for pan.
Neils said the triple guitar he tuned was 'fairly alright' and that
afterward TTIL started to give him some conventional-sized
instruments to tune such as double tenors and double seconds.
Not too long after, TTIL made the company's middle pan instruments
his portfolio. Once double guitars, triple guitars, and cellos
were manufactured by the company, it was Neils' responsibility to
tune them, with front line pans coming his way occasionally when
there was a back up. Even though he mastered the middle range
pans, Neils still desired to excel in all voices, including tenors
and background pans; but TTIL wanted him to concentrate on the range
they had officially designated for him. "They told me I was a
middle man, and that I couldn't tune tenors and other pans" said
Neils. Despite this, in his spare time, the tuner worked on,
and honed his skills by tuning, any and all voices of pans around
TTIL - including the tenors and background pans. Other tuners
were responsible for other voices of instruments.
Lincoln Noel also asked
Neils to blend a tenor for him, which the latter eagerly and
professionally did. Believing the tenor to have been worked on
by Noel, the TTIL people proudly showed it off, and even called
Neils himself in to illustrate - 'Andy, listen to how a tenor pan
[is] suppose[d] to sound.' Smiling to himself, Neils said he
maintained his cool and continued behind the scenes, all the while
racking up more experience. He developed a fine working
relationship with Noel. He says that he himself had to learn
much of his craft on his own through careful practice, and,
observing Noel at work, and seeing him pay the same kind of
attention to the details which had become a hallmark for Neils, was
amazing to him. It made him smile on the inside, he remembers,
knowing for sure that he was on the right track. Neils worked
on a lot of double seconds pans with Noel. He would do the
main task, and Noel would fine tune the instruments. Among the
invaluable advice he imparted to Neils dealt with working in
octaves, and how to balance his pans.
Reminiscing about some
of his other experiences, Neils chuckled as he spoke about the hours
spent tuning the pans that Gabriel 'Doyle' Robley was given
responsibility for. The latter was charged with tuning
the company's frontline pans. Neils said that on his own time
- very early in the morning, during lunch and after hours - he would
lock himself away in Robley's room, where TTIL had placed pans to be
tuned. On occasion he would find Neils coming out of his
workroom, and would tell Neils "Is alright, you go ahead, fix up."
What was happening, of course was tremendous growth in Neils' tuning
prowess - he was gaining immense experience while doing the bulk of
the tuning work that was Robley's task - in his spare time - while
Gabriel 'Doyle' Robley himself did not mind at all, getting paid for
what was mainly Neils' work. Looking back now at that
situation as it existed then, and presently at a high point in his
career where demand for his skills exceeds the hours in any given
day - Neils considers all those experiences at TTIL an apt trade off
for his expertise today.
Lincoln Noel had further
anointed Neils when he took the young tuner up to Desperadoes to
tune their guitar pans. The word got around after that Neils
had worked with Desperadoes, and people began contacting him while
he was still at TTIL.
Neils was soon asked to
accompany Nutones Steel Orchestra to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia as
their tuner, which he did. Sometime after, the Trinidad
&Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra approached him to work on
their instruments for a World Steelband Festival performance. It would turn out
to be Andy Neils' first (and not by any means, his last) 'win' as a
steelpan tuner, as the Defence Force went on to tie for championship
honors with Exodus Steel Orchestra. It was around this time
the pan tuner parted company with TTIL, and forged a path on his own.
 In the ten or so years
since Andy Neils first surrendered to his passion for pan tuning,
this next-generation pan tuner says he does not miss the actual
playing of the instrument; instead he has a desire to pass on his
own talents, perhaps teaching or apprenticing select individuals who
have the requisite drive, commitment and desire for perfection, in
much the same way he has, coming up through the ranks. For
2006 Neils has had two people who apprenticed with him for a couple
hours on a daily basis, but says since he returned from
this year's commitment of New York tuning for panorama champs CASYM Steel
Orchestra, that schedule has not been resumed. Factors which
deter Neils from including tutoring as a regular part of his
schedule are the necessary time commitment, and the reality that the remuneration in
this area is not comparable with the pan tuning craft itself.
Still, when asked by
WST where he saw himself in four to
five years in the future, Neils admitted that he would love to have
opened his own pan tuning school by that time.
Neils has been the
resident tuner handling Invaders Steel Orchestra's frontline
instruments for some time while Bertrand 'Birch' Kelman does the
background pans; and upon the death of tuner Leo Coker, did the same
range of pans for Exodus for three years - 2003 through the 2006
panorama season. He also tuned instruments for Skiffle Bunch
for the 2006 Pan in the 21st Century competition. Desperadoes
also took advantage of his services once again for that same
competition, and the band's Assistant Manager Anthony McQuilkin told
WST that they are very pleased with
Neils' work, and the
Laventille-based powerhouse looks forward to maintaining their
professional relationship.
Neils said that although
he has tuned entire orchestras, it is much work, and so generally
sticks to a certain range of pans. On other occasions he has
taken along
another tuner for the task, as was the case with Skiffle Bunch earlier
on this year for Pan in the 21st Century. His true preference,
however, is to produce individual instruments of all voices of
steelpan, and for smaller ensembles. But be that as it may,
Neils does not really have much choice in the matter at present.
For word travels fast - and orchestras are always on the lookout for him.
 Of his 'champion-ships,' the tuner
also has a recent 'win' under his belt. He has tuned for 2006
Panorama champions CASYM Steel Orchestra. In fact, with his
chock-full schedule, Neils has been requested to produce brand new
instruments for the entire one-hundred player New York steel
orchestra, and is currently fulfilling that order. He has
already supplied them with sixteen brand new tenors which lent to
their winning performance on September 3, this year. When
WST visited Neils, the racks of pans
in his workshop, some newly burnt (above), some tuned and chromed, were part
of CASYM's order. There are still middle pans and all the
orchestra's background pans to follow. From the beginning of the
process, Neils can oversee the massive project. The
instruments are manufactured within eyeshot of his workshop,
and are in turn tuned by him. If things remain on track, it
will be just a matter of time before CASYM will be boasting a spanking
new orchestra produced and tuned in its entirety by Andy Neils.
Amidst his trips abroad
throughout the year to produce and maintain the beautiful sounds of different steel
orchestras, and with other commitments, Neils maintains his
reputation as a world-renowned and talented pan tuner, and nurtures a love for his
craft and a respect for the instrument, coming from his many years
as a pan player. He is very vocal in his gratitude and
appreciation for the late great pan tuner Lincoln Noel, whose
confidence in the younger tuner has paid off handsomely, not only
for Andy Neils himself, but for those fortunate enough to avail
themselves of his talents.
Contact Andy Neils at :
www.panmaxstudios.com
Basement Press
Corp
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