Throw The Bums Out - A Holiday Wish...

To the Bums who failed to contribute to the forward progress of one of the biggest music performance movement in decades, the playing of the steelpan - no winter recess for you...  It's time for you step up and collect your award.  Corporate heads of music organizations, cultural foundations, politicians, music event sponsors and so-called steelpan leaders who don't have an original thought - you are unimaginative, out of time and playing in the wrong key...  You know who you are.  Let's not have a repeat performance in 2005 of your failures...  And to this bunch of not-ready-for-prime-time players you unanimously win the When Steel Talks  "Pan Grouch" award....  If you are wondering if we are talking about you? - We are!   Beware GROUCH, your picture is out there.  And to the steelpan music world we are not accepting any additional [Grouch] candidates for this year... 

Of course to those who have been doing the right thing "keep on stepping"...

Next week we will release our annual "Best of the Year" citations.   It is the When Steel Talks  focus on our steelpan encounters through our global music travels for the year of 2004 -- the Good, the Bad and the Ugly...  This year our encounters take us all over the USA, to Japan, Sweden, Antigua, Trinidad, Germany, Botswana and the UK among many others.

Having said that, we take this opportunity to get the "Bad" out of the way right now as to not tarnish our next week's focus on the great things that are being accomplished by the steelpan music community, in terms of an overall movement towards a commitment to excellent musicianship and appreciation of music by people of all ages, colors and backgrounds.  Indeed, the Pan has been born out of a struggle and is the musical instrument of the poor.  It has enriched the lives of many accross the globe.  Moreover, it continues to fascinate and capture the imagination of our young.  Indeed, the instrument continues to contribute to the increase of the quality of life, and the uplifting of the human spirit of all those who encounter the Pan...

To the hundreds of thousands who play and visited When Steel Talks  this year - we say there is no more honorable a profession than the steelpan musician aka "Panman"  

 

- Pan4Life -