San Fernando,
Trinidad, W.I. - As one of the original members
of Melody Makers Steelband of the 1940s - Godfrey Camps
formulated the short-lived (1956-1959) Small Makers from
discarded pans from the yard of the parent band, as a
means of satisfying less significant Christmas gigs -
which in the view of Melody Makers were not really
financially viable. The arranger then was Radcliff Baker
while the arranger for Small Makers was Lennox Gonzales.
As fate would have it the
young, ambitious, aspiring Camps went to live with his
elder sister who was by then domiciled in Diego Martin.
With the ‘pan jumbie’ in his system he then found
himself fraternizing with the members of the Diego
Martin Valley Harps Steelband in Rich Plain, North
Trinidad.
Before long however
(1960), Camps once more returned to Melody Makers in San
Fernando, bonding with his nephews, the Jordans –
Allister, Arnold, Errol and Anim. It was only a matter
of time before Makers met its demise in 1964.
The band’s repertoire
included a tune by the Mighty Sparrow - “Gun Slingers”
as arranged by Tosca Mohammed. The arrangement
landed them in fourth spot in the Southern Panorama. The
event was then held at the Naparima Bowl in San
Fernando.
These times were violent
as steelband clashes were part and parcel of the social
milieu of the steelband movement on the island.
In 1967 Camps joined
Southern All Stars for panorama with Jamell Whiby as
arranger. Sometime later he teamed up with Guinness
Cavaliers with
Bobby Mohammed at the helm from 1971 to
1974 and even went on tour to Canada with the group.
Camps recalled having a
short stint with Sando Organets, a breakaway faction
from Silvertones… that was in 1972. In 1973 Camps joined
Olympians where he emerged as the vice captain. He then
joined Chocolate City – 1979 to 1981- where he again
emerged as the captain.
As a player Camps enjoyed
membership in a number of bands on the island including
Kalamo Kings, Shades in Steel, Free French, Antillean
All Stars, Chocolate City, Tropical Fiesta, Motown,
Sancity, Two Thousand & One (2001) Truetones, Organets,
Dolphins, Cavaliers, Olympians and Pan Elders.
An elated Camps iterated
to Pan Diaspora Visionary Hollis Clifton, that sometime
in 1998 he was a founder/player of Pan Elders ... a
steelpan aggregate which emerged from the Red Stop Bar
at Carib Street in San Fernando. The members included
Christopher Branker, Frank Anthony Farrell, Victor
Sammy, Mervin Cruickshank and Farouk Nanda. The first
member, however, was Rajendra “Guns” Bhagurath and Cyril
Smith.
Godfrey Camps was at the
tender age of thirteen when he had his first brush with
the national instrument of his native Trinidad & Tobago.
At that time Melody Makers was situated at the corner of
Coffee and Drayton streets in San Fernando. Camps
recalled that in 1959, he witnessed the making of the
first set of seven-bass pans in South Trinidad and
possibly in the island - and by extension the first of
its kind in the world. The tuner was Neville Sandy who
was also the first man to make a three-note pan.
Now 68 years old, Camps
manages a bar with his wife Susanna David on Carib
Street in San Fernando, just opposite Pan Elders and
within seventy five metres of Sancity, Antillean All
Stars, T&TEC Electro Sounds and Skiffle Bunch – the
closest conglomeration of steelbands which could be
found on any island in the sun.
Camps entertains clients in his bar on Carib Street, San Fernando
Inside his bar can be
found a chromed ping pong, and a steelpan history wall
inclusive of pictures of almost all the steelbands from
San Fernando and environs of the last century. Many of
these musical entities are now defunct. Most of the
photographs feature the new bartender as a panist in
various parts of the world where he has performed.
The bar is a favourite liming spot for many a panist,
who often listen to the host play while sipping a drink,
or who themselves take the opportunity to rekindle their
skills on the only musical instrument to have been
invented since the twentieth century in the former
“banana republic.”
Among the Pan Pioneers who
frequent the bar are Hollister Smith – Pan Elders
captain, Anthony De Caries - Sancity manager, Alan
Bishop Acton Mc Burnie, Joseph Alexis, John Barnard and
Herman Meighoo among others.
Bredwin “Nick” Boxill who
was buried on November 2, also visited many times.
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