New
York,
USA
-
...Bring your A game or stay home.
...On
the New
York
steelpan
music
scene
anything
less can
result
in your
feelings
getting
hurt.
The
temperature
has
consistently
risen
over 100°
Fahrenheit
for a
few days
now.
And the
Big
Apple
has been
trapped
in the
grip of
a
blistering
heat
wave.
Four
days now
and
counting. Real hot
indeed! But it
was
about to
get even
hotter
as
‘global
warming’
was
about to
be taken on
a
different
path, through
the
sweet
sounds
of
steelpan
music as
it filled
the area
and rose
into the
rafters
of the
D’Radoes
panyard
located
in Canarsie,
Brooklyn.
The
second
annual
Despers
USA
steelband
launch
was
underway.
Bring
your ‘A’
game or
stay
home. On
the New
York
steelpan
music
scene
anything
less can
result
in your
feelings
getting
hurt.
Surrounded
by cagey
and
knowledgeable
veterans, New York
steelpan
musicians
are
young,
talented
and
hungry
with
years of
experience
in spite
of their
tender
ages. Out this
night to
represent
their
musical
tribes
and area,
were
none
other
than
some of
the best
steel
orchestras
in
New York
- a
virtual
who’s
who of
the
standard
bearers
of North
American
pan
music.
CASYM,
Sonatas,
Pantonic,
Steel
Sensation,
USA Eastside,
Higher
Levin,
D’Radoes,
Pan
Ambassadors,
Pan
Stars,
Crossfire
and
Harmony
Music
Makers
- all
present
and
accounted
for.
D’Radoes
East Side Symphony
Steel Sensation
Like
other
aspects
of arts
and
culture
the New
York
steel
orchestras
are
unlike
anywhere
else in
the
world. New York
can be a
spectacular
place -
but it
can also
be a
hostile
and
unforgiving
abode
for the
performing
arts
community-based
organizations
and in
particular
for the
New York steel
orchestras,
specifically,
and New
Yorkers
in
general
financially:
physically,
spiritually
and
artistically. The
bands’ performances,
musical
selections
and
musical
attitudes
are a
direct
reflection
of the
environment
and
living
in an
intense,
eclectic, get up-and-go
attitude
of the
city in
which
they
survive.
Pantonic
CASYM
Harmony
Every
launch
is
different
because
of
venue,
time
restrictions,
audience
and
bands
present,
and
repertoire
they
present
on that
event.
The
Despers
USA
launch
can be
categorized
as
ambitious. There
were a
lot of
bands in
the
performance
line-up
and
other
scheduled
activities
within
the
bands’
performances.
Given
the time
restraints,
trying
to pack
all this
in one
evening
and
maintain
quality
control
may have
been a
bit too
ambitious.
Sometimes
less is
more.
From a
musical
standpoint
there
were
some
excellent
performances
and
there
were
some
curious
moments.
From
Despers
USA’s
beautiful
rendition
of ‘Hot
and
Groovy’
to
D’Radoes
‘Hotel
California’
it was
all
here.
There
were the
occasional
instances
when a
drummer
here and
there
would
become a
soloist
and
forget
that
they
were
playing
with a
stage
side and
not
anchoring
a 120-player
Panorama
band.
However,
all in
all it
was
another
good
night
for Pan
in New
York.
Higher Levin
New York Pan Stars
Pan Ambassadors
One
thing -
bands
have to
learn to
end
their
songs
properly.
It
speaks
much to
the
level of
professionalism,
respect
for your
audience,
attention
to
detail
and
overall
musicianship. A crash-landing
ending
is
simply
that, a
crash-landing.
With all
the
video
cameras
and cell
phone
cameras
at these
launches,
why have
yourself
immortalized
as
having
crash-landed?
Sonatas
Despers USA
It is
great to
see the
young
people
of the
New York
pan
fraternities
and in
this
case
Despers
USA,
planning,
marketing,
producing,
problem-solving
and
actively
directing
these
steelpan
activities
with the
help of
the veterans.
Despers
USA take
a bow.
With
each
launch
look for
show
production,
band
performances
and
repertoire
to get
tighter.
Still to
come - Pantonic,
CASYM,
ADLIB
and Pan
Sonatas
band launches.
Time to
take off
the kids
glove.
Kindergarten
is over.
Whackers,
beaters,
pounders
and
pretenders
beware.
Musicians
only!
