In the mid to late 1950’s, steelband and panmen were very closely associated with and defined as badjohnism or hooliganism. A steelband clash resulted in stabbing, cutting, lick down, buss head and chopping up with the odd killing. These bad johns armed themselves with iron bolts, bull pistles, razors, cutlasses, ice picks, bottles and big stones, which were just some of the weaponry found in any steelband’s arsenal. Our parents played pan and/or Mas while our grandparents took us to “See Mas” including Ole Mas/Jouvert, on the streets of uptown Port of Spain. However, we only saw the streets Jouvert morning, because, before we knew it we were moved to another level of seeing Mas, which was from the ever popular middle class vantage point, the blazing hot bleachers in the Queen’s Park Savannah.

All this protective custody and guidance was based on class, and the stigma attached to “beating pan.” Parents or guardians did everything possible to keep their siblings from emulating these people with no ambition, hooligans, fighting against each other, during their steelband clashes for strange but simplistic reasons such as, more innovative or sweeter pan, or a boss tune especially a bomb tune. Matter of fact this was nothing less than gang warfare, as the riots were usually regional, e.g. Invaders [West POS] and Tokyo [East POS], or Despers and Invaders, that kind of steelband cum musical turf war. It also epitomizes the late Lord Blakie’s calypso hit “Steelband Clash”
…Invaders soundin sweet comin dong Charlotte Street…
…Never me again jumpin in ah steelband in Port ah Spain…

Nevertheless, our connection with the steelbands continued to be a Jouvert morning thing only because, I would imagine now, there was nothing in the Savannah at that time of the day. Eventually, we were allowed to go closer to town, with our band, Invaders, but only for a heavily monitored and chaperoned chip, under the watchful eyes of our older relatives and/or neighbours. We later moved on to Starlift, but, the chipping visa expired anywhere between Strand cinema and Green Corner. “Those days you had to turn back when the band reach dey buoy and fine yuh tail back down Tragarete Rd. or Ariapita Ave. otherwise yuh getting de finess cut arse.”

The steelband rivalry and riots continued even after Carnival, very close to where we grew up, in the lower east side of Woodbrook, closer to Wrightson Rd. Across the border we called the area, right behind the infamous Gaza Strip of nightclubs. As a consequence, we remained on total lock down as far as steelband, beating pan and going into town on Jouvert morning or Carnival time was concerned, until the early 1960’s at about age 11/12. Fortunately, the riots ended by this time and there were now organised competitions e.g. the Jouvert Bomb, Steelband Music Festivals, Panorama, and an Association for the Steelbands. The implementation of these ideas, corporate sponsorship of steelbands, government funding and intervention etc. truly assisted in replacing the violent approach to musical rivalry.

But, while Invaders, the sweetest, slowest chip to town or Starlift was stuck by or approaching Green Corner on the way to the competition, I always headed uptown for Park and Frederick streets, that was the place to be on Jouvert morning, because the bomb competition was judged two blocks down Frederick Street by the Town Hall, now called City Hall. Additionally, Panorama finals was part of the Carnival Sunday night Dimache Gras show, which finished close to Jouvert, so many of the finalists came straight from the Savannah down Frederick Street. On that corner, you had bands converging and clashing from three [3] directions, south on Frederick street, and east and west on Park street. That was the spot where I listened to many a band play their Panorama tunes on the move, and many of them waited for that area to drop their bombs. “Lord that was sweet pan in yuh ruckungkatungkung.”

Phase II goes chipping with Blessed Assurance behind the Bridge
2008 Jouvert morning some 44 yrs later, Phase 11 Pan Groove, took pan lovers down memory lane, as they ventured behind the bridge for a musical rivalry just like it occurred in the past. After mesmerizing the audience and judges at Victoria Square, in front of the offices of Pan Trinbago, with the superb rendition of the hymn “Blessed Assurance” also known locally as “This is my story, this is my song.”  The rack then rolled forward, with the crowd applauding and with no hesitation, missing a beat or change of tune, the Phase headed for Green Corner and east into Park St.

Imagine the nostalgia and buzz as the sweet pan in honey sounds of the west filled the empty Park street air, with no bands or DJ’s in sight. “Everyone was aware by then……..we going by Hell Yard fuh All Stars, de mudder of bomb tunes, is de reel musical cut arse dey gettin dis mornin……. . Then the goose bumps began to set in as I saw a long time crack shot from “Blanca”, meh boy Horace a.k.a Breds [who played I believe, up to and during the musical glory days of Angostura Old Oak Casablanca], following the band on the pavement with glee from Park & Frederick streets to Rosary Church, reminiscing and cherishing the moment, as this sweet sounding west band headed into east Port of Spain, on Jouvert morning.

Crossing Charlotte Street into Piccadilly Street going around the Bridge, another notorious rioting zone, now happily transformed into a musical zone. ‘Visualize this setting………flag flying, iron ringing, some of the All Stars faithful gaping from the back of their yard, on the other side of the Dry River wondering… but whey Phase 11 going dis hour? Hear wha dey playin…. Before the dust could settle, a scintillating performance was being admirably accepted by a large group of All Stars supporters and players, mostly elders, in their Hell Yard gateway. They danced and sang along, [This is my story this is my song], waved and applauded the pure brilliance of Len “Boogsie” Sharpe‘s arrangement of Blessed Assurance. In return, Phase fanatics hoisted flags and Tee shirts, beating their chests, claiming victory, vengeance, hear it man, hear it, this year was the beaver trick, its more than one [1] point, Boogsie rules.’ And notably, all this went down with pure peace and love, no fights, no riot, just a friendly battle in that musical war zone.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Saviour, all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blessed,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Playing of the hymn/song, Blessed Assurance; has to be awarded a Steelband Grammy, and placed in the annals or category of winning bomb tunes. In fact, this 17th century hymn was the featured song in two [2] Academy Award winning movies in the 1980’s. I believe this tune of choice was inspired by the passing late last year [2007], of  Ras Eli Banks, a revered Phase II tenor pannist, who also inspired the scissors tail outfit for the Musical Vengeance of the grand [South] Panorama finals. Pan connoisseurs from the Grand Stand side of the Savannah should remember him in a scissors tail suit, complete with rose/carnation in the lapel, specifically at the prelims. Back in those days, the bands rolled on stage facing west, played and exited in similar format, until the revolutionary man with the hammer, Rudolph Charles, and Desperadoes pioneered the trend of facing the Grand Stand and by extension the judges.

All Stars did acknowledge this Jouvert morning feat, and later publicly thanked Phase 11 for this gesture, but it would have been a heavy musical showdown, [if there were no DJ’s/big trucks on Ariapita Ave.] and Phase II made it to East Dry River earlier, to catch them before they parked up to rest for their Monday Mas. Well my younger pan players and friends, you can now appreciate how some of the pan, panmen and steelband traditions have changed. Imagine, steelbands running home early Jouvert morning to come back out Monday evening, huh!! Pan folks my age know about little or no sleep from Sunday night until you drop Monday night. What a pity these bands did not clash musically on the road by the corner of Charlotte and Park or Park and St. Vincent [Green Corner] what a memorable steelband musical clash that would have been.

In any case, in these modern times bands hardly ever pass each other on the same street, they usually go one behind the other. Remember when two bands clash, band meet band, each attempting to out play each other, with the highly skilled flagmen dancing, women wining low, and the panmen and iron men playing their hearts out. ‘Dem days yuh band sure tuh get drong out if yuh engine room or yuh tune soft, or, yuh cud get yuh pan mash up and some chop…not in these times thanks to God Almighty, and all those stalwarts who fought to end the violence and elevate the art form’. Nonetheless, right here in Trinidad the Mecca of the steelband; DJ’s and the big music trucks do all the damage and destruction to steelband now.

Up next…….Some thoughts RE: Pan on de Road and the DJ/Big Truck takeover

Produced and compiled by: D. Anthony Blackman a.k.a ‘Blackie’
Copyright Reserved February 14th 2008