Pan On The Airwaves: “Steelpan Vibes” Offers Variety With Guests, Music

Getting the world to accept new ideas on a grand scale has many facets. First, the idea was must be born and developed into some form of production, whether that be a song, movie, book or other known expression of thought. But equally important are the distribution channels that deliver that message to the public at large. For steelpan, there are few outlets for that, which makes their existence that much more valuable.

In 2010, Barbara Sealey-Rhoden felt that media entities to promote steelpan music and knowledge were lacking, so she decided to create one of her own, “Steelpan Vibes” radio, based out of Palm Bay, Fla. “I was born and raised in T&T. From Very early that sound and music was part of my upbrining and culture. I didn’t play but loved the sound,” Sealey-Rhoden said. “The band I first heard when I was maybe 5 or 6 years old was Starland Steel Orchestra. My uncle used to be around that band. He would carry me around with him sometimes. It was one of those old 1960s bands.”

After leaving Trinidad for the U.S. to attain a marketing degree from the University of New York in 1978, Sealey-Rhoden knew she wanted to keep her passion for pan alive, thanks largely to influence from a friend and member of Scherzando Steel Orchestra, Anthony “Abdul” Reed.

“He was my pan mentor in New York and gave me the best lessons about the history of pan. Since he was a member of Pantrinbago, he had that administrative experience as well,” she said. “He recalled about his experiences with history of pan. Leaders like George Garland and the issues they faced. Pan comes from way down in society. Uneducated, poor, rejects. It wasn’t something my parents would encourage me to inquire about. As a child I always loved the sound. I could identify with it more than anything else. I didn’t learn to play so it had to be something deeper than just playing.”

While in Brooklyn, Sealey-Rhoden worked in advertising and publishing. Despite working in a different field, she never took her eyes off the goal of helping to promote steelpan. “What was really happening was I was acquiring the skills to promote the art form in the manner I do now. I would go around Panorama time to visit the bands. Then I did some promotion to book bands for museums, festivals, and concerts. In the 90s we did those events,” she said. It was very difficult to spend a lot of time in any aspect of the band. Then my interest kept growing. When I moved to Florida to take care of my mom I had a lot of extra time. I made inquiries to who would be interested. A DJ said I should come to the station and see what he does and that’s how it started.”

Now with an estimated listenership of 500 per episode, the show seeks to further its reach through advertising, which offers opportunity beyond just the steelpan community.

“I intend to try and make some money with the show. Now we have a marketing plan to expand and do more advertising. Interestingly enough, we have a lot of support from local advertisers,” Sealey-Rhoden said. “They like the format. We talk about more than pan. Health, real estate, insurance, mental illness. The music is what drives the engine and the talk is of interest to the people. There’s not too much talk, only 20 minutes.”

Over the years, it’s become easier for the show to get advertising thanks to notoriety and the ease of the Internet. Now the goal is to get more listeners to attract other radio stations for syndication. The program is on five radio stations currently. “People are listening. We try to get good quality recordings and a fair variety of music to show people it’s not just Caribbean music, we play all genres.

The show has hosted steelpan notables from all walks, including Ellie Mannette, Cliff Alexis and Israel Macleod, public relations officer of Desperadoes Steel Orchestra, among others. But notoriety aside, Sealey-Rhoden’s only goal with the guests is to feature people of a certain type. “Just people who inspire with information that is useful. Guests who are interesting and empowering with information that people can use. We’ve had gardeners, professors; it runs the gammut.”

Artists featured on the show come from all walks of life and include music from all genres, including jazz, rock, reggae, classical, calypso and soca, among others. Victor Provost, Jeff Narell, Andy Narell, Rudy “Twoleft” Smith and Andre White are some of the artists that have had music featured on “Steelpan Vibes” radio. But there’s one artist that Sealey-Rhoden sees as one of the best new artists featured on the show, with good reason.

“I would go with my daughter, Nyasha Rhoden. She teaches pan in New York. Most of the programs they have a grant and do it afterschool. But now they go to their pan classes just like Civics, Math or Science,” Sealey-Rhoden said. “I think she is the first teacher of the steelpan in curriculum in New York City. She’s been teaching for 13 or 14 years.” The theme song for Steelpan Vibes, “Extraordinary,” is composed and performed by Nyasha Rhoden.

The music on the show is not limited to just famous artists with millions of fans globally. The forum is open to artists of all kinds who share a similar goal: create innovative, unique music with the instrument. Recordings come in from large ensembles, as well, including those from countries all of the world. “The foreign bands that have excellent recordings come from the Sanch label and Calypsociation. I like them,” Sealey-Rhoden said. “There’s so many. My collection is growing.”

The show’s objective is to achieve syndication and reach as wide an audience as possible. The largest challenge Sealey-Rhoden sees for that to happen is the same challenge steelpan faces with the world at large: recognition as a versatile instrument.

“The challenge is that people would see its potential and for players to be able to make a living doing whatever aspect they want, whether it’s selling, playing, teaching or touring. I think the potential is great for the instrument and art form,” Sealey-Rhoden said. “There is a tendency to leave the history behind and just play the instrument but if they understand that there is more potential. Why leave that behind? When you go to Karate or any artform you learn about where that came from. The same is with the steelpan. Whatever was going on in society is what led to that instrument. That’s important. To leave that behind is a disservice to all those like Ellie [Mannette] and what those before him went through.”

The show is looking to move from one to two hours to accommodate more music. It’s now available on demand through the Yardlink Radio app and on Sound Cloud at https://soundcloud.com/steelpanvibes/tracks.