Eighty–year-old Daisy James-McClean, leader of the Harlem Syncopators Steel Orchestra, sacrificed and saved over the years using her pension money to buy the land where the band is on at Quarry Street, Port-of-Spain.
The subvention for single bands from the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts helps immensely as her band is unsponsored.
James-McClean said, however, arrangers, tuners and transport were expensive.
It is this lack of sponsorship that is affecting her band and its members who are in need of instruments, the facility lacks a water tank, benches, the roof needs extending to protect players and spectators when it rains, and the walls need painting.
Hers is not the only band experiencing such economic challenges.
Even famous large band Phase II Pan Groove was not spared as Petrotrin’s 15-year sponsorship ended in 2015 and was adopted under a new deal as Hadco Phase II Pan Groove.
Petrotrin, which shut down its operations last year, previously sponsored medium band Hatters Steel Orchestra, from San Fernando, large band Siparia Deltones, and others including four from Tobago.
According to Keith Simpson, manager of St James Tripolians Steel Orchestra, most of the 163 bands going up for Panorama are unsponsored, and just about 20 of them have corporate sponsorship.
With cuts in Pan Trinbago’s budget, bands will now have to raise their own funds after the organisation announced that it could not promise stipends to players for 2019, who do not qualify for the semi-finals. This may impact on players’ performances.
For the 2017 Carnival season, pan players were promised a stipend of $1,000 but only received $500. In 2018, they were promised $500, but it never materialised. Bands will have to come up with creative ways to cover travel and meal expenses, as Pan Trinbago will not be able to fund them.
Simpson said, “Bands need help. We will normally get assistance from Pan Trinbago. We understand that the National Gas Company hasn’t received their allocations from Government.”
He detailed the kind of support. “We normally would get $10,000 assistance, then when you play you get an appearance fee of $3,000. So we have to find money to pay players, the arranger, at this stage we don’t know if we will even get jerseys.”
He hoped that the band would make the finals like in 2017, playing Pan by Storm by Ken “Professor” Philmore.
Simpson, Pan Trinbago’s trustee, said the band’s arranger, Derek Boucaud was doing a very good job. He said things were “a little hard”, but members were taking up the challenges given the economic circumstances.
Simpson, a former arranger for the band, said some bands had fallen by the wayside and will not be performing at Panorama because players were not getting their “little” $500 remittance.
He said that was “big money” for some as there were a lot of poor people playing pan.
Simpson said a mother might have three children playing pan when she received that money it went to the household needs.
A parent from Sangre Grande who had 12 children in a band told him once he got the money, he put it aside for his children’s schoolbooks and necessities.
Simpson said the band had been in existence for almost 50 years, having been formed in 1972. Its first captain was Emmanuel “Manuel” Camps.
To defray running costs, he said members would from time-to-time hold a fund-raiser and he would try to market the band.
Simpson said the band played in small engagements, weddings, functions and had about five jobs booked up for the Carnival.
Simpson said in 1997, BWIA paid players’ remittances when they placed in the top three, by 1998 under former Pan Trinbago president Patrick Arnold, panmen received $400, it gradually increased to $1,000, came down to $800 and stood at $500 and this could have an impact on the quality of bands’ performances at Panorama.
He said although there may be some criticism about the State sponsoring steelbands, it was the norm in international sports to have corporate sponsorship.
Simpson said the band was at one time sponsored by Angostura in the 70s and was then known as the Vat 19 Tripolians.
He said besides money for an arranger, tuner, the Fort George Link Road St James panyard’s utilities, water, electricity, cable, and amenities had to be paid as well as banners and flags.
Simpson said secretary of the band, Gale Franklin made sandwiches for the children every night and was like the mother of the group.
He said it cost money to transport the band, replace and maintain the instruments, busted skins on the trap set, repair damaged pans from falls and all that paid from fund-raising barbeques.
Simpson said pan players needed help from the Government and corporate sector to meet their financial obligations.
“Pan is the national instrument, but it was being treated like a bastard child of culture,” he said.