Robbie Greenidgeis ready to

blast offBy TERRY JOSEPH

YOU PROBABLY know him best as the manbehind the music for the theme of the televi-sion series Caribscope, but at age 11, RobertGreenidge had to be placed on a box to reachthe notes on the bass pans in the Savoys pan-yard. Now he is standing tall, as pan virtuosoand as arranger for the Witco Desperadoesand the Solo Pan Knights.

It is from this new position that he is ready tobring the legendary Despers down the hill to per-form his own composition "Blast Off, and by sodoing, offer the band its best chance of winning yetanother Panorama competition.

He is working just as feverishly on Len"Boogsie" Sharpe's "Mind Yuh Business" with theSolo Pan Knights, bringing them up to speed dur-ing long nights of practice, in the hope of scoring adouble.

It's a long distance from the days of the box toreach the bass, back in his hometown of SuccessVillage in Laventille and under the guidance of hisuncle, Carl Greenidge, who was one of the earlyheroes of the Steelband Movement.

"Uncle Carl used to tune and arrange for sever-

with the band on the hill and was lucky to bearound for their major sponsorship, which camefrom Coca Cola.

"As soon as I reach the band, there was confu-sion. For that Carnival (1964) the band was onthese large floats and being pulled along by a trac-tor. Rudolph said that his band was to go on top.ofthe stage and not at the side, but the authoritieswere insisting that the floats, pans and men weretoo heavy for the stage.

"The argument held up the Panorama for thelongest while, but that was the kind of standardsthat Rudolph stood for and that became the stan-dard for Despers.

"I had started with them as a tenor player, butsoon, we had to learn all the pans and all theparts, then we would do a few songs for ourselvesand gradually, I learnt to arrange little parts forany of the pans in the band."

In 1971, Robbie migrated to California. It wasthe year after one of the early Clive Bradley winsfor Desperadoes, when the band did Kitchener's"Margie", so he was sorry to leave.

He had travelled with the band before toNigeria and Montreal in 1967, but now he wouldonly link up with them if they were travelling

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YOU PROBABLY know him best as the manbehind the music for the theme of the televi-sion series Caribscope, but at age 11, RobertGreenidge had to be placed on a box to reachthe notes on the bass pans in the Savoys pan-yard. Now he is standing tall, as pan virtuosoand as arranger for the Witco Desperadoesand the Solo Pan Knights.

It is from this new position that he is ready tobring the legendary Despers down the hill to per-form his own composition "Blast Off', and by sodoing, offer the band its best chance of winning yetanother Panorama competition.

He is working just as feverishly on Len"Boogsie" Sharpe's "Mind Yuh Business" with theSolo Pan Knights, bringing them up to speed dur-ing long nights of practice, in the hope of scoring adouble.

It's a long distance from the days of the box toreach the bass, back in his hometown of SuccessVillage in Laventille and under the guidance of hisuncle, Carl Greenidge, who was one of the earlyheroes of the Steelband Movement.

"Uncle Carl used to tune and arrange for sever-al steelbands. Savoys,which was in the yard ,of the Albino family, Jwas one of the bands 1and he brought me inas a youngster who hefelt would make goodone day.

"It was the-onlyinstrument to which Ihad access, since myfamily could not buy apiano or anything elsefor that matter.

"My own ability torecall notes would leadthem to show me thingson the pans.

"I began to learnactual music right thereon the pans, beingtaught by Martin Albino,who first convinced methat it was not necessaryto learn on piano or windinstruments.

"My father (RenwickSealy) was meanwhileknown in Belmont as theuncle of City Kids, sowhenever I spent timewith him, I would go totheir panyard and play some tunes with them".

It was not until age 15, therefore, that Robbiewent to the Desperadoes panyard for the first time.

"Rudolph Charles had heard a little band,Volwyckers (it got its name, 'singing birds', from aDutch priest on Mount St Benedict), that somefriends and I had up in Tunapuna and he cameand asked us to play with Desperadoes instead.

"Desperadoes was already a great band.Rudolph was working on several inventions to dowith pan and there was always a sense of excite-ment and adventure in the panyard.

"Apart from Bertie Marshall's own progress,we had the first set of high tenors. We even hadchrome pans before Bertie's band (Hylanders).

Rudolph wasafter the art and Ihad to keep thatgoing. Nobody'sinterested in thatanymore, so it islargely for himthat I keep thatart thing going

in an age offast food i

/

around for their major sponsorship, which camefrom Coca Cola.

"As so si reach the band, there was confu-sion. For Carnival (1964) the band was onthese large iioats and being pulled along by a trac-tor. Rudolph said that his band was to go on top.ofthe stage and not at the side, but the authoritieswere insisting that the floats, pans and men weretoo heavy for the stage.

"The argument held up the Panorama for thelongest while, but that was the kind of standardsthat Rudolph stood for and that became the stan-dard for Despers.

"I had started with them as a tenor player, butsoon, we had to learn all the pans and all theparts, then we would do a few songs for ourselvesand gradually, I learnt to arrange little parts forany of the pans in the band."

In 1971, Robbie migrated to California. It wasthe year after one of the early Clive Bradley winsfor Desperadoes, when the band did Kitchener's"Margie", so he was sorry to leave.

He had travelled with the band before toNigeria and Montreal in 1967, but now he wouldonly link up with them if they were travelling

inside of North America.But that trip gave him the opportu-

nity to get a proper grounding inmusic and orchestration.

"It was a way of furthering myself. Ioriginally went on vacation, but wentto the Third Street Music conservato-ry to get basic training in music. It isthere I learnt to read and write music.

"I stayed in California until '77.During that time Rudolph Charlescame up and I was then back in touchwith my reaipardnah.

"He arranged for me to do overdubs of all the Desperadoes records,although I was not there at the origi-nal recordings of discs like Pan inHarmony and others."

This probably was the best induce-ment for Robbie to come back homefrom 1978 and every year since.

"I was coming to help Rudolph withthe band. Soon I was drillmaster andassisting in arrangements. This gaveRudolph a chance to sleep—a thing henever did too much of.

"In '81 Bradley went to anotherband and I did Kitchener's 'More Pan'.It was my first attempt. We got backClive in '82 and he stayed until '84.

"In 1985 Bradley went to Tokyo andit was left to Beverley Griffith and

myself to bring the thing off."I had been around for some of the best of

Bradley, so I had learnt a lot. We won with 'PanNight and Da/ and Rudolph died in May of thatsame year.

"I was elected manager of the band afterRudolph's death, but I was still the arranger.

"Rudolph was after the art and I had to keepthat going. Nobody's interested in that anymore,so it is largely for him that I keep that art thinggoing in an age of fast food pan.

"But that could not pay me all year, so I had tolive abroad and find work which would allow meto come back home every year and spend some ofthat on the band and its members.

Now 15, Robbie decided that he would stay "I had played with Taj Majal since 1975 and.' : . . . - - • • • • : » * I - .T • ' ' r ' » 9 f « - - : : -. ' 7 r w i '. i * T

had enjoyed some good breaks with JohnLennon and Ringo Starr, Earth Wind andFire, Grover Washington, Ralph Me Donaldand Jimmy Buffett."

HERE was also work in movie andtelevision soundtracks as with EddieMurphy in Distinguished Gentleman

and 48 Hours, Steven Seagal's Hard to Killand Ghostbusters, television's Fantasy Island,The Love Boat, and others.

"I joined Jimmy Buffett full time in 1982and that is essentially my job from May toSeptember every year.

"In 19861 got Pat Bishop to come up thehill to do the heavy classics for the Festival.

"We had not been in the Festival for. 19years, so we were determined to come back inwith a bang.

"We won the next three Festivals too underPat and we have been friends ever since. Shehad done the only hattrick in Festival history."

But that was the Festivals. There had to besomething more and Robbie arranged (so tospeak) an avenue to introduce some of his ownmusic to the Carnival.

He had done three albums, Mad Music,

Jubilee and Heat, all in the internationalmould, but now it was time to test theCarnival market with his own work.

In '91, his first pan song "Musical Volcano"was not easily received by the band, since theywere accustomed to playing Kitchener and didnot want to take a chance.

"Well, the short version of that story wasthat the band won all categories of thePanorama.

"In '92 we went with 'Pan is Mih Jumbie'and placed third, then there was 'Street Party1and 'Fire Coming Down", followed by 'PanParang" in '95.

"Now there's 'Blast Off and I feel even bet-ter about this one because it was written onlywith Despers in mind.

"Gregory Ballantyne did some inspiringlyrics for the tune which was sung by RonnieMclntosh and recorded by Beaver Henderson'sKlub Karnival label.

"Rudolph would not have made his RocketPans in vain. 'Blast Off will prove that," heconcluded.

Tonight Robbie's work will be on show, as itwere, with working journalists being hosted atthe Desperadoes panyard from 9 p.m. andthen at Solo Pan Knights from 10 p.m.