The original steel pan man

An article that was published in The Sunday Magazine of Guyana Times...

If the steel pan were a man, it would no doubt be Roy Geddes. Rosetta Pineapple discovers the story behind Guyana’s premier player and asks him how he’s developing the art form these days

Roy Geddes is a chap who lives, breathes and adores the steel pan more than any other. His talent is second to none, his passion is beautifully raw and his dedication is, in a word, remarkable. Oh and did I mention this man’s got style?

Decked out in burgundy plaid trousers, a red striped T-shirt and beige flat cap perched atop a bed of white hair, this is a man who remains true to his roots and is hell bent on continuing his love affair with the pan - he even has a gold pan pendant slung around his neck, glittering in the sunlight.

His evolvement into one Guyana’s leading pan players has been an eventful one and began in 1953 at the tender age of 13. “Coming from a single parent family and being the eldest of five, I had to leave school at 13,” says 70-year-old Roy. He soon took up a job as a tradesman; however the glorious sound of the steel pan soon started floating his way. “I was living on Lambert Street at the time where I was bombarded with steel pan music and that’s what inspired me to get involved. I would head to the pan yard everyday and imitate how the fellas there were playing.”
Three years down the line and a plethora of pan sessions later, self-taught Roy started to take the art form seriously.

“After that, I started playing with the Casablancas and started to think this could really be a career. The first time I performed I was so nervous and couldn’t stop trembling,” he says, his mischievous eyes crinkling into a smile. But the path wasn’t always easy. Back in the 1950s people had to work during the day to generate an income, and then head to their jam sessions in the evening.”You couldn’t just play for the love of it alone,” explains Roy.

However people soon caught onto the fact that this wasn’t just any ordinary pan man. Roy continued to make a name for himself, playing in bands in Wismar and Bartica where his father lived. “I was well known in those regions,” says Roy, “and I was one of the best as I was always willing to learn. I didn’t know how to read music, so I had to be a very good listener.”

After returning from his stint in Bartica, Roy’s star really took off. He would tramp the streets of Georgetown, pan around his neck, whipping up a melodic frenzy where ever he went.

In 1962, the original pan man was selected to hit the shores of Trinidad with the National Steel Orchestra of Guyana. “It was such an honour,” explains Roy, “as Trinidad is the headquarter of the pan and it’s where it was first invented.”

Then in 1963, Roy was once again selected to be part of the National Steel Orchestra but this time he headed to Cuba. “It was in Cuba that I learnt about respect and how to respect myself,” he says smiling, fondly remembering the seven months spent on the rhythmic island. “The trip was a blessing in disguise as we would attend lectures and they would tell you to express yourself freely.” It was almost like a second schooling for Roy and on his return to Guyana, the pan player realised there was a great deal he wanted to share with the youth of his country.

“I wanted to help people and teach them about patriotism, as well as respect for others and for themselves.”

Midway into our interview which is taking place in his steel pan museum – full of memorabilia from the good old days, hammers for building and tuning pans along with quotations and plants by the dozen - Roy suddenly jumps up from his chair. The cricket is on upstairs and while his full focus is on the interview at hand, he, like any other sports-loving man, has a radar for when something’s happened. Today, Trinidad is playing and he’s eager to find out from wife Pam, what’s been going on. Ganga’s out he informs me, as he settles back down, a look of excitement flashing across his face as he shouts thanks to his wife of 43 years.

Leaning forward conspiratorially, he confides that Pam, who not only provides him with the cricket scores, is the academic one and secretary for the band as well as a loyal companion to Roy. “Without her support, this wouldn’t be possible,” says Roy, his face glowing proudly.

Back to the task at hand, it becomes clear that Roy’s career went from strength to strength after discovering his love for teaching along with playing.

He formed his own band called the Silvertones in 1964. During his time in the band, he played for Elizabeth II, won the Guyana Music Festival twice; he also chalked up awards for Best Original Costume Band and took home first prize from the National History and Arts Council competition.

He’s also received two National Awards for his contribution to the art form from former presidents Forbes Burnham and Dr Cheddi Jagan.

Roy remains humble however, and hasn’t let the awards faze him. “I was honoured by them but that’s not what I was after.”

Today, Roy isn’t just one of the most prolific steel pan players of all time. He’s also a pan builder and tuner (he sinks drums and creates pans in his museum - every corner is chock full of drums, pans and tools), arranger, leader and most importantly, a social worker.
“My main objective is to commercialise the steel pan art form and pan production as an industry,” he says. “I want pan men to be able to take care of their family and I
want the steel pan to give the youth of today a firm direction in their life.”

Teaching is something that Roy takes very seriously. “When kids come to learn to play, I try to instil family values as it’s something that’s lacking and hampering young people these days,” Roy explains. Being a firm leader himself and adhering to a strict set of values, Roy believes discipline is essential and stresses that “you can’t lead young people effectively unless you lead them by example, which is what I am trying to do”.

As well as his social work, Roy’s other mission in life is to preserve the history of the steel pan, as he says, “a man who has no sense of history is like a man who has no eyes or ears”.

“Pan won’t die, there will always be pans around, but the development is lacking. That’s why I have a museum which I am developing so future generations can learn more about it.”

Looking around his museum (which tourists flock to regularly), you can immediately gage a sense of just how rich the steel pan culture is. This museum tells the story of Roy’s 56-year stint in the business and as he himself can vouch for, his “contribution is not just seasonal, but full-time”.

Photographs line the walls, awards are piled high on a table, a football lies on a bench in homage to Roy’s alter-ego Pele – he is a pretty mean football player - and inspiring quotations fill every nook and cranny encouraging the practice of discipline, responsibility and patriotism.

Roy Geddes is certainly a man with a mission and one who continues to break barriers when it comes to the steel pan. As the pan player himself says, “greatness is determined by service” and given his service to the art form thus far, that must mean, and rightfully so, that Roy Geddes is a truly great player, creator and most of all, teacher.

The Roy Geddes Steel Pan Museum is located at 190 Roxanne Burnham Gardens, Georgetown. For more information call 226 9844.