Holman on Pan

By Debra Ravello Greaves
January 28, 2001
Sunday Express

The “Iron Man”, Mr. Ray, is back home to play.

After an absence of two years Ray Holman will return to the Panorama big yard on February 11 with the Humming Birds Odyssey Pan Groove of St. James.

Of course, he will be arranging his own composition “Heroes of Our Nation” sung by Wayne Rodriguez. The song is a tribute to Merchant, Ras Shorty I and the Grandmaster Kitchener who himself paid home to Homan in 1990 with the infectious “Iron Man”.

During his absence from the pan circle Homan was teaching pan music and ethno-musicology to students from China, Japan, Brazil, Korea, the United States and France, at the University of Washington, Seattle. He was hired in 1998 as a visiting artist by the university.

Holman’s work was so impressive that the university extended his one-year contract to two years. He was the first person to be afforded such a privilege.

Quite an accomplishment for a man who “has never attended a music class in my life”, but studied music on his own.

“I was teaching music at university abroad but could not do so here because I had no official training”, he said. “I was hired because of the quality of my music.”

With the university stint behind him, Holman is focusing more on his music and the state of the pan. After witnessing the instrument climb to respectable heights internationally, he is pained to see it lagging behind in the land of its birth. He is also perturbed over the credibility of the information being disseminated on pan and the ineptitude of Pan Trinbago.

The whole truth is not being told on the history of pan, he says, and foreign scholars have more accurate information. The “propaganda” from local scholars often leave him shame-faced on his journeys overseas.

“We need proper scholars of the pan because I’m embarrassed frequently when erroneous information is pointed out to me abroad. Foreign scholars have more accurate information,” said Homan who has some 42 years experience with the pan.

“Maybe local scholars who compiled the info are more interested in propaganda. I see documents and people know that it is wrong info, but maybe it is being done to promote certain people in certain areas,” he said.

“I am very concerned about the state of the instrument in this country that is supposed to be the mecca of pan, but, which if corrective measures are not taken, we will have that title severely challenged,” Holman moaned. “The steel band as the national instrument needs a lot more professional attention.”

Mr. Ray’s passion for the pan goes back to his boyhood days. The first time he ever pushed a pan was in Little Carib Theatre with Beryl McBurnie. Born on Ana Street, Woodbrook, he was surrounded by steel bands.

“Close to where I lived was the band Hit Paraders, Green Eyes were on Gallus Street and Invaders on Tragarete Road,” he said.

Human began playing with Invaders at 14 and became an arranger with Starlift at 17. he was the youngest pannist at age 20 to win the ping pong solo class in music festival. Laim Teague is now the holder of that title.

There are several problems besetting the instrument such as the quality of drums, high cost of chroming, training of tuners, music literacy and the functioning of Pan Trinbago, which Holman believes is stunting the growth of the industry.

“I feel it is a dereliction of duty that pan tuners in T&T do not have proper drums from which to make their instruments,” he said. “The product could only be as good as the raw material from which it is made.” [MORE]