Explanation...

So I thought I should probably explain the details of what is going on down here.

I'm playing steel pan in a band called "Starlift Steel Orchestra" which you can see by that big picture above. That is where we rehearse. It is called a panyard. See those big blue oil drums in the background? Yep, those are musical instruments that were hand made and tuned by some of the best in the world. It is outdoors and though it looks like a rundown factory, it is far from it. It is a new facility that was built recently as the band had to switch locations sometime in the last few years. It comes complete with storage, bathroom, showers, offices, souvenir shop, and a bar that sells drinks and snacks to tourists - and me sometimes.

Anyway, we are one of 18 bands in the large category. There are also medium and small band categories. Each year all the bands pick a Calypso tune and have an arranger orchestrate the calypso tune for the entire steel ensemble. Our tune is called, "In She Rainorama." You can listen to it here:

http://www.panonthenet.com/tnt/2011/tunes/rainorama.htm

On this website there is a brief biography about "the Defasto" who is the composer of the tune... not to be confused with the arranger, who is reworking it for a 100 person steel band!!! So our arranger, Liam Teague (who was also my steel pan professor at NIU), takes the main melody (verse, chorus) and other thematic material from the song and works it in and out of all types of variations and styles to make an even longer piece. Right now our tune is about 8 minutes long. I know, I have been struggling day and night to get it all into my brain. For those that are musically inclined - It comes out to about 13 pages of music, 6 modulations, 7 different keys, and some of the craziest scale passages I have ever played. Did I mention there are no breaks? We play the whooooole time, WOOOO!!!!. I've got about 10 of those pages in my head... not bad for 5 rehearsals. I'm still way behind. OK, more tomorrow.