As I read about Peter Minshall’s involvement with Exodus Steel Orchestra for Carnival , I felt that Minshall must be aware of something that some of us have already known.
It is the importance of role of the steelband in making Trinidad’s carnival as an unique spectacle.
When I speak ot the impact of the steelband’s involvement in Carnival, I mean more than just pan on the road , providing music for the Carnival parade.
Historically , steelband people have always brought a special flavor to the carnival , and their absence have removed that cultural influence from the carnival culture , and the culture and carnival is worse off for it.
The other day while watching a Star Wars movie , it occurred to me that , back in the day , some steelband in Trinidad would have portrayed a Star Wars mas , probably complete with robots etc. and maybe even a replica of the Millennium Falcon , as a contrast to all those bead and bikini clad women.
That was the other ingredient steelbands brought to the Carnival , and that sort of imagination ( which also created the pan itself ) is lacking from carnival today , and the Carnival is poorer for it.
G R JOSEPH 