Steel drum band brings island vibe tonight

Patricia Satterwhite
dm Staff writer

For a festive and vibrant experience, come engage your ears and body to the tropical beats of the University of Mississippi Steel Drum Band's fall concert Tuesday, Nov. 9 in Meek Hall Auditorium at 8 p.m.

"We've had people at age nine to 90 dance to our music," said member Steve Giove. "You don't have to be a steel band follower to love the music. This is the music anyone can enjoy."

Giove, a graduate student in percussion, is one of the16 members who you probably saw in the loud red, yellow, green and blue shirts in front of the Student Union on Sept. 24. They plan to excite you in the same tropical uniform on tonight with beats on steel drums and bass pans to combine the music of soca and calypso.

Assistant Professor of percussion Rickey Burkhead explained that calypso is similar to the beats native to the Caribbean islands, characterized by duple meter and a lively rhythm. Soca is a mix of soul and calypso. Burkhead compared the island jazz and disco beat of soca to music created by artists such as the Miami Sound Machine to the hot and the energetic vibes of Ricky Martin. Burkhead said that although the band will not be playing "Livin' La Vida Loca," they will present six new pieces by Trinidadian and American composers all suited for dancing. Included in there are "Steel City Jam," "Hammer Down" and "Blue Grotto."

"Be ready to dance and hear a very rhythmic sound," Burkhead said. The UM Steel Drum Band concert will feature the well-known steel drum duo of Britain and Moore, with Mat Britain on steel drums and Dan Moore on marimba, a type of xylophone. Britain is a Nashville-based musician who plays percussion for Grammy Award-winning artist Lee Greenwood, while Moore teaches percussion at the University of Iowa. The Britain/Moore Duo has performed throughout the country, including Ohio State University, University of North Carolina and the University of Southern Mississippi.

Ole Miss is the fourth college in Mississippi to have a campus-based steel drum band. Mississippi Valley State's music department, formerly headed by Burkhead, was the first in Mississippi to honor the sound of steel drum with its own program.

For four years, the UM Steel Drum Band have treated people to a very ethnically, culturally and rhythmically different type of sound.

"It's something you don't hear everyday," said member Angela Innman. "I am a history and anthropology major and one of the oldest members. It's a fun style of music."

The steel drum style has been around since the 1930s. Winston "Spree" Simon is generally credited with being the first person to play a note on what was to become the precursor to the modern steel drum. Made out of 55-gallon oil drums, steel drums are created by pounding the steel into different thicknesses to produce specific sounds.

Invented in Trinidad, the sound of the steel drums is synonymous with the "Sound of the Caribbean," Burkhead explained.

The Britain /Moore Duo and Ole Miss Steel Drum Band recording will be sold at the concert. Admission is $2 at the door. For more information, call Rickey Burkhead at 915-5665.