People practice for up to ten years before being able to make a good quality pan.
He began making steel drums as a youth in Trinidad in the early 1940's, and played and tuned for the Invaders, one of the first steel bands. Boots uses a wide variety of hammers, mallets, and magnets to build his pans. He lives in British Columbia, and has been instrumental in providing pans for the growing number of steel bands in the northwest region. He also recorded a great album for the 1990 calypso season under the name Messenger . The Toucans play one of his calypso songs as a tribute to the man who made their band possible.