Steel band with vocals and other instruments
Well, we also offer vocals (because, yes, voice is still the instrument that ‘connects’ us humans the most!) whilst piano, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, conga drums and timbales have been other instruments also used in performance so far by the various band members.
It’s important to note that the band’s personnel has changed in subtle ways over the years. This is because our musicians have taken time off. The reasons for this are as diverse as recording commitments, tours with pop bands, and parenthood, however! Through all this time, regardless, it has always been our policy to only include musicians that share very important qualities. In the final analysis, our musicians are musicians first and pan players second. They play other instruments as well as pans and can improvise, but they also understand that to be a good musician is as much about listening as it is about playing! Hence, playing in a small steel band like Solid Steel is a great outlet for people with these musical sensibilities and this level of ability.
It’s clear to see that the skill sets we require are quite different from those one might need in a large community steel band. That’s because there, pan players are drilled into learning musical parts by rote that are part of someone’s arrangement. Thus, a player in such a band can perhaps aspire to play the music of a talented arranger. However, in Solid Steel a musician is moreable to express his or her musical individuality and improvise.