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Bertie Marshall Speaks on the Steelpan
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Uncontrollable bacchanal
Staff Article
Interview Recorded: March 13, 2005
Posted: March 18, 2005
In 1965 when they had the big fight up by the hospital Carnival Tuesday evening with Fascinators, I heard there were two other bands who joined up to 'beat we'. The same Desperados who I was tuning for all these years, I heard they were in it too. It was 'jokey' how that fight came about. I wanted to know how a band sticking a poster next to another band's poster caused a whole bacchanal like that? They said that my poster man, stuck our poster on their own and tore down one of their own. Well the fellah obviously defended himself, telling me, "Bertie I wouldn' ah do ah t'ing like that." So that cause a big bacchanal. When they come and 'mash up' the band in 1966 and 1968, we were coming up New Street, I see like it going to have a bacchanal. Invaders was coming up by the jail, I never forget that, and we were coming down New Street to swing up Frederick street and go up to the savannah, so I call the police. The police come and said, "all right Mr. Marshall, we have everything under control." They went over to the next band and tell them they have to wait, to give Highlanders a chance to go ahead, because both of us was going to 'butt-up' on Frederick street. I could laugh at it now, but it really looked like it was going to have a fight again, and many people could have gotten damaged. A fellah named Claude lost his sight up there. He was so bad lucky, he had one eye and he was trying to get away from the bacchanal, a bottle ricochet from the steel railings that surrounds the hospital and piece of the bottle went into the other eye and he went blind. So when I see like it will have another fight, I was concerned. Well it didn't happen in 1966, but as far as I concern it nearly happened, also in 1967. In 1968 I remembered well, because I couldn't find a 'Bomb' in that year, and they were telling me Starlift played that tune, "Anakliner". I played the third and fourth movement and I come first in 1967, in 1968 I came second.
I had a tune, I never forget that tune because I get so much problem with that tune, I could not get a recording no where. Four String Orchestras by Karl Stamick a young composer, I remember that name good because we were sending for the recording and the publisher say it not available. Horrors, horrors for months, we not getting no 'Bomb' tune and carnival coming close. We were already famous for the 'Bomb' business, and I feel this tune could give them trouble. So I went back to "Anakliner". A fellah say, "Starlift beat up dat so much, dat is all yuh could get", I said that is all I could get. I liked the third and fourth movement, and you know with my phrasing, I was able to pull it of. I came in second with it. I used to record, because I always had good equipment home, I recorded classical music. Boy, yuh making joke! I use to be flying kite and playing classical music, because I use to live as a bachelor at the time, so I had my place open up and I was playing music loud and flying kite out in the streets. I liked classical music bad. I used to record a programme and play it back. I had a reel to reel four tracks and I used to record classical music, so I knew them tune by heart. And then I young too, I play a melody twice, and it catchy, I will catch it and find myself whistling it and didn't realize is that I was whistling, that is to tell you how it is catching fast.
Something I want to warn the young steelband people about which I realized was going around. They would be playing good, and as they see a crowd, they would get excited and they get uncontrollable, so they played the instrument too hard. That is why instruments don't last long. Then they blame the tuner for tuning it 'soft'. Is not that they tune it soft, it is the player at fault. He suppose to know how much the instrument could take, because I know that by playing the instrument. I playing for a long while, not a champion like "Boogsie" and them. A lady asked me how long a pan does last. I say, "it hard for me to tell you that, because it have some players does wax up the pan." I say "well the harder they beat it, the quicker it will go out of tune, so that means it has to go back by the tuner". If you are putting a hammer on it all the time that wouldn't make it last long. Even up by Despers, I use to see fellahs waxing their pans because they know Bertie around. Well Rudolph now, he's the one who would cuff them and take away their sticks, and say, "how yuh could do dat man, yuh trying to mash-up meh instruments!." He say all the pans in the band is his own. I find that was nice, because it is more control. When you come there if he don't like your sticks he take it and 'fling' it away and gave you another pair. He had a 'fella' who used to make sticks and he would give the man 'ah raise'. You see money is an important thing even in steelband. He use to pay a man to make the sticks. I hear them say he use to rob the band. He used to help the band, I could afford to defend him.
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