THERE are lots of gifted people musically in Guyana and around the world.
When you think of pan music in Guyana, the name ‘Ras Camo’ comes to mind. Known for his music charm and skill on the pan, Ras Camo has been playing pan music since childhood during the early 1960s.

The Pepperpot Magazine sat down with the legend, and he revealed how he began his musical career.

“I began playing music in the early ‘60s when I was going to school. Whilst waiting on my father when school was over in the Charlestown area, there was a pan yard not too far away. It was whilst running errands for the pan players I learned how to play the pans because I was shown what to do,” Camo told Pepperpot Magazine.

He recalled that his first steel band competition in pan music was in 1965 at the then Georgetown Football Club ground, and according to him, the winner of the competition would play for the Queen’s reception the next year. He noted that playing for the Queen was a big thing in those days. His band did not win the competition, but he still got an opportunity to play for the Queen.
Camo mentioned that he began to develop from then on by putting the pan in a string band and then moved into other genres of music, including jazz and Indian music.

He recalled that whilst playing the jazz genre of music, he played with a number of international and renowned Guyanese musicians, including Keith Waithe and John Agard. Camo recalled that the group had performed at Theatre Guild during that time.

Staying Relevant in a Modern Age
Camo noted during his interview that technology has advanced. He began to use his computer to get musical accompaniment while performing solo on his pan for any large or small audience.
“That is what I am on now, and not the whole band anymore. I use the computer. What I am dealing with now is a more modern thing,” Camo told Pepperpot.

Making room for the next generation
Ras noted that he has been involved in training young people of school age, including schools like St Roses High, and the Buxton Band, among a number of bands involving young people.
He opined that very often in the musical arena, there must be persons to take up the mantle, as it were, when the older persons would have left the scene.
Ras noted that he has been involved in training young people since the early 1980s.

He noted that there is a need for a community band for the simple reason that when you train one set of young people for at least one year, eventually, the educational development of the young people that you train creates a void for pan music, particularly when they move on to another class to continue their academic development.

He spoke of the importance of a community band, thus addressing and, more or less, meeting the musical needs of young people, including school dropouts.

According to him, the answer to keeping the pan alive is the establishment of a community band, where there would be various competitions among the youths.

Ras Camo was among the recipients of an award from Theatre Guild recently. He was honoured for his sterling contribution to the arts industry over the years. He loves pan music.
He also urges young people to develop a love for the pan, which can keep them out of trouble and misdemeanour.