Drumming up community support
Club Carib marks half century in Oshawa
Not long after the organization got its start in 1966, Club Carib made a name for itself in the community by creating a steel drum band. The band, seen here playing outside Sears in March 1972, started after George Kissoondath, then the club’s president, decided that Club Carib needed something to celebrate Caribbean culture and bring it to Oshawa.
By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express
When Club Carib got started 50 years ago, it needed something to set itself apart. Within the beginning years of the organization, it found its answer: steel drums.
Evolving from music created using household items to dedicated instruments made from used oil barrels, steel drums got their start in Trinidad and Tobago before spreading across the Caribbean in future years.
So back in 1968, George Kissoondath, then the president of Club Carib, came up with the idea of bringing that sound from down south and bringing it north to Oshawa.
“Because of the nature of the band being a Caribbean band, I thought it would be a great idea to have a steel band,” he says.
“This is part of our heritage and our culture in Trinidad and Tobago, where steel band originated. This is the birthplace of steel band.”
To get the band off the ground, Kissoondath reached out to club member Carlyle Julal, who was first exposed to the musical stylings of steel drums back when he was a teenager in Trinidad.
“At that time, they looked at steel band as something bad – only the vagabonds did it. It was cheap, it wasn’t the elite group that did it. So I started doing it, hearing from a neighbour knocking the pans, so I got interested and started to play,” Julal says of his initial exposure when he was 17.
“I went to piano lessons, so I knew about notes, and I started to get interested in incorporating that into steel band. And I learned from others who were above me.”
Things moved quickly for Julal, tuning drums for the Silver Stars, one of Trinidad’s largest bands by the time he was 20 and then playing in an award-winning band himself by the time he was 23.
It was that background and skill that Kissoondath wanted to tap into to bring steel drums to Oshawa.
“He had extensive knowledge of how to start a steel band and had experience with making the steel drums themselves,” he says, adding the dozen or so drums the band started out with started their life as oil drums at the Oshawa dump before they were cut to size and tuned in Julal’s basement.
“This man spent countless hours cutting these pans.”
After a lot of practice, the band had its first gig, playing on a float at the 1971 Folk Arts Council parade, the precursor to the modern Fiesta celebrations.
“We got a truck, a float, we decorated it and the steel band was on it. We played on the truck with the steel band and entertained the people on the road through the parade route, and we gave a concert after at Alexandra Park, I think it was. We ended up winning the first prize,” Kissoondath says.
Julal says that 1971 was also the year that Sir Sam McLaughlin, one of the city’s most famous residents, marked his 100th birthday – and it was only fit for the band to celebrate, playing ‘Happy Birthday’ when they got to Parkwood Estates.
From there, the steel band had its fair share of shows, playing at the old Canadian Tire store at Midtown Mall, Sears and a recital at the Oshawa library – they were a hit.
“Because it was something new here in Oshawa, the first steel drum in…this area, there was nothing like it,” Kissoondath says.
“Club Carib was the first Caribbean club in Oshawa, so I thought this was a good idea to show the people part of our culture because most of the members at the time were Trinidadians.”
This story and others like it are among many that mark Club Carib’s 50-year history. To celebrate the occasion, the club is hosting an anniversary gala Oct. 22 at the Carribean Cultural Centre at 600 Wentworth St. E. The event will feature live band and DJ, silent auction, draws and much more. For tickets, please call (905) 434-5629 or (905) 728-4293.