The Tokyo Steel Orchestra will not be competing in this year's Panorama competition, in large part due to a used-car dealer from the John John area allegedly refusing to remove dozens of vehicles from their pan yard.
This is the first time since the inception of the Panorama in 1963 that Tokyo Steel Orchestra will not be participating in the competition.
Earlier this week, Tokyo Steel Orchestra's chairman Oswald Goddard wrote Pan Trinbago informing them of the band's decision not to participate in this year's Panorama citing "financial difficulties" as the reason for the pull-out.
Judges were originally scheduled to visit Tokyo's pan yard next Sunday as part of the Panorama preliminaries.
The owner of the car dealership Anthon "Boombay" Boney has, however, denied those accusations. Boney had previously been held during the 2011 State of Emergency in connection with an alleged assassination plot against then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
He was eventually released without charge and was awarded $70,000 in damages for unlawful detention.
In 2014 he was also faced with five charges under the Anti-Gang Act, including one for being a gang leader.
'The state of the pan yard haunts me'
The Tokyo Steel Orchestra's pan yard is located at 2 Plaisance Road in John John, and is one of the last places people see before they leave Port-of-Spain via the Beetham flyover.
Painted on the wall of the pan yard facing the flyover is an advertisement for the car dealership which proudly states "we are located at Tokyo Pan yard".
Another advertisement for the dealership has also been painted over the Mark Guerra Wall of Peace mural.
When the Sunday Guardian visited the pan yard on Thursday, inside was littered with vehicles with "for sale" on their windshields.
Pan stands were tossed into a corner of the compound among overgrown grass.
The "Tokyo bar" located at the pan yard was now storage space for car parts.
The pan yard is now a shadow of its former glory.
Goddard, who lives directly across the road from the pan yard, sees its deterioration on a daily basis.
"When I watch through my window that does haunt me. It does haunt me," Goddard said.
Goddard knows the work that went into the construction of the pan yard and its maintenance.
"We (the pan players) built our own pan yard and Carib paid us to do it," Goddard said.
The was about 20 years ago when Carib Brewery was still the band's sponsor.
"I did over the toilets, the whole roof of Tokyo, I did over the tiling, the fixtures, if you see the state of the toilet now," he lamented.
Around five years ago the used vehicles were parked in a premises higher up in John John.
However, the Government threatened to have the cars removed and therefore the owner needed a new spot to house them.
The vehicles were moved to Tokyo's pan yard.
It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.
The decision to allow the car dealer to use the pan yard to park his cars temporarily caused a rift within Tokyo Steel Orchestra and its executive.
A vote by the executive to decide whether the cars could be temporarily housed in the pan yard ended with three in favour and two against.
Goddard who was the chairman at the time resigned from his position following the vote.
Since then the vehicles have become somewhat of a fixture at the pan yard.
'This year is the most difficult year'
For the last two years, Tokyo Steel Orchestra had to resort to renting a car park in South Quay to practice for Panorama.
A new executive which was recently voted into office decided they would not foot that bill again this year and would instead return to their own pan yard.
The problem is they have no space to do so as the cars are still there.
"I am not going to pay no car park at City Gate and we have a million-dollar pan yard. I am sorry, we are not doing that," Goddard said.
With the current stand-off, Goddard said the band decided to stay away from this year's Panorama.
"This year is the most difficult year. What we are doing now is we have to reorganise, we have to work from today and try to prepare the band for next year," Goddard said.
"Definitely...hopefully if God gives me the health and strength next year for sure (we will be back), but we have to put things in place."
Goddard said he intends to have a meeting with the car dealer to again explain the band's plight.
"I am trying to structure it (what I want to say) properly and very diplomatic so that we sit down talk to him and get a solution to get these things," he said.
Goddard said he has seen the band grow and hopes to see it grow even further in the future.
"Tokyo was good to me, Tokyo is an institution, Tokyo is one of the oldest steel bands in the world so we have to make sure that the flag keeps on flying. As I tell the youth, I am just structuring the thing for them to take over," he said.
"Right now we in a state and we have to try to rebuild again."
His hope is to return the pan yard to its glory days and have people coming there to enjoy events.
"I have to rebuild the public confidence into coming back into Tokyo, into John John, it is one of the main factors, we have to restructure the building, reopen the bar, have some steel bands every Friday night," Goddard said.
"When it starts people might hesitate because even some players who want to come can't come but we will have to work to change that."
Goddard said one of his greatest memories with Tokyo is when Clive Bradley came to arrange Pan in Danger for the 1985 Panorama competition.
Pan in Danger was sung by Calypsonian Dennis Williams Franklyn better known as the Merchant.
A rich history
Tokyo Steel Orchestra was formed in 1942 and was originally known as the "John John Boys".
The group then went through several name changes from "Marabuntas" to "Destination Tokyo".
Winston "Spree" Simon was a captain of the band.
Simon, a resident of John John, is famous for his role in the development of the 'ping pong' which became the tenor pan of today.
It is believed by some that he was the inventor of the steelpan.
The Tokyo Steel Orchestra has never won a Panorama but they placed second in the competition in both 1972 and 1973 with the tunes "Mrs Harriman"and "My Connie" respectively.
I'm being used as a scapegoat—businessman
Meanwhile, Boney, defending himself, said, "It is not no bully thing". Boney said claims that he was obstructing Tokyo Steel Orchestra were simply untrue.
"Whoever claims that I am at fault is simply trying to create a bacchanal and make mischief," Boney said.
Boney said for the past five years he has been using the pan yard and has been paying rent to do so.
"Whenever Carnival comes around and they say they want to use the space I move out the cars," Boney said.
"All that is going on in the band has nothing to do with me it is an internal issue."
Boney said he has been paying rent for the space and has always signalled his intention to help the band in any way he could financially.
He said apart from the outside area where the cars are parked there are rooms inside the pan yard that can be utilised if the band wanted to.
Boney said the internal conflict among the Tokyo Steel Orchestra was hurting the band and he was simply being used as a scapegoat.
Joel Julien
The Tokyo Steel Orchestra will not be competing in this year's Panorama competition, in large part due to a used-car dealerfrom the John John area refusing to remove dozens of vehicles from their pan yard where a used-car dealership is being operated.
This is the first time since the inception of the Panorama in 1963 that Tokyo Steel Orchestra will not be participating in the competition.
Earlier this week, Tokyo Steel Orchestra's chairman Oswald Goddard wrote Pan Trinbago informing them of the band's decision not to participate in this year's Panorama citing "financial difficulties" as the reason for the pull-out.
Judges were originally scheduled to visit Tokyo's pan yard next Sunday as part of the Panorama preliminaries.
'The state of the pan yard haunts me'
The Tokyo Steel Orchestra's pan yard is located at 2 Plaisance Road in John John, and is one of the last places people see before they leave Port-of-Spain via the Beetham flyover.
Painted on the wall of the pan yard facing the flyover is an advertisement for the car dealership which proudly states "we are located at Tokyo Pan yard".
Another advertisement for the dealership has also been painted over the Mark Guerra Wall of Peace mural.
When the Sunday Guardian visited the pan yard on Thursday, inside was littered with vehicles with "for sale" on their windshields.
Pan stands were tossed into a corner of the compound among overgrown grass.
The "Tokyo bar" located at the pan yard was now storage space for car parts.
The pan yard is now a shadow of its former glory.
Goddard, who lives directly across the road from the pan yard, sees its deterioration on a daily basis.
"When I watch through my window that does haunt me. It does haunt me," Goddard said.
Goddard knows the work that went into the construction of the pan yard and its maintenance.
"We (the pan players) built our own pan yard and Carib paid us to do it," Goddard said.
The was about 20 years ago when Carib Brewery was still the band's sponsor.
"I did over the toilets, the whole roof of Tokyo, I did over the tiling, the fixtures, if you see the state of the toilet now," he lamented.
Around five years ago the used vehicles were parked in a premises higher up in John John.
However, the Government threatened to have the cars removed and therefore the owner needed a new spot to house them.
The vehicles were moved to Tokyo's pan yard.
It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.
The decision to allow the car dealer to use the pan yard to park his cars temporarily caused a rift within Tokyo Steel Orchestra and its executive.
A vote by the executive to decide whether the cars could be temporarily housed in the pan yard ended with three in favour and two against.
Goddard who was the chairman at the time resigned from his position following the vote.
Since then the vehicles have become somewhat of a fixture at the pan yard.
'This year is the most difficult year'
For the last two years, Tokyo Steel Orchestra had to resort to renting a car park in South Quay to practice for Panorama.
A new executive which was recently voted into office decided they would not foot that bill again this year and would instead return to their own pan yard.
The problem is they have no space to do so as the cars are still there.
"I am not going to pay no car park at City Gate and we have a million-dollar panyard. I am sorry, we are not doing that," Goddard said.
With the current stand-off, Goddard said the band decided to stay away from this year's Panorama.
"This year is the most difficult year. What we are doing now is we have to reorganise, we have to work from today and try to prepare the band for next year," Goddard said.
"Definitely...hopefully if God gives me the health and strength next year for sure (we will be back), but we have to put things in place."
Goddard said he intends to have a meeting with the alleged gang leader to again explain the band's plight.
"I am trying to structure it (what I want to say) properly and very diplomatic so that we sit down talk to him and get a solution to get these things," he said.
Goddard said he has seen the band grow and hopes to see it grow even further in the future.
"Tokyo was good to me, Tokyo is an institution, Tokyo is one of the oldest steel bands in the world so we have to make sure that the flag keeps on flying. As I tell the youth, I am just structuring the thing for them to take over," he said.
"Right now we in a state and we have to try to rebuild again."
His hope is to return the pan yard to its glory days and have people coming there to enjoy events.
"I have to rebuild the public confidence into coming back into Tokyo, into John John, it is one of the main factors, we have to restructure the building, reopen the bar, have some steel bands every Friday night," Goddard said.
"When it starts people might hesitate because even some players who want to come can't come but we will have to work to change that."
Goddard said one of his greatest memories with Tokyo is when Clive Bradley came to arrange Pan in Danger for the 1985 Panorama competition.
Pan in Danger was sung by Calypsonian Dennis Williams Franklyn better known as the Merchant.
A rich history
Tokyo Steel Orchestra was formed in 1942 and was originally known as the "John John Boys".
The group then went through several name changes from "Marabuntas" to "Destination Tokyo".
Winston "Spree" Simon was a captain of the band.
Simon, a resident of John John, is famous for his role in the development of the 'ping pong' which became the tenor pan of today.
It is believed by some that he was the inventor of the steelpan.
The Tokyo Steel Orchestra has never won a Panorama but they placed second in the competition in both 1972 and 1973 with the tunes "Mrs Harriman"and "My Connie" respectively.
I'm being used as a scapegoat—businessman
"It is not no bully thing". So said businessman Anthon "Boombay" Boney yesterday in response to claims that Tokyo Steel Orchestra was not competing in the upcoming Panorama in large part due to a refusal by a used car dealership to remove dozens of vehicles from the pan yard.
Boney, who operates the used-car dealership, said claims that he was obstructing Tokyo Steel Orchestra were simply untrue.
"Whoever claims that I am at fault is simply trying to create a bacchanal and make mischief," Boney said.
Boney said for the past five years he has been using the pan yard and has been paying rent to do so.
"Whenever Carnival comes around and they say they want to use the space I move out the cars," Boney said.
"All that is going on in the band has nothing to do with me it is an internal issue."
Boney said he has been paying rent for the space and has always signalled his intention to help the band in any way he could financially.
He said apart from the outside area where the cars are parked there are rooms inside the pan yard that can be utilised if the band wanted to.
Boney said the internal conflict among the Tokyo Steel Orchestra was hurting the band and he was simply being used as a scapegoat.
