American Tracy Thornton first heard the steelpan in 1988 on a song, Jane Says, by his then-favourite rock band, and thought it was cool.
At the time, he was a heavy metal drummer in rock bands who “blindly purchased and listened to a multitude of CDs.”
Then he heard the Ken “Professor” Philmore arrangement of Pan by Storm played by Fonclaire.
He recalled: “The energy, pace and attitude were akin to the rock music I was a fan of and played. It just sounded like a freight train on steroids coming at you. To this day it’s my favourite, but it didn’t end there!”
He added, “In 1994, Professor, then-guest tutor at an Ellie Mannette-facilitated pan workshop in West Virginia, invited me to Trinidad. The very next year, I got possessed by the pan jumbie.
“I never looked back after my first Trinidad Panorama-playing experience with Potential Symphony. Professor was the musical director. My life was forever changed.”
Thornton, who last performed at Panorama in Trinidad in 2022 with Phase II Pan Groove, said like Philmore and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, he isn’t formally trained. However, he has mastered the art form and taught pan across the United States.
“I thoroughly understand the power of rock, and unapologetically yet lovingly sunk pan into it, which led me to create the brand, Pan Rocks. Pan is an acoustic instrument with limitless potential like rock music,” he said.
As part of the Miami University of Ohio’s Performing Arts Series, Thornton collaborated with steelband director Prof Chris Tanner and co-produced the concert Pan Rocks Rush 2025 on April 5 at the university’s Millett Hall Arena.
The concert was a tribute to Canadian rock band Rush, on the 50th anniversary of their first recording and album, Fly By Night.
The 75-player Miami University Steel Band (MUSB) opened the concert, then became a Pan Rocks Band of 200-plus players when joined by six high school steelbands from Cincinnati and environs.
The ensemble also included live rock musicians: Chris Tanner on drums, Aaron Almashy on guitar, Matt Wiles on the bass/keyboard and MUSB Alumni & Friends.
The concert was just one in a vast body of distinguished works by Thorton, who also organised the groundbreaking virtual concert Pan In Unity, assisted by Japanese-American Yuko Asada, and assistant Professor of Steelpan at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, Mia Gormandy. The event featured 700 pannists from 25 countries performing simultaneously.
Thornton embraces the steelpan as a gift from T&T and is passionate about showing the world the instrument’s possibilities, capabilities, and diversity.
“I value every opportunity I get to teach and play pan and showcase how it truly rocks,” he said.
