Apocalypso!

pankids

what's in a name?

The name Pankids and Pankids.com comes from the passion Apocalypso has for spreading the music of the Caribbean and the joy of pan playing to kids. While we don't put any age limits on the definition of "kid" (for that matter, it's a rare day when more than one of us acts our age for more than half an hour straight), each of us is very involved in working with younger generations.

Don started a steel band program at Canyon View Elementary School ("CVSteel"), allowing fifth graders the opportunity to learn the art of pan and the fun of playing in a steel band. His program also allows them to continue playing through their middle school years until they reach high school, where they have the opportunity to join the Catalina Foothills High School Steel Band under Dr. Tina Walton.

Thom and Holly are coaches with the Canyon View program, coming to rehearsals several nights a week to offer their expertise and help in developing the talents of the CVSteel groups. Cy joins the coaching as she can, as well, and helps with behind-the-scenes graphic design for the program.

Cy is a perennial fixture of the Univeristy of Arizona's UASteel program, having been a member for over a decade as she works on graduate degrees while on staff at the College of Fine Arts. She acts as a mentor to younger players and provides arrangements and arranging workshops to the university program. She also acted as the director of the beginning UASteel group in 1999-2000.

Thom and Holly offer private lessons in pan and drumset to kids around the Tucson area (as does Jeff on those rare and precious times he's in town), providing students with individual instruction in order to help them reach their full musical potential. Dan has given generously of his time and talent to act as a recording engineer for Don's CVSteel CD projects.

Collectively, the gang has started preliminary work on some instructional materials for beginning and intermediate steel bands. Keep an eye out for Pankids Productions' first pedagogical publication (Let's Play...) in the not-too-distant future!