Steel drum group brings panache to Player's Pub

Musical group Steel Panache performed at Player’s Pub on Friday, bringing the audience to its feet.

Player’s Pub invites local bands to play almost every night and asked Steel Panache to perform again after hearing them six months ago.

“All they needed to do was hear us once, and they wanted us back,” band leader Tom Berich said.

A professional Bloomington-based steel band 10 members strong, Steel Panache plays different sizes and types of steel drums.

Comprising graduate students and staff at IU, there is a vast age range that contributes to  their performances.  

The band most commonly performs calypso, a type of folk music indigenous to Trinidad. Due to the interactive quality of calypso, it’s meant to be heard live, Berich said.

The group has about six gigs per year, Berich said.

Audience member Alison Roth said the music made for a lively atmosphere.
“It was so cute to see the elders up there dancing,” Roth said. “It made the whole atmosphere more fun.”

Andrea Schiebel, Steel Panache’s bass player, said she loves interacting with the audience and especially enjoys how the audience reacts to their sound.

“You hardly ever see anybody look bored,” Schiebel said.

She said friendship is an important factor within the band as well as the members’ passion for the music.

“We get along on a musical and personal level,” Schiebel said. “Any time I play with Steel Pan, everyone I play with seems like they love the instrument, but it’s so much fun, too.”

Whether they danced or not, people in the audience said they enjoyed Steel Panache’s sound.

“I’ve definitely never heard anything like it before, but I enjoyed it more because of that,” Roth said.