Shabang! Steel Drum Band: Reviews

On a personal note, as you know, my husband and I have a baby arriving any day now-
so I feel very fortunate to have been able to make it...to witness the incredible event we created, together. The memories of this fun and successful day will remain with me over the next few months of diaper-changing, nursing, and rest-deprivation that I'm anticipating :) ... and I'll really look forward to
working with you in the coming year...

Thanks so much for last night. Your music is amazing and it really made the party. I hope we can work together again soon.

"AWESOME!!!!! Excellent duo and great smiles. Their performance was wonderful."

You were wonderful last night!!! The gift of your music was very much appreciated by all last night!

I’ve gotten many phone calls today acknowledging what a fun night it was and what a fabulous band you were!
I wanted to take a moment to let you know again what a blessing all of you were to the community last night and me.

On behalf of Point Richmond Music, I'd like to thank you for your performance Friday evening. It was a wonderful event, and your music was perfect for the evening. Steel drums at an outdoor concert on a warm summer evening lent just the right free and festive feeling we were looking for.
Please thank the whole band for a great performance.

Your music was GREAT. We're all still dancing!

I just had to let you all know how much I enjoyed your performace at our Point Richmond Music Summer Concert on Friday the 2nd.
Thanks to all of you.

Thank you for coming and sharing in our (wedding) celebration. May our paths soon cross again.

All of us at Alameda Alliance for Health enjoyed your music and sincerely appreciate your making our event today so festive. You guys are fabulous, organized, and professional. I will definitely recommend you to my friends and associates.
I'm enjoying your CD right now and staying in the island mood... :)
Best regards and many thanks!

It was great having you here. Thank you so much for livening up our event...

The feedback from Adobe was excellent! I appreciated the upbeat rhythms of the band. They outdid themselves to involve everyone in their music and activities...

Thank you for the wonderful appearance you made at the Celebrity Reception prior to Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation's (ARF) recent celebrities FORE! ARF golf tournament...Your music is just perfect for the event.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you again for playing at my Mom's party. Your music definitely took the party to a different level of festivity! Should you ever have need of a reference, please feel free to use my name. I will galdly sing your praises.

What can I say, but thank you so much for helping us make our event so successful!
Everyone raved about your music! A job well done!

"Everyone really enjoyed the steel drum music...it gave us the motivation we needed..."

Our heartfelt THANKS to each and every one of you...Together we teamed up to put on an event that we can feel a great sense of pride in. Our wonderful theme "Party Gras" created the perfect backdrop to creating an atmosphere of fun and merriment...It has been our pleasure working with you.

"...excellent reggae and steel drums...entertainment that was musically exciting."

"...more than we could have hoped for...we had record breaking attendance...exceeded our expectations."

"The energy and enthusiasm generated by Shabang is tremendous...People love the steel drums. That's why I bring them back every year."

"...the steel drum music was greatly enjoyed."

"...Harry has learned first hand the musical tastes of North American audiences when they are turned to listen to Caribbean steel drum music."

"...a new Caribbean-American genre."

"...Harry at his best--singing...with a twinkle in his eye, and a smile on his face...He's got steel drum skills too."

earBuzz Review: Harry Best and Shabang's Caribbean collection combines about half jazz and reggae-inspired steel drum instrumentals with the other half vocal reggae steel drum inspired tunes. The record opens with "I'm for Real" - one of our favorite tunes on the CD. The music is reminiscent of Sting's "love in the 7th wave", with lyrics and singing that showcase Best's talent along with sincere background vocal work. Best sings a song of longing, 'i'm in the heart and you're in the head, so you dismiss everything that I said, if you could know the things that i feel, you'd understand I"m for real'. Track 2, "Cool de Fire", is the long mp3 here - it starts out with Caribbean mixed with suspenseful movie soundtrack flavors. .strange combination that really works - kind of Thriller meets it's reggae counterpart. The message of the song is from the object of Best's desires. .she saying chill - slow down. Track 3, "Gonna Make It", is a tune of ambition and positive thinking - wonderful production and vocal work here - Best sings, 'i'm going to make it day by day, gonna make it come what may, gonna make it my own sweet way'. Best and Shabang take a vocal break for half the tunes and feature the steel drums (steel-pan) talent of Dexter Bruce who provides tremendous character and melodic sense to the compositions. Harry Best is also credited for Steel Pans - but we're not sure who is playing on which track. Track 8, "Allez za za", is an upbeat reggae/spiritual tune that works well - listen. Overall the CD is full of consistent and pleasurable reggae music from an inspired professional.

"...soca meets dancehall at its best. It is hot, wet and slippery."