ParkesTyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
IT IS a melancholy truth that when it comes to 'backing', females are lacking, at least when it comes to instruments.
On the native scene, the chances of finding a female member in a backing band are rather anorexic. There are several arguments surrounding this shortage of the 'skirts' behind the performers, one of which is that they are not given the chance to shine which, apparently, is the motto of most females trying to make some headway in the music business.
On the other hand, some claim that, as usual, the females are shying away from the challenge.
Those who insist that the 'backing' mantle is being kept from the 'sisters' point to another sad truth that acts as a deterrent the oversized egos that fill the dancehall. On the contrary, there are males that embrace the thought of being 'backed up' by a real woman.
"Talent ah talent. Some of the male (musicians) dem whack... so mi encourage the females dem fi take it up and take it as far as they can," stressed Baby Cham, who is managed by one of the few female managers in the dancehall, Brenda Sutherland.
MALE CHAUVINISTIC 'BUSINESS'
The deejay, christened Damion Beckett, was among the number that denounced the validity of the claim that female musicians are being stifled by an insecure, male-chauvinistic 'business'. "They need to just get confident, come from behind the shadows and the curtains and take what is there for them," he said. Seasoned musician Lloyd Parkes, founder and leader of Lloyd Parks and We The People band, concurs. Parkes is father of the most prominent female band member on the island Jacqueline Parks.
"What she is doing is a man's job. Being a female in a backing band is not an easy job," highlighted the elder Parks, pride caressing his vocal chords. He added that there is no question that the business of backing artistes on-stage is rugged and most times men handle these rough jobs better than women.
Nonetheless. Ms Parks, a graduate of Ardenne High School, is numbered among the brave, as she 'womans' the keyboards in the popular backing band MOB. Probably being the only female at the forefront of the backing band scene has brought her special notice.
She has backed the best of them and is desired by the rest of them. Among those that she has given the rhythm to ride are Dennis Brown, John Holt, Buju Banton and Baby Cham.
According to Cham, her knack for music is hereditary and she is in no way inferior to any male he has performed with. When it comes to music gender is irrelevant, says Cham.
Efforts to contact Ms. Parkes at her Florida home were futile.
This lack of 'tender touch' on the instruments is not confined to the realms of secular music, as the dearth seems to be a thorn in the flesh of the church as well, a place where women outnumber men umpteen to one. Carlton McGregor, the choir director at the Faith Chapel United Pentecostal Church, 1-2 Renfield Avenue (off Washington Boulevard), St. Andrew, told The Sunday Gleaner that he has observed this long-standing trend. He opined that a major reason is the instruments which dominate the local music scene. It is his belief that apart from the keyboard, ladies opt to play wood-wind instruments. This train of thought, he says, rides across both the secular and gospel tracks.
"Females are more inclined to play certain instruments, they generally take up the instruments that are not that common. They tend to go into the classical and not jazz. Additionally, most churches generally don't have a wide scope of instruments in their set-up and the ones that they do have are not the ones that the females will play," noted McGregor.
Although agreeing that spotting a female in a backing ensemble can be likened to locating a needle in a haystack, McGregor pointed out that there are still a few in the bushes. In the dancehall, the ratio of male to female deejays is just a tad better than the proportion of female to male musicians.
An analytical look at the graduating music classes of the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts over the past three years shows that females account for a high proportion.
TRIUMPH SHORT-LIVED
A source at the institution, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sunday Gleaner that in 2000 the women came out on top. Of the 23 graduates, 12 of them were female. The triumph was short-lived, however, as the following year, of the 25 graduates only seven were female. Last year there were 24 graduates and of this batch eight were women. "We have a two-year certificate course in the Performing Department called Caribbean, Latin American and Jazz Studies and it is predominantly male," highlighted the inside source.
The other courses offered by the institution are also densely populated by the 'rougher' sex. The men have also invaded Music in Education, since over the past three years only three of the 10 graduates have been females.
It is a no-brainer that females are in short supply in every aspect of dancehall music. Among those that want to see a change in the tide is long-standing dancehall diva, Marion 'Lady Saw' Hall. "I'd love to see the number of females increasing in all areas of the music, not just playing in bands but also in writing, playing on sound systems and the whole nine yards,' says Saw.
The worth and strength of a woman is invaluable and cannot be measured. Therefore, adding a few more females into the business of backing bands would definitely bring new and needed 'flava' that only women bring.
