GO AND DO: Tinpanic will perform at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Auburn Mall just outside JC Penney. The concert is free.

These musicians, ranging in age from 30 to 70, have got
A steely rhythm

AUBURN – Listening to the steel drum sounds of Tinpanic, it’s easy to imagine the soft, warm sand of the Caribbean beaches beneath your feet.

The aqua pans – or steel drums – are adorned with tropical fish, the musicians sport Hawaiian-style shirts, and the hoots, the smiles and the nonstop dancing that erupt during concerts just feeds the band’s enthusiasm. The members hail from Lewiston, Auburn and surrounding towns.

“We’re having the time of our lives,” said band member Diane Mawhinney.

Bryan Dench, filling in with percussion, described playing with the band as “outstanding” and “great fun.”

The fun extends to the audience.

The band recently performed at the Hilton Garden Inn in an energetic and vivid riverside finale of the Twin Cities’ summer concert series hosted by L/A Arts. A conga line broke out and made its way, toting adults and children alike through the grassy venue, as a group of children jumped and danced side stage of the 14-member steel band. Musicians hammered out numbers like “Misbehave,” “Heart of Glass” and “Moondance” for the crowd during the hour-long lunchtime show.

“This is our first time seeing them. I like it,” said Cynthia Chase of Topsham. She and her husband came out to see her brother-in-law, Dench, play.

After several sailing trips in the Caribbean, Pat and Peter Garcia, and Dick and Jan Marston, along with four others, started Tinpanic in 2002. They all credit their love for the music as their inspiration.

“I never played a musical instrument before,” Pat Garcia said, when asked how she got started playing the drums.

Steel drum bands, which originated in Africa but are closely associated with Caribbean cultures, are a growing presence in Maine, with increasing numbers of Mainers attending the annual New England Pan Festival.

The bands are most dense in Blue Hill, the home of three different groups and of Carl Chase, who some credit with bringing the islands sounds to Maine. Shortly after high school, Case began his love of this musical style. While visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands, he heard the music performed live, came home and began learning all he could about the genre.

Chase later visited Trinidad, honing his skill as a musician and pan maker, and launched the explosion of steel drum bands in the Blue Hill region during the 1980s.

Chase has been an intricate part of Tinpanic’s success, having hammered into shape the bottoms of 55-gallon drums to make the pans they currently play on.

The band’s first instructor was Carl Chase’s son, Nigel, a pan musician himself and current member of Atlantic Clarion Steel Band. He is also a music instructor for Planet Pan Steelband, a program for Blue Hill-area high school students, and teaches pan classes through Peninsula Pan Education.

The music in Tinpanic’s repertoire includes traditional calypso and jazz, as well as non-traditional pieces. Bonita Nicolas of Auburn, the band’s director, arranged the non-traditional music for the five pan classes and percussion section.

The Aug. 23 concert was the last band gig for Nicolas, who is retiring from her position. After a rousing version of “Oye Como Va” finished the set, band members presented her with a colorful bouquet of flowers and thanked her for her time, talent and dedication to them and the music. While she may be stepping down, Nicolas will continue to work with the band, arranging music and occasionally appearing as a special guest band director.