Bream Bay College steel band the Panimals heading over to Australia

Bream Bay College’s steel band, the Panimals, hope their talent, practice and determination may one day see them winning a coveted Grammy Award.

While tenor and spokeswoman Gabriella Uphof made the statement made in jest, it’s probably not an unrealistic goal when you see all that goes into their music.

The group - made up of Uphof, 15, Kaiser Jacoby, 16, Irie Garland, 15, Adara Lunjevich, 16, Larissa Tanuvasa, 14, Harlyn Abraham, 15, and Levi Williams, 17 - may be the only high school steel band in the country.

Together they play steel pans to create music - and it may not be what you expect.

Already they have released an EP, Steel Soup, which can be found on Spotify and features tunes such as Van Morrison’s Moondance, Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and Toxicity by System of a Down.

That eclectic mix alone is a showcase of their talents.

The group is heading across the ditch in October in a bid to meet other steel bands and learn from the very best - so far, they’ve raised half of the funds required.

“We’re looking forward to the learning experience and to measure up the competition,” Uphof joked.

The Advocate went to meet with them last week to see what all the fuss was about and find out how, exactly, a steel pan is played.

The first thing to know about the Panimals is that they hail from a college known to breed musical talent - take the thrash metal band Alien Weaponry, for example.

The legacy of the Panimals is not new. In fact, they first began some 20 years ago.

Over the years, their collection of steel pans has built up - at a cost of approximately $2000 each.

Now the seven-strong group perform in their designated space every interval and lunch time, as well as for an extra hour per week.

Each student is multi-talented when it comes to music, skilled in disciplines from the piano to the drums, singing to the guitar.

But it’s in their designated space at the centre of the school that the steel pan drumming comes alive.

Students at Bream Bay College are probably used to hearing the tunes reverberating out from the Panimals headquarters during break times.

Carefully compiled songs that have been recreated via YouTube tutorials, sheet music and learning by ear are practiced, and they’re always wanting to expand their setlist.

The band is made up of two tenors who play the melody, two seconds who play chords and sometimes harmonies, one cellist who plays chords and one bassist.

One of their favourite songs to perform is System of a Down’s Toxicity, but Uphof says they tend to just “find a song that we like and learn it”.

When asked whether their arms hurt after playing a song, they answer in unison with a resounding, “Yes!”.

Sore arms aside, the group love what they do.

Most recently, they’ve participated at community events such as the Easter carnival in Waipu, and they’ve even gone on tour in Auckland.

The group enjoy playing in the band because it’s something different - and tends to surprise people.

“I just think it’s so different to everything else music-wise, and [we enjoy] seeing the reaction other people have to it when we start playing,” Jacoby said.

Tanuvasa said she enjoys the connection between herself and her peers when they play together.

“We’re all really into our music,” Lunjevich said.

To donate toward the Panimals’ Australia trip, contact Bream Bay College on 09 432 8226.

Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.