You don’t have to travel all the way to the Caribbean to feel like an island hopper ready to soak up the sun. The happy, steel drum music of Steel The Band cuts through the thickest June gloom and lightens the heart, inspiring one to look towards a bright horizon.

Steel The Band sets up a mini-concert every weekend at Kobey’s Swap Meet. The band can consist of as many as a dozen members, but normally it’s Rosalie (Rose) Thomas, Troy Peets and Adrian Ahearn entertaining the crowd which congregates around the main snack bar.

The band has been playing at Kobey’s for the past five years. Like the vendors who come each weekend to sell their goods, Steel The Band comes to have fun while they promote themselves and steel drum music.

Pan player and lead vocalist Rose Thomas expressed, “We are lucky to be in the position we are in to come out and just entertain the people. They seem to like us a lot.”

“ Steel Bands” as they are known, originated on the island of Trinidad in the 1930’s. The drums, known as “Pans” have continually evolved since that time so that even the most complicated classical music can be played on them. Most bands choose something which captures the music’s free spirit.

Founding member Troy Peets has been playing Pan since he was 13 years old. Since moving to Southern California from St. Thomas, and later the East coast, he played and studied with Carl Lawrence and Trinidad Steel Drum Band for 14 years.

“ Troy is the lead pan player and he has in fact taught me many of the techniques I use today,” Rose explains. “He has been my teacher for the last 5 years and I’m still learning.”

Steel The Band is a band for hire. They are a available for private parties such as birthdays or weddings as well as corporate events. Even if you think a band is out of your price range, Rose says, “Call us! We try to cater to everyone.”

Steel The Band can be reached by calling (619) 516-3692 or page: (619) 544-2000.

To hear them live, Steel The Band usually plays at Kobey’s between 10 am to 2 pm either Sat. or Sun. Appearances (and photos) are posted on their web site: www.steeltheband.com.