Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcus Rattler.
Hi Marcus, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I picked up steel pan in college under Dr. Michael Bump and went to Trinidad to perform in Panorama with Liam Teague. Since that time I’ve begun finding my own voice in pan, which led to me creating my hybrid drumset that incorporates my steel pan that is modified with amplification. My band, Legerdemain, plays original music that I created with my bandmates for this instrument setup to showcase the capabilities of the instrument. The long term goal is to start a community band and Panorama for the midwest.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road, but mostly because of the nature of the instrument. Being a career musician is always hard, but especially so for instrumentalists that aren’t normally called for smaller gigs. Those gigs usually want piano and a vocalist or horn player, so as a drummer, this eliminates some possibilities of gigs. Playing the steel pan is beneficial in that it can act as a horn and I can play along just like any other instrument. The only down side can be tentativeness to book steel pan musicians because they only associate it with certain genres.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a career percussionist. I perform in a wide variety of ensembles on all kinds of percussion instruments as well as teach and give masterclasses across the US and abroad.
I specialize on steel pan and, more specifically, my hybrid drumset that incorporates my steel pan. My band, Legerdemain, plays covers and original fusion music that fuses our classical, jazz, and rock backgrounds to push the steel pan into genres thay are less familiar with the instrument.
We are a fusion band, but I can very proudly say we will be representing KC in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. We played the Blues our way and won the regional round here at Knuckleheads in KC.
What sets me most apart is my time spent in multiple areas of music/percussion. The two main areas being classical/symphonic and the jazz/rock world. I use elements of both in both composition and performance.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The steel pan is a young instrument that is growing rapidly. There are not many that use the pan in the way that I do, so I’m hoping to inspire others to explore the boundaries of what we think the instrument should sound like and how it should be played. If I have anything to say about it, there will be A LOT more pan players in the US.
Pricing:
- I work with budgets. I can provide solo up to full band.
- Live shows, fill in, and studio work on all percussion
- Masterclass “The Feel of Music” applicable to ALL musicians
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcusrattler?igsh=ZnYxMGpuNmo2N3kx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16PsULVnfV/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@marcusrattler1229?si=EkwjH23-f6LCIgrv
