Bassy follows his own beat

FANS of local music would be well aware of the force of the band that is Orange Sky. At the backbone of their intoxicating rhythms is Obasi “Bassy” Springer, the young drummer who is enjoying the time of his life. Bassy grew up in St James and attended Newtown Boys’ RC. He played sports and he loved music. He loved music more than anything else. “My musical influences come from the Trinidadian culture. My dad plays percussion and always had conga drums and a lot of other instruments lying around the house. My dad and a friend, Tamba, would just meet and begin jamming in the house and I looked up to them both. As a result of his interests, he bought me an African drum and at night I would go out into the yard and just mimic all that I saw Tamba and my dad doing. I just had a passion for it from that point on,” said the drummer.

“Music…that is all I do. It’s all that I can do (laughs). While growing up I played percussion, pan, guitar. I’m not just stuck on one genre. I tend to take everything as it is. The fact that I can play numerous instruments made me a better drummer as I can better relate to what the others in the band are doing. “Actually, to go back to the point of local influences, Orange Sky was one of the major influences. When Nigel (Rohas), Orange Sky guitarist and lead vocalist, asked me to join the band, I already knew all the songs.” Bassy gave the story of how he became the drummer. “I used to practise with another band in Cascade and ironically this was very near to the Orange Sky band room. One day I was just walking out and I bumped into this big red-man (Rohas). He just told me that he was looking for a drummer just to come and “vibes” with his band Orange Sky. I mean, I was 15 and it blew me away. I was like you’re the fella from Orange Sky and I accepted the invitation without hesitation. He passed by my house and picked me up. I just decided to show them what I could do, just to give them me for me. “The session was the best experience and later that same night while we were talking, he asked me to join the band. The friendship started there and we have become like family now.” “My mom was always heavy on the academics — ‘Do your work, you have to do your work’.” So I always studied but it was more for her than anything else,” declared the Fatima alumni.

“Being a percussionist, my dad knew what it was to be bitten by the jumbie so he was always saying that I should go for it. “I try to stay as modest as possible in the descriptions of my style. My style is very aggressive. I try to break at least two pairs of drumsticks per session. I’ve been known to crack symbols and throw high hats off of the set during practice. The fans at the last Orange Sky concert were clearly consumed in the rhythm generated by Bassy’s aggressive style. When Rohas announced, “On drums we have… Obasi Springer!” the crowd began chanting Obasi! Obasi! throughout the drum solo. The 20-year-old musician elaborated on what goes through his mind during times such as this. “Anytime I’m doing solos, I do them with a lot of passion. It is a tribal moment for me. I just open up and show the different parts of myself, the speed, the accuracy and at that concert in particular I think that I pulled it off well. You may have noticed that I am always looking at the crowd. I feed off of them. During a show we did with X-Tatic, I was aware that it was mainly a soca-loving crowd, so I incorporated a lot of Latin fills. At our concert, there was a rock-oriented crowd so I kept it more rock-based. It all depends on the crowd. I go out there as a blank slate and trust my instincts.”

The band recently visited Atlanta, Georgia, for pre-production, photo-shoots, rehearsals, legal talks, and interviews with several international music industry stakeholders. How has the touring and change in lifestyle affected the young drummer? “It really didn’t affect me. People seem to have a problem because I’m not too sociable, but I’m just a naturally shy person. Maybe I should work on that. It gets a bit weird when I hear people calling out my name and when I see people pointing at me in the mall and snickering or running up to me asking for me to autograph their backs or something like that. It feels like everybody’s looking at me. If it was up to me, I would just let Nigel (Rohas) do all the interviews,” said Bassy with a laugh. He added, “My family and friends are in full support of what I’m doing even with the touring. My girlfriend however…let’s just say that I have to do a little extra to keep her assured of my loyalty. “To stay grounded I just don’t take myself seriously. When it comes to work I do it to the best of my ability, but it isn’t hard to remain humble because I know that I’m just a regular person who happens to drum. There’s nothing special about me. I just took what God gave to me and developed it into something. If I couldn’t drum, I may be a vagrant, who knows.”

Regarding his involvement in Orange Sky, Bassy said, “From the time I joined the band it has all been uphill. There’s been no stagnation. I’m on a natural high since I started. To play with Nigel and the band is the greatest thing I could ask for. I would never trade my life for anyone else’s. You only live once and the fact that I’m doing what I love to do is the best. If I had an 8-4 job I would be the most unhappy person in the world. I could never put on a shirt and tie, go to work, take instructions from a boss who I probably hate, go home eat, brush my teeth, go to sleep and start the same cycle all over in the morning. No way!” declared Bassy. He continued, “People need to follow their hearts and with determination, all power to you, all power.”