Greg and Junko MacDonald
We are an instrumental duo. I play parallel lead pans (higher register) and Junko plays double seconds (lower register). My introduction to pan was at the University of California, Berkeley. Having been a professional trap set drummer, I took a class at Berkeley in 1985, and fell in love with steel drums. For that year I performed with the Berkeley Steel Orchestra, then moved to Hawaii. Junko and I met at a Christmas party in 1994. She liked the sound of the instrument and began coming to band rehearsals, later learning a few tunes and sitting in with us. Her musical background is classical piano, so she had a well trained ear and picked up pan quickly. By 1996 we had formed a duo, and a couple years later got married. She is from Tokyo and is the world's first professional female Japanese pan player. Our cultural and musical differences help to define our sound. We are dedicated to this instrument and are full time musicians. but that's a story too long for here.
Credits: We have provided pre concert entertainment for Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Buffet, Julio Iglesias and Kenny Loggins (all while they were in Hawaii.) Our corporate clients include: Sony, ATT, Coke Cola, Dr.Pepper/7up, Coors, Intel, Taco Bell, Motorola, Cisco Systems, and dozens more. Our Latin album, Pan-a-Cabana, was featured in July 2002 on the largest Hispanic TV network in the world, Univision, broadcasting from Miami. In June 1999, we appeared on Home Shopping Network and set a new sales record (to that date). More recently, we had two sold out nights in Tokyo at a Sony owned club called Blue Jay Way.
Contact info: If you are planning an event, we specialize in background music for weddings, dinners, cocktails, grand openings, registrations, etc. Not everyone thinks of steel drums for weddings, but in the final season of Friends, Phoebe got married to the music of a steel drum duo just like ours. 25.5 million viewers watched and from what I'm hearing, steel drum duos like ours are in demand on the mainland. If you want a full calypso band, we can provide that also. Phone/fax (808) 735-6003, e-mail gmacd@aloha.net, or write to Greg and Junko MacDonald at PO Box 161083, Honolulu, HI 96816. Please email us (gmacd@aloha.net) to get on our mailing list. If you are planning your event through an agent, destination service, or other such provider, we would be happy to work with them to simplify your efforts.
Below is a short video of Junko playing Fur Elise at a wedding.