Jefferey Clayton of Milford is on a mission to broaden that perception.
Clayton, a longtime steelpan musician, said while he plays traditional Caribbean music, the drum is a more versatile instrument than many people think, also capable of tackling jazz, classical, rock and other genres.
Both as an educator and a performer with a band he founded about 10 years ago, PanNeubean Steel, Clayton tries to showcase the instrument he fell in love with years ago.
"When I play classical music or jazz on it, people are kind of blown away," Clayton, 37, said. "That's really the hardest thing - breaking stereotypes. I've had people say, 'Where are your dreads?"'
Generally performing a few times a month, Clayton will play with his band at a No Place for Hate fundraiser on Saturday, March 31, in Easton.
Originally from Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Clayton said he was born nearly deaf and gained his hearing after several childhood operations. Early in life, a speech therapist used music to help teach him, he said.
He played the trumpet throughout high school and continued on that instrument when he joined the Army Band in 1988.
But it was when he visited his brother on leave at Tufts University that a steelpan player at the college properly introduced him to the instrument.
Clayton had heard the drum when he was growing up during visits to Jamaica, from where his mother originally hails.
"I heard it here and there growing up, but on Cape Cod you don't hear a lot of it," he said. "I remember my mom saying it reminded her of rain falling on the tin roof when she lived in Jamaica."
He said the instrument clicked with him after he heard it at Tufts. Not only did Clayton like its "raw" and unique tone, but its history is part of what drew him in.
The steelpan was developed about 60 years ago in Trinidad and Tobago, where people fashioned instruments out of oil drums discarded by the U.S. Navy, Clayton said. Today, while the instrument is still being standardized, there are many different types of steelpan with different tones, and it is gaining recognition as a serious instrument, he said.
"It shows how, out of garbage, something positive can be created," Clayton said.
He bought a steelpan and brought it back to New Jersey, where he was stationed with the Army. After three years of active duty, Clayton earned a bachelor's degree from UMass-Amherst and went on to get a master's degree from the New England Conservatory of Music.
After college, Clayton moved to Boston and began playing in steelpan, soca and soul groups. He also plays the instrument in the 215th Army National Guard Band, he said.
PanNeubean Steel was founded in part with musicians from those other bands, he said. He moved to Milford a few years ago, and lives there today with his wife, Linda, and their 4-month-old son, Rishab.
After playing in his fair share of clubs, Clayton said PanNeubean Steel is a more professional band, largely playing at events, dinners and cocktail hours. Under the PanNeubean Steel name, Clayton plays solo, in small ensembles or as the full band.
He also teaches the steelpan and offers school programs. He recently taught two classes on the instrument at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. He is a music teacher at the Justice Resource Institute in Acton.
Clayton has a CD out with oboist Jennifer Loupe, and said another is in the works for PanNeubean Steel.
For more information, visit www.panneubeansteel.com or e-mail Clayton at info@panneubeansteel.com.
David Riley can be reached at 508-634-7585 or driley@cnc.com.
