It was a delight to find out that the boat captain at Splash, the group I am diving with, is also the lead and manager of the Persuaders, a local Placencia band. I got several chances to talk to Carlton Young, nickname of Patu. The band plays reggae with rock and roll to the reggae beat. I love both types of music, I was really looking forward to hearing them. Unfortunately, they did not have a recorded CD. I did get the opportunity of having dinner with Patu so that I could conduct an interview in a relaxed setting. I invited him and said “Don’t worry, its not a date” hehe. It was an enjoyable evening.
The band members are Carlton Young or Patu on bass, keyboard, and vocals. Carlton on guitar, Vincent Lopez on keyboard, George Eiley on drums, and Elsworth Eiley on percussion. Although, Carton does many of the vocals, They all have their own songs they do vocals on.
Carton/Patu music career started when his older brother, in a band and let him tag along. Once they were rehearsing, Patu had the mic. He started singing. His older brother said “where is that coming from?” A new band member was born. Patu started playing in a band. He told his father he wanted to be a musician, surprisingly, his father was supportive. To obtain musical instruments he needed, his father purchased them, but there was a little catch. Carlton had to work all summer for his father for Free. He formed his own band the “Inner Vibrations”. He performed and managed for this band14 yrs, 3 of the musicians are in his current band, The Persuaders.
Carlton is a scuba diver, started at age 13. He became a dive master and then a boat captain. We discussed the relation between diving and the creative process of music. He said that when he dove into the ocean, and swam weightless underwater, while observing all the beauty, new music came to him during those moments. As soon as he was underwater, new music filled his head. I found that fascinating

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