Pinchers rides west as the 'Bandelero'

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

On the cover of his 1991 Bandelero album, Pinchers is decked out in stereotypical Mexican Wild West figure gear, sombrero on his head and yellow cords holding the front of his stylish shirt together. Performance crossed bandoliers were often added to the outfit, Pinchers playing the role from wide-brimmed hat to pointed toe boots.

Still, Pinchers cannot attribute Bandelero to a specific influence, although he can pinpoint the place it germinated.

It was about 1990 and he says "me and (deejay) Reggie Stepper, we deh England, we a do some production and thing. We go Manchester, we in the tour bus. Me start sing this song, 'hey gringos and pasero".

Although he cannot say what sparked the line, Pinchers says "sometime me hear something and it stuck. No deep penetrate, but it stuck in me crown. That's why people no like sing out them song them too much; you have pirate and mic shark".

So, Pinchers said, "me find myself on the road a sing it". Then his songwriting skills took over to expand on the line, "true me picture an' can put story to it. Me start picture this Mexican in them times and what them used to do. Me say make we put some Spanish in it and it sound bilingual. Me start put in 'Chiquita' and 'tequila' and some other things them used to do".

In the chorus, Pinchers sings:

"Hey, gringos and pasero

I waan yu make way for the Bandelero

Cause if you don't do that, my friend

Then your number is zero

Them lyrics ya chop like the sword of Zorro"

Then, in an era before portable recorders and computers were widely available to artistes on the road, Pinchers says "me hol' it in me head. Is not like now when you have Dictaphone. You have artiste whe write lyrics an' him caan remember the melody. Me is one of the youth whe can hol' the melody. If the word escape me me can substitute it. If me have the melody, me have the song".

Pinchers held Bandelero in his head until he returned to Jamaica, where he went to King Jammy's studio in Waterhouse, St Andrew.

"As me go me fin' the right riddim. When me come from foreign an' settle down, a man say Jammy's have a bad riddim". Spanner Banner and Pliers had already recorded on it, Cobra would lay Gundelero after.

Retained song and hot rhythm were a perfect combination.

"Me go dung deh and me go so bam and knock it on it an' it lie on it," Pinchers said. He is at pains to point out that he got a lot of support, Richie Stephens and Singing Melody in the harmony trio and Colin Roach ensuring that he put in the lines "you should never diss the champion/my name is Pinchers I'm the Don Gorgon".

music reference

On the record, Pinchers drops in a music reference, as well as a town made popular in country and western style by Marty Robbins (Pick a likkle tune pon mi banjo/Make a little walk in El Paso"). And there is that other blend, music and women (But I just drink the Tequila/And so mi arms of the sweet chi-chiquita)".

Pinchers describes Bandelero as a "rude-boy song, but not as aggressive as those now". So he observes about a challenger: "Now him come lick the pelico/And pelico come fly up in him marrow/Him waan fi jump inna mi chest cause him feel bad/Him feel over macho".

"Me was the original ruse boy singer, even though we have the girls lock," Pinchers said.

He ended up recording two songs on the rhythm, as "same time it give me a vibe". The additional song was Hold Me and Pinchers says it was the start of a trend where he put more than one song on the same rhythm.

Bandelero duly hit number one, inside and outside Jamaica, Pinchers pointing out that when he performed in places where it had already peaked at the top spot and started falling, the song would find a second wind.

He would end up writing another Wild West-themed song at Don 1 Studio in New York. But Pinchers did not perform Riding Through The Desert himself. That was left to Bounty Killer, as "I say him was the perfect deejay to do it", and the track retitled How The West Was Won. However, the line "Indian, come dung from all side" caused a tiff between Bounty and Supercat, known as the 'Wild Apache'.

And, continuing in the theme, Pinchers wrote Riding West, which he performed with Bounty Killer. Pinchers has become adept at doing Bounty Killer's part, covering the microphone and going guttural before ending on a screeching 'level!' which never fails to rouse the audience to cheers.