The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

DA POND Band will continue performing after losing five of its 14 members in the North Andros plane crash, with the surviving musicians declaring that allowing the music to die would mean losing another part of the band.

The group returned to the stage just eight days after the July 10 disaster and has no plans to disband after the deaths of band leader Giovanni “Geo” McKenzie, Rashad Storr, Mateo Winder, Toniquea Gilot and Tra’vis Johnson.

Co-leader Lamar Polhamus said the nine surviving members are determined to preserve the distinctive sound they created with their fallen bandmates, honour long-standing commitments and sustain the relationships the group built since it was formed in 2022.

“Music is our coping mechanism right now, so, at the end of the day, music stops, we stop. We cannot stop,” he told The Tribune.

The band made its emotional return at the Cat Island Boat Cruise on July 18. It later performed at the Nassau Goombay Festival on July 24 and Made in The Bahamas at Nassau Cruise Port on July 25. Another appearance is scheduled for Beer Fest 2 on August 2.

The decision thrust the musicians back into public performance while they were still grappling with a tragedy that devastated the country’s close-knit entertainment community and turned the nation’s 53rd Independence anniversary into a day of mourning.

The five band members had been travelling to perform at a North Andros regatta when the Flamingo Air Cessna 402 crashed near San Andros Airport, killing all ten people aboard. The disaster was among the country’s deadliest aviation accidents in decades.

Mr Polhamus said the band’s post-crash engagements were commitments made before the tragedy, including appearances organised by people with whom the musicians had developed close relationships.

“These shows that we are taking on, these are not only commitments, these are friends of the band,” he said.

“These are relationships that the band formed. You see what I'm saying? So in honour of Geo and the rest of those guys, which I know, which I know he's smiling on us right now. We will honour the friendship. We will honour the commitment.”

Da Pond Band began as a six-member group in 2022 before expanding to 14.

Mr Polhamus said the scale of the loss has drawn the survivors closer and strengthened their determination to continue making music.

“We are there with high spirit and high hope. We grieve through our music. Once the band is together, once our music is going,” he said.

“Everything that's transpired so far for the future of the band, we are coping, but it also brought us even tighter. So none of us wants the music to stop. None of us wants the music to stop. That's how we grieve. That's how we get through there.”

He described the group as a family whose members are best able to manage their grief when they are together, travelling, talking and sharing memories of the musicians they lost.

“Da Pond Band is a family. We lost five. That's not easy for any band,” he said.

“I guess the only way we could cope is when we get each other. Apart, all hell breaks loose, basically, but once we're together and we travel, and we're able to talk to each other, be able to share some jokes, share some memories, and share some laughs.”

Mr Polhamus said Mr McKenzie would remain the band’s only leader.

“And there's only one leader of the Da Pond Band. There will always be one leader of the Da Pond Band in life and in death.”

The crash claimed musicians whose work extended beyond Da Pond Band and through several parts of the Bahamian entertainment industry.

Winder performed with the Grammy Award-winning Baha Men and could play the drums, keyboard, guitar, bass guitar and saxophone. He had recently performed with the group in Milwaukee as its keyboard player.

Storr, a guitarist, also worked as a mechanic at Western Air. His partner, singer Patrice Glinton, previously described how the disaster ripped through the close-knit music community and left her unable to return to the stage because performing summoned memories of the five musicians. The deaths also transformed The Pond, a venue associated with Bahamian music and entertainment, into a place of national mourning. About 300 relatives, friends and supporters gathered there on July 14 for a candlelight vigil and final roll call honouring all ten victims.

Mr Polhamus said audiences could expect the band to continue performing the songs for which it became known while using its appearances to honour the five members.

He appealed for continued public support and prayers as the surviving musicians adjust to performing without nearly a third of the group.

“Of course, we have plenty of supporters who love the Da Pond Band and the way that you can help us is just show support because we really need support,” he said.

“We need prayers right now, and our music is how we show our honour. You know what I mean? Because it was a distinct sound that was built. So that's the only thing the band can ask anybody to do at this point: love and support.”

Mr Polhamus also thanked supporters for their condolences in a Facebook post and pledged that the band’s legacy would continue.

The July 10 crash killed everyone aboard the flight from Lynden Pindling International Airport to San Andros Airport.

Along with the five members of Da Pond Band, those killed were veteran entertainer Melvin Henfield, better known as DJ Fresh International; Andros natives Quintin Myers and Macaro Rolle; pilot Franklyn Cambridge; and 16-year-old Nicholas Oliver Jr.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority said investigators secured and documented the crash site, preserved available evidence and began collecting operational and technical information after the accident. Appropriate national and international authorities were also notified, and Chief Investigator Kendall Dorsett Jr was appointed investigator-in-charge.

The authority has not determined the cause of the crash or any contributing factors and has urged the public not to speculate while the investigation continues.