A show musician who first began performing in the 1950s said it's time for both old-school and new generation artists to get the local entertainment scene back on track.

Bill Caisey, a former member of the Mellotones, Brown Sugar, and the Holiday Island Review, said he has been struggling since about 1993 to find steady employment despite a long career as a show musician.

"There's nothing out there... the hotels have closed down all the nice clubs, and to do a good show we've got to have proper lighting and sound,'' he said.

"I'm an entertainer -- I like to tell stories about the instruments, and tourists want to learn.

"But all those places have closed, and they put us out of business,'' he added.

Mr. Caisey's first singing group, The Quintones, was formed in his grandmother's living room when he was 17-years-old.

The group, which initially played R&B at the Belmont and the Princess Hotel, changed their style to calypso in order to cater to tourists.

And according to Mr. Caisey, nothing has changed -- visitors still want an "Island'' sound, and local musicians have to be willing to provide it.

"The steel band is here to stay -- and everyone all over the world is learning to play steel instruments,'' he said.

"I've been doing steel band for some 30 years now -- and it would be nice to get our younger people involved with that in the schools, even if only for one day a week.

"If you really want to work, you've got to know what the tourists want -- and even locals are into calypso. We're going to bring it back,'' he added.

Mr. Caisey said local entertainers such as Gene Steede have a unique style different from the music of the West Indies.

"People keep saying our music is copied from the Islands, but it's not -- we've got a style all our own,'' he said.

"If you listen to the Talbot Brothers, they're different. The Bermuda Strollers is a household name -- and like wine, the older they get, the better they sound.'' Mr. Caisey currently plays with a group called The New Bermuda All-Stars Steel Band and is determined to give the local entertainment scene a musical infusion.

"It's up to us to brush ourselves off and start all over again. We can't just let our music drop. And we've got so many young people with talent -- my generation of entertainers are getting older and we need to leave some type of legacy for the younger folks,'' he added.

BLAST FROM THE PAST -- Bermudian entertainer Bill Caisey claims local musicians need to band together and bring back the good times.