Musician’s career inspired by 9/11 tragedy
Royal Gazette | Nadia Arandjelovic-Laws
Jonathan Tankard signed up for piano lessons 14 years ago, partly because he didn’t want to break a promise.
His cousin Rhondelle Tankard was killed in the World Trade Centre in the 9/11 terror attacks.
He promised her he’d learn how to play the piano only a week before she died — these days the 28-year-old’s life revolves around the arts.
The well-known musician is also the founder of Pink Sand Entertainment.
He spoke with Lifestyle about how he was inspired to create the arts and lifestyle website and what else he’s doing to boost the local scene.
Q: What inspired you to start playing music?
A: I’ve always had a love for music. My cousin Rhondelle Tankard was one of the Bermudians who was at the World Trade Centre. She played piano and wanted me to learn. I made that promise to her, that I’d start playing, the week before she went to the States; she was heading there for about a month to work.
Needless to say she didn’t return so I took up piano very seriously after that. She was the musician at my church. So I guess when 9/11 happened I just became adamant that I was going to really do this. I guess I did it somewhat in tribute to her, but it was also something I’d always wanted to pick up. It became my life after that. Two years later I went away to school at Oakwood University, where I studied music education. I later did my master’s in entertainment business at Full Sail University.
Q: Do you come from a very musical family?
A: I have other family members who sing, but it wasn’t the case where we sat around and played the piano together at family gatherings. I had no knowledge about music whatsoever until my teens. I started from scratch. I picked it up really quickly. I was enrolled in a college classical music programme and they had no idea I just started playing a few years before entering college. Some of my classmates had been playing since the age of four.
Q: When did you realise you wanted to create a business around the arts?
A: It was sometime after I finished at Oakwood. I think I had never let go of the idea of doing more than just “liking” an instrument. I’m the kind of person who can’t help walk into a room and figure out how we can make it exciting and better. When I went to Full Sail I was learning all about entertainment business. I used to see music and film as the arts, quite removed from those business elements, but when I went to Full Sail I understood them as one in the same.
I was learning how the entertainment business worked and immediately started brainstorming about how we could do certain things better in Bermuda. I realised we didn’t have certain things in place for Bermuda’s creative artists. There were people that had these singing, songwriting or painting talents, but they went unused or underused and that has an overall trickle-down effect. It affects what kind of entertainment we see in our hotels and the community as a whole.
We have the people and the talent, but no one to show people how to get their artistic business off the ground. So they go and get a job outside of their passion and that allows them less and less time for things they are passionate about. So Pink Sand was based out of that.
Q: So what exactly does Pink Sand Entertainment do?
A: We started up in 2010 as a music management business. I was a musician playing in different gigs and that naturally allowed me to meet and network with other artists on the Island. The first high-profile person that reached out to me was Sia Spence. It was at a point when she was just entering the gospel singing competition, Sunday Best. I had already been managing a friend of mine when Sia came along. The other thing I was doing was helping City of Hamilton with certain events. It grew from there. Our goal was not just to work with musicians. Now we have fine artists like Carlos Santana Dill, as well as motivational speakers and authors who we assist.
Q: For those who don’t know, what’s on the site? What type of information?
A: There are media sites out there that focus on a lot of other things; they’re heavy on news and politics or any accidents that take place. Pink Sand is based on culture and lifestyle entertainment and the arts. That’s all you will find — fashion, food of Bermuda, cultural artists, musicians and inspirational stuff. It’s about lifestyle in Bermuda. Recently we brought a number of people on the team to help. Before it was me and a partner who had to manage everything going on. Now we have an editorial manager for each section of the website and they have people who contribute to the site and work under them.
We have events coordinators and we have artist managers ... so our team has grown. When you have a start-up there’s only so much that you as an individual can do, but now we have a lot more people on board with the passion and vision.
Q: Why do you think it’s important to highlight the arts?
A: I don’t think as a country we’ve done our bit if people aren’t in the position where they’re able to pursue their passion and what they are gifted in. We lose out when we have a talented singer and author who is working at the bank. They may do a decent job there, but if music is what they are supposed to do why miss out on that gift? There are books that could be written that will touch and inspire people.
There are phenomenal Bermuda chefs that are sitting behind a desk somewhere. I feel, as a country, we are missing out on what we could have if we only invested more into the arts.
Q: What’s next for you personally?
A: Well I’ve recently left my teaching job and am currently in the UK. When I was doing my master’s in 2008/2009 one thing I realised is it would be great to one day go on to get into entertainment business law [so I’m working towards that now].
Q: That sounds like a scary thing to take that leap and try something else. Was it?
A: Yes it was scary and it still is because I’m in transition. I’ve just started the Legal Practice Course to finish the qualification to become a solicitor and that requires me to actually be in London.
So over the next year I will be between the UK and Bermuda running Pink Sand.
But now it’s much easier because I have a partner, Zuri Darrell, and other people on board helping me out. As much as a risk it was to leave my job there’s a feeling of satisfaction and peace in doing what I’ve really wanted to do.
I always believed it was possible, but for some people they just don’t reach out and go for it. For me it’s a unique perspective because I’m always telling that to our artists: “follow your dreams”. Now I have to live it out myself.
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