Jammin’
View(s):By Tharooshie Mahahewage
“Rock a Rolla unplugged” took place recently at The Manchester, Independence Avenue, Colombo for the third consecutive year.
Organised by Rock a Rolla productions and Poised events, owned by Sabrina Sathgunsigamani and Kanishka Pieris, the evening featured six bands. It was also the inaugural gig for four bands whose members have been in the field for years, the other two being veterans.
For “Melodic Maidens” the evening offered the opportunity for an introductory gig. The three Maidens, Natasha, Chithru and Ruwini are new to the arena and keen to experiment with different genres including rock, jazz and soul. “We thought it would be a fun idea to start up a band,” says Chithru. “Natasha and I both had it in our bucket list and thought it shouldn’t be too early to start. Though we just started, we have many supporters and we already have loads of fans.”
Having performed since the beginning this was the third time for “Sevexth” at the show. “This is my individual third time participation at this production,” says leader Pranil. “But as a group it’s our first gig. It took me two years to find the perfect members for my own band because I wanted to form a band that would give me space to perform my style in the field. Now I have Apilas, Shehan Kaleel and Shehan Isaac who can be called a ‘real’ part of the band. The band played two of their originals- “Born to Die” and “Serenity”. Their music can be viewed on You tube.
The band “Noctua” – comprising Eshantha, Varuni, Lalindra, Suchith and Kevin played progressive metal at their very first gig as a new band in ‘Rock a Roll’. “We play Jazzy Fusions,” says leader Eshantha. “I’ve been in the field since 2004, and ‘Noctua’ have been a new project. Almost every rock star likes Jazz music because the roots are there. We are hoping to make an entrance to the field through this production.” “Killfeed” took the floor with their popular and touching original, “Faded”. They also performed their latest, “Green eyed monster”, a fast moving and extremely colourful work, which will be released soon.
“Symphony Experimental X-rays (S.E.X.)”, were next up to perfrom. The band comprises Kanishka, Mike, Charith, Niyo, Heshan and Buddi. “We all come from different musical backgrounds from metal to classics but we found common ground on Rock n Roll. We love this music and now we are overall musicians, not bound to one particular style of music,” says Guitarist Mike. Rocking the venue with their debut original, “Rock Machine” and another original, “Mandy”, they left the young audience begging for more of the good old ‘Rock and Roll’.
“Tantrum” – the band many new comers look up to, took the stage at the end . Having been seniors on the arena for nearly ten years now they performed their well admired original, “Bleeding Compassion” along with “Eternally Damned”.
The crew comprising of Javeen, Tharaka, Akila, and Thishan have currently released 3 singles which have done well. Their album ‘Rebellion’ was released last September. “The feedback has been great so far. We have received reviews from U.K., Australia, Indonesia and it’s played on radio in the U.S. as well as Romania. We are very excited about the international coverage our albums have been getting in these few months,” the band said.
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