Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Rock with Opas
By Marisa de Silva
If someone were to say the words ‘Rock Band,’ what would be the first thing to pop into your head? Long-haired rockers? Fiery guitars? Crashing drums? How about, unusual harmonies, unique musical arrangements, oldies played with a modern flavour? Sound familiar? No?

I must admit that I too was guilty of the crime of being taken in by the stereotypical notion that long-haired band members, a strange sounding band name, electric guitars and drums in short spell out ‘noise.’ I also had the misconception that most rock bands have a tendency to compromise on their singing and drown it out with overpowering instrumental accompaniment.

So, you could say I was a tad bit wary on taking on the task of speaking to, not just one such band, but two! However, having had the ‘accidental’ luck of hearing both these bands sing a cappella, I was made to see the error of my ways, and as of last Sunday, I’m a genuine self-proclaimed convert! (By accidental I mean, the band didn’t have their instruments with them, so I made them give a private performance just for me, minus instruments or music tracks.)

That being said, allow me to take you into the world of two very talented young bands, currently on the music scene. The Opas Countdown is a fusion of two very different bands; the pioneers of Gospel Rock in Sri Lanka, Ezra and the ‘villains of variety’ Jada, together with Banana Music Entertainment Major, at 7 p.m. on October 14, at the Bishop’s College Auditorium, awaits the arrival of all you ‘unenlightened’ beings…

Of Jada’s a cappella rendition of the Beatles hit “All My Loving”, all I can say is that it was simply out of this world! For the plain reason that they were so very much in sync with each other and could just breeze through it without a moment’s hesitation; clear evidence that they knew their music inside out. Ezra on the other hand, did a soulful arrangement of “Amazing Grace”, impromptu, with just their keen ear for music and inherent musicality to guide them. Seated on the ground at Independence Square, it was just between the bands, their music and me…

Technically, although neither one of these bands fall into the confines of what one would usually term a ‘conventional’ rock band, both Ezra and Jada have broken away from the hackneyed image of a rock band, by expanding its scope to include anything and everything, from gospel, to rock, pop or even oldies – their repertoire is boundless.

Although Ezra is popularly know for their trademark ‘gospel rock music,’ they are not restricted to merely one type of music. They also have quite a large following of their unique arrangements of songs by popular artistes like Bon Jovi, Bob Marley, Creed, Bryan Adams and U2 to name a few, says ex-Peterite, Billy Fernando – lead vocalist/guitarist of Ezra.

With a TNL Onstage victory (2002) and an EP release titled ‘Nazarene’ under their belts, Ezra has long since established itself with Lankan audiences. Over the past six years, they’ve composed about 25 tracks and performed eight of them, always having maintained their core essence; gospel rock music.
Billy also hopes to release a Sinhala solo album, the first song of which will be released by the end of this month, he says. Although, they are solos, the band will perform them eventually, he adds.

The band not only performs different styles of music, but also has diverse musical influences amidst themselves. Nigel Fernando (17), Ezra’s youngest member and guitarist says that he looks up to guitarists of the calibre of Steve Vai, Michael Romeo and Jason Becker.

The soft-spoken Ruban Balakrishnan (24), Ezra’s drummer says that he mainly follows Steve Gadd, but is also interested in Virgil Donati, Afro Cuban, Latin American and Jazz drumming styles.

Ezra’s bassist, Joshua Sellamuththu (23) discovered his own prowess for the guitar, and taught himself how to play by following guitar tabs via the internet. His interests are more rock-oriented, with the likes of Linkin’ Park and Slip Knot, he says.

The band’s sole female vocalist Salome Nanayakkara (19) currently training in opera singing, has also learnt Karnatik music, she says. However, she also likes Mariah Carey and was even a part of her school (Methodist College) and church choirs. Planning to sit for her diploma in Piano (Grade eight), she was also a member of her school band, where she played five instruments. To top it all off is Billy’s love is for Indian high classics, although his singing and playing style is more “bluesy,” he adds.

Rhythm guitarist cum lead singer of Jada, Charin Mendis (19) says that they try and stick to their reputation of being ‘villains of variety’ by performing varied genres of music ranging from the likes of Queen, The Beatles, the Bee Gees, Lost Lonely Boys and The Killers.

“As for the making of our debut album, it will definitely focus on both Sinhala and English ballads, pop and rock songs and will be a very different concept in itself, as it will include little anecdotes and narrations etc., making it quite an entertaining experience overall,” adds Charin. They also hope to take part in the ‘Asia Beat’ competition organised by the Yamaha Corporation in Japan in 2007.

Jada came to be in 2003, as a result of the two cousins Charin and Gayan Perera (20), lead guitar/vocalist, deciding to take guitar lessons together. Having gradually added on to their line-up, and having changed their name from Opus to Jada in mid-2003, they now comprise Dilasal Hettiarrachchi (23) on bass guitar, Josephian chorister and saxophonist Nimantha Kaluarrachchi (21) on keyboards/vocals, and also self-taught Shamila Siriwardena (20) on drums/percussion, from Sir John Kotalawela College, Kurunegala, who was recruited purely based on his inborn talent.

Jada also has to its credit, being adjudged winners of the Best Band category at ‘Talent Search 2003’ and coming runners-up at ‘TNL Onstage 2004.’ The band also performed at the ‘One Trust’ concert held this year in aid of the Tsunami victims and has contributed to many a charity and fund-raiser event and performed at many interact functions, conferences, assemblies, walks and carnivals.

The official sponsors for the concert are The Sunday Times, Sun FM, ETV and Elephant Cream Soda. Tickets will be available at the Bishop’s College Auditorium, Osborne (1st Floor Pinnacle), Queen’s Pool Parlour and Tennyson Guitars, Kalubowila.

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