It is such a good thing that most boys..teenagers...then these teenagers breaking into their twenties..had one thing foremost in their mind. Girls. Believe me, this is what motivated a boy/young man to 'get up there' to try and achieve and to be looked at favorably by..GIRLS. No, you say? Okay, who am I to argue..I'll go by what our 'gang' of friends thought was, the most motivating factor in a young man's life. Girls.
Feizal's mum's b'day went like a rocket...the people couldn't believe that their 'home boys' can make up to be a 'band' like what they just heard...The Embryo RHYTHM KNIGHTS was taking shape...We now found that Feizal Zavahir, Jisty Careem, Fritz De Motte, Ranjit Samaranayake, Nilam Jainhudeen...can 'do' as a band...and yeah, look for 'bookings'. Fortunately, we did not know that we were really around 20 out 100 in what it takes to be band !.Sometimes confidence without good reason WORKS !
Jayaratne Perera was our friend who spent time and money being President of popular international singers..He was the President of Ricky Nelson Fan Club, also took on Pat Boone, Paul Anka..and more, I can't remember who else..There were 'picnic' trips we made..to different places in Lanka. A whole load of boys and girls..in a hired Bus..food and drinks brought along...and of course our musical instruments..
The destination reached..we made music while they danced and sang along..Un-equaled joy..joy only young can experience..this was the beginning of forming a 'regular' band...Friends booked us for parties and the such..and we got more and more experienced in 'providing' music, for others to enjoy...We did this for sometime, until when some of us got through University exams that got us to become qualified as lawyers and doctors and other desired professions..The time came when there was NO TIME to engage in this enjoyable activity..
Boys and Girls looked towards a future that can provide them with a secure job..It was soon seen that we went different ways...Feizal was accepted as a doctor..and migrated to USA..Asoka shone as attorney at law..in Hulstdorph..Ranjit went to Mozambique ..
Yeah we drifted apart. I had to take over our family jewelry business in York st Fort Colombo because my older brothers went overseas..My older brother to become a successful journalist in Hong Kong, Rizvi migrated to Switzerland..My father had his business in Hong Kong..and I was left to 'run' the shop, which I did .( reluctantly, and not of my choosing)..Music seemed to drift away from my life...
We..our family moved to Anula road ( off Havelock rd) house..in Pamankade..I played the piano at home..my only consolation..and played the guitar for my satisfaction..No plans about getting together some guys to do a band...Band aspirations was dead !
Then one day, I saw two guys lingering, listening, then coming around..again. This happened many times..Who are these guys, I thought to myself..Why are they hanging around 'looking' to see something..Who are these guys?..My music was about to take quite a different turn..Ah, the reward of being able to play the piano..even if it was not of a great standard..RHYTHM KNIGHTS was going to be born !
STANLEY PLACE MARADANA ( Just about opposite to Ananda College was Feizal's home)..So Feizal said " Look Jisty, it's my mom's b'day...and we are going to have about a 80 of my relations and friends ...and they plan to put on some records ( 78 rpm) for music and I thought why don't You, Fritz, Ranjit, Nilam ( jainudeen) get together ..and I'll sing..you know I know more than 100 songs..or even 200..
That b'day evening, Feizal had gone and hired Parakrama radio amps speaker and mics..yeah the very same microphone politicians used to blast out their speeches..no quality, not even qwalid' tea ! but we were happy, and at 7pm inside the house the 'band' was ready happy b'day to aunty song
....Jisty acoustic guitar, Fritz : Tea chest string and broomstick bass, Nilam crucianelli accordion ( the only 'decent' instrument in the band, and Ranjit on bass drum high hat and snare drum...yeah that was it THAT was the whole drum kit ensemble...and you could have put this set-up on any coffee table sized space...Feizal had more girl cousins than any 'normal' family can have...Great ! how many of them are we going to 'cap'...
There was one dressed in Salwar Khameez...tall and pretty...and she 'fingers' waved to ME from behind the others..Hmm, I thought , not only is she pretty, but clever...and delightfully sneaky. Yeah, this girl I have to say hello to..and to make sure the other buggers dont barge in and spoil my 'capping' time with her. Her name was.....She said " Your name is Jisty, right ?"..I said " Yeah" how do you know ?
It's too hard to
put down Rhythm Knights...start of things , in order first happened first mentioned. So I have decided to whack in whatever first comes to mind and if necessary take the reader back..earlier events
Late Asoka Abeysinghe was the best in singing 'Elvis' style among the lot of us..and there were very many of us...and it sure appeared we were the most popular lot with the teeners both boys and girls..because ..because I can never tell you why !..Come to think of it, looking back, we were yeah..'good looking'..pursuing our studies...and we were very good boys..Yeah, quite simply put. Asoka turned out as a leading attorney at law, Feizal Zavahir became a well known paeditrician based in Pennsylvania, PHILADELPHIA...USA.....I made good in my business...
Without going into ALL the names of those who were of our 'bunch'...They ALL succeeded to become some kind of an achiever in their adult life...It was to BF ALIPH's house in Pendennis ? ave Colpetty..that we went to listen to the latest arrivals of songs from USA and UK.
BF is the grandson of TB Jayah..famous respected Principal of ZAHIRA COLLEGE..And oh! By the way , two of BF Aliph's sisters became ..one became MISS CEYLON..(Yasmin Aliph) and the other was crowned MISS SRI LANKA ..later years..Yeah, we knew BF had very pretty sisters !
We went to Asoka's (uncle ?) place down Temple road in mount lavinia to get dressed..because Asoka..then Feizal .then I were SELECTED to sing at some Thomian stage show..each of us doing individual skits..singing..Later, I found that the organisers could not find enough artists to fill the whole program..Ha ha ! had we known this on that night, we would have certainly felt crushed..worthless..and would have run away from these time serving organisers..Yet, we went good..No rapturous applause..but nods from the audience and polite clapping...The three of us decided that we were great...sky was the limit and all that..until Asoka's uncle told us " You fellows, first study and get through your exams before fujicrafting with these ting ting ting......... ( guitar) he meant..
The evergreen dance movements you may very well know....or ( the younger generation) may not know : Slow fox(trot), Slow rock, Quick step, Cha cha cha, Slow waltz, Quick waltz=also known as Viennese waltz, , Rumba, Tango, and last but not least....Rock n Roll !..
Those days, if bands did not have the capacity to play ALL of these beats, the chance to get bookings, was very limited...Nothing has changed here in Sydney...the elite bookings are for versatile bands...not rap, or hip hop bands..There are hundreds of DJs...offering their services at very cheap prices...and happy to just get a gig..so that they can come and give your eardrums a good whack!
Sunaroma Niteclub...It is interesting to look back..to find that even in the mid-sixties , trendy spelling of things and places..nite instead of night, muso for musician, etc, was in practice. Let me hurry to say we got the gig at Sunaroma.
Rhythm Knights .. our sign boards... at the top of the bandstand...were two shield shape boards (in keeping with the shield the English knights carried on horseback) beautifully hand written in calligraphic style. Sunrise mudhalali mentioned it was 'bohoma lakshanai'..and the patrons..the affluent residents of the area...thrilled to our music 3 days a week...wednesday, friday, saturday..and the talk within bands and musicians, was " how the hell did Jisty get this gig !"
Yeah, these well attired people....ladies with their elegant clothes..and the gents with their smart outfits..danced with grace and great coordination. These days you'd see this sort of dancing only in ballroom dancing competitions..How they motivated the band !
Sunaroma patrons...yeah they did the Slow Foxtrot, the Quick Step, the Cha cha, the Slow Waltz...the Viennese waltz, the Samba, the Tango...and towards closing time we played
Rock and Roll and these fantastic people...JIVED so splendidly...to the rocking music...They loved it..However, they did not get on the floor when we played TWIST music... we simply dropped this from our repertoire...
Then, there was vivacious Charmaine with Rhythm Knights...very much sounding like Ella Fitzgerald...and she wowed the Colombo 7 folks... Mubarak Thaha's Tropicana NiteClub found itself losing quite a bit of their patrons...making their way to the more classy venue..
continued in the next blog
Nazeer Hamdoon asked me if I can bring my band to play at his daughter's (Zainab) wedding. Sure, I said. Nazeer was at a wedding...in Sri Kotha which was the UNP headquarters where they hired the main hall for weddings etc. Nazeer said " machan, yours is the only band that plays Ya Nabi salaamu alaikum..when the groom is making his way to the 'throne'..to tie the thaali on the bride's neck. Make sure this happens..."our buggers will really open their eyes...with surprise and awe"
Rhythm Knights..Jisty on piano, Quintus on drums, Winnant on bass guitar, Benny on Alto saxaphone, Neville on trumpet.... performed to great approval by the guests...MH Mohamed was there and came up to me..and asked how we know this 'Ya Nabi'..and I answered that I am a muslim and he said " wonderful"...
As the evening progressed, we played popular requests..remember ..burung kaka tuan'? they loved it...and then we switched to tunes that were current in those days...and bringing to close we played
baila...and there were 'thurukku thoppi' men who gyrated opposite the bandstand !
It was funny, crazy...but for us ..the band.. it was a great result .Nazeer said that he was going to recommend us to Sunrise (Football ..ie soccer..Club) mudhalali who was in the process of opening an exclusive Night Club in Colombo 7..to compete with Mubarak Thaha's Tropicana Night Club..in Horton Place
to be continued
As a small boy..I watched and listened to my aunt ..my mother's sister.. Umma Kaija (Hafil Vilcassim's wife) play the piano we had in our Fort Galle house. I was fascinated with the way she poised her fingers over the keys..her left hand moving differently to the right hand which was busier than her left. I said.."that's a nice melody or words to that effect as a small boy would speak.
" aender maaven, ( my son)..this tune is called auld lang syne..it is a nice tune, isn't it? " I nodded in approval and told her that I like to play like her..."Yes, you can ..but there a few things that you have to learn...and I'm sure that you'll be able to do this..you know why..because you are interested and you are a small boy..and when you grow up..this interest will make you become a good musician."
She made me glad with that remark..a remark that lit my music aspiration! It was like...yeah, Umma Kaija thinks I'll be able to play the piano. A simple remark that kept me dreaming of becoming a... some sort of a musician.
So , I put a pillow on the piano stool to make it higher and and held my hands high over the keys of the piano..the way Umma Kaija did and I went through the motions similar to what Umma Kaija did...but the tune did not happen the way it did when my aunt played..I tried again and again but it did not happen.I could not figure out what I was doing wrong !
So, let me take you to the days when we moved to Karlsruhe gardens in Colombo..Ceylon. I attended Carey Baptist College, and so did my brother Rizvi...Now, he..Rizvi, had friends coming to see him at home ....and there was this guy Joe Candappa who brought a ukelele with him ..and Rizvi and Joe used to get into our 'office' room and start singing and playing and my brother Rizvi sang..'When the Blue Moon turns to Gold Again'..a song by Elvis Presley...
"Let me come into the room..Rizvi," but he said he cannot let me in...and I said that his friend's ukelele playing is useless...and told him " wait till you see..I am going to get a ukelele and I am going to get my friends to come and sing..it'll be better than what you are doing...By the way, my brother had a wonderful voice...but his weakness was that he could never keep time..but I did not tell him that.
to e continued
