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| Sunday, 3 November 2002 |
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In town today from Cairns is singer/guitarist Jerome Speldewinde performing at many night spots with his bassist/guitarist Chico Henderson. A good and unassuming musician, when he is not busy with his music looks forward to enjoying his life with his wife Rajini and his little daughter Romani. He has his hobbies like reading autobiographies and says, he enjoys a good yarn! In your early years in Sri Lanka you were an athlete, what made you become a singer: To express myself in song. I've always loved melodies and songs. I arrange my songs. I have what they say a harmonic ear and I arrange to suit my vocal range. At St. Thomas' College I was into athletics. I held a record in the 400 metres in 1971 for under 17, and after that never quite pursued it. And I knew that Sugath Tillekeratne broke it in 1991. Were you an active chorister in College: Funnily I was not in the choir, but all my music foundation was acquired from home. My father was always pushing me and my brother to sing. I remember he was a determined guy, made us stand straight with our chest forward and sing loud and clear. The music genes in me, came from my mother's side - the Sansonis. It was a common thing for the family to get together and have many singing sessions at home and more so when there are parties. When the Beatles hit the music scene, my brothers and my cousins we formed a kind of Beatles' group and sang all their hits. Your influences in music: You wouldn't believe it, it was by listening to the radio, then Radio Ceylon. They played a cross section of music which when I look back was indeed valuable. There were the popular songs, the jazz standards, the country, the Latin and the calypso. I have a leaning now to Spanish, Brazilian and Cuban, and also the Blues. I use a lot of this music because it is passionate and comes from the soul that reaches out to the audience immediately. You have a remarkable memory for so many songs, how do you manage it: I have a memory like an elephant. I'm afraid that one day it will escape. Do you rehearse on a strict schedule: More often than not, I rehearse three to four hours a day. I play at Cairns and Melbourne. I have a regular backing group - keyboards, guitar, bass and drums, and we do corporate functions and play regular weekends at night spots. Chico Henderson, he's from Calcutta and he emigrated to Australia, he's my finest guitarist/bassist. He is a natural musician and I've been playing with him for the past twelve years. Was it 'tough going' to have arrived at this stage: If you think of building up a repertoire especially in the jazz idiom, yes it was hard. You've got to learn new songs and the hard part is, your audience, they have to be tuned into that medium, and so you have to work towards that. You have a mixed wide repertoire why: There are many standards in the popular scene like songs from Stevie Wonder and his contemporaries which are still popular and much appreciated. I enjoy singing them - the more complicated the arrangements, the more eager I am to tackle it. Do you see changes in our music scene: The levels of musicianship are good - if it is the means to an end. It really depends on what a musician wants. Today music in general has gone into the negative. People are making sounds and noises that are not conducive - I think they are searching. Everyone wants to claim they want to be original. Future plans: To release another album of good standards. I have been doing a lot of home recordings, putting down many songs on tracks. After my gigs I go home and work on the songs for another four or five hours. In the year 3000 where would music be: The human brain cannot be replaced by buttons. The human soul is a tangible thing - you can't define it. Music will come back to the original - the individual expression, the creative expression as opposed to a technological formula. In music people will be looking forward for the human element with squeaks, warts and all |
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