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| Sunday, 9 February 2003 |
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Brought together by `3 Coins', the band that started off as a trio, eventually expanded. "Actually it was `3 Coins', that named us `Phase 3'. They wanted the band to be identified with them," says Rasmar Lye, a member of the group. `Phase 3' includes Alston Joachim on bass and vocals, Trevin Joseph on guitar and lead vocals, Debbie Arnolda on keyboards and vocals, Ramesh Nonis on lead guitar and vocals, Jude Thyagarajah on drums and Rasmar Lye on percussion. The band was formed in April, 2001 as a jazz outfit. "But now we have a mixture. Alston's into jazz, Jude has a passion for rock, Debbie and Trevin are into pop which is why we've put all our talents together to cater to a varied audience," Rasmar says. The motley band say that they could be identified as an R&b outfit. "We were a regularly featured band at Crescat food court on Fridays and Saturdays. But we didn't want to be limited to just one place we wanted to go places," Rasmar says. They say that they had a regular crowd at the time they played at Crescat. "We had a lot of families who used to dine there. People still grumble that we don't play there any more," they say. Now the guys play at Echelon Pub on Fridays and Molly's on Saturdays. "We also do other gigs that come in-between," says Rasmar. "Our audience differs depending on the venue. We get a more mature crowd at the Echelon Pub. It's different at Molly's," ha says. `Phase 3' define themselves as versatile musicians who have lots of experience. Ramesh who has been with `Cardinal Outburst has been heavily influenced by musicians like Carlos Santana and George Benson. The ex.`Purple rain' member Jude is acclaimed by musicians as the most punchiest drummer in town and former drummer turned conga player/percussionist Rasmar adds spice to the outfit. "Alston does all the direction," says Rasmar adding that Alston is inspired by the vocal style of Lionel Ritchie and Chicago. Hailing from a family that has a musical history, Debbie, their female vocalist has been a solo artiste before she joined the band. According to Rasmar, Debbie has been featured as one of the first female artiste's in Sri Lanka. "She's working hard on the saxophone," Rasmar says adding that she actually stands a chance of being the first Sri Lankan female saxophonist too. Trevin has been inspired by his uncle, the late Lylie Godridge. Together, they claim that they are a live band with 100 per cent natural sounds. "We don't have a leader. Instead, we work as a team and we owe all our success to that," Rasmar says that in spite of their diverse tastes in music, they have always managed to work together and get things going on the right track. `Phase 3' do covers of Chicago, Santana, Eagles, KC and the sunshine band, Marc Antony, Ossibissa and reggae music. According to them, the local music scene is growing again. "It's a good thing that youngsters have more visual aid which is a source of inspiration to go ahead with their music," they say adding that the young groups are more active and entertaining on stage. "They are more advanced than those of yesteryear. They even compose their own material," Rasmar points out. "Yet the new bands have unfortunately limited their potential to commercial rock," says Trevin pointing out the fact that they are being influenced by the weekly TV programmes on `Rock'. They complain that national TV doesn't show genuine artistes like Eagles and KC and the sunshine band. "They should get the grounding into other music as well. It's a pity that they make a beeline for rock," They believe that a band should be versatile.`Phase 3' plan to do a few originals in the future. "Actually Alston is working on it." The band has played with Wildfire at the Royal parade in 2002 and at the Irish Music Riot in 2001. "We also played at the E melt down at Crescat with Wildfire," Rasmar reveals. They feel that certain contemporary bands aren't lively enough to entertain the crowd in spite of their ability in producing good music. `Phase 3' believe that music is a way of interacting with people. "It has gone a long way bringing people together, " they say praising the genre that brought them together. by Umangi de Mel |
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Music
is the food of life, and giving it rhythm and optimism, Phase 3 have it
all under control to give their work the flavour and fusion that goes with
good music. They have given a different touch to most of the songs they
play to draw out the lyrics and the depth of meaning within. `Phase 3'
claim that talent is monumental for them. Having a wide repertoire that
includes modern jazz, latin, pop and Up-tempo music, `Phase 3' say that
music is their joie de vivre.
