by Nilma DOLE

It isn't everyday that one gets to chat up with some spiritually inclined dudes who are really passionate about the music they create whilst having a positive outlook about it.

Keezer is a five piece outfit who were literally thrown into the limelight. "We were basically 'forced' to perform at our school's interact installation ceremony because everyone knew we were quite musical and there was a problem with the band who were expected to perform" they said. Nevertheless, with this sudden twist of fate, the show did go smoothly and the unnamed band performed Howie Day's 'Collide', Uncle Kracker's 'Follow Me' and Tonic's 'If You Could Only See'.

Ceremoniously, Keezer was born in July 2007 comprising of three members namely Kanishka Peiris, Shahan Fernando and Rashane Perera. "We christened ourselves Keezer because we got the initials of our first names together like K. S. R. hence you pronounce it as Keezer" 'they said. Kanishka who sports a beard, is the leader of the band, the vocalist and he also helps in with the guitar work. Shahan chips in with guitaring, supporting vocals and he also plays keyboards when required. Rashane is the little drummer boy because he's the youngest one out of them. Thereafter, Keezer had a make over when two other members joined - Gavin Crusz who plays lead guitar and Ivan Sawexes who also plays guitar. Together, Keezer is set to cause ripples in the music scene by working on their first album.

They derive their musical genre from a wide repertoire of influences from the Beatles to Guns N' Roses for which Ivan comments on this "Everyone has their own influences and they blend when we make music together and really start to jam". Kanishka is the lyricist and he writes about real-life experiences. "Once I get down to writing the song that comes straight from the heart, everyone adds their own style and beats to it to spice it up" 'he said. When they add their unique elements, the result is pure and soulful music.

With regard to image, they prefer to keep a humble outlook "Shahan is the guy who looks rather decent on stage when he's performing" 'said Kanishka. "We have to keep a respectable image especially when Rashane, Gavin and I are still at school and as Prefects, we can't have outrageous styles that would affect our reputations," said Ivan.

Keezer has written their own songs which coincidentally revolve around one-namers. 'Everytime' is a soulful ballad with 'Picture' being a happy-go-lucky song. 'You' and 'Wonderwalk' are other compositions done by Keezer and they are all emotional numbers which are pleasant to listen to. "We cater to a varied audience so that everyone can enjoy our music" 'they said.

"We give thanks to God because once we started praying, we realised that most of our dreams were fulfilled", said Shahan. They acknowledge their supportive parents because without them, Keezer wouldn't have made it this far with late nights and sponsorship. "We would also like to thank Sachintha, Dimitri, Heshan, Shehan, Ryan and Mario and Christian for their help" 'they said. Keezer also thanks their supportive fans and friends who have stood by them through thick and thin and say that they still get goosebumps when they get on stage because it is a euphoric feeling when it comes to their performance. "We are happy that we got the opportunity to perform at various gigs and hope to take it to the forefront in the future" 'they said.

Keezer's advice is that in order to get your music across, you have to believe in yourself. "We don't want to compete with other bands because we know that our sound is unique" 'they said. They hope that in the future, new bands will make names for themselves instead of the same old faces coming on stage to perform in the local music scene. "Even though we know that Sri Lanka has a small market for English music, we will never stop dreaming about reaching greater heights" 'they concluded.