The Brakes Screech for Willies Jeep

by Nilma Dole

Willies Jeep, what a name!

Surely any girl would remember is a name like that. “Shehan came up with the name because it was inspired by an actual Willys Jeep in the World War 2” said Akila of the band. Further he commented, “We wanted something simple that people will remember and this name actually sticks.” The band comprises of Akila on guitars, Ryan on lead vocals, Shehan on bass, Bonjo (Arland) on drums and the one man instrumentalist Shevon on vocals, keyboards, piano and guitar. Quite a bunch of talent for a band that just started a couple of days before they performed on stage last year. Gareth was the previous lead vocalist who sang for their performance but left due to work and study commitments.

“Ryan, Shehan, Gareth and I hooked up when we sang in a choir group for the same parish and eventually we found our sound in music where we sang harmony blended with acoustic” said Shevon which would mean these guys were pretty tight when it came to acapella. Just like their hit on the Sprite CD, they really got it right with More Than Words by Extreme. Akila said, “Ryan and I met up way back in the day when we played in a metal band called Extension which was even registered with Rock Company. However, we disbanded and then began to unleash a whole new side of music when we met up with these dudes.”

They would name their major influences as Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Guns & Roses, Snake Pit and Velvet Revolver.

“We are all influenced by different genres as we dont play only one type of music. We like to shift between Rock & Roll to alternative to rock to acoustic between we love the variation” said Akila. As for day time commitments, Akila is into banking, Shevon is studying, Ryan is going to sit for his Chartered Accountancy exams and Shehan is a law dude.

Shevon comments about the local music industry that with the advent of technology, “I wish artists wouldnt mime onstage as with these so-called successful singers in the industry. As

for the rock musicians, we cant mime onstage because we have to perform live to the audience.” The dudes agree that there isnt a proper record label for budding musicians and hope that someone does something about it. “We have plenty of talent but its going to waste since there isnt a huge support for such music” said Shevon. He also said that the band are working on a Sinhala original to take on the mass music industry.

Their advice to wannabe rockers is: “Be original and be what you are” goes Akila. “Always try to do something new” says Shevon. “Dont drink and drive” chips in Ryan. The dudes believe in setting a good example to the potential rockers with a good image.

Willies Jeep thanks their brother bands, Triton and Alchemy. “We would like to thank our respective families, friends, fans, girlfriends, Billy Fernando and his Stick Figure studio” said Akila. He adds, “By the way, Im single.”

Be prepared to check out these guys rock down the Keg at Excel World with their brotherly bands as they go acoustic for their fans. Ladies walk in free so make sure you keep February 7 free!

Folk rock - her passion

by Mahes Perera

Her passion is folk rock. She’s an expressive singer and this was her second outing with Alien Accent who completed a concert of original songs recently.

“Their kind of music is just up my street I just fitted in, it’s just what I like”, expressed Dillain Joseph who has always been a different kind-of-singer from the normal pop singers we hear day in and day out.

“My voice is untrained, it is God’s gift to me. In the early years of my life Priyanthi Seneviratne supervised my singing but there was no vocal training. Funnily when I was in school at Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya and then later on at CIS I was never a part of choirs in the two schools!”

Coming back to the concert by Alien Accent did you write any originals for the band to perform?

“Yes, I did write two songs for Alien Accent. There was ‘Turn Back Time’ which was all about a soldier who returned from the war and was haunted by the atrocities of the war. He suffered from a sense of guilt - taking a human life. The other song was ‘Rewrite’ which was all about today’s living conditions and there was another Say To Me - which focused on religious beliefs. We were happy with the way the songs were accepted.

We also performed selections from the Alien Accent CD “Badges & Blades” - two popular choices Thiriyala ge and Hallowed Path.”

Your passion you state is folk rock, so who were the influences and inspiration in composing your folk rock songs?

“My mainstay is Sheryl Crow. Of course I can’t leave out Sting, Eric Clapton and Sarah McLaughlin remember her song Angel, it used to be my favourite at one time.”

Dillain may not be singing weekly at different night spots but when she is on stage at concerts she is well focused and sings the folk lyrics with emotional expression which is a plus for her. Hailing from a family of well recognised singers her mother is Manella Joseph and her aunt Iromi - they belonged to the Winslow Six who made their impact on the music scene in the early years. Manella and Iromi composed many originals and performed them on stage.

“My sister Dillai and I were the back up singers for Manella and Iromi when we were very young and whatever concerts they were involved in during the 80s and 90s we were also on stage.

I joined Suresh and DK in 2003 and have been with them for the past six years. Alien Accent’s first concert was in 2005 and in December 2009 was their second concert.”

Before Alien Accent was formed, “Suresh DK & Husni” was the folk band that took the music scene by storm in Sri Lanka which saw them carry off the Observer Golden Clef Award for two years running. Now minus Husni, who re-joined for the concert in December, Dillain stepped in as the third member and Alien Accent have had no regrets with Dillain’s performances. In fact,she gels along with their ideas and rapports easily with them. Watching her perform, the thought passes your mind that she’s an artiste who feels free to express herself, a singer who interprets her music in a way that makes people appreciate her style.That’s what folk music is all about.

In the Mood for Chillout Music?

If you want to unwind and relax after a hard days work, just pop a Lounge CD and wash your troubles away. Often played at spas and private relax retreats, lounge music is quickly gaining a loyal fanbase and is used by many for its harmonic beats and soulful indulgences. Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s encompassing the exotica, easy listening, and space for age pop genres.

It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place be it a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The range of lounge music encompasses beautiful music-influenced instrumentals, modern electronica (with chillout, Nu-jazz and downtempo influences), while remaining thematically focused on its retro-space-age cultural elements. The earliest type lounge music appeared during the 1920s and 1930s, and was known as Light music. Contemporaneously, the term lounge music also denotes the types of music played in hotels (the lounge, the bar), casinos, and piano bars.

Exotica, space-age pop, and some forms of easy listening music popular during the 1950s and 1960s are now broadly termed lounge. The term lounge does not appear in textual documentation of the period, such as Billboard magazine or long playing album covers, but has been retrospectively applied.

While rock and roll was generally influenced by blues and country, lounge music was derived from jazz and other musical elements borrowed from traditions around the world.

A good deal of lounge music was pure instrumental (i.e., no main vocal part, although there could be minor vocal parts). These instrumentals could be produced with an orchestral arrangement, or from an arrangement of instruments very similar to that found in jazz, or even rock and roll such as the Hammond Organ or electric guitar.

Lounge singers have a lengthy history stretching back to the decades of the early twentieth century. The somewhat derisive term lounge lizard was coined then, and less well known lounge singers have often been ridiculed as dinosaurs of past eras and parodied for their smarmy delivery of standards.

Many well known performers got their start as lounge singers and musicians. Lounge emerged in the late 1980s as a label of endearment by younger fans whose parents had played such music in the 1960s. It has enjoyed resurgences in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, led initially by ironic figures such as Buster Poindexter and Jaymz.

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