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| Sunday, 1 December 2002 |
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"Ezra was a prophet who redeemed the captives and let them worship God according to their free will," admits Yohan, a member of the Ezra clan. A contradiction of sorts, the band is 'Rock' by definition, 'Gospel' by inclination and its members are God fearing by nature. "We don't want to do things that don't please God, we are a gospel band that was thinking hard to come up with a striking name. But people often mistake us for a church band. We are a normal rock band just like the others," says Billy, the leader of Ezra. Alright Ezra, the band with two sides to it, religious yet funloving and funky. We caught them in the middle of a sound check for their 'Gospel-rock concert' at St. Peter's auditorium. Joshua on guitar and vocals, Dale on guitar and vocals, Gunasoruban on drums and percussion, Yohan on bass and vocals, Romesh on drums, percussion and vocals and Devashrie on vocals.. The group comprises seven members, and their repertoire includes gospel music from the likes of Life House, Jars of Clay, Sonic Flood, Sriper as well as Bryan Adams, CCR, Doobie Brothers. In keeping with the biblical name, the group began their musical odyssey on holy grounds. "At the very beginning we used to play at our own churches," They say explaining that the individuals came together as a group in 1998. The band's first performance was at the Bible House in 2000. Performing at the 'Rain Dance' at Majestic City the same year enabled them to go public on a grand scale. The band say that 95 per cent of their music is gospel and the rest is selected popular music. But they also do originals." In fact we've done 12 originals of which we perform four," they say. Ezra doesn't play at a fixed venue, or do they play regularly? "We are a concert band, which is why we don't play regularly. We've been playing at concerts organized by ourselves," says Romesh. "Sometimes, we take hymns and give them a new look," adds Yohan. Do they have a target audience? "Rock loving teens, are more like it- young adults, too," says Romesh claiming that they see at least 100 regular faces at a performance. They also point out that though they classify themselves as a rock band, they also play a bit of Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, and Westlife. "Except for Baila, we play everything else. We are in the habit of always checking what we sing. Focusing on lyrics and the message it gives out, when we select music," they say. The group identifies praising God as their main goal followed by please the audience and then themselves of course. "It is hard when people get a wrong image about us," they lament, pointing out that playing gospel music doesn't mean they are affiliated to a church. We are just like any other band but we don't do things that don't please God." they insist and claim "A gospel band is a band that plays inside a church. We only play outside." They talk about the triumphant 2002 with gleeful appreciation. " We took part in the TNL On stage this year and we won, something we never expected- honest." "We are very different from each other. Some members are still schooling and some of us work. We learn a lot from each other. Actually we learnt a lot from Billy," says Dale. What do they think about the other bands? "Right now lots of bands out there do just fine. Wildfire, Sound Journey, Ultimate, Creb's Cycle brought back rock. Damien, Derrick got the live band scene going in Sri Lanka," they say. "The bands certainly don't sound alike. They have different identities and styles," says Dale adding that they are in need of good sponsors to lay the foundation to build a solid band. Where does Ezra stand with the others? "Actually we are proud of what we can do and we never go to check where we stand with the rest," says Billy. "We enjoy playing for a crowd," blurts Romesh and Dale seconds it by saying that the crowd keeps them going. Any future plans? "Hoping to release our first album in June next year....if we get a sponsor," Yohan says hopefully. The rest say that they also hope to go to Dubai at the beginning of next year."We are hoping to have our own sound system," they say. What do they think about the Golden Clef Awards? "We like the way the competition is held. Singer or the band is not judged on a particular day's performance but they are judged for their regular effectiveness," they say. "As a gospel band we are the first lot who have come this far, there are lots of other people out there with similar tastes who are scared of acceptance. But we don't think that anybody should be scared to come out with their talents." by Umangi de Mel |
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Ezra!
The name sounds biblical, conjuring images of prophets and sages and all
things archaic and holy. How does one reconcile a rock band with such a
biblical name in the 21st century?
