 Exciting harmony sizzlers
by Mahes Perera
A well-known song that hails
sisters as “two different faces but inside places they think and they
act as one...” could well be dedicated to Belle and Brandy, sisters in
harmony, the centre of attraction with the slick and groovy band of
musicians Aquarius.
 More often than not singers from the Philippines take on fancy names
for themselves to ensure their popularity. Brandy for instance is the
younger of the two and she is Karen Hernandez while Belle the older is
Maribel.
Both of them along with the band are gearing themselves for the all
important, long awaited end of year festivity at the Galadari Hotel,
Ballroom to greet 2010. According to the management this year’s New
Year’s Eve festivities are going to be a rollicking affair with loads of
music, competitions and wonderful prizes including the extravagant
airtickets. Benjy the leader has planned a surprise for the groovers,
the music, he says, will commence at 9 p.m.
The stunning looks of the girls is a major draw at the Margarita Blue
when they sing on Wednesdays through to Saturdays.
Brandy the younger of the two sisters is looking forward to the 31st
night. This is my first time here in Sri Lanka and I’ve heard many
exciting stories of how Sri Lankans celebrate the arrival of a new
calendar year, and the non stop, singing and dancing to greet the new
year at the stroke of midnight,” voices an exciting, Brandy, who flew in
from Dubai to join her sister and Aquarius. Brandy who has just turned
nineteen was singing with the band New Generation in Dubai with a
repertoire of R&B, Hip Hop and rock.
“No, I had no formal training in singing, you could say I’m self
taught and I’m happy about that. We come from a family that sings - our
father he sings and plays the guitar while my mother, she sings too and
generally we have our home concerts which have a different and endearing
flavour! My favourite singers? Tina Turner heads the list. I love her
“Simply the Best” and “Proud Mary” and I can’t forget Aretha Franklin
and Whitney Houston.
What keeps you busy when you are not singing or rehearsing?
 “I watch TV for hours or I listen to music. I love to go out shopping
and buy shoes or bags or souvenirs for my collection.”
On the other hand Belle the older sister enjoys cooking be it in the
Philippine, Japanese or Chinese style. And she plays a lot of
basketball. She is Maribel Hernandez and she was a dancer before she
decided to become a professional singer.
“In the Philippines I was a member of the Likha Dance Group
comprising 20 boys and girls. This is my second time around at a New
Year’s Eve celebration at the Galadari Hotel with Aquarius and I’m
looking forward to it. Our repertoire of songs is about 150 which
besides English includes Tagalog (Philippines), Hindi, Arabic, Spanish
and French.
Our mum celebrates her birthday on December 31 and we are going to
miss her. But then I’m happy to be back, Sri Lanka is kind of like “Home
from Home” and Brandy and I are hoping to stay for a longer period of
time. Sri Lankans are friendly and hospitable and along with my sister
Brandy and the band Aquarius let me wish all our young fans a happy
2010.”
Rockingly Awesome!
by Nilma Dole
By the time this story this
comes out, the popular metallers ‘As I Lay Dying’ together with
‘Nervecell’ and our very own local talent would have brought the town to
a standstill at the Vihara Maha Devi Park with their metallic
performances.
 With peace coming to Sri Lanka, the bands’ presence will pave the way
for future acts to perform here while also bringing many music fans from
around the world on common ground. The event management company Midnight
Mist Entertainment will be bringing down these heavy names and have said
that the concert will be instrumental to the local music industry by
reaping benefits for the tourism sector by stirring the interest of
people around the world.
The American-based ‘As I Lay Dying’ hails from San Diego, California.
Formed in 2000, their band name derives from the novel by William
Faulkner with the same title. Having formed their initial line-uup in
2001 by Tim Lambesis, today the members of the band include vocalist Tim
Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, lead guitarist Nick Hipa, rhythm
guitarist Phil Sgrosso, and bassist Josh Gilbert. Signed to Metal Blade
Records, ‘As I Lay Dying’ has released four studio albums, one split
album, and one compilation album.
‘As I Lay Dying’ made their mark in 2007 by releasing ‘An Ocean
Between Us’ which debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200, and number 1
on the Top Rock chart. Eventually in the same year, ‘As I Lay Dying’ won
the “Ultimate Metal God” award from MTV2 at the first annual “All That
Rocks” special being named “Artist of the Year” at the San Diego Music
Awards in 2008 and was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for the song
“Nothing Left”.
 Nervecell are a death metal band based in the United Arab Emirates.
The band was founded in 1999 by guitarist Barney Ribeiro, drummer Hatem
and vocalist Brogan Costa. As one of the first heavy metal bands in the
region, Nervecell made their debut performance at the Battle of the
Bands 2001 in Abu Dhabi, with the addition of Mazen (guitar) and Carol
(bass). Together with their intense performance and stage presence the
band won themselves ‘Best Performance’ award and Barney picked up the
‘Best Guitarist’ award.
Eventually, they garnered a reputation as a band here to stay and
went on to produce an “Vastlands of Abomination” in 2003, Human Chaos in
2005 and Preaching Venom last year.
The local name that will see their MySpace and FB pages getting
recognition is Paranoid Earthling who have already hit India big. Shri
metallers Whirlwind and Fallen Grace also shared the stage with their
rage at the big gig. Also, if you were one of the 25 lucky fans who got
to meet, greet and party with AILD at their private function, then lucky
you! |
