Derek spreads Wild Fire

By Sureshini Pilapitiya

Derek Wickramanayake, front man of Wild Fire and Bassist, is an interesting person who has a different view of life and music.

Music is a spiritual healer and for Derek it is also a passion. In everything you do, you should have a passion for it. In an interview with Montage, he expressed his candid views about music, life and starting his band Wild Fire.

Excerpts:

Question: Tell us about your latest achievement is music?

Answer: We have already started our band Wild Fire. I also want to start teaching how to play the guitar. Many people take a long time to learn it. Since I have the knowledge I want to share it with everyone.

Q: When did you start Wild Fire?

A: It was launched in 2000.

Q: You just re-launched Wild Fire. Tell us a little about it.

A: Primal Liyanage and I formed a band to play the songs of the Beatles and CCR. By the end of 1999 I decided to stop music as a profession and wanted to join the film industry. I did commercials for Singer and Vanik Leasing and also worked as an assistant director to Boodee Keerthisena. It was hard work but fun.

Q: How did Wild Fire come to the scene?

A: I was looking for a place to play and I had a friend Praveen who worked at the JAIC Hilton and he invited me to play the music there. Before we could start Thilak Dias left.

They didn't believe in my concept of playing that kind of music. I asked CJ to help me out on drums, and Benji Ranabahu of Mirage to help me in Bass. From day one we had a good audience. Benji and Primal left and Shafi and Nilantha came.

Q: Are there any replacements?

A: Yes.

Q: What was the purpose of starting Wild Fire?

A: I find it difficult playing for other bands. I played for six months with Mirage and also called Purple Rain. I think I felt more comfortable as a guitarist. After Shafi left, I took Pathum Fernando to play. Pathum left the band two years ago, then I stopped playing.

Q: Starting the band again means you won't be going solo anymore.

A: Actually I was not playing solo but I was playing in a few bands. It was a kind of freelance work.

Q: What inspired you to start your musical career?

A: That's what I wanted to do as a child. It had nothing to do with money. I have my own philosophy. Many parents want their children to go to school, do a good job and settle down. But that was not just my cup of tea. For me, more than achievements, it was about making your own choice.

I don't believe in competition. I don't like to hang trophies and medals. I always thought that I wanted to do what I wanted to do. We are all born with certain talents. I was not very keen on studying.

All I wanted to do was to play the guitar and carry on with music. There was no one to guide me. There were a few people who helped me play and move forward with my music career.

Experience

Q: What was your first experience as a musician ?

A: My first experience was playing for the Hezonites in Kandy. My first gig was a wedding at the Town Hall, Kegalle. It was a day before my birthday, January 26. I didn't even have a jacket.

The band gave me a jacket which belonged to their previous guitarist. I would have been 16 or 17 at that time. I was told I was stupid not to bring a jacket. And the jacket was so big it covered my whole body!

Q: Later on you joined a band called Friends. What was the experience playing in all these bands?

A: It was during the 80s that I joined Friends. I got to do what I wanted to do. When you're playing in a night club , you have to play under the band leader and have to do what he wants you to do. Everything got mixed. Of all bands, Hezonites was the best. It was fun. I travelled to Afghanistan and also to the UK.

The problem started when we had to choose what we wanted to play. I started to play the guitar. I listened to the music of famous guitar players. That's what I wanted to do. To explore and play better music. I want to play more difficult music, where you can use your brain and talent.

Q: Did you first start as a Bassist or a lead guitarist?

A: I started as a Bassist. I played for the band Boomerang and now I'm playing the guitar for Wild Fire.

Q: What do you think of the International music scene and the local one?

Passion

A: The International scene is getting better and better. I have been in the States for six months. And I have heard a lot of bands. They are not the big ones, but they are excellent. The difference is that they have the passion to play, teachers and money. Moreover, they have to be excellent to play a gig. If the band plays a song that the audience like, it's a good band.

There are some bands which play the music which the audience want. And they are good enough for the people. People are not educated to play good music. If the band plays a song which they like they appreciate it and if they don't play what they like, it's just something which is not worth listening to.

Q: How do you find the support given to you by Shafi?

A: He never played at the Guitar Fest and it was the first time that he played at the Guitar Fest which was held recently. He's a talented person. We don't try to overplay each other, and young musicians have taken up. A few rock bands with guitar players are coming up. There are a lot of bands, but they need recognition.

Q: What is the guitar style which you follow right now?

A: I play Jazz, Country and Rock, but very rarely. But the band plays retro music and what they want but on my own I play Jazz.

Audience

Q: Do you follow other bands or artistes in music or play cover versions of their music?

A: Already we play cover versions. Anything that takes my fancy . I interpret it in my own way. I play anything which catches my attention.

Plans

Q: Do you think we have got a good audience for rock? For most people rock is taboo. What is your opinion?

A: It's not that rock is taboo. For some people it's too noisy. It's not that they hate it, but they just don't like it.

Q: Do you think that the music industry should be developed?

A: Not only music, everything has to be developed . If you don't want to be developed you get stuck in a rut all the time.

Q: Nowadays reality shows are springing up like mushrooms. Do you think that they really help the upcoming musicians or are they commercialised to gain attention?

A: Nobody has ever made it. And nobody, or nothing has come out of it at all. It's not a waste of time. It's a good pasttime.

Q: Are there any inspirational figures whom you follow in music?

A: There are new artistes such as Ed Sheeran who is a member of the band One Direction. Also Bruno Mars and Pharell Williams. Even Robert Thicke's Blurred Lines is also great. It is because the production is really good and how the songs are produced.

Q: Since Wild Fire has re-started, are there any plans of doing a show?

A: We are going to do some shows very soon.

Q: Do you think that most musicians have a passion for what they do, or are they just doing it as an industry and profession?

A: I think most Sri Lankan bands want to make money. When somebody has a passion for what they do, you can see that in the way they perform.

Q: Do you think we should organise more guitar festivals and concerts to promote guitar music?

A: Not only guitar music, we should organise workshops. There are foreign teachers who would like to perform and teach.

Q: What's the guitar model you are using now?

A: I use a Fender Stratocaster.

Q: What are your aspirations?

A: I don't think about the future. But I am more interested in spiritual awakening. I want to know my purpose in life. Being a musician is definitely not my purpose. There is something which I have not discovered. There are things which I want to discover soon.