White-collar workers find unifying chord in rock music
PLG rock band in action in Nairobi: The members work in different firms by day and at night they perform. Photo/FILE
It’s Friday night in one of the clubs in Nairobi, a packed crowd is seated waiting for show time, one of the city’s popular rock band—Parking Lot Grass (PLG)— is about to hit the stage for one of their weekly gigs.
As soon as the show begins, the crowd’s energy levels slowly start to hit higher notches with many screaming and singing along with the band.
PLG is firing up a musical storm and this Friday is just like the rest since the band singing part-time.
The band members live a life copied from the script of a comic book or a spy novel.
From 8 am to 5 pm they are in suits in formal offices, but after 5 pm, they shed off their corporate skins for their rock attire ahead of their musical performance.
This is the life of PLG members: Alistair Gould, Victor Chweya, Amos Kiptoon, drummer Hubbert Aruula and vocalist Raphael Sipalla—who was in the Tusker Project Fame Competition of 2010. It is in PLG where the budding artiste has found a new lease of life.
PLG was formed five years ago when the three original members Mr Gould, Mr Chweya and Mathew Hawi were Bachelor of Commerce students at Strathmore University.
The trio had three clashing personalities, but in rock music they found a unifying chord and since then they say that they have become bosom buddies.
Five years later with the initial members having taken different career paths after graduating from college, their musical roads have still been the same and they say it has been a tortuous albeit rewarding road.
While most workers in Kenya go home to relax, gym or evening classes, PLG members meet daily to practice ahead of their gigs.
Consistent practice is the key to success for any musical group no matter how talented the members may be, a fact that PLG knows to well.
With band members working at investment banks and non governmental organisations by day, what do their colleagues and bosses think of their nocturnal adventures?
“They find it intriguing and they have been supportive at the very least. They come to our shows and we’re with them the next day at work,” says Alistair Gould, the guitarist, adding that the trick is to have a balance between your professional and artistic life.
The first question that pops when one thinks of a rock band is what’s in the name?
With most rock musicians having names that border on the occult, like Black Sabbath, PLG members it is just a name coined a few years ago .
“Well it does have something to do with a parking lot, and absolutely nothing to do with grass as has been written on many occasions with speculations on how we conceived the name. Each letter in the ‘grass’ stands for something. We’ll reveal later,” said Alistair Gould, the band’s bass guitarist.
Ensure harmony
Though the different members are talented as individuals, the line between cacophony and harmony is needle-thin and it is only practice that acts as a guarantor that all the individual beats mix to create a seamless musical flow.
“You can easily tell, from the audience’s perspective when a band is tight. When they have put in the hours necessary to really entertain. We try our best and give it our best,” said Mr Gould.
This requires sacrifice which means that Sunday’s is scheduled for practice which is not only necessary for weekday gigs, but also for competitions, he said.
The Kenyan rock scene currently has over 20 active bands including Last Year’s Tragedy, Murfy’s Flaw, Rock of Ages, Seismic, In Oath, Blackastonian Redemption, Beat hogs, Absence of Light and M2O.
And they all compete at the “Battle of the Band” monthly contests where the winning band receives prizes, certificates, and assorted musical equipment.
The band that wins the ultimate prize wins a recording deal with an international rock studio.
The band will also enjoy a full-year representation by Lur’s company for international tours and concerts as well as equipment worth Sh100,000.
Another competition is the Showdown which was held in November last year and PLG’s vocalist Mr Sipalla won the “Most Exemplary Artist” of the event which has been one of the highlights for the band.
The competitions and formation of more rock bands is what is boosting the maturity of the music industry.
Over years
Kenya’s entertainment industry has grown in the last 20 years, helped by the technological advancements that have reduced the costs of production with aspiring artistes now being able to record songs and make music videos through the use of off-the-shelf software such as Friutyloops.
The growth in the media has also created an avenue for artistes.
From one radio station and a handful of television stations, there are over 100 FM stations and 20 television stations.
The market has also been fragmented with stations dedicated to specific music genres and movies.
Despite the diffusion of technology that has enabled aspiring artistes to record their songs at home, they have not reached standards where they can be accepted by stations such as MTV.
Costly band instruments and recording studios also are denting hopes of industry growth.
“You can’t just walk into any music shop in Nairobi and ask for a Marshall amplifier or a genuine Gibson guitar. We just don’t have it here and such equipment is needed,” says Mr Gould. Marshall Amplifiers are used by some of the leading guitar wizards including Eric Clapton and at least Sh40,000.
The few stores that have some of the equipment or close substitutes charge high prices while in Europe or Asia one can get the equipment at half the price that retailers in Kenya are selling it for, said Mr Gould.
But for Gould, it is a matter of time before more investors come in to fill this gap.
He is also optimistic of growth of the music genre following the launch of a lobby group— the Rock Society of Kenya.
