Twenty years and the Flame is still bright
Flame started their journey 24 years ago owing to a chance encounter. A guitar, spare time after choir practices and three talented singers was all it took for the birth of Sri Lanka’s foremost western folk band. Soon after a Merry-An Singers rehearsal, the trio of Naushad Rassool, Roshan Premasinghe and Rienzi Pereira played a riff of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘American Tune’. Soon a little audience had gathered, and the journey began.
Naushad: Keeping the group going for 2 decades
Through the next two decades, Flame evolved into a fully fledged band that started off with songs from the 70s and 80s and moved onto modern times, encompassing the genres of pop, rock, jazz, funk and Sri Lankan favourites. Having had a long overdue solo show last year, Flame is back with ‘The Journey’, a concert in aid of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka (NSASL).
“This concert will tell our story,” says the band’s leader, Naushad Rassool. “It will show our evolution from that little trio to the seven member band that we are today.” In this context, Naushad thinks that it is only fitting that they celebrate the success of their journey with a worthy cause. “I was approached by a friend who told me about the situation of stroke patients in Sri Lanka, and I was instantly hooked on to the idea of raising funds for the cause.”
Every one in six Sri Lankans, faces the risk of being stricken by a stroke in their lifetime, and it has been the dream of the NSASL to build a ‘Stroke Centre’ to cater to the needs of stroke patients.
“The band has always promoted social responsibility and we have silently lent a helping hand whenever there was a need. This time, we wanted to make use of our talent to aid the cause, while keeping the audiences tapping their feet to our music,” says Naushad who has been instrumental in keeping the flame alight over the course of two decades. He believes that simplicity and fostering upcoming musicians has been the key features of the band. Although they had their first solo concert last year, Flame has been at popular concerts such as Country Roads since its inception. “Yes we were a bit lazy for too long, but we were always tightly knit and aimed at producing the best in music,” he says.
From left: Joe Lappen, Chris Alwis, Naushad Rassool, Diren Sabarathnam, Rienzie Pereira, Anne Jayamanne, Primal Liyanage and Nishantha de Abrew. Pic by Luxshmanan Nadaraja
For a band that was alien to huge sound and lighting systems, and had just three stools and two mics at the start, they’ve come a long way. Their song books were full of Simon and Garnfunkel, the Everly Brothers, the BeeGees, the Beatles and the Eagles, but today they’re venturing into all forms of music. “We’ve grown to seven. We’ve added keyboards; upgraded our sound equipment and our repertoire can handle anything from the ballads of the past to the contemporary. We can still do the trio thing, but our music reaches a wider portfolio. Music to move your feet,” Naushad says.
Diversity within the band has helped Flame thrive and reach out to an equally diverse audience. The present members of the band reflect a multifarious mix of religion, language, academic and professional disciplines which has helped them reach a perfect equilibrium in their music. The seven members include Naushad Rassool (Leader/Vocalist), Rienzi Pereira (Guitarist), Chris de Alwis (Guitarist), Diren Sabarathnam (Drums), Primal Liyanage (Guitarist), Nishantha de Abrew (Keyboardist), Joe Lappen (Bass guitarist) and Anne Jayamanne (Vocalist).
The Journey will be an interactive concert where the audience goes through the different stages of evolution of the band. “We start off with the trio and as the concert progresses, there will be additions, reflecting the changes in the band.” Naushad says that it will be a different kind of experience and promises to give the audiences a concert packed with hits such as Sound of Silence, Tequila Sunrise, Africa, Nights on Broadway, Layla, as well as material that Flame is re-working especially for the concert.
‘The Journey’ for the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka, will be held on October 13, at 7 p.m. at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. Tickets priced between Rs. 750 and Rs. 5000 are available at the Bishop’s College Auditorium.
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