Sounding out Goan cover bands
Remo’s offer to reward originality

By Cecil Pinto

Last week I noticed a very spiteful advertisement in a local English
daily (not GT). It referred to the reunion of a cover band named The
Syndicate. For younger readers let me first explain what The Syndicate
was/is. It consisted basically of five male musicians who formed a
beat group somewhere in the 1980s. They were very popular for the next
two decades until they disbanded somewhere in 2002 or thereabouts.

Now The Syndicate, as they styled themselves, was no more or no less
talented musically than any other Goan cover band of that time or now.
What made them uniquely popular was something called The Syndicate
Sound. The members of the band had shrewdly read the writing on the
wall and invested in state-of-the-art sound equipment that was miles
ahead of the competition. Their sophisticated synthesizers, amplifiers
and speakers could output the highest treble sounds (ting!) and the
lowest bass sounds (thud!) with amazing effect.

It was said at the time that for your wedding reception if you wanted
the village to know you should hire The Big City Band and Xavier
Sound. But to keep the taluka awake till odd hours you should hire The
Syndicate Sound. Their sound equipment was capable of decibel output
that could put a sonic boom to shame. After any beat show featuring
The Syndicate Sound you could see young people walking around in a
daze for days afterwards. Initially it was thought that these young
people had consumed some narcotic substances. An investigation proved
that these youth were dancing right in front of the speakers, like
they see stoned foreigners do at trance parties, when The Syndicate
Sound was at full blast. It was their ear drums that had been effected
and not their brains, hence the dazed look.

The Syndicate Sound ruled the music scene. Other Goan cover bands
joined the bandwagon (chuckle!), investing in sound equipment rather
than improving their musical talents. The objective seemed to be that
whoever had the loudest, clearest, most thumping sound was the better
band. And if you could not afford to buy expensive sound equipment
then you hired it from a whole slew of entrepreneurs who cropped up to
meet the demand for amplified sound. Xavier, Henry, Sebco and Cassant
to name a few.

Ownership of equipment soon became a factor in beat groups breaking
up. For example if Damodar from Parivarthan Band had wisely invested
his share of earnings in sound equipment, then effectively he became
the controlling partner in the band and he became more powerful than
Pandurang who had invested in a  tempo to transport the stuff around,
or Sashikant who had invested in a computer and learning music
sequencing. If Damodar left and joined Shantadurga Beat Group then
Parivarthan Band was effectively finished and the remaining members
either invested in sound equipment to survive or drifted into other
beat groups (names in this paragraph have been deliberately changed to
protect identities).

Thus sound equipment become the deciding factor not only among cover
bands but within the band itself. The owner of the equipment became
the unwritten leader and decided which gigs they take up, how much
they charged, and even what songs they sang. Anyway with the rise of
sequencing most of the band members, except for the vocalist and the
guy on the synthesizer, became rather redundant and were often more
for visual effect rather than anything else. When you pay for a band
you want to see five people on stage. The penny-wise realized that
they could hire a One-Man-Band (like Shelton-goes-Solo or other such
musical entrepreneurs) for a fraction of the amount a ‘big band’
charged - but then not everyone is penny-wise.

What the public wanted, and the cover bands provided, was 1) loud
clear thumping music 2) visible and animated musicians on stage 3)
exact duplication of voice and sound. So if the song being played was
‘No Woman, No Cry’ the voice and accent had to be exactly like Bob
Marley and the sound had to be exactly like the audio CD which had
actually been recorded in a soundproof studio with 54 piece orchestra
backing. One cover band called Dee Bees from Mapusa used to sing Eddy
Grant’s ‘I Don’t Wanna Dance’ with a particularly unique Goan accent.
I personally was happy at the ‘interpretation’ rather than trying to
mimic. But the Goan audience wants mimics.

A few valiant attempts have been made over the years at original
compositions in English. There was this guy in the 1980s named Franz
Black who used to compose and sing his own songs. Lynx resleased an
entire album of their own compositions. Forefront had two original
compositions ‘Rhythm of the Night’ and ‘We Belong’ in the album they
released, as did even The Syndicate with ‘Black and White’ in their
release. Purple Rain composed and made popular ‘Bala Bala Music’ and
V4 had ‘Vitalla’. AIR FM’s Night of the Fortnight, by RJ Savio and RJ
Bambino, released a compilation album of original songs by Goan
groups. Roque Lazarus, Colin D’Cruz, Rui Lobo, Schubert Cotta  etc
continue to compose exceptionally great music and songs. But except
for Remo very few of the producers of original music are able to
popularise their creations.

The advertisement I had mentioned at the beginning of this rant said,
“OH GOD! THE SYNDICATE IS Back.” I myself empathize with the sentiment
but I think it was in particularly bad taste to put a newspaper
advertisement saying so. The Syndicate might have shifted the emphasis
to sound and mimicking, rather than music and originality, but they
were just catering to a market. It is us, the tasteless audience, who
is to blame.

Anyway after so many years of cover bands and sound-alike singers
dominating the musical landscape of Goa there is extremely good news.
In a recent interview Remo has emphasized the importance of
recognizing and encouraging creativity and originality. After the
Kingfisher Voice of Goa contest Remo has volunteered to himself
arrange, orchestrate and record the best original composer and song in
his studio. The winners can then use this professional recording to
approach producers. Remo has to be commended for, in his own words,
starting, ‘the originality ball rolling in Goa”.

The Konkani musical scene is throbbing with originality in lyrics and
composition. The musicians and lyricists provide, and the audience
encourages, originality. Why doesn’t the English musical scene in Goa
also have ‘originals’? Remo has started the ball rolling by putting
his money and time and expertise where his mouth is. I hope others
will take up the ball and encourage originality in Goan English music.




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The column above appeared in Gomantak Times dated 21st October 2010.

A similar themed rant appeared in the April 13, 2006 edition of the
Gomantak Times and is archived at:
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=636

Feedback most welcome <cecilpinto at gmail dot com>

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