"I've set a standard for us, I don't compromise on it"

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Music has been his passion since childhood. Starting humbly from a remote town, he formed his first amateur music band in his village school. His craving to learn music took him as far as Australia and he went on to perform with more than five of the leading music bands in his country.
This guitar-wielding musician has been a prominent member of Sri Lanka's leading 'rockstar' bands and pursued his passion for music with utmost devotion. However, doing so has not always been a cakewalk for Bachi Sittamige.
His country was ravaged by three decades of civil war. With other things, it affected the music scene as well. At one point, it went so bad, Bachi was left penniless. He survived. But he was forced to leave his island nation in search of work.
All along, the passion for music always remained alive in him. So when he landed in Doha five years ago, he gathered like-minded musicians from his community and formed his first professional band, Bachi and the Clan, which made quite an impact.
Today, Bachi is well-off, both financially and musically. Recently, he met Evans De Fonseka, his countryman and a die-hard musician like him, here in Doha. The two quickly formed alliance and Evans is now a member of the 6-piece Bachi and the Clan.
Bachi and Evans also perform in their new two-piece band, catering to all small and large audiences with varying tastes in languages and music styles.
Community sat the two talented musicians for a chat about their respective musical journeys and how the Doha audience has been treating them.
"Back in Sri Lanka I was only doing music and it was enough. There was a lot of work. But then we had a 30-year war in our country. Things changed and our music scene was affected badly. There were bombings in the hotel I used to perform at," says Bachi, sitting in his apartment filled with musical instruments of all sorts.
"We had a really bad time then. At one point I did not have any money at all but thankfully I was single then and survived. Then I decided to go abroad to find work," Bachi recalls. He is a Sales Supervisor and does music only part-time here.
The guitarist says he started learning music when he was in school. It was then that he formed his first amateur music band, Flash, comprising school fellows and village friends. They started off humbly but went on to perform outside their village.
They mostly do Western music as there was a large audience for it in Sri Lanka. Years later, Bachi says he switched to Sri Lankan music.
His initial inspiration was his teacher and mentor Mani Lal, lead of a popular band in Sri Lanka. "Mani Lal was also a Western style music singer. I followed his style. He introduced me to some musicians from whom I learnt a lot," recalls Bachi.
He then went to Australia to learn music at an institute, however, he could not complete his degree. Into his fourth year there, he heard of his father's death one day and sought leave from the institute in order to make it to his father's funeral.
According to the institute's rules, it could not be granted before the completion of degree, so he decided to quit and went back home. Soon, he started practicing and performing music in Sri Lanka. Music took him to countries in Western Europe besides Australia and almost all of Middle East.
Bachi went on to become a part of about 15 prominent bands in Sri Lanka during the course of 15 years before he landed in Doha and formed his first professional band.
"I managed to find some really exciting musicians. In the five years, some members left Qatar for good but then we found equally good replacements. They all do jobs and then perform with Bachi and the Clan part time," elaborates the band leader.
For the Western style music, they perform with the full 6-piece band. However, Bachi recruits Indian musicians living in Qatar for their Oriental music events.
The idea of forming a two-piece band with experienced Evans struck Bachi when he realised they were losing events from clients who could not afford the full strength Bachi and the Clan. The fee for the complete 6-piece band performance is high and some people cannot afford it.
"I have seen that people are happy to spend money on everything else for their parties but they want music bands at a bare minimum (cost). But I have set a standard for us and I do not compromise on it," says Bachi. But then they were losing on events this way as there were other bands in the market, who would be willing to perform for less.
"So I came up with this idea of forming a two-piece band with Evans. We perform at all small or big events catering to a large audience, with songs even in Tamil language besides our Western and Oriental songs," says musician.
He says they mostly perform for Sri Lankan community but occasionally go outside of it like a performance they staged for a company at Crowne Plaza hotel comprising Filipino, Indian, UK and Sri Lankan staff.
His most memorable performance, however, remains to be a concert in Sri Lanka where they performed with a band called 'Blue Shadows' before an audience of 35,000 people. Bachi and the Clan also enjoyed performing a dinner party at Diplomatic Club by Konkani-speaking members of Indian community held a few years ago.
Evans, on the other hand, before joining Bachi and the Clan, has performed solo and as in-house musician at multiple venues in Doha. However, he says he is lucky to have met Bachi.
"I did not have someone who could match my style of music and understand me. He (Bachi) is like a brother to me," Evans says.
Unlike Bachi, Evans benefited from the love of music in the family. "My father was crazy about music. I got it from him. I started it part time with a regular job back in Colombo in 1978. But then, I decided to quit my regular job and do music full time after the initial success," says Evans.
He formed a 4-piece band called 'Paradians' and went on to perform outside of Sri Lanka in places like Amsterdam, Brussels, Houston and London.
"I am a music lover and design my music according to the audience's mood. I do sentimentals, pop, reggae and a few languages including Hindi and Malayalam. I am strongly connected to India. It is like my second home," Evans adds. He has also sung in Spanish, Bolivian and Japanese and he loves Elvis Presley and Eagles.
Besides Bachi on guitar and Evans on keyboard, the Bachi and the Clan comprises Tuan Rawlins Assan (Bass guitar/vocals), Rumesh Nissanka (Drums), Nalin Silva (Rhythm guitar/vocals) and Mary Grace (Vocals).