‘Classic Rock Sundays’ at El Rancho

Saturday, 27 September 2014 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

“I just want to play the music that I love and make a living off it,” says Lasith Fernando, the front-man of Angel Down and the organiser of ‘Classic Rock Sundays’ at El Rancho, the latest addition to Colombo’s vibrant live-music scene. If you’ve taken a stroll around Colombo’s pub circuit of late you will have noticed that Sri Lanka has quite an incredible wealth of musical talent. But the chances are that you would have also noticed how most of the live music being played sticks to a certain generic formula. But the boys from Angel Down seem to think that they have a valid alternative.

“You know, I pay my bills as a freelance writer and marketing consultant, but my first and last passion has, and will always be music,” adds Lasith, who performs as a solo act two nights a week. “But the tough thing is that most venues around town expect you to play a certain type of music, which really isn’t my style. And we’ve organised a couple of one-off classic rock nights before to get around this, and we were blown away by the response that we got from people that came for these gigs; which is why we thought of making it a weekly occurrence.” “We’re both heavy metal musicians at heart,” adds Kusal Alwis, the guitarist of Angel Down and Lasith’s partner in crime. “So it’s great to actually be able to play the type of music that defines us as musicians and actually get paid for it.”

Lasith and Kusal’s set-list for ‘Classic Rock Sundays’ includes everything from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Guns N Roses, Bon Jovi, Bad Company and Queen. And the boys also joke that they even grudgingly indulge drunken requests for tunes like Hotel California and Sweet Child of Mine when they’re feeling generous. Lasith and Kusal also say that they hope to include weekly guest performances from various local artistes to keep things fresh and exciting. Entrance to Classic Rock Sundays at El Rancho is free and Lasith can be reached on 0779474472 for any questions regarding the gig, which is on from 6 to 10 p.m. For more information you can also visit www.facebook.com/CRSatElRancho.