For the love of Simon and Garfunkel: Flame in concert

Twenty-two years ago, two guys began an impromptu Simon and Garfunkel session... Roshan Premasinghe and Naushad Rassool were rehearsing together with the Merry An Singers for an upcoming concert. During a break from singing, Naushad was drawn to a corner of the rehearsal room, towards a favourite tune by Simon and Garfunkel. Strumming the immortal music was the Mary Ann Singer’s backup guitarist, Rienzi Pereira.   

The story of Flame starts with Roshan, Naushad and Rienzi’s small, impromptu collaboration, and their mutual love of 70s and 80s music. While singing with the Merry An Singers, Naushad and Roshan were practicing “American Tune” by Simon and Garfunkel, to perform it at a folk and country music concert named Country Roads. Naushad’s chance eavesdropping of Rienzi’s playing, gave himself and Roshan their back-up guitarist.

The trio was a hit at the Country Roads concert. In 1989, Naushad, Roshan and Rienzi christened themselves as Flame and they began playing a regular gig at the Mount Royal Beach Hotel. They also auditioned and won a Wednesday night spot at the Taj Hotel lobby bar; a gig that is still reminisced by Flame’s huge fan club. Today you have to secure seats early to catch Flame at its current, weekly gig at the UBG (Jaic Hilton) on Fridays.

Flame’s bookings multiplied over the years as their popularity grew from playing at intimate hotel lobbies to being the go-to-band for large celebrations of weddings and dinner dances. Flame has played at all the large-capacity hotels in Sri Lanka, including Cinnamon Grand, Hilton, Galadari, as well as smaller venues such as Clancy’s and Molly’s that are packed to the rafters when Flame headlines the night.

Roshan, the band’s founding member, named the band Flame. He felt that this name, in a word, best describes their passion, ambition, and energy, when bringing music to live audiences. Seen from a different light, the band’s name speaks of a group who burns a flame for folk music. Flame was the first Sri Lankan band to play folk music professionally. The band has a deep appreciation for the genre and they are famous for entertaining crowds with folk music that’s not commonly heard in Sri Lanka.   

The trio, since 1989 has multiplied in the number of varied musical talents and vocalists that have changed Flame’s membership from a quartet to an octet, depending on their line-up for a show. Additions and popular members of the band over the years include - Ikram Miskin, Siraj Saboor,  Suranga Fonseka, Primal Liyanage, Joe Lappen, Chamath Ariyadasa, Rafi Buksh, Lal De Silva, Lenny Vittachchi, Shane De Silva, Allan Outschoorn, Ranjan Josiah, Kamal Perera, Chris De Alwis, Nishantha de Abrew, and Niroshan de Silva. Flame’s first female member, and the latest singer to collaborate with the band, is Anne Jayamanne. She will add pop and jazz to Flame’s repertoire.

Flame loves the 60s, 70s and 80s. These three eras are featured heavily in their repertoire. When the band starts to play the first notes of their most popular covers by the Eagles, the Bee Gees, the Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, or James Taylor… the crowd goes wild. As the band grew in numbers and talent, they were able to add music from the 80s and 90s, and successfully experiment with popular tunes that demanded rock, jazz, disco and Latin variations. Today, Flame caters to the young and the old, and the musical tastes that come with each generation.

Flame was formally recognized in 1994 when they won the prestigious Folk Band of the Year award at the Golden Clef Awards, a competition judged by notable figures in the music industry. International recognition for the band also came from the German airline, Lufthansa which was enthralled by one of its local performances, and decided to sign up the band to perform at corporate events in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi.

The band was also invited to tour Dubai in 2009, New York in 2010, Doha in 2011 and Australia in 2012 where foreign and local audiences couldn’t get enough of famous songs that were covered to perfection by the band. Flame plays 150 to 200 gigs every year and they are booked well in to 2013 to play locally and overseas.

The Journey will be Flame’s first concert, to be held on 11 November 2012 at 7 p.m. at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. The decision to stage an exclusive concert came two years ago when the band celebrated its 20th anniversary.  Flame considers the 70s and 80s to be music’s golden ages. They are also the two eras that best describes the band’s formation and popularity.

The Journey promises to give the audiences a one-of-a-kind concert, rocking with talent and 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. Former band members are also set to take the stage with their old crew to treat Flame’s most dedicated fans.  

The Journey will be compered by Viran Corea. Tickets are priced between Rs. 750 and Rs. 3,000 and are available at the Jaic Hilton and the Bishop’s College Auditorium. The fun will continue for the concert-goers who are all invited to an after-party at Park Street Mews!