When one goes to a concert or a show where the mainperformers are bands, one automatically focuses on the lead singer and (if itis a rock band), the lead guitarist. Or so it was in the past. The musicculture has now seen a slow change in this hierarchy. Drummers have now come tothe fore in their own right. Renowned drummer Lester Godinho says, “With theadvent of percussionists and the fact that bands have now become smaller,drummers now have the ability to showcase themselves. Some drummers even addthe tabla to percussions and have started a new trend by introducing this newconcept to music.”
Percussion is basically hand oriented and it is relativelyeasy for a drummer to focus on percussion and implement it in his style orgenre of music. However, in Goa, very few places actually teach the art ofpercussion.
Internationally renowned Goan percussionist, CarlosGonsalves opines, “Even until a few years ago, there was a lot of grey areawith regard to a drummer’s level of importance in an ensemble. Bands wereidentified with by their guitarists or the vocalists. Today, that is not thecase. For instance, independent drummers are now recognised. On aninternational scale, in other parts of the country, we have Sivamani and RanjitBarot who have staked their claim to fame. Even at my gigs, if there is atechnical issue of sorts and the other instruments are unable to begin, thepercussions can still go on, until the problem is resolved, and the show can goon.”
There is gradual rise of live music in Goa with a lot ofyoung musicians showing shown a keen interest in jazz as well. It remains to beseen if drummers actually use this trend of the rise of live music to theiradvantage and showcase their skills more. Lester Godinho says, “Goa is the bestplace for live music as of now. First it used to be Mumbai but that is slowlydying down there. However musicians by and large do not get the treatment theydeserve.”
