Favela has rekindled the spark for the 45 plus generation with a classic throwback on their music
was simpler then. And yes, the music was so much better. The songs had
something to say and the music was simply great. Unlike the fare that is dished
out these days. The lyrics painted a picture that told a story and songs had
greater life. For a large section of the over forties it was a time they cherished.
Many grew up listening to Abba, Boney M, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. Many
hoped sounds like these would come back in some form or the other.
In a world dedicated to entertaining the GenX, the generation
then needs to be cared for.
A start was made in Goa when Classic Circus Edition 1 was
launched a month earlier to test the waters and see if there was a void in this
genre – the music of the ‘60s and ‘70s. The response was, to put it rather
mildly, overwhelming. Classic Circus got in the audiences in numbers and was a
huge success, post which, Classic Circus 2 has come to being.
Gregg Furtado, one of the co-creators of the concept along with
Amit Bhakle, said, “It started off with a feeling, the feeling became an idea,
and the idea hopefully will become a revolution. We have managed to give a
generation not too many are caring for, a thank you event. We are not just
shaking hands but moving our feet with them.”
This time around, the show promises to be different to the first
as it has evolved into something bigger and will keep evolving as the show goes
on. They’ve added a guitar player and two backing vocals to bring in a concert
style performance and give the audiences a better, fuller show.
Every Classic Circus promises newer songs and will cover a vast
genre of music from the likes of Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Ray Charles,
Cliff Richard, Phil Collins, to name a few.
Classic Circus is extremely grateful and proud of all the very
talented musicians and singers who have opted to give back with the amazing
talent that they have been given.
As we reported in the first edition of Classic Circus, the band
is made up of Raul D’Mello on the vocals, Daryl Rodrigues on keyboard, Jonathan
Dias on drums and Diego Fernandes on bass. Raul has opened concerts for
international artistes like Ricky Martin, Andy Williams, Buddy Greco, Jack
Jones and Diana King and mostly has been the only Indian to be a part of that
stage. Daryl Rodrigues has played with big Indian artistes like Louis Banks,
Leslie Lewis and Hariharan to name a few. Diego Fernandes is the founder member
of the Goan band ‘Syndicate’. Jonathan Dias is a part of the band Raul with
Ragas To Riches and has also been the drummer for Remo Fernandes.
To understand Raul’s achievement, the crowd sees him as he saw
himself, a musical craftsperson who has created a new kind of classic retro
show, experimenting to capture the entanglements of love for music of the mid
1960s with his peers singing some old classics.
Perhaps a walk into the Favela at Baga from 9 pm on Sunday would
help get the new week off to a right start.
As Silvestre Gomes, aka Silu, not quite old enough for the
generation of the swinging sixties but influenced by it, said after going for the
launch of the classic series, “It was like listening to music at home or with
your childhood buddies. Every song is linked to lovely memories”. Classic
memories, one might add.
