Dolcy D’Cruz
From October 15, 2004 to April 1, 2005, FM Rainbow, Goa, presented ‘Idea Nite of the Fortnight’, a pioneering 12-episode chat-cum-live band series that ran at the All India Radio auditorium in Panjim. Conceived, devised, hosted and produced by RJs Savio de Noronha and Bambino Dias, the programme brought together 12 of Goa’s leading bands, Alcatrazz, Sky High, Crimson Tide, Tidal Wave, L’ace, Cascades, The Big Country Band, Lynx, Purple Rain, Renegade, Pure Magic and Forefront. Alcatrazz opened the series, while Forefront performed in the final episode.
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Today, Bambino is a prominent Doordarshan anchor and coordinator, while Savio is Director of DD Goa. The idea grew from the duo’s desire to give Goan musicians a larger platform while allowing audiences to discover the personalities behind the performers. “We were running a radio series called ‘Star of the Month’, where we would feature well-known personalities from the field of Tiatr. We began with legends like Prince Jacob, H Britton and others. Following the great success of this venture, we knew we wanted to push the envelope even further,” recalls Bambino.
Savio adds, “We thought, why not showcase Goa’s greatest bands live in concert? In fact, we could even get to know the lighter side of their lives, away from the music, away from the stage.”
The pair began developing the concept and looking for sponsorship. Their efforts received a major boost when they met Goan musician Elvis D’Souza, who was then working with a leading telecom company. “He immediately took the idea forward to Rahul Pandey, the Regional Head, who instantly agreed to back us,” says Bambino.
With sponsorship secured, the All India Radio auditorium in Panjim became the setting for the series. The shows combined live performances with informal conversations about the musicians’ childhoods, careers, humorous experiences, achievements and challenges. The auditorium was packed throughout the run, reflecting the strength of Goa’s live-band culture at the time. Each band was required to perform at least one original composition, with songs exploring themes ranging from love and peace to contemporary events such as the tsunami. Many of the compositions were bilingual, blending English and Konkani.
“Nite of the Fortnight’ ran for six spectacular months and created Indian radio history by becoming the first and, till now, the only chat-cum-music concert series in our country,” says Savio. The success of the series culminated in the release of the album ‘Idea Nite of the Fortnight’ on November 20, 2005. Produced by Men At Work Productions, it brought together original compositions performed by the participating bands.
“We got Goa’s top bands on board for an exclusive cruise, and pop icon Hema Sardessai officially released our album, which has now become an absolute collector’s item,” says Bambino. In 2006, the programme entered the Limca Book of Records, adding another milestone to the project. “The ultimate validation came in 2006 when this incredible feat officially entered the Limca Book of Records. Looking back, it truly was an idea that changed our lives forever,” says Savio.
Purple Rain performed the Konkani song ‘Ooh La La Ooh’, a song about Goa. Franky Fernandes from Ribandar, who has been associated with the band since its formation in 1985, remembers the experience vividly. “It was a very new experience, something completely different. It was the first time the band were playing on radio, and that too in front of a live audience, while the programme was simultaneously being broadcast. It was quite exciting. We had to do a different type of sound check so that it sounded better on the radio rather than just sounding good in the hall. The quality of the recording had to be right,” he recalls.
The bands participating in the programme were required to perform an original composition. For Purple Rain, this was not a problem, as the band had already released its album ‘Bala Bala Music’ to mark its 20th anniversary in 2005. Purple Rain’s original lineup included Acacio Tavares, Marcelino Fernandes on keyboards, Tony on drums and Elvis D’Souza on bass guitar. For the album, Purple Rain deliberately chose a Konkani song. “We thought that since this was a Goan album coming out, we should include a Goan song,” says Franky. Another song in the band’s repertoire, ‘Hello Lady’, was composed by Elvis D’Souza and was also a part of this album. The current lineup of the band includes Larina D’Souza, Ashly Fernandes and Emman Dias.
Sky High, meanwhile, brought its own Goan perspective to the album with ‘Jump’. Formed in 1996, the band’s original lineup featured Blasio Pinto on vocals, Collins Dias on keyboards, Elvis Alves on guitar, John Sequeira on bass and Aurville Rodrigues on drums. Written by vocalist Blasio, the song celebrated the carefree side of life in Goa. “We came up with this song called ‘Jump’, which is about Goa, the lighter side of life in Goa. It’s an English song with one line in Hindi, and Blasio Pinto, the singer of the band, wrote the song,” Aurville recalls.
More than two decades later, ‘Jump’ got a new lease of life. With Sky High having reunited, and new members, Anthony Fernandes on bass, Silvia Fernandes on vocals and Jerry Correira on keyboards, joining the band, ‘Jump’ was remixed and released in video for the new version. “We released the video for the remixed version because we have formed the band again,” says Aurville.
Sky High took a break in 2020 but began rehearsing again this year.
Silvia Fernandes is no stranger to the Idea Nite of the Fortnight story. She was previously a vocalist with Pure Magic, another band that featured in the series, and had written a song, ‘Kuch Haseen Pal’ for that band
Errol Andrade’s own musical journey has also been closely linked to some of the bands featured on the ‘Idea Nite of the Fortnight’ album. At the time of the programme, he was a member of Renegade. Today, he is also associated with Crimson Tide, another band that featured on the album. The Renegade lineup at the time comprised Xavier Pacheco on guitar, Trevor Mendes on keyboards, Casimiro D’Costa on bass, Michael Fernandes on vocals, Jerry Noronha on drums and Errol Andrade on guitar and vocals.
“It was a good experience. One thing was that we got an audience in front of us. It was a small audience, family and friends who came. And the other was playing live on radio, which was something very unique for Goa. It was a first for Goa.”
Renegade performed the original song ‘We Helped the People’, written by Michael Fernandes and Trevor Mendes, with contributions from the rest of the band. Errol feels that the programme encouraged musicians to take their own songwriting more seriously. He says, “It was a good initiative. Back then, we didn’t realise it, but trying to make your own music is always good. We wrote, and then we realised that there was a capacity to write, that you could do songs if we put our minds together.” Unfortunately, Renegade eventually disbanded.
Errol now also creates his own original instrumentals. One of his compositions, ‘Isabelle’, has been played on AIR, while another guitar instrumental is currently being polished for release.
For Goa’s bands, too, ‘Idea Nite of the Fortnight’ left a lasting legacy. Now that the album is available on Spotify and YouTube, it is set to reach a wider audience and find many more listeners.
