In the Drummer's Den

Drummer Louis John Pinto, aka Gumby, talks exclusively to Images on Sunday about the new studio he set up with Mauj-frontman Omran Shafique and ace-bassist Khalid Khan, record producers, and what's next in store for him.

A cool breeze rushes over the roof of this inconspicuous Zamzama apartment. The night sky is illuminated by the lights of the passing cars because there’s no power at the moment. But the inhabitants of this rooftop do not mind, they are used to it. I’m introduced the moment I arrive. “Have you met my friends?” asks Louis John Pinto, better known to the world as Gumby. Sitting on a water tank are three prominent musicians waiting for the power to return: Omran Shafique, Khalid Khan and John Saville. A few moments of pleasant talk later the power comes back – and for these musicians – so does their purpose. Several minutes later, Gumby enters his den and everybody starts to jam.

The musicians fall into a groove instantly. With Khalid and John, all it takes is a look and a glance, and the two match their notes and chords according to what Gumby has in mind. Just as Omran gets his guitar tuned, he too joins the group. As a live act, these people are truly a treat to experience but this practice jam is something else. It’s a kind of a behind-the-scenes look, a glance into something one hardly gets to see every day. Within the 20 minutes in which these four people play, hardly a word is spoken.

“I’m constantly thinking about what’s next, I don’t dwell in the past at all.” Anyone who knows Gumby knows that that’s very true. Far from someone to retreat and hibernate, Gumby has been a slow and steady part of most of the recent musical achievements by Pakistani musicians. After a tumultuous and a very public break up from Noori, Gumby’s catharsis has resulted in an explosion of work. Maryam Kizilbash, Kaavish, Ali Azmat, Kolachi Quartet, Raeth, Zeb and Haniya, and not to mention the Coke Studio (CS) projects, are just some of the albums or projects that he’s been a part of in recent times. He speaks of these experiences with a tone of respect and excitement; however it was his experience with CS that really outshines the rest of them. “I was blessed to have been a part of that. I mean there are other drummers that they could’ve taken, but they took me and I thought that it was an honor to be a part of such an expansive project and especially to work with Rohail.” Throughout our conversation, Rohail Hyatt’s name would be heard time and again, and each time it would only re-instate Gumby’s admiration and respect for the Vital Signs-member-turned-CS project leader.

“So basically, this was what was next for me: a place of my own,” Gumby said, sitting in a cozy sofa and table arrangement, a unique and quirky arrangement considering this is actually the studio itself. “This place actually belongs to one of our friends,” he said, adding that “he was about to sell it and not wanting to let go of this opportunity, and the place itself, I spoke to Momo (Omran Shafiqe) and Khalid. Together, we saved it for ourselves. We jam here, we play here, we record here – everything related to music.” He went on to say that even though it’s his studio, there will be an arsenal of musicians that will come here, just perhaps to jam even. Besides jamming and recording is his intention to become a producer for musicians? “Yes,” he responded, “that’s my direction.” He added that he wants to take on that role in a gradual process rather than relying on his equipment and gear. As for his own album he has started to work on it, but his vision is to “keep a simple and uncomplicated approach to music.” The only reason why it’s taking so much time is that for him (as a rhythm player) it takes a while to approach compositions.

I ask him about the dogged act of actually putting out an album via a record label. “That depends on what your point is, personally, I don’t give it much thought. All I want is to get my kind of music out there and if the record labels don’t think too much of it, I’ll just put it online.” His words echo the ordeal of bands like Mauj and Kaavish, who were stifled due to their albums being delayed for a long time.

Regarding his new studio, does that mean that now if a musician wants to record with Gumby they would have to come to his studio? “Yes, with the exception of CS, because it requires such a huge set up. I think for my sound, this place is one of the best in the country.” Hearing about CS, I ask him about what’s next in store for him and the project. “There is talk of it,” remaining tight-lipped on the details, “I’m pretty thankful about them having chosen me.” He also attributes his attendance to both CS and Rohail, whom he again showers with praise. Since Rohail is also a producer, albeit a former musician, does that mean Gumby is comfortable working with producers who are musicians? “Yes, that’s true. It’s more of a comfortable spot for me, since we both understand the dynamics. And partly this studio was also inspired by him and the way he works,” he adds that, “there are two kinds of producers; one tells you how your music should fit in with the song and the other tells you how great it sounds. If I’m coming up with all the parts by myself and they’re just saying, ‘yeah that sounds great’, that’s just technical basic stuff, even I can do that.”

“To be honest, I set up this place because I was sick of those producers who know nothing about music – who can’t even tell the difference between two chords – and end up being producers.” His statement clearly alludes to a rumoured scuffle between him and a certain producer. My next question to him was – to their credit – don’t these producers work with a lot of musicians who may/may not have a problem working with them? “Well, it’s all about how much of a victim you want to be,” Gumby said. “You’re either a victim of not being able to afford the best musicians and producers with the best knowledge or you’re a victim of not knowing what music is at all.” He further stated that if people can’t afford the best, they obviously go to people who aren’t professionals. “It’s sad that this country has only four producers and five drummers.” Clearly, Gumby is one of those rare individuals who isn’t afraid of speaking their mind. He is quick to add that “everybody has their own perception of their music and they’re pretty defensive about it.”

I can’t help but ask Gumby, given his nature and his past – somewhat rocky – experiences, won’t all of this (the studio) make him seem more arrogant in their eyes? Gumby’s reaction is nonchalant. “If arrogance means that I know what music is, how to make it, and that I have the best-equipped studio, then yes, I’m arrogant.” Clearly he is unmoved by any of the remarks made against him. Instead, he is diving in head first into his studio work.

Currently, he’s working on a project with a guitarist/musician by the name of Taimur. “He’s pretty awesome, Taimur is quite the guitarist and although he doesn’t play around and you may not have heard of him, he has his own songs, in English.” Gumby also said that Taimur’s songs were heavily influenced by 90s rock and Alice in Chains in particular. Apart from that he is also working on a song for another group, whose name he has not yet revealed. “I’m excited about that too, but I can’t tell you just yet.”

There are musicians like Gumby, never far from the heat of controversy, and yet always focused on the music at hand. For musicians like Gumby, music is a way of life as it has been for him since childhood. After all that has happened and has been said, it’s pretty loud and clear, like the sound of a drum: in the den of this drummer, the man who holds the drumsticks is king.

Profile shoot
Designer: Kash Hussain
Photography: FAYYAZ AHMED
Styling: Sajid
Model: Gumby, Khalid & Omran 'Momo' Shafique
Fashion Editor & co-ordination: Madeeha Syed

The people don't give a flying funk… but the band did!

Gumby, Omran, Khalid and Sheldon gather for a raw and wired jam session…

Once upon a time, jam sessions were all the rage. It was when The Munchkins led the pack and gigs happened almost every weekend. Those were quite the days for music. These days jam groups have coalesced and members of each often meet up and have special gigs like this one.

'I don't give a flying funk' was one such special gig held at the PACC Auditorium and featured the iconic Gumby on drums, Omran Shafique on guitars, Khalid Khan on bass and Rachel Viccaji on vocals. The line up also featured a trio of guest vocalists, namely Sheldon Emmanuel, Taimur from Lahore and Karavan's Tanseer Dar.

"I've been having these gigs on and off for about 8 to 10 years now. Every time it's something different and special. This time, after being busy with Coke Studio season two for so long, we had a couple of gigs including the 'Summer Jam' and we wanted to do it at least one more time," said Gumby to Instep.

Gumby then shared the idea with Omran Shafique, the groovy guitar man of Mauj who quickly agreed to the idea.

"All I had to do was to contact the others. Khalid is always around and is eager to jam," recalled Gumby. He also added that gigs like these give musicians like himself a chance to jam with younger musicians and at the same time, gives the young musicians a chance to perform a gig with Gumby, Omran and Khalid. "It's all about giving new people a chance to collaborate with us and if the chemistry's there, then we can collaborate on other stuff too."

Customarily, the gig started an hour late, but the crowd (that arrived late) hardly complained. Everybody was eager to check out the super jam group that was about to perform.

The gig kicked off with a cover of Kings of Leon's 'Sex on Fire'. Omran, Gumby and Khalid immediately settled into their individual instruments like hand in glove. Rachel Viccaji's vocals added an interesting twist to the alternative indie track whereas Omran's crunchy guitar drove the song ahead.

Then came Sheldon Emmanuel on stage, much to the delight of the audience. To be honest, I had only heard of Sheldon before and when I did hear him sing, I could understand what the rage was all about. His ability not to mimic a song but to emulate it is what makes him special.

'Superstitious', originally by Stevie Wonder, is one such song on which Sheldon truly let his vocals shine through.

As soon as the tune finished Omran, Gumby and Khalid steamed onto another crowd favorite, 'Foxy Lady' and Sheldon joined them without missing a single beat. Hendrix covers are very popular at such gigs, but not that many guitar players can do justice to a Hendrix performance and here Omran shows that he is not one of those many.

Sheldon made his exit with Rolling Stones' 'Satisfaction'. The crowd seemed disappointed to see Sheldon go, but he left the stage with reassuring words, "I'll be back."

The band introduced a relatively new singer to Karachi, that is Taimur. He seemed nervous as she shuffled onto the stage, but as soon as the song began, it was pretty clear why Taimur had been given the opportunity to perform along with the band.

'Come Together', a Beatles number, is probably where things slowed down a bit. Perhaps it was the previous three song rollercoaster from before, but the band's energy seemed to wane. As for Taimur's performance, though one song is too little to judge from, his singing clearly shows that the young singer does have a special spark.

The band's next track was a real oldie this time, straight out of a Motown Classic; 'Baby Love' by the Supremes with Rachel on vocals. Rachel's singing continued after with Alanis Morissette's 'Ironic'. The band seemed to pick their pace once again as Rachel channeled Alanis' irony and the crowd had joined in too!

Keeping true to his promise, Sheldon once again came back on stage and once again, the crowd applauded his presence. Sheldon is a rare breed of singer, the kind that sings for the pleasure of singing. With each performance he seems to lose himself in the song and bring out the best from it.

'One Drop' is an old Bob Marley song that Sheldon and the band made their own. A change of pace brings out an all new song altogether, something that Sheldon truly appreciates. "If it's the same song when you sing it, then why bother covering it in the first place?" he asks and rightfully so, what makes a gig like this special is that you hear familiar songs with a breath of fresh air.

Sheldon himself is a practitioner of performing songs in single takes as much as he can, "I do a song once or twice just to get the feel and then just go with the flow." With his talented vocals it's no wonder why, but will we get to hear from him outside of gigs? "I don't think so, unless I get to sing in English, because my Urdu is very weak." It's a shame that a singer has to be limited by the language barrier but here's hoping that Sheldon does get his chance soon.

Continuing with Bob Marley, the band then performed 'Get up, stand up', though more interpretive and less emulative. Having said that, not many cover groups here would perform such songs and getting to hear them being performed is quite a treat unto itself. Hot Chocolate's 'You Sexy Thing' was up next and Sheldon continued to sing to his heart's content. It didn't bother him that there weren't that many people in the crowd to begin with-what seemed to fuel him was the fact that the people that were there were enjoying his singing.

Also on the playing bill was Tanseer Dar as a special guest. While he may have caused much anxiety and ache to the soul of Michael Jackson with his singing of 'Smooth Criminal', his performance of the Foo Fighter song 'Pretender' fared much better with the crowd. Finally, the band ended the show with 'Been a Long Time, a Led Zeppelin classic.

This was probably one of the better shows of the year so far, though it wasn't big as the recent Independence Day gig held at Carlton. But it came with a sense of intimacy and closeness. But that wasn't inviting enough to pull in a crowd. As Gumby said after the gig, "We didn't even break even. Half the people who showed up were on the guest list." Doesn't that show that the price tag for the gig was too steep?

"600 is a reasonable amount to give for a gig like this. I mean, don't people pay that much for a meal? Some people can even afford to pay 10 to 20,000 for a table at a prestigious ball," stated Gumby.

This time people lost a chance to see some great singers and some great musicians perform. But then, knowing Gumby and the others, this wasn't the last time we'll be hearing or seeing them again and perhaps more people will be there too.

All that Kolachi Jazz

They say that jazz is an acquired taste.

If that is so, then Karachi has quite the appetite for Jazz. On a brisk Saturday evening, the jazz/fusion supergroup, the Kolachi Quartet performed a gig at the PACC.

The who's who of the entertainment industry loitered around the entrance of the inner-theatre, where the concert was set to take place. TV stars, musicians, photographers, models, all mingled with the band members, a sight not particularly seen before the concert – or come to think of it, at any concert.

The group is comprised of varied musicians. Pakistan's prominent percussionist Gumby, handles the drums; classical guitarist Abbas Premjee helms the guitar; Khalid Khan of Aaroh provides the bass lines; finally to round things off, Emu of Fuzon fame, chimes in with his synthesizer and keyboards.

The Kolachi Quartet has performed before, but that was a special performance, away from the prying eyes of the public. This time around, they have opened their doors and although there weren't enough members of the general public around, the group's provided a very interesting performance.

As the lights dimmed, the musicians took to the stage. They looked relaxed, grinning at each other, obviously knowing what they were about to do.

Abbas greeted the audience and announced the track the name of the track, "Oops." Like a well oiled machine, each musician fell into place. At first, it doesn't seem that out of the ordinary, four musicians playing in a band. When you put them in their individual perspectives, that's where the interesting bit kicks in. Each of them brings their own flair and passion, each sound is different, yet when they all come together, their music gels perfectly.

The track itself was jumpy and upbeat, filled with the jazzy and fusion sound and gave a sneak peak for the audience what the show is all about. "That sinking feeling" followed and it was when the band shifted gears into a slower tune. The crowd seemed to sink itself into each tune and although Jazz is ambient music, the band made sure they were center of attention. An untitled piece follows: "We haven't given this one a name yet, but we call it the Kirwani Jam," says Premjee. The piece begins with an erratic but stable beat and pretty soon the audience gets into the groove.

The band then welcomed Zara on the stage. The singer has been previously heard on the "Khuda Key Liye" soundtrack and although she does justice to the film, her live singing is a bit less impressive. "Suniye Jee" is a soft ballad, Zara's vocals sinking into the ambience created by the band. At times, she seems a bit lost, but through the most of it, she's on track. After another track with Zara, the band then took a break as Abbas Premjee took the stage to perform a few solo compositions. The audience watched with awe and wonder as Abbas plucked and strummed two different pieces. From crescendos to soft whispers, Abbas clearly showed off his training in the guitar—and the audience loved it.

The band re-groups and then is joined by singer Irfan on stage. Irfan is a folk singer from Multan and sings in his native tongue. Although he stumbles a bit at first (perhaps due to some technical glitch) as the songs move on, he finds his own temperament and settles in with the band.

After the concert, the band spoke about the premise of the concert with much glee. It was clear that not only did they enjoy playing as a group, but they did so as individual musicians as well.

"This was probably more for us as musicians than as a band performing for an audience," spoke Gumby. Emu agrees, "It's just something that had to be done. As a musician, I've always been into Jazz – I was trained in it – but had never had the opportunity to play it live or as a part of a band." Khalid said, "I enjoyed playing with them, this was our first public concert and it was amazing."

When asked if they would ever release an album, Gumby replied "Every piece that was played in the concert – except for one – was an improvisation piece. We've practiced a basic structure, but apart from that, it's all something that happens once every concert. It's not something that can be captured on a disc, it has to be done live, in front of an audience." Emu reiterates this fact, "This is total improvisation, which is the essence of Jazz music." Guitarist Premjee echoes the sentiments of his fellow band members, "Jazz music is spontaneous, you can't have that on a disc, its meant to be played live—hence, we'd like to do more shows." Bassist Khalid Khan echoed his band members but added, "We can probably look into a record but at the moment, we're planning on doing more shows."

However, the band faces one criticism. Jazz music as a genre is extremely niche in Pakistan at the moment. There are very few people who play it, and even fewer who can appreciate it. "That's right," agrees Gumby, "it is niche, but at the same time, we're doing it and it's not like nobody came to the show." Emu says, "It is very niche, but then we had so many people show up at our show and because of that support we now have more shows lined up!" Whereas the majority of the band agrees upon its niche genre, Abbas Premjee has a different view: "I don't think its niche at all and if it is its less than ghazals and everything else that we have." Premjee insists that more shows will lead up to jazz becoming a broader genre than it already is.

Although we can expect more from Kolachi Quartet, the members themselves have a busy schedule up ahead. Premjee spoke about his solo album "Elements" and that it would be released shortly. Khalid Khan spoke about Aaroh, "We're working on some new songs that will lead into a new album." Meanwhile, Emu and his band continue to broaden their audiences, "We're [Fuzon] going to India again soon, so that should be exciting." Finally, and not the least, Gumby has his hands full too, with working on Abbas Premjee's album, providing drums for other people, like Kaavish's upcoming record and ultimately, more Kolachi Quartet shows.

The concert itself was probably the first of its kind, and it’s a shame not enough people get to experience it the first time around—but according to the band, more shows are around the corner so that the most of Karachi can experience the sounds of the Kolachi Quartet.