Encomium
If a roll call of the leading comic merchants in Nigeria is to be taken, Julius ‘de genius’ Agwu would arguably be at the top, same could be said of his live music band- The Reel Laif Band. The decade old band is a brand child of the Julius Agwu. A band of vibrant and creative young minds, working as a close-knit family, they churn out rhythmic melodies and in their words, they are versatile.
In a series of interviews with Encomium Weekly, the founder of the band, Julius Agwu, the band leader and the band members – they revealed what make the band tick and more…
‘We are the band to beat’- JULIUS AGWU, FOUNDER
What inspired you to set up the Reel Laif Band?
I started as an actor, from where I went into comedy and into music. I released my first album, that was also when I created the ‘musicomedy’ concept. Coincidentally, I met Awilo Logomba yesterday (July 23), whose song I remade, which made Julius Agwu a household name. That was in the early 2000s. In 2001, I started Crack Ya Ribs. Setting up a band was critical to exploring my ‘musicomedy’ concept. I also like live music. I enjoy the whole chemistry and synergy of me singing. So, setting up the band was for people to see Julius Agwu in all his tentacles.
What were the things you looked out for in the selection of the members of the band?
Some of them were already musicians and performers in their own ways, so I handpicked them, though there were some greenhorns among them, who after they joined, picked up.
What genre of music would you say the Reel Laif Band specializes at?
We perform every genre of music. You should know that the band also performs independent of Julius Agwu, and they perform all kinds of songs; from hip-hop, to R’n’B, to Nigerian songs, hip life, gospel, fuji, juju, highlife, even Jazz. The beauty of the band is we perform both old school and contemporary music.
There are many bands out there, what stands the Reel Laif Band out from the rest?
What stands us out is that whatever other bands can do, we do extraordinarily. Another thing is that it is headed by a comedian, so, inspite of the serious aspect, when it comes to comical aspect we stand out. I’ve trained them to be as flexible as possible, thus they can fit into any ceremony – be it wedding, anniversary, funerals – we cover the whole spectrum of events and ceremonies. I can confidently say we are the band to beat.
How long?
Like play like play, the band has been on for close to years now. Like I said, I needed to showcase myself in all facets. The band is like an ensemble of musicians and performers.
There seems to be a dearth of live music bands in Nigeria. Why do you think this is so?
What happened is the digital age – the digitalisation of everything. That has made it easier and simple to go into the studio and just create a beat, and someone will just sing on it. Nobody cares again about the dexterity of music. A lot of musicians just prepare to lip synch or mime, forgetting that live music is actually where it really lies. Another reason is the fact that when a live music band hands their bill to event organizers they scream and run away because it’s expensive. A live music band is a big team, you have to take care of the payments such as performance fee, rehearsal fee and other logistics. For other artistes, it’s easier because it’s just an individual, they just come and play their CD. For instance, those who have been around for a long while – the likes of Onyeka Onwenu, Bright Chimezie, King Sunny Ade, Ras Kimono – they play with a live band. It shows your versatility.
You are a comedian, musician, band leader, business man with your own shows, husband, father. How do you juggle all these?
It’s God! It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our sight
‘We are going places’- PRINCE OMODOT, BAND LEADER
I’m married with two children, from Akwa-Ibom state. I’m the band leader, also a drummer in the band.
I’ve been leading this band since inception. Leading this band has been a great experience. Going to different places, performing at concerts, parties, clubs, it’s been fun.
Though I’m the band leader, but I don’t really have veto power. What I do is I delegate responsibilities, though I’m the band leader, but we have a music director, that’s our keyboardist.
Most times, when things are not going right, he corrects it. We score our songs and rehearse a lot. We are very hard working.
We have very good relationship. We understand ourselves, though we argue, but it is to put things right. We are like a family here. It’s very good!
The togetherness in the band, the love we share and our flow, if you have all these things in your band, you’ll do very well. Because aside the skills, the band members need to have good character.
We do a variety of music. We do all kinds of music, there are songs other bands would not do, but we do all of them. For instance, highlife – some bands don’t do highlife. We do rock ‘n’ roll, hip-hop, naija songs, we are very versatile, that’s what makes us unique.
‘We are like a family’ – EFE SMITH, LEAD GUITARIST
I’m Efe Smith from Delta state, I’m married with one child. I play the rhythm guitar, that is the lead guitar, in the band. I’ve been in the band for two years, and I must say my experience has been good. We are like a family in the band, it’s a creative place.
When we are rehearsing a song, sometimes we have different ideas, but we consider all the ideas and see which is best, then we go for it.
Sometimes we disagree to agree, but we have good relationship. Reel Laif Band is very unique. One thing I love about this band is that we do variety, we cannot be exhausted.
We work with the same spirit’ – EMEKA SOLOMON, BAND VOCALIST
I’m Solomon Emeka Gabriel, I’m from Anambra state, but I grew in Enugu.
I’m a singer, I do highlife, country, naija hip-hop, rock ‘n’ roll and other slow tempo songs in the band.
What attracted me to the band was the uniqueness and the togetherness of the band members. I have been part of this band for about six months now. The first thing I look at whenever I go to a place is behaviour of the people. When I joined Reel Laif Band, I noticed that they were matured people, who understand the business. It’s one thing to do business, it’s another thing to understand it. We are very co-ordinated on stage, we have cohesion. I understand this business as I have played in several other bands. We get along with each other very well. We work with the same spirit. It’s a thing of the spirit
‘We understand music’ – GLORIA OBINNA, BAND SOUL VOCALIST
I’m Gloria Obinna, from Imo State. I’m the chorus singer in the band, I do more of soul. I’ve been in the band for about four months now, and I’ve had fun so far. I’ve had to work on myself to become better, it’s been good. Since I joined the band, I’ve learnt to be more accommodating, my performance on stage has improved, and some other things. We are a unique band, we have clear sound. Everyone is friendly, nobody is ‘bossy’, so we are good. We rehearse every week (specifically Wednesdays), and we score our songs. Most members of this band went to music school, so we understand music very well.
‘We are a versatile band’ – DAVID NWOKEOCHA, BASS GUITARIST
I’m David Ogbua Nwokeocha, from Abia state, Ohafia local government. I play the bass guitar in the band, my role is very important. I’ve been in the band for six months. My experience has been fun since I joined the band. I’ve met a lot of people like Mike Aremu, learnt new things, it’s been very good. The band has a good musician; you’d like to play with good a instrument, that is what it is with our band. During our rehearsals we share ideas; we don’t just throw away anybody’s idea. What we do is work on all the ideas and brings out the best. We are a versatile band, we do highlife, naija songs, and many others. We have variety.
‘We go the extreme’- GABRIEL FATEYE, VOCALIST
My name is Gabriel Fateye, a.k.a. Feranmi. I’m a singer born to a singing family, my mom sings, my dad sings as well. I’m a vocalist in the band, I do the Yoruba highlife songs mainly in the band. In the Reel Laif Band, we love each other, nobody acts like he is above the other person, I just love this band. Everyone in the band can sing well. We are very versatile, I can’t pinpoint one genre of music that I’ll say we specialize in. We go to the extreme when rehearsing, that’s why we are very good at what we do. We have a strong bond between us. Even when I came into the band, I felt like I’ve known the members long before. Though we argue, which is normal, but we have a very good relationship with each other.
-MICHAEL NWOKIKE
