Stane shoots video at the Civic Centre

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Wednesday November 3, 2010 00:00

I remember one Francistowner ,Theo Seemule, who used to have a collection of rock music when we were at the Botswana Institute of Administration and Commerce (BIAC).

Those were the days of Lee jeans and the Bostonian boots.  It was the time of the Hippies as they were called or 'Ma-Rock'.  My own baptism into music was through this genre. 

In fact, my first LPs were all of rock music.  I still have those LPs of groups like Grand Funk's Survival, Bad Company and Pink Flyod's Another Break On The Wall.  In the '80s, some of the popular international rock groups included Led Zeplin, ACDC, Kiss, Queen, Judas Priest, Deep Purple and many others who inspired many people, including Batswana. 

So locally we had our own rock group - the Lobatse- based Nosey Road.  Nosey Road was in fact, the first rock band in the country to release an album.  But many rock groups have since been formed and one of them, known as Stane, shot their DVD at the Gaborone Civic Centre last Saturday. 

The group shot a DVD of their album, Maintainers Of Brutality, which was released last year.  The Saturday show was organised by Stane for the purpose of shooting their video.  The footage is going to be used as part of the content in the upcoming Stane DVD package next year. According to the group, the festival is unique and the first of its kind in the history of heavy metal in the country.  There were multi-stage lights and stage effects, which were projected on a large screen that acted as the background. 

Smoke machines and compact sound engineered to perfection were on the menu.   The show organisers said tickets sold like hot cake.  'It appears that no one wanted to be left out because they wanted to be part of the footage captured for the upcoming project,' the group said.  One of the members of the group, Motlapele Majama, said after Saturday's show, they intend to tour South Africa and Namibia.  He said they have already been invited to shows in South Africa. 

Majama, who does not resemble a rocker with torn jeans and chains, said they are networking with rock groups outside the country.  One of the groups that they have performed with is Rhutz.  They have also staged shows with local groups.

 Throughout the years, Stane has played along side a number of local groups like Metal Orizon, Crackdust, Nosey Road, Wrust, Nodd and Stealth.  Majama said another local group, Wrust has been making inroads into the international arena.  He said Wrust performed with a top Brazilian group, Sepultura, in South Africa.   The members of the group include Ephraim Seleka, Onkabetse Seleka, Puni Khudo, Zacharia Seleka and Majama. Stane's strong bond is highly tight due to the fact that three members of group are brothers.  Majama told Showbiz that they have staged shows in places like Maun, Rakops, Mochudi, Francistown and Kanye.  The group released its debut album last year.  Majama said the album has been doing well on the market.  'Our copies have been sold out,' he said.  He insisted that rock music is still popular in the country.  'It has a huge following,' he said.  According to him, rock appeals to people of all ages and it cuts across sex.