You may remember previous posts in relation to Perth’s up and coming band, Raksha, (our youngest grandson is one of the founding members). Several of the members of the band stayed with me early last year whilst they were competing in the Busselton Battle of the Bands competition. They won.

Since the Busselton Battle of the Bands they’ve added several more accolades to their name. The competitions I’m aware of that they entered and won last year are:

Good Shepherd Battle of the Bands
Flyrite Band Comp
Pilerats Jamboree

Last year also saw the release of their first EP titled Emerald. They’re going from strength to strength on the Perth music scene, and are now topping the bills at some events.

 

Last week a new single was released, ‘Feel it again‘, which is now available on Spotify, iTunes and Google play. It’s good – I do hope you’ll have a listen. Shortly they’ll be releasing another single,my favourite of all their songs ‘Mindless Consumption’. And a further EP is due for release soon.

Tim from timgreenfilms.com.au considers himself lucky to have been asked to make a couple of videos of the band surrounding this latest release. There’s some footage in the videos on Tim Green’s site taken in the recording studio. The band clearly enjoyed the recording, and it’s worth taking a look to see some of the recording process…..

For this blog post on the band I’ve decided to predominantly focus on the Bass player, Clint Barrett.

Following a gig on the week-end Clint posted the following on social media,

“Yet again another gig that tops the lot. The view from the stage last night was simply incredible. Being able to see the smiling faces of friends in between the blinding phone torches, to the fist pumps and whistles……..

Then he goes on to state,

“A night I will always remember. Seriously I’m going to be doing this for as long as I possibly can! Nothing can ever beat the feeling of being on stage with these beautiful people.

Then Clint thanked all of Raksha’s supporters, and stated that, It’s changed his life!

So much enthusiasm from a such a dedicated and talented young musician was enough to inspire me to add my own praise and acknowledgments of this particular member of Raksha.

Clint started playing guitar at five, but Bass is his passion. He plays to his audience by experimenting with certain beats, and finds he can get the audience dancing in different ways. He also played sax for eight years, but admits to not having picked that up in a while. Myself, being a lover of jazz, hope to one day see Clint introducing a bit of Sax, or/and double bass to Raksha’s repertoire. Indeed, there’s already a little bit of jazz that often creeps into their songs.

He’s currently studying for his final year at Uni for a degree in Mechatronic Engineering. I believe that’s his fall back plan – Music is his first love.

Apart from studying for his degree, and giving his all to Raksha for rehearsals, gigs and recording time, Clint also plays in the Metro Big Band on the WA circuit. Additionally, he does some blues shows with a few of the oldies around Perth. Some of the names that have come up you may be familiar with: Roy Daniel and Ace Follington, (rhythm section – Dave Hole, Richard Clapton)…

The Metro Big Band consists of several honours graduates from the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). I believe that they, along with Clint on Bass, will shortly be doing an Ella Fitzgerald tribute night at the Ellington Jazz Club.

So, as you can see Clint is no numpty. He’s enough ‘smarts’ to be studying for his degree, and he plays a variety of instruments in a variety of styles. He plays well. He’s talented, and dedicated to his music, but as all successful musicians will attest, a bit of luck is also needed to hit the big time. I do hope that bit of luck comes Clint’s way.

I’ll be adding some more posts soon on Raksha. I’m not quite sure what their style is – they’ve entered and won competitions in all sorts of styles from folk to gozzy rock (whatever that is). They write all their own music and lyrics. They’re a talented bunch who sometimes include circus tricks in their performances (the band was originally formed by three members attending a circus school). Their lead singer, Amber Skates,  has a passion for musicals, and can include playing the lead of Maria in a Perth production of, The Sound of Music amongst her resume. Several of the members have been accepted into WAAPA, so their musical talent is by no means ‘garage only’ stuff.

I think they’re pretty good. I hope you’ll take the time to have a listen to their latest release, Feel it Again, by Raksha on spotify, iTunes or google play. I know a lot of my readers are from an older generation, and Raksha’s style may not be to your liking – in which case I hope you’ll introduce your youngsters to them. Let me know what you, or they think?