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Germantown: Reaching greater heights

Fardin Akbar Hyderi
“Bhule shob truti, amra chhuti, shob baclha periye, amra chhuti, amra shadhin...”
The lyrics of the popular song of Germantown, “Amra Shadhin”, most certainly caught the attention of many. It aptly describes the lives of most young people, or anyone for that matter, who try everyday to take one step forward towards their dream and one step away from their obstacles and reach the goal they intend to and be independent; a lot like what these five friends who formed the band Germantown are doing on a regular basis. In 2005, the new age classic rock band was introduced to Dhaka. Govering Guns N Roses and AC/DC songs such as “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Highway to Hell”, Germantown attained popularity a lot faster than expected. They made their debut in July 2005, starting with small gigs at cafes and lounges, and the responses they received for their classic rock song covers were outstanding.
At one point in all our lives, for the slightest fraction of a second, being in a band and playing rock songs with fancy Gibson guitars and long Mick Jagger-like hair, with the crowd in a big stadium singing along with us, is a very enticing fantasy. Some of us walk towards something related to that image, and some of us leave it behind as a process of "growing up”. For the members of Germantown, something similar to that image was in their minds all along when they first started jamming. It started out pretty simple, much like all new bands. Samwan Rob, the current lead vocalist of this band, was practicing his daily guitar chords and his cousin, Rafsan Risal, vocalist and guitarist, was practicing the regular songs and guitar improvisation when the two of them got together one day and started jamming. The talented duo realised that they were pretty good and their covers were pretty spot-on but it just wasn’t complete. Later, bassist Nabil Khan and drummer Rafatul Bari Labib were asked to join by Rob and Risal for playing small gigs at schools and New Year eve parties. They called themselves ’Vermilion’ at that time.
"We played together for two years prior to Germantown's formation in 2005. All of us got better doing shows here and there,” said Samwan Rob. He added, “We sounded 'on pitch', and having fun was effortless. Germantown was officially formed in July 2005, a few days before we performed our first public gig.”
Mouri, the current lead vocalist of Germantown, joined the band later. They decided to change the name of the band from Vermilion to Germantown. The band had some great success and started earning recognition since early 2008 when they started playing at concerts along with already popular bands such as Black and Cryptic Fate.
“Over the years, we included alternative, brit-rock and even funk in our repertoire. We covered anything that we felt was fun to play and made sure we had at least one new cover at every gig that no other band played,” — the members of
Germantown said when asked what drew audiences' attention.
The first single track of Germantown, “Amra Shadhin”, got widely popular when it got released over the net and forums. This was the breakthrough hit for the band in 2008. “We didn't expect the song to make us this popular over the internet. It was catchy, the lyrics meant something to the listeners, and we had a fresh sound. People just picked it up. The main instrumentation was based on an old demo clip that we put together. We liked it to the point that we wanted a full song out of it. Rafsan joined in to finish the lyrics and laid down the vocal melodies for the verses. Rafa helped us record the song,” according to the band.
The band is not hyper at all, and is not rushing to record albums for get
widely popular in the mainstream. Germantown seems to be mostly about these five friends who love performing on stage. “We don't plan on anything besides enjoying our musical adventures as we go on with our lives. This can mean a really long break, or even a sudden spurt of summer shows. You might never see an album, or you just might. Rest assured, you'll never hear us stop playing,” said Rob when asked about the future of the band.
Friends, with guitars and smiles on all their faces, playing good music, shadow drumming for beats and covering or making new songs whenever they get together is what Germantown is all about. They seem like they are least bothered about being famous. They know that at the end of the day, making music makes them happy, and that's priceless.