DAYS OF GRUNGE,rock and metal

Demi HEWAMANNA

After days of waiting to get their visas organized to Afghanistan and then playing in Kabul for 3 days and with so many memories and stories to be told, the Earthlings are back in the sands of Sri Lanka.

These four boys are none other than the guys from Paranoid Earthling, who were truly excited about their gig, the applause and appreciation they received over there. I caught up with the guys to know what they were up to over there.

“We went to Afghanistan to perform at the Sound Central Music Festival which was held for the second time in Kabul. This is Afghanistan and Central Asia's first regional rock music festival and I believe that this the first time that a Sri Lankan band has gone to this area of the world. We got this opportunity thanks to Warren, who recommended us and got us to come there”, lead vocalist Mirshad Buckman said.

“The place is so much like how Sri Lanka used to be when the Rock Company was there. It has the same energy that our people had on the music even though it’s a suppressed society”, Mirshad added.

We were out of Colombo for 10 days and it was mostly because we were in India trying to sort out the visas to go to Afghanistan and been there we got the chance to do a small gig as well. Once we landed in Kabul, it truly was something else. The international media has really exaggerated about places like this and they never show the good part of the country. Kabul reminded me of Colombo during the time of our war. Even though there was fighting going on people were still on the road doing their thing and living their life with a constant fear.

Speaking of fear, the did tell me that they had to be confined in their room by the organizers as there was bomb threat in the area because of the concert. They also added that the venue of the concert is not revealed until the day of the concert for safety of the place and the people.

The country is just full of mountains, 2000 meters up above sea level, greens but on the other hand very dusty and at night, the weather gets really cold (more colder than Nuwera Eliya) and my fingers were all numb at that time.

We were taken out of Kabul to an area called Parshir with clear streams of water flowing through the valleys, mountains and clean clear long roads. And while driving, you can see areas marked in white and red for land minds. The area marked in white meant that it was clear of landmines and the other area marked in red meant they were unclear.

From the moment we got there, we were treated wonderfully and were given a great hospitality. We met a lot of people and the food was great too and their main consumption is lamb. There are less people who try to rip you off there. Even when it comes to a cab, if there are two people in the cab and they see another two people on the road, they will pick them up and they will have to pay for only their seats.

The three day festival began with one night only for the women. As laws are very strict for women and they do not have the freedom as of here, that day was held specially for them to have a good time and enjoy the music festival and other events.

It was good for us to meet familiar faces when we met up with Kabul Dreams who is an alternate/pop rock band. We met them in 2009 for the South Asia Band Festival. Then there is a band called District Unknown who is one of the biggest band in that region and all their music is original.

We did a site show at an international club for about 200 people who really did enjoy our grunge. When we got on stage, we were just loved. Even though people heard our music for the first time, they loved everything and more than covers they love originals. They said they haven't seen something like this before. More than 1500 people turned up for the festival. There were two stages, one was the main stage for the musicians and the other was the one for workshops to interact with one another of artists who were showing their talents in paintings and other things. Most of the acts were by Afghans.

Ruwanthi who is the band’s manager had a lot of experience as well.

“When Festival organizers invited us to perform in Afghanistan, we were really excited! Afghanistan: not the average tourist destination and definitely not the entertainment centre in the region. To our friends and family, going to Afghanistan seemed like a really crazy idea. We had to overcome certain bureaucratic hurdles to get our visas but eventually we made it to Kabul, Afghanistan”, Ruwanthi added.

Fashion tip from the organizers: cover your head (if you’re a woman) as soon as you land!

When we boarded the plane from New Delhi, we attracted a lot of attention from other passengers; our guitars, long hair and a woman not covering her head did the job! We ride into Kabul, a city torn by war, now undergoing a reconstructive surgery; lots of construction taking place and the road network is being revamped. We enter into the “Ring of Steel” the green zone or the most secure area in Kabul. We are taken to a restaurant/lounge called the Venue where we would spend most of our time during our stay.

Whenever you are in an enclosed space, you can remove your headgear but when you are out in the open on the street, you’re required to cover your head. This was such an alien experience to me that sometimes I actually forgot to cover my head! People know that you’re not Afghan so they don’t expect much from you. If you’re a white woman, then you’re considered a 3rd gender, according to an Australian woman I met. Most women I saw on the road were wearing burkhas, the others always covered their heads.

Whether you cover your head or not, you are bound to attract a lot of stares, some of which are not very friendly, if you are a foreign woman. In addition to covering your head, women are expected to wear long tops covering the posterior.

Most Afghan women that we met during the festival were young and very friendly but some of them could not stay on till the evening to see the bands: cultural restrictions – young girls are not allowed to go out at night. So the audience was predominantly male. I did not see a single woman dancing to DJ music at the second stage of the festival venue – it was pretty much a gentlemen’s affair.

The three-day Festival had one whole day accessible only for women “the Women’s Day”. There were only about 50 women in the audience but that’s quite an achievement given the cultural and religious restrictions that women there undergo on a daily basis. Only the acts with a female performer/artist could perform on this day. So the Earthlings did not get to perform on the Women’s Day!

I had the chance of having a chat with Afghanistan’s first female hip-hop artist, an 18 year old girl who sang about the ‘new generation of Afghans’. She received a lot of support from the audience however, she was concerned about media publicity due to security reasons – this demonstrates the hardships that women have still to go through. Another female artist, Ariana Delawari, an Afghan-American, dedicated one of her songs ‘Be Gone Taliban’ to the girls of Afghanistan.

All in all, the only difference that I experienced as a woman (compared to my male friends) was where I had to cover my head in public. This was not so bad because my stay there was short but for women who live there it’s a completely different story. Living in a society restricted by religious tradition is very challenging. Under the Taliban rule, girls and women were subject to severe restrictions, most of which were inhuman and appalling. It was a sad experience to learn that Afghanistan has one of lowest female literacy rates in the world (around 12 percent I believe). But from what I have seen, things are changing. Revolution is making its way into Afghanistan; despite its slow pace, (and the heavy US social and economic influence) it is welcomed by the Afghan youth. So yes, freedom of expression is on the rise!

Speaking of the event, after 35 years a concert of such heights has been organized in an area that the Taliban regiment banned recorded music when they controlled Afghanistan during 1992 to 2001. Having this event is a way of building solidarity through the simple way of music.

The other bands who have come from the area and around the world are Ariana Delwari (Afghan-World), System Unknown Live (Australia), Ser Raymond & DJ City Power (Aus/UK), White City (Aus/UK/Sw), District Unknown (Afghan), Izzy & The P.P.P (Aus/Fr/Sw), Kabul Dreams (Afghan), Lap o Jap (Af/Aus), Morcha (Afghan), 4Q2 (Aus/UK/Fr), Ring of Steel (Af/Aus), Haroun Omar (Afghan), Bon Enfants (US/Mex), DJ Mirwaz J (Afghan), Sulleiman Omar (Afghan), Parwaz Puppet Theatre (Afghan), Vibra Lab (Aus/Sw), FM/Face Off (Afghan) and Notb412 (Aus/Fr).