-says Guyanese musician Lee Fung-A-Fat

FOR Lee Fung-A-Fat, music is more than just about entertainment. It brings him the sort of happiness that he wishes everyone else can experience. Thus, he uses it as a means of promoting good vibes and unity.

He was introduced to music at a young age through the piano and was inspired by wonderful teachers such as Marilyn Dewar of Dewars’ Music School and his squash coach Carl Ince, who would teach him how to play the guitar during their breaks.

With his love for music nurtured from such a tender age, Lee began collaborating with his friends to push for local content music with the goal of giving Guyana ‘a taste’ of the rock scene as well as its other genres.

“I have been lucky to play at weddings and proms and now collaborate with our Rock concerts to give Guyana a live music taste,” he shared in an interview with the Buzz earlier this week.

He added, “Music brings me happiness and I want to give others that feeling as well. It is an honour to hear fans and attendees tell us how much they’ve enjoyed our performance and can’t wait for another show.”

Lee is a part of three local bands that have racked up quite a respected reputation over the years. There is ‘Project X’ – a heavy metal/alternative rock band – and then there’s ‘Keep Your Day Job’ where Lee plays punk rock.

“It’s the best of both worlds and I recently started my own band called the ‘Warm up Band.’ My new band enjoys playing covers, whether it’s Blink 182, Nirvana, Artic Monkeys; psychedelic music such as Tame Impala to the Oldies but Goldies such as The Beatles, Queen, etc. I enjoy music and I challenge myself to learn it and play it and even sometimes sing it,” he shared.

Lee is happy to have been a part of “Feed the Flames”, his old band which he said “had the opportunity to be the new guys on the scene who were quickly accepted by other legendary bands such as Brutus.”

“Seeing others sing along to the song you play and even get up and dance allows us to feel honoured to play it. And having other friends start their bands because we encouraged them to just pick up an instrument and go for it…,” are what Lee described as being among some of his notable accomplishments in the industry so far.

In future, he wants to work on having many local bands come together for one big festival where Guyana can host and invite other bands in neighbouring countries to participate. “Perhaps it can be an annual festival to showcase our talent to the world. I strongly believe music brings unity to everything and everyone.”

As a word of advice to budding musicians, he said: “Just go play! Go and show everyone what your talent is; whether it’s to sing or play the guitar! Don’t be afraid to take chances and don’t let anyone hold you back. Always remember why you enjoy what you do and keep at it. And lastly, be humble about it.”

Lee is currently gearing up for the “Rocktober” show scheduled for October 15 at Black Magenta (Georgetown Club).