ONE MAN, ONE STORY AND MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS
When we hear the word “BAND” the picture that is formed in our mind is of a group about five to six people (or more) and multiple instruments. But have you ever thought or imagined a single person playing all the instruments all by himself/herself? No, I am not kidding! I am serious. There is an existing term for it known as “One Man Band”. One man band is a person that plays several different instruments at the same time using their hands, feet, limbs and many mechanical or electronic contraptions. Some one-man bands sing while they play several instruments. One of the most commonly seen types of a one-man band is a person who sings and plays the guitar and a harmonica that is mounted in a metal “Harp rack” below the mouth. And as the level of one-man-band gets higher the more complicated it gets i.e. the number of instruments that the musician has to play will increase. The instruments can be wind instruments that will be strapped around the musicians neck, a large bass drum that will be on the musicians back along with a beater which will be connected to a foot pedal, cymbals strapped in between the knees or will be triggered by a pedal mechanism, tambourines and maracas tied to the limbs and a string instrument like Banjo, Ukulele or a guitar that will be strapped over the shoulders. When we talk about India there is only one man band who is still in practice.
Gladson Peter
Belonging to Maharashtra, Gladson Peter is one of the one man bands Mumbai. He performs to spread awareness about the dangers of smoking. As a teenager, he lost a part of one of his lungs. But know he plays thirteen instruments using a kit which weighs around twenty-five kilograms. He plays the Ukulele while blowing a Harmonica and smashing a cymbal with his foot. With an ability to play about forty-five instruments he claims to be India’s only one-man-band. Peter plays covers of the songs of Ed Sheeran. If you want to hire instrumentalist then you can book this one-man-band for great entertainment. Peter said to AFP that “My shows are the hook through which I share my message that can change someone’s life. Many people have come up to me and apologized for tobacco consumption and have quit smoking”. He thought that he could never play wind instruments again. After that, he decided to form a one man bands Mumbai, and played eleven instruments as a part of his anti-smoking awareness campaign. He has played in more than two hundred concerts in India.
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