Undying love for music
HERE were not many extra mural activities offered in Clare Estate where a young Sykes Maheeph was raised.
While some children spent their free time kicking around a ball or dabbling in cricket, Maheeph whiled away his time in front of his family’s recorder listening to music by bands like the Shadows, Ventures and Los Pepitos.
“When I listened to the guitar being strummed, it somehow made me feel calm. It captivated my mind and left me mesmerised. I did not want to be anywhere else but listening to the music.
“Back then my parents could not afford to buy me a guitar or send me for lessons, so I had no choice but to get creative,” said Maheeph, now aged 60.
Using an old gallon oil tin, a plank and fishing line, he made his very own guitar.
“I remember just sitting at home and strumming away for hours.”
Noticing his passion, an uncle bought him a Bellini guitar when he turned 13 and a cousin taught him his first chord.
“I listened to other musicians play and subsequently learnt to play the instrument on my own.”
After he matriculated, he worked as a teller at the post office and later joined the group Oriental Limelite.
“It was 1975 and bands were all the rage. We catered for the young and the old performing eastern and western music. We played throughout KZN at shows, concerts, weddings and birthday parties.” In 1979 the band broke up. This provided an opportunity for Maheeph to start his own group.
“I started the band Scorpio and recruited four ex-members from Oriental Limelite. We became a household name at numerous clubs in Durban, including Club Lotus in the old Prince Edward Street, Aquarius Restaurant in Reservoir Hills and the Eden Rock Hotel along the beach front.”
In 1981 Maheeph left the group and joined Kreme, the resident band at the Island Hotel in Isipingo.
“The atmosphere at the Island Hotel was electric. People flocked to the hotel to listen to our music. During my time with Kreme, we recorded an instrumental album under a company called Raj Music and that was a phenomenal experience.”
As Maheeph grew in the music industry, he drew inspiration from musicians that included Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana.
In 1995 he joined Tropical Heat and they were based near the Durban Harbour.
“The most interesting thing about being in different bands was the types of people we met. With this band, I got to meet sailors who would come through to have a drink and they used to speak about their experiences out at sea.”
In 2000 he joined Belltones at the Balmoral Hotel on the beach front.
After two years with them, Maheeph, who was retrenched from the post office, dropped out of the music scene to open and focus on a car dealership business.
He was back on stage six years later with the band Backline, who played at Club 33 in uMhlanga Rocks.
“It was good to be back on stage and in front of a crowd and after a year with Backline I started freelancing for other bands, eventually landing a spot as a guitarist on the floating restaurant La Vue.”
Maheeph has, however, taken a break this year to care for his daughter Mayusha, who suffers with a rare genetic condition, Cornelia de Lange Syndrome. It is a developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body.
He said the state of music from back in his heyday to now had changed.
“The excitement of musicians and audience interaction was what it was all about. One felt the spirit of the music. In the band business things changed drastically with the advancement of computer technology, resulting in one man bands depending on backing tracks.”
Maheeph believes the audience for live music is increasing and he intends on reviving his group, Scorpio.