She’s got the balls to rock it
FRESHLYGROUND LEAD SINGER PLAYS WITH THE BIG BOYS
Possibly the only thing better than that is we are bringing attention to and lending our voices in the fight against an invisible but lethal enemy – cancer.
Music maven joins a 10-man rock band.
It takes a lot of balls to be a rock star. Even bigger gonads if you’re the sole female sharing the stage with people like Francois van Coke. But trust Zolani Mahola to play with the big boys.
After giving birth to her second son earlier this year, the Afropop superstar and Freshlyground lead singer definitely didn’t disappear from the scene. She featured on Jack Parow’s Sama-winning track Army of One, got jiggy with it as a guest judge on The Voice and next month she will be the first woman to join the male-dominated rock group Blood Brothers.
Blood Brothers made history as South Africa’s first rock super group when they banded together at Carnival City and the Grand West Casino last year. This year nine of South Africa’s biggest rock musicians will be joined by the pint-sized Mahola to share the stage and their renditions of their favourite international rock tracks in a killer three-hour set.
Mahola joins Van Coke (vocals), George van der Spuy (vocals), Albert Frost (vocals), Kobus de Kock (vocals), Hunter Kennedy (guitar), Rian Zietsman (guitar), Jason Hinch (drums), Isaac Klawansky (drums) and Loedi Van Renen (bass and guitar) on September 9 at Carnival City for the Johannesburg leg of the show.
Mahola knows many of her band-mates, thanks to her Cape Town musical roots, and she says it’s been relatively easy to prepare for this show.
“I think the main thing is staying connected. Today it’s easy to do that.
“We create a big WhatsApp group and keep connected. We can talk to each other and know what to do.
“It’s the best way to schedule everything between the Cape Town and Joburg contingent,” says Mahola.
She seems at ease to be the first woman to join the band, and with good reason.
The two 2016 Blood Brothers’ concerts have tremendous heart. Their sole aim is to support the Vrede Foundation to fight cancer among young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 29, while also providing aid to similarly aged youngsters battling the disease.
It’s an initiative the singer is happy to be part of.
“Possibly the only thing better than that is that we are bringing attention to and lending our voices in the fight against an invisible but lethal enemy – cancer,” she says.
The gig comes at a unique time for the singer. After working on several collaborations, she is finally working with her Freshlyground family on a new album.
“This year my biggest project has been my kids, actually a lot of my focus goes into rearing kids, but also working on Freshlyground’s new music, but I can’t say too much,” Mahola teases. The band last released an album in 2013
(The Legend) but they have been busy touring the world since then.
Mahola admits that her schedule has changed since becoming a mother again, and that factors into the gigs she takes since falling pregnant again.
“Right now I can take my six-month-old son on the road with me, because I’m still breastfeeding him, but he also comes first.
“We (Freshlyground) actually had a North American tour lined up for June, but my baby got sick and we had to cancel. But right now, I don’t have much lined up – just working on our new music,” she chirps.
That’s not to say she’s not preparing herself mentally for Blood Brothers. The show is a taxing three hours.
“Listen, from what I gathered, even the guys say it’s long, and it’s going to take a substantial amount of energy, but we’ll get it done.”