Thursday, January 1, 2009

Five & Dime Band


Five & Dime is a premier 5-piece band; comprising exceptionally tasteful and versatile musicians. Fronting the band is showman extraordinaire Vijay David. He is accompanied by Vishnu Shakthi on vocals, keyboards and acoustic guitar, Rik Omar on drums, Eric Kok on lead guitar and Tapai on bass. What makes Five & Dime stand out from the rest is the wealth of experience and sheer versatility from each of it's five members. The added ability to anticipate each others thoughts and direction while performing is almost telepathic in nature makes a Five & Dime show an unforgettable experience.

Vijay David is one of the country's top vocalist with a career that spans over 20 years and he is highly-regarded among his peers. He has performed at almost every known club for live music throughout Malaysia, Singapore and Asia. In March 2008, he opened the "TOTO" live concert in Cyberjaya.

Vijay is much sought after for concerts and corporate functions, having shone at a variety of road shows and events which includes the F1 Toyota Road show, National Panasonic Music Extravaganza, Carlsberg MusicFest and a number of Petronas's mega concerts. Besides live performances, Vijay is also behind some of the most famous jingles heard on TV and radio, and has sang in sessions with the some of the country's top artistes which includes Shima, Ella, Elaine Kang, Sara Loo, DJ Dave, Fauziah Latiff, Khatijah Ibrahim, Michael Veerapen, Mac Chew, Jenny Chin, Lewis Pragasam, Paul Ponnudorai and late Sudirman Haji Arshad.

Vishnu Shakthi is part of the trio, SWV who were winners of the Centrestage Competition. He is also a popular solo artiste who has earned him the distinction of being one of the most talented and versatile musician with amazing vocals to match. He plays the keyboards and acoustic guitar. Vishnu studied music, sound engineering and production in the UK and graduated with honors in commercial music. He composed the theme music for the 2001 Commonwealth Game Show Get Set Go as well as music for a local drama, Idaman, ASTRO in the same year.

Dummer Rik Omar is no new comer to the entertainment circuit. He has backed most of the top singers and artistes of the 80's and 90's besides being the late Sudirman's regular drummer for five years. Rik also produced the ground-breaking "Face First" album featuring top local and foreign musicians. Saxophonist Eric Marenthial, best known for his work with Chick Corea also co-produced and guest performed on the album.

Bassist Mohd Faddli is more affectionately known as Tapai in the entertainment circuit. He is a member of the popular band, Headwind now known as Niskala. Tapai co-owns a recording studio and is behind the creative production of a number of albums featuring local and foreign artistes. His recent accolade includes the production of the 2008 AIM award-winning Tamil local album "Kanmani" by Martin Zamigano.

Adding to the musical wealth of the band is the affable Eric Kok. Eric is an accomplished and stylish guitarist who is much sought-after by famous local and foreign artistes to perform in live concerts and recordings. He has played in sessions with the who's who of the entertainment industry which includes Ning Baizura, Siti Nurhaliza, Kris Dayanti, Erra Fazira, Anuar Zain, Datuk Sharifah Aini, Remy Inuendo and Adibah Noor. In 2007, he performed at the Penang Jazz Fest with Datuk Leonard Tan and was also a judge for the Yamaha Asian Beat Competition in the same year. He has composed and arranged scores for various dance and theatre productions for The Actors Studio, the Five Arts Centre and the Hong Kong Dance Festival. With a diploma in music (ASK), Eric is also a guitar instructor who's known to greatly inspire his students.

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