Kaiche: Engineer turned musician
December 2, 1997
Martin Wamunyima
Lusaka
He is proud of his early life in a village in Samfya where among his
pastimes was fishing and hunting using dogs. He has little time for
Zambians with phoney accents or those who pretend to know English better
than the Queen of England herself or those who claim to have no villages
other than the city.
His name is Pontiano Kaiche - the latest sensation on the local music
front who early this year gave up an engineering career to devote his time
to music. Kaiche, who describes his music as country-folk, is determined
to prove that a career in music is not a dead end in Zambia and is so far
happy with his achievements since turning professional last February.
By July he had become the first local musician to record a CD master and
an audio cassette, "Katyetye", which have both generated so much public
interest that he plans to produce 2,000 additional tapes next month. He
is sure of making it as a professional musician in Zambia because he is
out to change the perception held by most Zambians that musicians should
play for free.
To demonstrate his resolve, Kaiche charges no less than $100 (net) for a
four-hour performance when he is hired at weddings and dinners. "You may
think $100 is a lot of money for a four-hour performance but you have got
to realise that music is an expensive venture".
He blames fellow musicians for failing to bargain for better deals, saying
many preferred to be paid beer and a little cash which they would again
spend on the drink. The entertainer says: "The problem is a lot of
musicians are not serious. They are willing to play for peanuts as long
as they are promised beer. They hold themselves to blame because they
send wrong signals to clients".
But does he drink himself? "No, I don't and I don't smoke. I do not want
to say I have never drunk beer in my life. Whether or not I used to I have
now stopped on religious grounds". In 1993 he was converted to the Bahai
Faith religion after he was attracted by its message of seeking global
peace, unity in diversity and the promotion of equal rights for men and
women.
Born on November 29, 1958, Kaiche's interest in music dates back to the
late 60s when as a primary school boy he played the banjo at evening
camp fires to entertain members of visiting school teams. At that time
he was playing "Katontola" brand of music which has evolved into modern day
Kalindula. In 1973 he left Samfya for boarding school at Lusaka's Kamwala
Secondary School after passing his grade seven examinations. While there
he learnt to play the six-string guitar.
"It didn't take me long to master the guitar because my fingers were
already used to playing the banjo". In 1977 while doing form five, Kaiche
formed a band called 'Sounds of Jupiter' which specialised in zamrock,
jazz and hardrock. The same year he went for National Service at Katete
where after completing the military training he joined the Drama and
Cultural club. After completing the 20 months compulsory national service
training, Kaiche went to then Zambia Institute of Technology (ZIT) and
now Copperbelt University (CBU) to study Civil Engineering.
While there he continued to play music and participate in drama. In 1983
after graduating he joined ZCCM's Mufulira division where he teamed up
with Teddy Chilambe, another renowned folk musician. He recorded six
singles with Chilambe but the two split two years later for what Kaiche
prefers to call 'technical reasons'.
The same year in September he was seconded to Zambia Engineering Services,
a subsidiary of ZCCM, in Ashford, England for two years. While there he
studied for a higher national certificate in civil engineering and a
diploma in engineering management. During his spare time he played in
pubs in and around Ashford and curtain raising for a band called Winstone
and the Churchills. After returning from England in 1987 he quit the mines
and joined Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) as a civil and refractory
engineer before leaving two years later to become chief building
superintendent at National Airports Corporation (NAC).
He then joined Rankin Consultants as a senior engineer before going on
an indefinite leave to pursue music. For Kaiche, who can be reached at
Contact Bureau, Anchor House, the sky is the limit because unlike other
Zambian musicians he gives the people what they want. He says: "The
problem is most Zambian musicians want to play foreign music while the
Zambians now want to listen to local music these days". On that score
he would do well to diversify into as many local languages as possible
to capture a wider audience. Marital status? He is a divorcee with one
daughter who because nostalgic memories of his disastrous first marriage
prefers to bid his time before the real 'Miss Right' comes along. Any
takers?
©Copyright 1997, Times of Zambia
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