What Does it Take to Form The Best Party Band in Singapore?

From multiple auditions to stalking musicians, forming GRAVITY, one of Singapore’s most electrifying bands, was no easy feat

Forming a band isn’t easy especially for a country like Singapore. When chasing the 5 C’s and climbing the corporate ladder are life goals instilled from cradle to the grave, playing music isn’t very much encouraged as a viable career path. This is why finding a good live band on the little red dot is like finding a good show on Netflix. When you start you’ll just binge watch it till the end and hope the next season won’t be a disappointment. 

On the contrary, Singapore definitely does have the right talent in this department if you know where to look. The country’s vibrant busking community and alternative nightlife scene are great places to find these hidden morsels of talent. The second obstacle in forming a band is chemistry. Even if all your band members are great at performing individually, getting them to gel together to make some tunes without their egos getting in the way is a different story altogether.

As a veteran in the nightlife industry who started out as a DJ in clubs to owning a successful events company, Sha Hussain’s dream was to form the best party band in Singapore that could get any crowd on their feet, no matter how challenging that may be. 

“I wanted to create a live band that was different from many out there who just perform songs as background music while reading lyrics from their phones or iPads for 3 sets. That’s not ‘live’ music to me,” said Sha Hussain, founder for The Executive Group and manager for GRAVITY. “It was very important for this band to have stage presence and to leave a lasting impression on anyone that listened to them.”

The Hunt for Talent

Forming GRAVITY was also a passion project for the band’s lead vocalist Julianne Costa who is also Sha’s partner in crime and life partner. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Julianne had performed with bands on tours across Asia, Middle East and the US in her heyday before moving to Singapore to settle down with Sha to start a family.

The global pandemic was the catalyst that made her think about going back on stage but finding the right band members with the right chemistry and passion for performing was a crucial factor in this journey.

One of the main challenges in this talent search was that this was the year 2021 where restrictions on live music were still at play in many areas, as Singapore and the rest of the world was only just coming out of the Covid restrictions and people were still skeptical about gathering in crowds. 

To overcome this, Sha and Julianne had to resort to ‘stalking’ potential musicians they received by word of mouth through their social media feeds and painstakingly going through multiple videos of their past performances online to see who had the right ‘fit’.

After many rounds of interviews and screenings, the list of shortlisted candidates were ultimately decided based on their impressive portfolios and diverse music styles with all of them having performed with international acts in multiple countries. Now all that was left was to get them together under one roof and fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. 

Creating the GRAVITY Vibe

As each of the band members hail from various parts of the world (US, Australia, Colombia, Singapore)  are influenced by different music genres, and have different personalities, GRAVITY’s overall sound needed to include all these elements.

For example, band members that exude high energy in their sets like lead guitarist, Luke, and bassist Teague, would need to not overshadow Navin (drums) and Brian (keyboards) who are usually more relaxed and laid back. While having also possessing amazing vocals comparable to UK singer Adele, lead vocalist Julianne also had to make sure that the band complemented her stage presence and the focus would not only be on her during performances.

To strike the right balance and to give each musician the opportunity to showcase their respective skills, the band experimented with different songs during rehearsals and gave their own unique spin to familiar tunes with certain emphasis by each of them at different parts whether it was a drum or guitar solo.

Another key differentiating factor of GRAVITY is how the band interacts with audiences by getting them to participate in performances through games and activities. Different scenarios were rehearsed with the band on many occasions to see what are some of the best ways to interact with the crowd and encourage participation.

It’s Showtime!

Fast forward to the present and GRAVITY has made a name in Singapore’s live music scene over the past 2 years since they began their journey. Apart from having performed in clubs such as BRIX at The Grand Hyatt and YANG Club at Clarke Quay, GRAVITY has also cemented its reputation as the only live entertainment act in Singapore that performs with a host for Dinner and Dance parties as part of the ‘Sha and Gravity Showtime’ experience with Emcee Sha.

“We wanted to disrupt the usual D&D party scene with something no other events company in Singapore has done before. Instead of hiring different entertainment acts like magicians and bands as part of an event programme, why not combine music and entertainment together for a more seamless experience?” Sha Hussain commented.

With Singapore’s ‘Live’ music scene heating up at the moment and more partygoers craving for live music acts, the future looks bright for GRAVITY.

To find out more about GRAVITY and its awesome band members or to hire them for your next corporate event or private party  go to https://executivegroup.com.sg/gravity/