Kees gets his day

Imagine Kees Dieffenthaller and his little sister, Heidi, playing doll house! “I would have a GI Joe (toy soldier) swinging into her doll house to kidnap Barbie and Heidi would be screaming,” said the Dutch/German-named 23-year-old who celebrated his birthday on March 12. That picture perfect moment would later evoke a lot of laughs when the two sit back and reminisce on their childhood days. Now, when they meet, Kees (pronounced K-eece) would solicit Heidi’s opinion on his attire before he goes off to a performance, and maybe seek a little business advice too! She has the “head” for it, he said.

Good-natured, fun-loving, free-spirited and a lover of chocolate ice-cream with chocolate syrup are descriptive of his character. His elder brothers Hans and Jon (pronounced Yon), on the other hand, help bring out his “creative juices” – writing songs and choosing the right musical tones when on stage. It’s hard to separate the threesome, who, together with Michelle Xavier, “big brother” Hilton Dalzell, Joey Ng Wai and Riad Boochoon, make up Imij and  Co. His elder sisters, Renee and Danielle, and girlfriend Terry also lend their support. “Jamming with my brothers,” is what he enjoys best. Their first real band, “Rydimorai,” was a springboard for what came later – an Anchorage Pop/Rock Award title in 1999 with their successive band “Limestone.” Little did they know that the birth of that union occurred some 16 years ago when, at age seven, Kees and his siblings hosted a mini-concert in the backyard of their parents’ home in Palmiste. He recalled the event clearly: “We made a drum kit, got old guitars and amps. We invited friends from school and we rock out.” “Music, music, music” at the home of the Dieffenthallers, the encouragement of his mother, Deanna, a classical singer, and the “pestering” of his Presentation College (San Fernando) music teacher Cynthia Lee Mack were the reasons he cited for choosing a career in music, rather than becoming a surgeon.

“After leaving off the choir in primary school and entering secondary school, you’re at the age where you start to define yourself; and being in the choir was seen as something for sissys. I remember Miss Lee Mack telling me I had a good voice and I had to sing for her. Ah try to sing a bad note but I was still chosen for the choir,” he recalled. Kees made the high notes too and sang alongside schoolmate, baritone Michael Zephyrine who is currently pursuing a degree in music at the Manhattan School of Music, New York. He was also a member of the choir at St Mary’s College, where he pursued A’levels. “But I was all-rounded. I was involved in track and field and football. It was rare that someone would be involved in that and in the choir at the same time. I ran sprint. I was always the smallest but I was fast and I represented the school at zonals. But it was two different worlds for me. Music was me, about my experience and sports now was about competition, ‘I better than you’.” The field activities were balanced off with his full slate of seven O’level passes in the sciences. Though saddened by the move from his sprawling San Fernando home to more humble settings in Diego Martin after his father George, lost his job, he remained focused on his work. “I’ve had tough times, good times, sad times and seen success and failure. We had a group in school called ‘Klas’ and the money we made from singing at weddings and parties used to pay for my books. I’ve been in all situations and that has built my character.”

However, he misses the “simple life in south” and the “big yard where I did all my soul-searching” — add to that the parties. Just then he decided to put medicine studies on hold and give music “a shot.” “I said I was only young once and my parents were not surprised. They weren’t mortally afraid for me but they said give it a shot, but if you have time go and study something.” Kees related: “Then I started to grow my hair, I always wanted to do it. It just felt natural, and when I did my father didn’t speak to me for a week, so I cut it and said I’d wait for the right time. After (leaving) school I started to question what I believed in. Mom reads a lot of spiritual books and at the time I was searching for truth… So I said it was either I’m going to do something to please somebody else or do something for me. My parents were very understanding, not that they are non-observers; they paid attention to what I was doing… And then the stereotypes were drawing me to it (music). The more people said things the more I got involved. When they watch the hair and I tell them I’m into music they watch me like I’ve joined the circus. Then they would say I was on weed, but I don’t smoke. Smoking affects your voice and this is how I make my bread.” The Imij and Co frontman is experiencing his best year yet since the inception of the three-year-old band. His 2004 compositions “One Day”, part of which he penned some five years ago while at St Mary’s College, and “Oh Why” are favourites with radio DJs. “People got the message with ‘One Day’, which asks the question: ‘Why we fussing and fighting? Let the music bring us together. With music, we could instill any kind of emotion – anger, hate, love. We could affect people. I like when things cool and things together.”

Kees is not bothered when people refer to Imij and Co as “the fair-skinned band.” He doesn’t need to silence his detractors. “To me it’s not about race, it doh have to be about that. It’s about music. It kinda saddens me sometimes when they put us in a class.” He is humbled by the warm response the band receives when on tour of the Caribbean and US. He alluded to the Cayman Islands trip when his fans printed T-shirts bearing his picture with the slogan “Keesology.” For Carnival 2004, he co-hosted the television programme Backyard Rhythms with Omari Ashby (of the duo Kindred) and in December, shared the spotlight with actress/comedienne Mairoon Ali in ‘Christmas on the Promenade’. “This year was a learning experience. I learned a lot more than last season, about the business and in what direction I want to go,” he said. He wants to pursue sound engineering or “something sound related, I’m still trying to figure it out.” As regards to “carrying the music further” he said, he alongside his bandmates, are willing to take up the challenge.