Drummer in the band at just 16

Sixteen-year-old Mario Ramlochan is very much like other boys his age. This Fourth Form Fatima College student spends his time juggling studies, friends and the pressures of being an adolescent. However, one thing sets him apart from his peers — Mario is the drummer for local Death Metal band, New Dawn. Nothing seems to faze this young man; not even the reality that he is one of the youngest rock musicians in TT. Self-effacing and shy, he is living the dream of rock fans everywhere, for whom playing in a band “is the life.” Ironically enough, Mario had only been playing the drums for two years before he was approached by Shiva Davey, leader of New Dawn to become part of the re-vamped band. Prior to that, he was a member of Prophecy, a  band formed by his older sister Kristin, who is also now a member of New Dawn, playing rhythm guitar. New Dawn’s lead vocalist, Dexter Colley, is also a former member of Prophecy. “I have always liked the tone of the drums,” Mario said. “My grandfather used to play the tassa and I admired this. I eventually fell in love with the drums.” His mother bought him a drum kit one Christmas, which he “fooled around” with. Before that he had never seriously considered making music a major part of his life. Shiva Davey recognised Mario’s potential when he approached his sister to play rhythm guitar for New Dawn. “When I heard Mario play,” Davey recalls, “I realised that there was no one in the country who could work the double kick like he can. He needed to improve on the toms, but with a little work he has shown considerable improvement.” “For a 16-year-old with that ability, you can imagine where he will be in a few years.”

Mario credits Colley for his initiation into the world of Death Metal, where bands like Dying Foetus, Sepultura, Six Feet Under and Unaminated rule the roost. Ten years Mario’s senior, Colley became exposed to metal bands like AC/DC and Iron Maiden at the age of 13 by a close relative. Determined to sing, in spite of his parents’ objections, Colley’s interest was piqued by the strange, guttural vocal styling of Scandinavian and Black Metal bands. If anything, New Dawn will always be remembered as the band of the two generations. Mario, Kristin and Colley, have only been part of the local rock scene for approximately two years. However, Davey, who also plays bass guitar and lead guitarist, Michael Lara are veterans of the field. Although the band is now making a name for itself on the death metal circuit, New Dawn originally started off playing contemporary 80s rock music. It was formed more than two years ago by Davey and Lara, along with fellow musicians, Ringo Maharaj, a guitarist now with the band Xcess, vocalist Troy Harryban and drummer Harry Dookan. “We eventually decided to revamp the style of music we played,” Davey noted. “We wanted to go into European, Scandinavian Death Metal and we needed a younger singer who could handle this kind of music.” The search for younger talent came to a fruitful end when Davey saw Colley performing with the band Prophecy. Prophecy ultimately broke up and Davey was able to convince Colley to join New Dawn. Maharaj eventually left the band and was replaced by Kristin. She was later joined by Mario, who took Dookan’s place as drummer.

“We choose to start playing Death Metal because we noticed that the crowd seems to go for this type of music,” Davey explained. “They want more power and speed in the music.” “Everything has its time. Times are changing now and the music is changing. We are not only targetting a specific market. We are observing the response we get and trying to keep up-to-date with the music,” he explained. Davey hopes to take his band out of the country in the near future, to a number of gigs in Guyana. He also wants to start writing and performing their own songs. “We are trying to be different from the other bands of this time,” he maintained. “We have a lot to offer the local scene in terms of the style of music, as well as stage theatrics.” For Mario, he is taking this new-found place in the spotlight one day at a time. He noted that he was quite content to remain a member of New Dawn and chart a course for the band on the local rock scene. His future is bright, but he remains undaunted by the challenges that face him ahead. “Everything is cool for now,” he stated nonchalantly. “Right now I really can’t tell where my future will be. But I will stay with the band, and wherever it takes us... it takes us.”