Members of the Al Ain-based rock band Random Stars are, left to right:
Bushra Hassan Al Hashimi, 22, rhythm guitar, Aysha Abdullah Almaskari,
21, drums, and Hamda Al Ghaithi, 22, lead guitar.
The opening riff of the Deep Purple classic Smoke on the Water pounds out across a college hall.
It's a common enough scene, as the song has been a standard entry on the playlists of countless heavy rock bands for decades.
However
there is nothing ordinary about the five musicians pumping out those
familiar chords. They are Random Stars: the first Emirati all-girl rock
band.
"Playing rock 'n' roll is awesome," says IT security student Bushra
Hassan Al Hashimi, 22, who plays rhythm guitar. "We are the first girls
from the UAE who play electric guitars as a band.
"It takes us
away from the stress of homework and other college stuff - we play some
music and we work on our songs. I've always liked rock 'n' roll."
The
young women are all students at the Higher Colleges of Technology at Al
Ain, and were brought together by English teacher Jackie Small from the
UK. Remarkably, given the standard of their performance during an art
exhibition at the college yesterday, only one of them had played an
instrument before the band formed last year.
"I've always started
bands wherever I've gone. I used to do that in the UK," said Ms Small.
"When I started teaching here there were clubs so I thought I'd start a
music club, but there was already one.
"So I decided to do a guitar club and there were a few people
interested. I had in my mind a band so I got a drum kit and taught
someone to play the drums, and I got a bass and taught them to play
that.
"So we had the basis of a band, and last year they really got together and played a few songs."
Initially
Ms Small was the driving force behind the project, but she was
determined from the start to hand it over to the members.
"My idea
was to let them own it, I had to step back so that they could take over
so it's their band. They get together, they organise rehearsals, they
do the hard work."
Initially the musicians, who all live in Al Ain, adapted classics such as Smoke on the Water and less rocky material such as the Jack Jones' 60s classic Baby, I'm Yours. However Ms Small added: "When they come back in September they're going to work on their own songs."
The band performs at a variety of college events such as graduation ceremonies and National Day celebrations.
"Generally the reaction here among the students has been great," said Ms Small.
Ms Al Hashimi said her family had backed her involvement in the band, adding: "My mother encourages us, they're supporting us."
Lead guitarist Hamda Al Ghaithi, 22, who is studying business and
human resources, is the only band member who had previous musical
experience. She took lessons at the House of Arts, a music centre in Al
Ain, and hopes to take her interest in music much further - though not
playing rock.
"I played piano and guitar for two years and studied
in an academic way," she said. "I met Ms Small and she told me about
how the girls wanted to play and make a band. At first I didn't like
rock because I was studying classical guitar, but I prefer rock guitar
now. I hope after I finish studying here that I will study music and
play classical piano."
The other members are bass player Aysha
Salem Al Kaabi, 20, who is studying IT and multimedia, drummer Aysha
Abdullah Al Maskari, 21, who is taking the same subjects, and keyboard
player Almayasa Al Kaabi, 22, who is studying IT.
“When I first
played the keyboard I didn't know how to play it but I learned it by
myself and also I added the guitar and now I enjoy it a lot,” she said.
Ms
Al Maskari said: "It's very exciting being on stage. Drumming is hard
work, but when I started doing the hard stuff I started to enjoy it
because I didn't know I could do it."
Bassist Aysha Al Kaabi feels
the same way: “I've always dreamed of playing an instrument and now
that I joined the college I can actually play the bass easily.” (
The National)
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