By Mono Mukundu
Oliver Mtukudzi’s guitarist then, Philani Dube, had fallen
sick and Tuku was about to go on a two-month tour of Europe and North America
so there was a need for a replacement.
A number of guitarists were auditioned but Tuku and his
manager Debbie Metcalfe were not impressed, that is when a number of people
told them to call Mono.
Tuku had seen me at Prince Edward School where I taught
guitar lessons and was impressed.
He did not know my name, but he had concluded that he would
look for me if the “Mono” who was suggested to them also failed to impress.
He was not aware of the coincidence. Mono, who was said to
be one of the good guitarists to try was the same person he had seen teaching
guitar at PE.
I was called by Metcalfe on Monday 3 February, 2003, to
come for a practice session with Tuku.
On Tuesday February 4, 2003, I attended the practice
session at Debbie’s house. It was a rehearsal and audition combined. I passed
the audition that is when I joined the band.
Having heard Tuku’s music since I was in Grade One, I was
very nervous although I tried my best to hide it.
I then noticed how friendly he was to his band members, so
he made me feel at home.
Tuku was a comic, he would joke with the band members as if
he were the same age with them, but at the same time if you misbehaved he would
rebuke you in the form of a lecture.
There is what we used to call “The Mask”. Every time you
played a wrong note or something that he did not like he would turn around and
show you a frowning face, in a way that the audience would never notice but you
would clearly notice. If the mistake was not corrected, that is when the long
lecture would come backstage. But I appreciated his need to respect you enough
as to not embarrass you in front of the whole crowd.
The way he freely and jokingly interacted with his band
members made it easy for the band to have stage work chemistry.
Mono Mukundu is a producer and guitarist who worked with
Oliver Mtukudzi for four years. Herald
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