Like Father, Like Sons

Written by Charlina Tone
Friday, 28 March 2008
Faanana Jerome Grey, with his sons Tinifu Loa and Taumata . Jerome and sons take to the stage tonight Legendary Samoan singer, Jerome Grey, has returned to his roots, after almost 20 years, on a mission to revive the true essence of Samoan music. However, the voice of one of Samoa’s greatest hits ‘We are Samoa’ has added two more passionate individuals to sing with him in his latest albums. It comes as no surprise that the pair, Tinifu Loa, an Architect by profession and Taumata a graduate in music from a prominent university in the United States of America are proud sons of the Samoan singing legend. The Grey brothers decided to team up with their father, and connect with him through something they were all passionate about, Samoan music. Tinifu explained the struggles that his father endured as a striving musician and how he and his siblings were always advised not to take up music as a career because it does not put food on the table. “Music did feed our family, but it was hard, dad (Jerome Grey) always encouraged us to pursue other goals apart from music and he did force me to sing in church choirs. However, we could not ignore our love for music because the guitar and the ukulele always came easily,” says Tinifu. “Music has always been a part of us.” Taumata who is a fan of different genres of music including RnB and hip hop agreed that their father, never encouraged them to pursue a future in music however he completed a Degree in Music and already plays in his own band in the US. The boys who have not been back to Samoa since 1988 maintain that learning and understanding the lyrics of Samoan songs has been the fastest and easiest way for them to learn the Samoan language which they have always been keen to do. “This is how we learn more about Samoa and our Samoan heritage and culture, recording this album with our dad has been the greatest and most exciting project we have ever worked on together.” Taumata explained that their father, suffered a stroke around this time last year, and this was also another factor that initiated them to start a project together while they still can. “It was really an honor that dad let us play with him, we knew the struggles he went through as a musician and the sacrifices he made for us.” Jerome explained the importance of reviving true Samoan music with the natural, raw beat and to feel the emotion of the lyrics of the song. “People from across the world are always drawn to true Samoan music played with simple instruments such as guitars and ukuleles. True Samoan music does not use so much electronically engineered sounds.” Jerome adds that this new album to be released on Friday has his own original music as well as old Samoan songs that are loved by the masses. Jerome also composed a new song for the album and explains that the creativity of true Samoan music makes it good to listen to. “The mission of this album, which contains ten songs, is to revisit how we can bring true Samoan music back to life.” Jerome said that he has always wanted to bring his children back to Samoa, to learn the culture and be appreciative of their roots, so this trip back to the islands was truly a dream come true. Working behind the scenes, dealing with the business side of the album is Jeromes daughter, Anamativa, who stated that, “we support them (her father and brothers) wholeheartedly and my mother and I are behind them 100%. The Jerome Grey Trio as they are known will be performing at Hotel Kitano Tusitala tonight at 7pm. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment

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Jerome and sons take to the stage tonight