It was a teenage dream they clung to. The odds notwithstanding, they made the dream come true. And what's more, they veered it onto the road of success that has not come to a dead-end as yet. From out of their living room to every stage in town, the Jet-Set band's tunes fill the air. And the D'Souza brothers are just as excited about their performances today as they were with their first encore two decades ago.Be it a Goan or a Sindhi wedding, a ballroom dance or a dandiya night, a school fete or a social do in military campuses, the Jet-Set band members have to be there. Rock `n' roll, pop, jazz, country, bhangra, garba music, they dish out with gusto whatever the audience wants!``We've got music in our blood,'' avers Eardley D'Souza, narrating the tale of the four brothers - Everard, Eardley, Ewart, Elliot - and their passion for music that resulted in the genesis of Jet-Set. Taking you back to the late 1970s, when the men were still in their school shorts, Eardley tells of their music sessions at home, that proved to be their initiation to the world of notes and songs.Their mother, Helen, a pianist, an accordion-player and a well-loved singer amongst friends, was their inspiration. ``Every evening, we would gather around as our mom played our favourite numbers on the piano, and we'd sing en famille! Every time we'd guess a song right, she'd reward us with a 20-paise coin!''Serving to be the encouragement they were intended as, the evenings saw the junior D'Souzas get more and more involved in music. ``Though we weren't too well off, my parents never grudged us our music.'' While still at school, Eardley got together with two friends - Sydney and Jeffrey Young - and formed Jet-Set. ``Mom wanted the name to be snappy. Moreover, our initial assignments were at local schools, their fetes, and she insisted that our name be something short for children to remember. There we were, all teenagers and raring to go!''Over a year later, the other three brothers had also joined in, but soon the Young brothers left. That, in fact, is the key feature of the band's identity - the D'Souza brothers have been its permanent pillars, the other musicians form a floating population. Currently, the band has Elliot on rhythm guitar and vocals, Ewart on keyboards, Eardley on percussions and Everard looking after the sound mixing. Along with them, there is Sanjeev Mahapure on bass guitar and vocals, Vijay Murthy on lead guitar, his wife Manju and Orlando Vaz taking care of Hindi pop and bhangra numbers and Jude Moneteiro on saxophone.``I guess having your brothers in the outfit has its advantages,'' admits Eardley candidly. While all the musicians who've played with Jet-Set are efficient, Eardley believes there's a different equation altogether between the brothers. ``There's a different sense of understanding we enjoy - we know each other inside out. I know that Jet-Set, primarily my baby, is alive and kicking today thanks to my brothers, who share my enthusiasm.''And not just his enthusiasm, but also the occasional financial difficulty. ``In the early years, we had a tough time, especially as our music is not our source of income. Our shows would not get us revenue, as people thought we were too young to be capable of professionalism. It was only after a concert of local bands in 1982 called Musithon that we began to be taken seriously. But a cash crunch was more or less a perennial problem in the early days, especially when it came to repairs. My elder brother - the only one with another job - would chip in. In fact, our first drum set was courtesy my sister, who bought it for us for Rs. 500 way back in the early 1980s!''But these obstacles were overcome and the D'Souza brothers have stuck it out. ``And while we do need the support of our other musicians, if any of them can't make it, between the four of us, we have the potential to keep the show going.'' As it has been for all these years.
