Words by Gero Lilleike
The tale of this musical phenomenon called Easy Tiger is embroiled in mystery and to this day very little is known about how this great band actually formed. However, rumour has it that Italian stallion Ric Gualtieri, the lead vocalist, was holidaying in Mozambique some years ago and with a few litres of beer in his belly, found himself singing blissfully into the African night with the local folk. It was quite possibly on this glorious night that Ric realised his extraordinary potential as an entertainer, singer, song writer and musician.
Ric returned to Johannesburg and soon had his old time friend Dale Orchard, a bass extraordinaire, joining him on a musical adventure, a relationship that would prove invaluable in the years to follow. The hunt was officially on for a lead guitarist. Ric pooled his resources and set his eager sights on a Greek virtuoso by the name of Galan Le Roux who would be instrumental in fulfilling the coveted role of lead guitar for the newly formed band.
The magical trio put their heads together and managed to produce a handful of potentially epic songs. The magical trio however realised that the songs needed a solid percussion foundation that would add the necessary colour to take the songs over the musical edge. The magical trio were now searching for a drummer. Being well connected, Galan soon found the solution and a fine young chap by the name of G-Foot joined the band. Together they worked tirelessly to produce and enhance the songs that lay before them and the pressing urge for live performances became a reality, but they needed a name.
After some debate, Easy Tiger was born and soon they were playing at local venues around Johannesburg and the confidence within the band grew with every show. Then the unthinkable happened. While busting out the beat to ‘House of Pain’, a groovy upbeat song, G-Foot snapped a tendon in his foot and was out for the count. With G-Foot limping out the band, Dale called upon the legendary Travis Mein to take the reins as groove master.
Easy Tiger grew from strength to strength, and as the months passed, their live performances started turning heads. Easy Tiger soon found themselves in the limelight with their hit song ‘Love Stung Child’ hitting the radio waves, managing to remain No.1 on the 94.7 Homebrew Chart for 8 weeks. This achievement set the tone and Easy Tiger went on to wow audiences at Joburg Day and Lusito Land. With songs such as ‘The Bored & The Lonely’ achieving radio play there is no guessing about the future that lies before Easy Tiger. In 2011, Easy Tiger released the music video for ‘Love Stung Child’, to view the music video click here.
Along with cleverly written lyrics, Easy Tiger combine various musical styles, from Afro Funk, Jazz, Indy Rock, Pop and Rock to create songs that are truly easy to listen to and difficult to forget. Although Easy Tiger’s musical style is simply unique and effective, they seem to tap into the very essence of what music is all about, having fun. Their live performances always kick up dust and Easy Tiger pride themselves in entertaining their listeners to no end. The personalities making up Easy Tiger are not only amazing characters in themselves but their fun-loving attitudes towards life are directly reflected in the sweet songs they produce.
To find out more about this phenomenal South African band, search for them on Facebook or visit their website at www.easytigerband.com Easy Tiger’s album “Spectacular Failures & Bad Behaviour” is also available for free download, so there’s simply no excuse to not have Easy Tiger pumping all day long. Even better, try see them live, they will simply blow your mind away. Enjoy.
Leatherfoot 
We want more!! We want more!! We want more!!
WE WANT MORE!!!!