By Umer Nangiana
An engineer by profession, he is also an actor, bass player and the lead singer of one of the most popular local bands. And, he practices all of these simultaneously. Some of you must have seen him essay the role of Jean Valjean in Doha Players’ Les Miserables recently. Others must know him from his vocals at music concerts at the Rugby Club and Admiral’s Club at Ritz Carlton.
Yes, he is none other than Peter Gibson, the man “with long hair and his Spanish coat.” Lending voice to his band, The Exiles, Gibson has made it one of the most sought after bands in Doha with over 100, 000 followers on Facebook, most of them locals.
Over the years, he has been pursuing all his passions without compromising on his work, which is of equally challenging nature, and his family life.
At work, he is a ‘coat-and-tie’ man whilst at one of the gigs by The Exiles, he is a ‘rockstar’, playing bass and rendering numbers with complete devotion, his long hair flying in the air. Amazingly, he is a self-taught musician and singer.
Community sat down the multi-talented performer for a brief chat about his passion for music and how he has been able to manage time viz-a-viz work, leisure and family besides his music career.
“I like being active,” he says calmly, in complete contrast to the zestful energy he puts into his musical performances. The difference between these two states in his demeanour and his ability to grasp each one of them with authority speaks volumes about his naturally-gifted multi-tasking capabilities.
“A lot of people ask me how I manage time. Well, I have two kids. My daughter was also in Les Miserables. My kids are also musical — my daughter plays piano, my son plays drums. So yes, I have got work, I have got kids and I have got music. I just juggle,” said Gibson, breaking into a smile.
“But I really enjoy (doing all these things). I think it is a great hobby to have. I get to go to places and venues that I might not have gone if I were not playing. Not just in Doha, we have played in Dukhan and Al-Khor. The band has been fantastic,” Gibson says with pride.
He has become very recognizable with his hair and his long Scottish coat that he makes sure to wear in every concert and gig that he performs. It has become The Exiles’ trademark. “So if they do not know our names, they do not know who we are, they would say, ‘oh the guy with the hair and the coat! (laughs).”
So when did he start playing music?
“Very young. I think my mother bought me one small guitar when I was may be two years old. It just happened. I was in school bands. I played guitar for a few years and then I switched to bass when I was 17. I have played bass ever since,” says Gibson.
Originally from Scotland, he played with a lot of local bands from his own and surrounding towns early on. And when he moved for work first to China and then Saudi Arabia before coming to Qatar, he always played in a band or formed one.
He did not get any training in guitar or bass for that matter. “Got it just with my ears. I am not trained to play or sing. Also, I can’t read music,” he breaks into a laugh in a self-deprecating gesture.
And when did he realize he had a singer’s voice?
“I don’t remember. Again, at a very young age. I never sang in front of anyone until probably I was in a band, in the Nineties. What happened there was that we lost our singer and we had a concert so my band said, okay you know the lyrics, you sing. I said ‘No’. I was very shy then. I didn’t want to sing but then I did try and, it was okay,” Gibson recalls.
For a number of years to come, he mainly rendered background vocals in the UK bands he joined. His first real attempt at singing was with The Exiles as a lead vocalist here in Qatar. He did not know how the name ‘The Exiles’ came into being: he did not establish the band, he just joined it!
“May be this is appropriate because many of the people in the band are expatriates, this is not our home. What is good with The Exiles is that we have become like a family,” says the band’s lead vocalist and bass player.
The band was established in 2006, the year Gibson landed in Doha. He first joined another band as a bass player. During the Dunestock 2006, the music event organized by Doha Players in the singing dunes, The Exiles asked him to join as their bass player was soon leaving. After spending two years there, he left The Exiles to form his own group — The Gap.
Gibson says his own band was short-lived as the other two members had to leave Qatar for good, but during their two years they participated in multiple competitions and won battle of the bands in American bass and a second position in the battle of the bands called The Clash.
He rejoined Exiles in 2010 but this time as a singer, not bass player. “I had not really sung in a band before; it was something new, but I really enjoyed it,” Gibson says. Yet again, the band’s bass player left. Gibson now started playing bass besides providing lead vocals. Their band has gone through a lot of changes. The people who formed it in 2006 are no longer here. Gibson is the longest-playing member in the band.
The Exiles is a four-piece band. The drummer is from the Philippines, one guitarist is from Canada and the other from Czech Republic.
Like Gibson, the others, too, have work and families here so music is more of a hobby for all of them. But it has taken off very well. They are very well received, says Gibson. But in Doha, Gibson has had his busiest ever time in music. While in Saudi Arabia, he had said goodbye to his guitar and music; tending more to his parental responsibilities.
The Exiles, he says, has built up a good reputation because they play a good selection of music, catering to a wider audience. Playing songs from up to half a century ago, they cater to
people in their mid-20s to people in late 50s.
All their songs are the ones that people already know. “This is what people demand so that they can sing along and dance,” says Gibson.
His all-time favourite bands are The Beatles and U2. “I think the U2 were slightly different in their time, in the early Eighties. They were a four-piece band just like us. The guitar style of the guitarist The Edge was quite different and that is the kind of music I grew up with in the late Seventies and Eighties,” says Gibson, adding, however, that he is not influenced by his favourite bands. He does not play a particular style or copy anyone.
At the Exiles, they have their own style which has made them popular. They mostly cater to Western audiences but at the Rugby Club, for instance, Gibson says it is a mix of Westerners and Asians.
Gibson however, complains that there aren’t too many venues in town while people here love live music. “We have seen in Abu Dhabi and Dubai a lot of famous bands are coming up regularly. In Qatar, there is little but I think the people here sure want to have live music. We know that from what we have seen at our gigs,” he adds.
He also organizes on a monthly basis an Open Mic night for Doha Players for all musicians in Doha to showcase their talents.
The Exiles do not make money out of their performances. However, they contribute to the band which has helped them perform with freedom as they have their own equipment, stands, lights, smoke machines, trucks and trailers.
“There are a lot of bands in Qatar now, but I don’t think all of them are as self-sufficient as we are,” says Gibson.
They are having their next gig on 20th June at Rugby Club and a few bookings post-summer.