Three Hearts Band was named by a Catholic priest from Rabi, Father Ipolito Bakaua, 12 years ago when two siblings on the island had their eyes and hearts set on their love for singing and making music.
The name Three Hearts is a reflection of the biblical Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Tiboora Fiti (commonly known as Louis) and Tangaroa Raboni Fiti, are pioneers of the Three Hearts Band which has now grown to consist nine musicians and the band is fully equipped to handle small to large gigs.
But, of course, like all aspiring musicians, one must get through numerous obstacles in order to achieve goals. For Tangaroa, being born visually impaired will never be an excuse as long as he has the passion and tenacity to pursue music.
“He is a specialist in piano so much so that the Australian High Commission invited him for a show at the Sydney Opera House and other venues in Australia leading to an invitation to play in New Zealand which he gladly accepted. He naturally is a very talented keyboard player, also plays guitar, bass, drums, saxophone, violin and on to top it all of, he is a very good singer as well,” says Louis.
“I used to be a carry girl for him and carry his keyboard and other instruments around when I was asked by my dad to resign from my employment to assist Tangaroa.
“Tangaroa started his career when he was just 10 years old. It wasn’t until he was 15 when he joined a live band and started performing on stage.
“It’s been 12 years now since the Three Hearts Band was formed and I’m really happy this is something that we’ve been doing as siblings because the earnings from supporting my brother through singing has sustained us and the family over the years.”
According to Louis, their musical careers began in church before they branched out and started performing in other events such as birthdays and weddings.
She says they were always musically inclined, thanks to their uncle who was also a musician.
“Our parents don’t sing professionally, but our uncle does,” Louis says.
“Our uncle’s name is Amiera Kelese. He used to sing in a lot of live bands here in Fiji while growing up and that kind of sparked an interest in my brother.
“Though visually impaired, Tangaroa’s ears are very sharp and that has helped him play the many musical instruments he’s learned so far.”
The band’s inspiration comes from the likes of Georgina Ledua and Seru Serevi locally which is a bit challenging for them since most of their songs are in iTaukei language, but that hasn’t stopped them from performing their hits in gigs.
The band then brought in another talented visually impaired performer, Vetaia Senualekaleka (commonly known as Tuks) and well known within the industry as an exceptional lead guitarist and vocalist.
“Tangaroa and Tuks have also played with Dan Costello at one point and the three of us individually at one time or the other have also performed with Seru Serevi and Georgina Ledua,” she states.
“The band plays different genres of music from reggae, vude and country but for me and Tangaroa the challenging part is singing in the iTaukei language and this is where Tuks has been of immense help to us.
“Tangaroa and I practise every day just learning how to enunciate the Fijian words because as the band leader and lead vocalist, I need to make sure we’re on point.”
As mentioned earlier, Louis began her journey in the music scene as a carry girl for her brother’s gear but it wasn’t until later when she discovered that she could sing herself through the insistence of Joseph Naua who was the leader of the Saint Agnes Crusaders Band.
“And he encouraged me to start singing to complement Tangaroa’s playing. He kept pushing me until I finally built up the courage to start singing on stage and have not looked back since.
“Everyone was shocked, even I was shocked,” she says.
“From then on, it’s always been my brother and I singing with Tuks until we slowly got the rest of the members on board.
“It was much later that my family asked Joseph Naua’s younger brother, Thomas Naua, to be the band manager to which he declined but later agreed after having also played with the band on a couple of gigs.”
According to band manager Thomas Naua, the band members have a jovial relationship with each other.
“The relationship within the band is really good but it gets heated as well as it sometimes does with close relationships as we have.
“Our bass guitarist Paul Sosefo then joined the band. He’s multi-talented and is also a DJ and a tattoo artist during his spare time.
“We also have family members involved in the band from the beginning. My younger brother Anetipa Fiti does programming to assist Tangaroa, and is a vocalist also.
“My elder brother John Kelese Fiti is our sound engineer. My son Pokia Taremon is a vocalist in the band and lastly my nephews Junior Fiti and Eric Corri help out with moving our equipment to and from each gig.
“Our goal is to have our own songs released in the not-too-distant future.”
The group has been finding it a bit challenging when band rates haven’t changed for the past so many years and the only busy period for them is when the year comes to an end.
“It’s a struggle for musicians these days to earn a proper living because the earnings are dependent on the demand for bookings which is there but the expectancy for the charges is always for a low charge,” says Louis.
“Daily practice sessions have kept the band musically in shape, even when there are no bookings.
“The band forms part of the Fiji Suva Musicians Club (FSMC) whose support has been tremendous and special mention goes out to Waisiliva Baledrokadroka who has a keen interest in the welfare of the band.
“Special mention as well goes to the Catholic Church who have been very supportive of the band since its inception.
“And finally, the band thanks the most important people, our supporters. Without them, the band would not be successful.”
