Fans waited with bated breaths. No one knew what would happen to iconic rockers Big Ass when lead singer Ekarat Wongcharat announced, earlier this year, that he was leaving the band for good.
Word about his imminent departure had been circulating on the rumour mill for quite some time, but when the news proved accurate it caused shock and much disbelief simply because Ekarat had played such a major role in putting Big Ass on the local musical map.
Then speculation started to fly about who would replace him. Some people thought guitarist Poonsak Jaturaboon would be the one most likely to step up to the microphone since he'd already tested the waters, so to speak, with Toom Yoo Nai Jai, which was included on the soundtrack for Suckseed, a commercial hit in cinemas nationwide. On the basis that most of the Big Ass musos had been working with Bodyslam on and off for the past decade and more, other fans predicted that the remaining members of the group would cease all live gigs and stick to the studio. There were also the pessimists who were sure Big Ass would simply disband, with the members striking out on their own, launching new business ventures.
Then, about two months back, photos of an unfamiliar face started surfacing on the internet, accompanying reports that this man was to be Ekarat's replacement. That claim wasn't confirmed until the band's official social-media outlets also started to post pictures of the bearded stranger.
Enter Daycha Konalo, who made his public debut on the first new single from Big Ass in four years, Dan Neramirt (Wonderland), which was released on Aug 23.
"I'm still flabbergasted," said Daycha, who turns 30 a few months from now. "I still can't get my head around the fact that I'm in Big Ass. It's all very exciting and new to me. I'm taking everything in slowly, taking it as it comes."
Apart from his full beard, the first thing you notice about Daycha is his resemblance to Gerard Butler in that actor's role as Leonidas, king of the Spartans (in the 2007 US action flick 300). That physical similarity has been attributed to his ancestry; he is part Israeli. Besides his natural, diamond-in-the-rough good looks, he also exudes a radiant likeability. Daycha's humble beginnings (previous jobs include stints as a 7/11 shop assistant and a hotel concierge) and his engaging, down-to-earth personality should make it easy for Big As fans to relate to him.
Considering how much stress he's been put under _ it can't be easy to step into the shoes of a titan like Ekarat _ Daycha made a good impression on the print media recently when he faced a gaggle of reporters for the first time.
He exhibited humility but was also visibly excited at the opportunity he's been offered.
"I can't, and won't, compare myself to Ekarat," he said. "Hands down, he's much better than I am.
"I can't be as good as he was with the old songs, but I'll try to deliver them in my own style, my own way. But I know I can't top him."
The cordial relationship Daycha has rapidly developed with his bandmates _ Poonsak, Apichart Promraksa (guitar), Pongpan Polasit (bass) and Kajondej Promraksa (drums) _ must have made his ride into the big time a little easier. With his older colleagues, Daycha seems to have readily fallen into the role of younger brother, taking cues from the others who, after 14 years in the business, have learned how to breeze through media storms without breaking sweat.
"The main reason we picked him was because we're comfortable with him," said Poonsak. "During the trial period, we practically lived together. We needed to see if we'd be a good fit for one another. And he had to make his mind up, too; it was a two-way process."
"He's also a powerful performer," Apichart added.
"The first time we saw him perform, it blew us away. He and his band were auditioning in Korat, but he was singing like he owned the town. We were so impressed."
Trouble began to brew within Big Ass around the time its sixth studio album, Love, came out in 2008. The situation dragged on until earlier this year when Ekarat finally decided to part ways with his colleagues. Ekarat was once known as a powerful vocalist, but his ability began to wane as the years went by. This weakness got scarily problematic for the band over the past couple of years to the point where it became unbearable. The other members are still vehemently insisting that the split was amicable, and that it wasn't Ekarat's ailing voice that pushed them apart.
"It had nothing to do with his voice," said Poonsak. "We were willing to die on stage along with his voice, but the fact is that he didn't want to continue along this path. He had peaked and it wasn't fun for him any more. He wanted to do other things. And we had all made a pact, back when we were young, that we would quit if one of us started not to have fun. Ekarat has other interests and he wants to pursue them. None of us wanted this, but we couldn't go on the way we were.
"We've been friends for more than 20 years _ and we're still friends. Our friendship will last for the rest of our lives," added Poonsak.
Finding a replacement wasn't easy. The original band members tried out a few singers who crossed their path, but nothing clicked and their hopes began to dim. They couldn't find a perfect fit and actually reached an agreement to put Big Ass on hold for a while. But that didn't pan out either.
"We felt so stuck at that moment," Apichart said. "We contemplated going our separate ways, doing other things with our lives. So, one day, we said to each other that we should probably stop for a while. But it took us only one day to change out minds. We just couldn't stay away from the music."
Then they stumbled upon Daycha. He had been making a living, singing with his band at nightclubs and pubs, when they happened on him by chance. They approached him cautiously, not telling him initially that they were interested in bringing him into Big Ass.
They asked him to quit all his singing jobs and spend time with them for a while, paying him a monthly salary to make up for lost income.
"My former bandmates were supportive," Daycha said. "They didn't think I had abandoned them because they were happy for me, for this amazing opportunity to try something that I'd never even dared to dream of. Honestly, I didn't have to adjust or change myself to become a part of this group. At first, I was nervous because this, after all, was Big Ass. They are icons! But the more I spent time with them, the more relaxed I got."
Things didn't go very smoothly at first.
"The first rehearsal was terrible," Poonsak said. "We were really stressed out. But, after a while, we decided that maybe we had gone about it wrongly. So we changed tactics by getting to know Daycha first, and letting him get to know us as well. We just hung out together and went on with our daily schedule. Then everything started to feel more natural.
"He's that one missing piece of the jigsaw that we'd been looking for. Now that he's joined us, we've even changed the way we work. Before, we used to work separately. Everyone had his own area of responsibility and we would assemble pieces together. But now we all get involved in every process. For example, if Poonsak has to record his drum parts, we'll all be there, too."
Dan Neramirt is the lead single in a forthcoming five-song EP, which Big Ass plans to release early next year. The song talks about finding and building a place which they can claim as their own.
"The reception has been mostly positive," Poonsak said. "Of course, people will miss Ekarat, but we're just trying our best to make music that the five of us, sitting here in this room, are happy with. And, hopefully, others will feel the same way, too." Fans will soon be able to see Daycha in action since the reconstituted line-up will be embarking on a tour of the local festival circuit.
"I was really shell-shocked at first," said the band's newest member. "I still don't know how I got here. I think I'm just lucky to be given this opportunity. I don't think of myself as 'the singer in Big Ass'. I just want to do my best and make everyone happy."
