In his act on an advertisement for a brand of packed maize meal, he dances around a family dining room holding a wooden spoon as a microphone and singing praises to the tune of “Malaika” about the ugali his “wife” has “cooked.” His “children” are at first surprised to see their dad take to the dance floor, but they soon start to giggle and enjoy the show and his “wife” is amused by the unconventional show of emotion.
His act is so captivating that few who watch it think to question the rationale of a grown man taking to the floor to serenade a plate of ugali. But that is just an advert and Dan Obwatho is just an actor.
But before this TV commercial was shot, Obwatho had never been an actor. In fact, he is a full-time employee of Post Bank and the closest thing to acting he has ever done is emceeing at funerals and fund raisers.
Ironically though, the advert did get three things right. He is married, is a father of two and loves to sing. In fact, singing takes up a huge part of his life.
When Obwatho is not behind a desk at Post Bank or at home with his family, he is at a wedding or church function performing with his 18-member band, which he started 14 years ago. The band dates back to the days of the Sunday afternoon show Joy Bringers on national TV station Voice of Kenya (now KBC) on which they featured numerous times.
Obwatho, who is the director of the band, also composes songs, plays the saxophone and acoustic, electric and rhythm and bass guitars. He is also a master at the drums and on piano. He says he was forced by circumstances to learn to play all the instruments because the skill becomes crucial when a band member is missing during an event.
But music has been a part of Obwatho’s life for far longer than 14 years. His interest in music began while he was in primary school. Music to him is genetic. All his parents and three siblings sang at Nyanjwa Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church, Kisii.
Obwatho, 45, started his interest in music while in Class Four at Davis Primary, Eldoret, where his family lived. “I was born to a musical family. We were nicknamed Mzee Johnson Obatha choir,” he begins. He recalls being invited to various churches to perform as a family in 1976. Obwatho was then too little to play the guitar while standing, so he sat down throughout the performances while the rest of his family stood.
He attended Karura High School, for his O Levels between 1983 - 1986 and Kamagambo High School in Kisii, for A levels 1987-1988 In high school, he staged life shows mostly on Fridays, performing own compositions or popular pieces by other artistes. He says, “I was famous and this kept me out of trouble with the bullies.”
In 1986 while Obwatho was in Form Three, he steered a few of his friends into recording a 12-track gospel album. After high school and throughout college at Kenya Polytechnic where he studied Purchasing and Supplies, Obwatho continued to perform at various churches upon invitation.
“As soon as I joined Kenya Polytechnic, I became the director of the SDA Students Choir and steered it to great heights,” Obwatho says.
After graduating from Kenya Polytechnic in 1992, Obwatho released a solo album, Nimetumiwa Barua. Other songs in the 14-track album include Amani, Akatoa Uhai Wake and Aliteswa. Meanwhile, he could not find a paying job, so he tried his luck with small businesses including a barber shop and carpentry. 1998 was a lucky year for him, “I was engaged for a year by an SDA church in Nairobi to perform during crusades,” he says.
The same year, he recorded his second album, Asubuhi. In 1999, he formed Silver Strings Band with four members including Dorico, Mike and Josiah. They started receiving tens of invitations, especially to perform at weddings and other Christian functions.
In 2001, flanked by his three new band members, Obwatho recorded a group album, Muumba Wangu with each member contributing several songs followed by Nisamehe in 2004. It was followed shortly by Kenyan Sacred Mix, which featured tracks done in various languages such as Dholuo, Kamba, Luhya and Kalenjin. He reveals Kenyan Sacred Mix is the album with the highest sales. In fact, they recorded it live and not in studio.The group is working on their next album and several videos.
The band has also staged concerts in the US and Norway. It is split into three wings; Eastern, Northern and Western. Though these wings are independent, Obwatho is the director.
Since he started his band, Obwatho is yet to lose a member over a dispute. He explains: “Bands face a lot of leadership challenges, especially handling of money. The trick is to be open and honest to every member because each one counts.”
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