In the case of Bidvest Wits Football Club, also known as the Clever Boys, their 13th man combines a motley crew of hardcore fans, students temporarily dejected with their studies and Alex’s youthful 10-member Bambanani Brass Band.
Without a doubt, the band’s scintillating brand of music combining jazz, soul, rock and classic melodies galvanises the Clever Boys’ fans. The music and the moves of the band members is a marvel to watch and fans can’t resist joining in.
To the opposing team, the music is but a nuisance as it appears to rev up the Clever Boys when the chips are down. The band, strategically situated next to the opposing team’s benches, has the visiting officials and players gesticulating in frustration about the din, a thing match officials can’t do anything about as it’s all part of the game.
The band was contracted by sponsors Bidvest in 2103 to provide match entertainment. The band’s leader Mike Molantoa said, “The Clever Boys are in our blood and it saddens us when they lose. We have a premonition of them winning this year’s PSL [Premier Soccer League] crown.”
Molantoa said besides unsettling other teams, his band was a marketing tool for the Clever Boys as it drew in the crowds, and at the same time the band marketed themselves to potential clients. This, he said, had resulted in them being asked to entertain at some Bafana Bafana games, Wits University functions, cricket matches at the Wanderers Stadium and events at Gold Reef City and other casinos.
Molantoa commended the community for their support and said the band paid it back through occasional weekend street gigs.
“We have formed an academy at parents’ behest to keep their kids preoccupied and off the street as part of the band,” he said.
The band members are Molantoa on kettle drums, Joel Molantoa, Thato Morodu, Katlego Nkabinde and Thulani Ndoda on trumpets, Lebohang Mahlangu and Tshepo Morodu on trombones, Thabang Moketwa on bass drum, Thabo Matlou on the tuba and Abonga Makhawula on bass tuba.
Details: Mike Molantoa 084 736 7591.
