Small Stones still on a roll

The Small Stones entertaining the crowd at Ol'Skool Bistro. They comprise Hamdan Yaacob (on lead guitar) Thomas Williams on vocals, Lourds Anthony on drums, Gerard Emmanuel on guitar and Lawrence David on bass. Back in the freewheeling 1970s. The first line-up of Small Stones bassist Mizi Kamarudin (left) with Emmanuel at The Underground in Damansara Heights. Emmanuel, who is the founder of Small Stones, picked up the guitar when he was eight years old.

One can make a decent living playing covers of the songs you love, on the pub circuit. Just ask 60-year-old Gerard Emmanuel, the guitarist who formed a duo called Small Stones (because the name was easy to remember) with bassist Mizi Kamarudin in the mid-1970s, to play songs by Cliff Richard, The Beatles and The Bee Gees.

“The 1970s had a nice kind of feel. It was warm and friendly but got a bit wild at times. The best thing about it, is that we played six days a week and really got to know the customers,” said Emmanuel, remembering the duo’s early gigs at The Underground in Damansara Heights.