Ebi Moneyin, a graduate of Entrepreneurship and business management from the National Open University of Nigeria, said she started playing live band with no keyboard of her own, mixer, not even a microphone. She would hire this critical equipment when she got an engagement and performed alone – a one-woman show literally.
By Eberechi Obinagwam
Beautiful songstress Ebi Moneyin did not set out to own a live band with its full complement of staff. That wasn’t her original plan. After all, she was earning money working for her dad in a different industry. She just wanted to perform music at events just for the fun of it.
But after failing to gain admission to complete her Higher National Diploma in Ozoro Polytechnic, Delta State, where she had earlier bagged a National Diploma, her father asked her to choose between music and furthering her educational career. She chose both.
How it started
It all started as a child who loved singing trendy songs and learning the latest dancing moves. She soon mastered both and was doing them effortlessly. Notwithstanding the expertise, she joined a band to hone her skills.
“I love music from the beginning. At first, I was singing for fun, not for the money.
“I went out one day and I saw people singing live music. I told one of them that I loved live music and asked how I could join them. She asked me to come for their rehearsals. I went for their rehearsals and that was how I started. Then, I was just playing for free with a live entertainment band in Warri.”
Moneyin is now the chief executive officer of Ebi9ice & the DriveBand. The band has performed in some of the biggest hotels and restaurants in Lagos, including Eko Hotel, Radisson Blu, Bottles Restaurant, Step in Bar, Gusto Restaurant, Bature Brewery, Cloud 9 Angle Villa Hotel, Damal Lounge, Terraform Restaurant and many others.
She revealed that Fidelity Bank, Buyletlive Real Estate Stakeholders and many others are her clients.
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Ebi Moneyin, a graduate of Entrepreneurship and business management from the National Open University of Nigeria, said she started playing live band with no keyboard of her own, mixer, not even a microphone. She would hire this critical equipment when she got an engagement and performed alone – a one-woman show literally.
“In 2020 when I started my band, I used to rent my keyboard. I used to do my one-man show,” she said.
She later relocated to Lagos from Warri where she joined Kings Band for a few months and Prudence Band before starting her own in the year 2020.
She said the COVID-19 pandemic was what led her to start her band properly.
“I started in 2020. During COVID-19, there was no job. Everyone was looking for how to survive on his own. Before then, I used to work with someone. Then COVID-19 affected my work because we did live music and there were no contacts. Everybody was at home. So, no going out to play.
“At that time, a friend of mine called me that he had a Lounge he wanted to start, that I should come with my band to come and play. I told him that my band was not working but I would see what I could do.
“To get equipment then was expensive and the money my friend wanted to pay was very small.
“I told my other friend that played Keyboard and he encouraged me that we should go and do it even if the money was very small just to see what we could get from it. That was how I started. From there, the people who saw me started giving me jobs,” she said.
Moneyin now has some equipment to boot. She recalled the past with nostalgia. “I remember starting with one man’s show. It was just me and the Keyboardist. The Keyboardist would play and I would sing for four hours.”
On challenges in her line of business, she said hiring equipment is still an issue as she hasn’t got all the stuff.
“If you are doing live music and you do not have equipment, it will be difficult for you because most people that have equipment can bid for some kind of jobs depending on their amount but people like us who rent, we have to first look at renting and paying our staff that are working for us,” she said.
The human factor is also a challenge as relying on instrumentalists could be disastrous in this kind of trade. But Moneyin does not allow such disappointment ruin her business. She always finds a way to improvise. She recalled an experience. “There was this day that I was supposed to play at one lounge. It was a full band. The keyboardist did not come. The drummer did not come and we were to start by 9 pm. With my experience, I was able to do something to stand out well and it went well.”
Moneyin is also not among the Nigerians seeking to japa, except to perform abroad and return.
She said Nigeria gives her the kind of freedom she loves. “I love being in Nigeria because I love my freedom and I don’t want to go out there and start doing something different from what I am doing right now. My job is a kind that needs freedom. Except entertainment takes me out, I will be here”, she enthused.
