hey,
STR is playing after a while (JJ's exams get over on the 28th..TYBA!..wish him luck)
And after the first Hard Rock show(which was a nightmare- they didnt allow to play our songs), the club is now promoting us on their posters as 'the talented mumbai musicians are back with their original compositions').
Its a strange twist of events for us and it has lead to a general good feeling about this show in particular.
Good on ya Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai!
Hopefully we shall see u there in full strength,
thanks for all the love,
Tanmay
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Connect the Dots : Blue Frog, De Innovatives, Eastwind and John Lakey
Hey, this being my first post on the blog, i'd like to comment on a few things that i have noticed over the past two years.
First i'd like to talk about something important that affects the entire music community in Mumbai : the opening of the Blue Frog club in Lower Parel.
For those of you who don't know, Blue Frog(www.bluefrog.co.in), situated in an old mill building at Lower Parel, is a nightclub/restaurant/studio that is exclusively designed for live music performances, complete with a stage,lights, spacey projected visuals and a top-notch sound system; a rarity in Mumbai.
Five years ago, not many people would have believed that it would be possible to watch internationally acclaimed musicians every week. The night-time-live-music 'scene' being dormant, these same people would have been pessimistic of even the possibility of a place like this to exist. However, things have changed.
Since The Rolling Stones came to India a couple of years back, a number of touring artists have paid a visit for large scale concerts - Sting, Iron Maiden, The Scorpions,Sepultura. Beyonce Knowles, 50 Cent and Shakira came to India at the height of their popularity - this is rare in India - only The Police, Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi toured here when they were at their peak. The bulk of the other touring acts are '50-plus' or 'oldies', so to speak. A number of large scale music festivals like 'The One Tree festival' have gained momentum and funding and along with that a decent sized fan base. The event companies realized that the so called 'market for music' in India is yet to be explored and it is commercially viable to bring big name artists to India and also to hold nationwide rock competitions like Channel V's Launchpad and DNA's Campus Rock Idols. RollingStone magazine had a spectacular launch with their first issue in March. All in all, there are some big spenders spending big bucks here. Good. However, this is not what this post is about.
With the internet boom in India, a lot of young musicians got instant access to music, videos, guitar tabs etc. that previously had to be got from 'abroad' by a relative or friend..it was a laborious and expensive procedure and not many had access to it. The same applied to high quality musical instruments as well.
You had to buy a Gibson Les Paul in the United States or in Singapore, which was most likely the case. Just recently, Gibson officially launched in India.
Furtados, a music shop in Mumbai (www.furtadosonline.com) now has almost all the gear you need to play any kind of music - They even have a wide range of Latin Percussion instruments, trumpets, woodwinds and Steinway pianos, not to mention the guitar effects processors which almost every entry level guitarist in Mumbai has (note: After ten years of playing, I still dont own one - why eat fine cuisine with ketchup - i have a nice guitar, so i'd rather not spill any sauce on it).
Point is, that many players are emerging all over the country who can afford the easily-available and relatively cheap gear, listen to the music and watch the bands they like without having to go through any intermediates.
Check this out if you dont believe me(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3J3EdEHQ6A), its a clip of a Chandigarh band called De Innovatives (http://kroomsa.com/bands/de-innovatives.htm)- they are quite fantastic. These guys, who obviously come from a Hindustani classical background have actually done it - made actual Indian Rock entirely by themselves. These guys have even set up their own studio. Here's another thing - now you can get hi-end recording gear too without having to worry about things like servicing and warranties.
So, people are buying instruments, using the same to play live or to record with their newly acquired home recording gear, putting this up on the internet and fast upgrading their skills and musicality by downloading instructional videos. But whats the bar - what is the standard - what do these people want to achieve?
Let me give you my experience with this Blue Frog club. 'STR' is fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time. We got a shot at playing there and most of the band have now become regulars at the place. We have seen Bela Fleck, DJ Logic - some of our favourite musicians, and Sara Tavares and Mango Blue - of whom we never would have known, all in a span of a few months and in an intimate up-close setting.
Now, we fall into the aforementioned category. So who's to say - in a few years there could be a number of STR's and De Innovatives out there.
An actual indicator of the strength of a music scene anywhere in the world is the regularity or frequency of live concerts and more importantly the regularity in attendance. If there are more like us in town, which im pretty sure of, in a few years we'll see more young local bands aspiring to play at a Blue Frog type place, which will totally be a positive boost on this indicator and also will raise the bar for bands - you dont want to go and play in a place like that if you aren't competent enough - you'll get exposed and get fucked.
At the Eastwind Festival(www.eastwindfestival.com) , I noticed that all the Indian bands raised their game and did high quality shows. Was this because of the magnitude of the event and the high standards in organization? Probably.
I can draw an assumption here - with serious venues and serious events emerging, the bands automatically become more conscientious of their work.
So, to sum it up, the people who are internet, computer and music savvy all over India, bands, DJs and performing artists now actually do have the necessary 'platforms to showcase their talent' ( the most frequently used and most ultimate cliche ever has now become a reality), while setting themselves high standards because the venues/events merit it. Indian bands can finally become world class and some are already on their way.
No wonder John Lakey (producer - Radiohead) was in town today checking out some local bands at the British Council.
First i'd like to talk about something important that affects the entire music community in Mumbai : the opening of the Blue Frog club in Lower Parel.
For those of you who don't know, Blue Frog(www.bluefrog.co.in), situated in an old mill building at Lower Parel, is a nightclub/restaurant/studio that is exclusively designed for live music performances, complete with a stage,lights, spacey projected visuals and a top-notch sound system; a rarity in Mumbai.
Five years ago, not many people would have believed that it would be possible to watch internationally acclaimed musicians every week. The night-time-live-music 'scene' being dormant, these same people would have been pessimistic of even the possibility of a place like this to exist. However, things have changed.
Since The Rolling Stones came to India a couple of years back, a number of touring artists have paid a visit for large scale concerts - Sting, Iron Maiden, The Scorpions,Sepultura. Beyonce Knowles, 50 Cent and Shakira came to India at the height of their popularity - this is rare in India - only The Police, Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi toured here when they were at their peak. The bulk of the other touring acts are '50-plus' or 'oldies', so to speak. A number of large scale music festivals like 'The One Tree festival' have gained momentum and funding and along with that a decent sized fan base. The event companies realized that the so called 'market for music' in India is yet to be explored and it is commercially viable to bring big name artists to India and also to hold nationwide rock competitions like Channel V's Launchpad and DNA's Campus Rock Idols. RollingStone magazine had a spectacular launch with their first issue in March. All in all, there are some big spenders spending big bucks here. Good. However, this is not what this post is about.
With the internet boom in India, a lot of young musicians got instant access to music, videos, guitar tabs etc. that previously had to be got from 'abroad' by a relative or friend..it was a laborious and expensive procedure and not many had access to it. The same applied to high quality musical instruments as well.
You had to buy a Gibson Les Paul in the United States or in Singapore, which was most likely the case. Just recently, Gibson officially launched in India.
Furtados, a music shop in Mumbai (www.furtadosonline.com) now has almost all the gear you need to play any kind of music - They even have a wide range of Latin Percussion instruments, trumpets, woodwinds and Steinway pianos, not to mention the guitar effects processors which almost every entry level guitarist in Mumbai has (note: After ten years of playing, I still dont own one - why eat fine cuisine with ketchup - i have a nice guitar, so i'd rather not spill any sauce on it).
Point is, that many players are emerging all over the country who can afford the easily-available and relatively cheap gear, listen to the music and watch the bands they like without having to go through any intermediates.
Check this out if you dont believe me(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3J3EdEHQ6A), its a clip of a Chandigarh band called De Innovatives (http://kroomsa.com/bands/de-innovatives.htm)- they are quite fantastic. These guys, who obviously come from a Hindustani classical background have actually done it - made actual Indian Rock entirely by themselves. These guys have even set up their own studio. Here's another thing - now you can get hi-end recording gear too without having to worry about things like servicing and warranties.
So, people are buying instruments, using the same to play live or to record with their newly acquired home recording gear, putting this up on the internet and fast upgrading their skills and musicality by downloading instructional videos. But whats the bar - what is the standard - what do these people want to achieve?
Let me give you my experience with this Blue Frog club. 'STR' is fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time. We got a shot at playing there and most of the band have now become regulars at the place. We have seen Bela Fleck, DJ Logic - some of our favourite musicians, and Sara Tavares and Mango Blue - of whom we never would have known, all in a span of a few months and in an intimate up-close setting.
Now, we fall into the aforementioned category. So who's to say - in a few years there could be a number of STR's and De Innovatives out there.
An actual indicator of the strength of a music scene anywhere in the world is the regularity or frequency of live concerts and more importantly the regularity in attendance. If there are more like us in town, which im pretty sure of, in a few years we'll see more young local bands aspiring to play at a Blue Frog type place, which will totally be a positive boost on this indicator and also will raise the bar for bands - you dont want to go and play in a place like that if you aren't competent enough - you'll get exposed and get fucked.
At the Eastwind Festival(www.eastwindfestival.com) , I noticed that all the Indian bands raised their game and did high quality shows. Was this because of the magnitude of the event and the high standards in organization? Probably.
I can draw an assumption here - with serious venues and serious events emerging, the bands automatically become more conscientious of their work.
So, to sum it up, the people who are internet, computer and music savvy all over India, bands, DJs and performing artists now actually do have the necessary 'platforms to showcase their talent' ( the most frequently used and most ultimate cliche ever has now become a reality), while setting themselves high standards because the venues/events merit it. Indian bands can finally become world class and some are already on their way.
No wonder John Lakey (producer - Radiohead) was in town today checking out some local bands at the British Council.
Friday, February 29, 2008
“I listen to Rock Man!!!”
What is this obsession people have with classifying the music they listen to? And once they decide what kind they like (which usually is what everyone else is listening to), it becomes the ultimate thing ever! Everything else takes a back seat to it. And the usual answer when I ask someone the kind of music they like is: “I listen to Rock Man!!!”
I wonder how many of them actually have a clue as to what they are talking about.
I was once reading a few posts on this “Music Forum” and I come across a heated discussion with almost the entire population of Sri Lanka replying. Now me, being the idiot that I am, thought that this could be a very interesting discussion, probably a really intellectual discussion on music patterns, styles and categories.
Well, that thought lasted about 20 seconds.
It all started with a simple query from a new member to the site:
Newbie: Hey all, I’m new here. I just wanted to know what this “Rock” music is. I’ve heard a lot of people talking about it and was very curious.
These are some of the answers the poor guy received:
Enrique_Rulz: Rock is music that is rocking man!! dude.. you just know what rock is when you hear it
Metal_Maniac: dude! what a poser man! how can you be here if you dont know what rock is!!! get away from me!
Fingers_Fly: Rock is the killer gutiaring and the heavy drumming and the head bangings man! its all in the attitude! Rock on
Metal_Maniac: ^^ don’t waste time on this guy man! He has no clue! Hes a wannabe! POSER!!!
I_Love_Rock: METALLICAAAAAAA!!! \m/\m/
( I've never quite understood what \m/ means).Now at this point, someone made the horrible mistake of using the “m” word. Suddenly, interest in the thread tripled and everyone seemed to take an interest.
The_Classifier: I wouldn’t classify Maiden and Metallica under rock.
I_Love_Rock: Metallica is very much a rock band, classified under Heavy Metal if u didn’t know that genre existed!! LOSER
The_Classifier: When I said I wouldn’t classify them under rock, it’s cuz I look at metal as an entirely different genre; far, far different from pure rock
I_Love_Rock: Don’t overreact Mr Classifier…..for your kind knowledge Heavy Metal is a sub-genre of Rock Music as is Thrash…..
MegaDeth_Boy: Megadeth is d god father of metal guys,,,,dave mustaine u rock,,,,now I feel lik growing my hair for d concert to do some serious headbang
Okay! Honestly, this is the point at which I fell off my chair dying with laughter!
Maiden_Boy:I wouldn say they are the godfather of metal. Nothing comes above maiden and Sabbath… Megadeth is way too behind to match these guys
Confused Boy:In terms of Guitars, Megadeth are better than Maiden..Megadeth’s music is more complicated that of Maiden..
Tech_Spec:Maiden is more towards the melodic side. Megadeth has better technicalities,
More people prefer the melodic tunes.
Peace_Maker:Honestly guys, rock is jus way too diverse to be considered one genre… Nirvana is my favourite rock band by the way
The_Classifier: hey! but nirvana is grunge metal! Don’t you guys know anything???
Well, you get the picture. 29 pages of this! I’m enlightened! Man, I wish I had some work to do! Really! I just feel really sorry for newbie. His foundation must be shattered! Rock on! I say!
-aalok
Monday, January 14, 2008
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