Not my song

Second Hand is a band specialising in playing other people's melodies

Second Hand is a band specialising in playing other people's melodies

A new cover band in town, Second Hand, has an interesting mix of professionals. They are a commercial cover band, who play songs which people recognise and enjoy. Sujay Harthi, the vocalist from the band, speaks on what makes them tick.

No originals please: Sujay, Tony, Praveen, and Kishan of Second Hand play only covers, and are proud of it

Why Second Hand?
We basically play cover songs. Songs known to people and those that many recognise. They are not our own compositions, and hence the name Second Hand. This band was formed early this year.u00a0

Each one of you are musicians performing for various bands. How did Second Hand bring you guys together?
As part of the band Bhoomi, we wrote songs for 7-8 years, but due to various reasons, we didn't recieve the kind of response we expected. Bhoomi has its own ideology, which is to play only own compositions. Bhoomi does not play cover, whereas, Second Hand does.

When we started playing cover songs, we realised our own shortcomings as musicians. Though we enjoy playing our own compositions, playing covers helps us set up a bench marks for ourselves, where we strive to deliver songs meeting the expectations of the original song. We put ourselves through the test, but always hold on strong to our own music and style.

How is Second Hand different?
Most musicians in our city play tracks of their own choice. We decided to give people what they wanted to hear. We have a standard set of our favourite songs, but we also customise songs as per the client's requirements. You can call us a commercial corporate cover band.
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Does the audience relate more to cover songs than original music?
We have so far not played to a crowd who are indifferent. The crowd easily recognises the songs, and they sing along. Everyone is having a good time.u00a0 But as Bhoomi, we have been frowned upon. People tend to get more critical and judge you more often when you play original music.

One gig you cannot forget?
We had to perform at a college in Madhya Pradesh. We had to travel in the middle of the night crossing the Chmbal Valley, a 24-hour travel. We got just six hours rest and then we performed for two hours and soon hit the road again, travelling for 6 hours to Delhi and back to Bangalore. That was tiring.

The tracks you would love to cover?
We would love to play songs by Mr Big, Pink Flyod and Doobie Brothers.