22 April,2011 10:23 AM IST | | Sheetal Sukhija
Over 350 new bands are added to the city's music map every year and they are out to experiment with not just sound but genres too. Many live dual lives, embracing corporate culture during the day and jamming up by night
Be it power packed head banging gigs or cool musical evenings with a hint of old school rock and pop, Bangalore welcomes all genres of music with an open heart and this year the music scene is set to witness even better times.
Long head banging sessions and cool evening featuring rock and pop bands are not new to Bangalore. But what's new is that each year over 350 new bands are formed and over 200 sustain themselves by performing at different venues. With enough encouragement coming to these bands from all quarters, there's nothing more that these newbies in the music scene could ask for.
New music bands in Bangalore today are not just playing for the metal and rock loving crowds, but they have gone a step further by introducing new genres to the already booming music scene here.
While you have hard core local metal bands like Corrode and Verses who believe in producing music that is melodious yet powerful, bands like All The Fat Children and Chimera stand out for their powerpacked performances aimed at innovating music and on the same page, there are bands like Solder, Bicycle Days and Refiner that have won hearts in a short span of time because of their sheer brilliance at mixing genres and coming up with innovative music.
So what is the driving factor for these bands? Encouraging young bands and driving them ahead by providing them with a platform to perform has been the sole motive for these veterans. They have tracked the city music scene for over a decade and are now investing their time, energy and moolah to promote young bands.
Second life
Kurt Cobain once famously said, 'Music rules 'em all', but in an age where going commercial is the key to fill your pocket, is it tough for the bands to sustain themselves and yet keep producing good music?
Explains Eben Johnson, All The Fat Children, "We started out as a college band but it was our love for music that keeps us going. All of us have a different take on music and we use that to bring about innovation in our sound. There is a lot of 'selfish music' out there, too much competition and amidst all this, the only thing that would help you sustain yourself is the pleasure you derive from your music. We pulled ourselves out of the competition mode and now instead of trying to become the best, we concentrate on making our audiences like our music."
While that is one way of looking at the competition around, there are other bands like Chimera, who lead dual lives. "We all studied at the same college and would jam at our hostel. Now we're all working in the corporate sector. We work by the day and perform and jam in the evenings. It sure is a dual lifestyle, but we love it," quips Hari Anil Kumar, lead guitarist.
While almost 100 bands walk their separate paths, almost 250 bands carry forward their music, and in quite quirky ways. "The facilities that are available today are much better than what they were ten years ago. There's easier access for these new bands upcoming bands. Some have shown great potential and although the volume has increased, it would be much better if they bring about quality in the same ratio," opines Rajeev, Director, Kyra.
While others like Ashish, Owner, Legends Of Rock believes in backing these new bands and providing them with constructive criticism for improvement. "For me it was all about providing new bands with a platform to perform, but at the same time it was important to guide the bands too. So after each gig I sit down with the bands and give them my opinion and advice on a few things they can improve on. If it helps them I feel that I've achieved what I set out to do," explains Ashish.
Whether or not these bands impress the crowd with their music, one thing is for sure, they are adding to Bangalore's music scene in a good way. "These new age musicians will be remembered for the innovation that they've introduced in the scene here," concludes an avid music fan Ramyaa. 'Music makes the world go round' is surely the only mantra these city youngsters are chanting.
