Old Monk's all set to go musical, as top Indian rockers of the seventies and eighties make a comeback in the capital for rock history's sake
Old Monk's all set to go musical, as top Indian rockers of the seventies and eighties make a comeback in the capital for rock history's sake
So you though the Seventies and Eighties were only about The Eagles and Paul McCartneys of the West. Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Aerosmith, if anything more. Well, wish you'd look a li'l inward, too. The presence of Anglo-Indians and Britishers in the country's cultural hubs those days made sure nothing was being missed back home. Even as these guys left, students and officers from the armed forces carried the rock legacy forward. All India Radio aired several rock dedicated shows, like 'Friday's A Date with You' in Delhi and Northern India and 'Forces Request' that aired nationwide. Mystiks from Bombay, the Beat-X from Madras and the Flintstone from Calcutta were many of the mid-Sixties bands that had crazy fan following. However, real evolution happened in the decade after, when gramophone records were launched in India and several new and promising bands pumped up the scene by preserving and promoting their stuff. Long after the trend took to new heights, some biggies decide to reunite. And so, there's ReRock II, a retrospective concert, this Saturday.u00a0
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White Fang, one of the most famous campus bands of the Eighties |
Unfinished business
Electric Plant, White Fang and Applied For three of the biggest Delhi bands of yoreu00a0 -- will stage a power-packed concert to recount the tales of Indian rock.u00a0 It's these bands that spotted musicians like Rahul Ram, who went on to play with avant gardeu00a0 ensembles like Indian Ocean. Joining these three great acts will be the newly-formed tribute group, appropriately christened Unfinished Biz. Amitanshu, one of the main forces behind ReRock, and a member of both White Fang and Unfinished Biz, says, "People have been fooled to believe that rock is 'back' and that it never had the kind of popularity is has, today.
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Picks from old performances by Electric Plant |
"I performed at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, backu00a0 in 1982, to a crowd of 15,000. Now, how did that happen if rock didn't have a fan-following in the country?u00a0 Yes, there were no laptops and digital stage accessories to create perfect sounds, no rock trainers, and people who wanted to perform had to rely on gramophone records."u00a0
The line up has beenu00a0 made possible by Reunion Rock, a gang of enthusiasts who have been promoting the history of rock music in the country. "The evening starts with White Fangs, who will present two new songs -- Buddha Saadhu by Rahul Ram - an ode to his bond with Old Monk rum, and Running Out by me, on how limited time can be used optimally. R&B, funk and rock-n-roll pop is also part of the day's play. And, everything's absolutely original," Amitanshu assures.
ReRock
Garden Of Five Senses
Said-Ul-Azaib Village
At 6 pm, tomorrow
