A rocking effort

Our prayers have been answered We had lamented on these pages earlier this month about how live bands mdash and rock music in general mdash have been getting an expected raw deal from organisers even after venues finally opened their doors for gigs after the lockdown Electronic music is the cash crop they have been harvesting to overcome the drought that the pandemic has caused to their business But a new gig series Rock Raid Fest aims to alter that equation It hopes to give the genre a shot in the arm in the manner of well vaccination for COVID19Nikhil Bhosale aka DeanThe members of citybased hard rock act Nightrain who have started an events firm called Temple of Rock are the ones organising it Cofounder Nikhil Bhosale aka Dean tells us ldquoI grew up in an era in the 1990s and early 2000s when we had huge rock festivals including Independence Rock Great Indian Rock and Mood Indigo the annual fest at IITBombay Those were the days But things started fading around 2010 Bands started dispersing We thought that someone needs to do something about it We need to unite bands on one platform and give them their due since rock bands often get mistreatedrdquoDean adds that the reasons behind rockrsquos declining fortunes include new genres such as EDM and hiphop stealing the audiencersquos attention ldquoPeople donrsquot listen to rock bands patiently enough and there is hardly any independent music left on television either Yet these bands have survived And we hope that they coming together on one stage will give a lot of exposure to the rock scene The people who attend the event will go back home and talk about it with their friends and if we keep hosting such concerts people will understand the magic of listening to a live band instead of a DJ pressing buttonsrdquo he saysLuke KennyWith that in mind the Temple of Rock team has brought five bands on board for volume one of Rock Raid Fest this weekend They are White Vinyl One Night Stand Luke Kenny and the Bollyrockers Claver and the F Band and Nightrain Dean tells us that they didnrsquot go by anyone elsersquos reference while choosing these acts ldquoInstead we studied the bands and their lifestyles What is their attitude like Do they fit into the aura of Rock Raid Fest The idea we had is to choose bands that are good enough to inspire smaller bands that are just starting out to reach the same stagerdquoHe adds that the pandemic has tied his hands in terms of inviting outstation acts which is why all five names for the upcoming gig at a Lower Parel venue are Mumbaibased But they plan to host further editions of the event at Goa Delhi and in the Northeast this year in order to reignite the flame of rock music across the country ldquoLater we will have bands from different cities playing at one place so that the crowd can hear acts from other placesrdquo Dean says But for now the gig in Mumbai with local acts is the first step on their journey towards being the flagbearers of a neglected genre And we for one couldnrsquot be happier about itOn March 7 5 pmAt AntiSocial Mathuradas Mill Compound Lower ParelLog on to instamojocomCost 749