Interviews - 8octaves Music

January 23, 2012

January 23, 2012September 9, 2022 Abhiraj Ghosh

Interview With Daniel Rego

Today we have with us a guitar virtuoso, a local legend, and now a nurturer of new talent. All this and more, and he is just 21 years old. Daniel Rego is a guitarist who is currently involved with various projects, and is best known for being a member of Demonic Resurrection. We recently caught up with Daniel for an interview, and here is how it went:

Eight Octaves: What made you pick up the guitar?

Daniel Rego: I am not really sure. I picked up the guitar early. My dad got me a acoustic guitar and sent me to Francis sir. I think you might know him. I went to him for six months and then I started to pursue it by myself. The thing that really made me take up the guitar seriously was when I started listening to Iron Maiden’s Brave New World album. I was ten at that time. As well as the other music I grew up on. Also, my dad’s music – a lot of 70’s rock, Pink Floyd sort of stuff, a lot of 80’s, also Def Lepard that helps. But primarily Brave New World.

EO: Why the guitar? Why not any other instrument?

Daniel: I have not really thought about it. I also play the bass guitar but I don’t pursue it professionally. I play it only at home most of time, and as I started out with the guitar I found it quite natural expressing myself on the guitar. So it made sense to continue with it. I also play a bit of drums.

EO: What is your current arsenal?

Daniel: I recently got endorsed by PRS Guitars. It’s a US-based company. So I have PRS Paul Allender SE signature guitar which I got two months ago. I also have my dad’s old Fender 40th anniversary Strat. But that stays at home most of the time. I use it to record stuff a lot. I also have an Ovation copy acoustic guitar. Actually, it is a semi-electric cause it has a piezo pickup inside which is made by Handax, a Korean company. So that’s my acoustic guitar which I use for live or at home. I also own a Yamaha RBX 170 bass guitar. But it is not used much. I mainly use it at home. I use a Line 6 Pod X3 Live. That’s pretty much all of it. I connect the Line 6 via USB to my computer so it is my recording interface at home. For live, I use it straight to the board or to the PA so I don’t need an amp either.

EO: How much do you feel equipment matters?

Daniel: Well, it’s a cliché to say it is not important. It is important. If you have a guitar that doesn’t sound good or doesn’t inspire you to play then the chances are you are going to be stunted a bit. But it is not naturally required. I had a shitty guitar for a long time. I think it is important that a musician keeps in touch with what is happening around, and gets what stands in the way the least, and allows him to express himself the best. But i don’t think it is a hindrance if you don’t have good gear, you can always transcend that and go beyond that. Good equipment can also inspire you. Definitely.

EO: Are there any techniques or methods you stand by over the years?

Daniel: I think a huge part of my learning and teaching music has been giving a lot of importance to the theoretical part of it. From right when I started learning my guitar I paid attention to music theory and that has helped me over the years as a guitarist.

Also, there is something you can’t grasp in music beyond an aesthetic level if you don’t understand the nuts and bolts of it. At some point every musician should learn music theory, there is no substitute for it. A lot of people feel that theory dulls your creative edge and makes you do things in obvious ways. That’s nonsense. The theoretical and aesthetical part of music affect each other. So, if you know a lot about the theoretical aspect you can apply it to the aesthetic side. But at the same time you should not be impaired at the aesthetic level as a lot of people do who take music theory too seriously and can’t handle anything of the nut.

I also take ear training seriously. It is something I work on a lot and it is something that definitely affects my appreciation of music. If your ear can analyze things on the fly as you are listening and it becomes part of your subconscious process. It deepens your understanding of music and enjoyment of it ultimately much more.

So, I’d say ear training and music theory have definitely been a great asset and a technique I have been standing by for, for a long time.

EO: How have you been going about composing?

Daniel: It depends on the setup and purpose of the composition. For Demonic Resurrection, we all write our songs individually and not as a group setup. We have all have our individual creative and aesthetic senses. So, all of us make our individual tracks at home and then the rest of the band hears it, and then we all have input in it later. So the skeleton of the song is always by one person. With DR, more than starting with a musical idea, I start out with an aesthetic idea. I envision a song that puts into music a kind of a scenario. Maybe trying to imagine a song that would play in a battle scene or for a war on a great plain. Since DR music is very war oriented, music-wise, I usually work with an image. So maybe I think of an image that epitomizes a certain visual scene. I try to express that image through a guitar part and it builds from there on. So that is how DR music works compositionally at least for me. So, with DR, it starts with less concrete or theoretical ideas and more of visual and imaginative ideas, and with jazz, jazz rock, fusion or blues, so it’s a lot jamming with myself. I play a certain chord progression with a certain melody over it. That becomes the heart of the song and then everything else builds around it and it evolves into a full song.

December 1, 2011

December 1, 2011September 17, 2022 8octaves Music

Interview With Lesle Lewis

Lesle Lewis at the airport, not something we see very often in Bangalore which is why we grabbed the opportunity to get an interview with him his very successful tour for Antiquity’s Club fusion music tour.

Lucky for us, Lesle, one of India’s finest composers and the man behind popular tunes such as Pari Hoon Main, Krishna and Mango Frooti, was kind enough to take sometime off his schedule to have a telephonic interview. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

You were here for a performance for the antiquity tour. How was the bangaloreans’ response and the whole experience?

“As far as Antiquity tour is concerned, it was awesome since we did a few cities like Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore. The Bangalore response was really great, for a couple of reasons. For one it rained and though it was an open air amphitheatre, everyone sat in the rain and were completely drenched. The audience didn’t leave which as an artist felt good. The crowd was of the mindset that it’s raining, just too bad. Bangaloreans, being used to the rain, unexpected rain for that matter, really couldn’t give a damn. I have a feeling that they just wanted to listen to the music. Another thing that was great was, while playing Krishna, the unplugged version; I witnessed the wildest fireworks display I have ever seen. During the song, a string of crackers were lit and they went on till the end of the song. This was like a fusion of firecrackers and music and worked wonders with the fusion music theme. I was of the impression that the organizers arranged for the firecrackers but they hadn’t.

Another highlight of the tour was that I played a fresh song for the first time in the city. This was something special I did for Bangalore’s audience, specifically in fact for this tour. It’s very difficult to sing with the firecrackers but the experience was overwhelming. Bangaloreans are very music loving and they come in all spirit to concerts. Augustus, the event company pulled off a fabulous job. With the crowd enthusiasm and the cracker display at the concert, I think this experience, was a first.

Is it very difficult to work with artists of different music backgrounds to bring in the whole fusion feel? How do you find your ground at such concerts?

“Well, I started the whole hindi pop genre, from Pari Hoon Main to Yaaron Dosti, after which I started composing remixes which hadn’t been brought into India until then. Then I got into the fusion scene with Krishna and later coke studio. I’m so widely interested in the Music of India, but moving into the various genres is something I had started anyway. I’m in a way a father of all the genres in India, so it’s not at all difficult to find my ground. With coke studio, you can see the resurrection of the live bands scene in India and everyone’s playing live music now, it works wonders. I am the only Indian artist to have done the original MTV unplugged with George Michael and Creed and though the Indian version of it is great as well, I believe a lot of people are influenced by my music, whichever genre it covers. I just fit in and blend in with the concert, irrespective of the artist, the music or the genre since I’m well acquainted with all of them.

When did the passion for music surface and how did you decide to make a career out of this? Did u have to meet a lot of music composers, sign labels and struggle to get to follow your dream?

“I had a passion for music since school, I couldn’t see anything else for myself. Of course I had to do what every musician does and I started from wherever I could get a grip on anything. A lot of musicians today don’t want to play below a certain amount of money and I understand that from a career perspective but I believed that every time u don’t play somewhere u lose something. I used to get Rs30 for a concert and I’ve seen the worst times and phases of music. Today there are pop and fusion industries because I believed in them and had a hard time making that kind of music for the audiences. I had to prove to everybody that fusion could work and then the audiences heard Colonial Cousins and loved it. Everyone cannot see your dream so you create the end product to prove it to them. I’m always looking at where I can take my music from here and having been a trendsetter, its in my nature to keep looking at the next introduction and more music territories to expose. The thing about music is, the more we live with music we realize that we don’t know anything. Music is a big, vast ocean. I’m still exploring it and breaking barriers. Thankfully my passion is recognized and accepted by the audiences. Most of my work has been on the top ten hits and none of it is from movies, or has an actor in the video. It hasn’t been Bollywood centric which in itself was quite a challenge.

How is the Colonial Cousins journey? Tell us a bit more about the collaboration.

Colonial Cousins had to live a hard life and face struggle before people realized what we were trying to do. I still remember a fax from Warner bros was rolled out to us saying, great album, fabulous work, but what is it? This was in 1994 and we had to wait till 1996 to have them understand it through a release. Its always dim hope when you create music and it takes two years to release. But we pursued it and believed in it and it finally worked wonders. We together, won many awards and till day Colonial Cousins stands as one of the biggest bands in India. We experienced the world at a very different level in 1996. Rasool Pookutty was telling me about the times he would hear stories of us travelling in stretch limos and drinking champagne and while he was still chasing his dream and when he won the Oscar the first thing on his mind was the Colonial Cousins, because we had been there, done that. We have done 51 songs in 40 days which is practically impossible but we had to do it. There were no shortcuts either, we would start from scratch if we made an error which is the reason live music is pure music, its one live take. Colonial Cousins are also the only Indian band to have performed at the original coke studio which is a great feeling especially now that it’s such a highly regarded music event.

Being a part of the band Colonial cousins or composing alone as Leslie Lewis? Do you enjoy one more than the other?

“Collaborations are great experiences and for me, as Lesle Lewis, who has done Pal, Pari Hoon Main and Yaaron on one side and being a part of a band on the other, are both equally enriching. There is a lot of music that you cannot perform with certain collaborations so separately we do our own music. Even though we perform together, Lesle Lewis and Hariharan are both a constant in their own way no matter who they work with.”

What do you keep in mind while recording new material or performing on stage?

“While composing music, I create it to shape up with the singer’s persona and character. My job is to make them a star and I fit the composition for the artist keeping their strengths and weaknesses in mind. I craft the song for whom it is made. It is like a tailor-made composition for the artist. I’m a completely made to order composer. Even for brand jingles and advertisements, I always focus on the brand’s target audience and that has been my specialty. I’ve been good at helping brands reach out to their audience and capture their attention which shows in the number of awards I have won from the advertising world.”

Tell us about your upcoming projects and what you’re currently working on.

“I’m currently creating the F1 anthem sung by Daler Mehndi, KK, A.R. Rahman and me. I’m also working on a movie and collaborating with international artistes in the New Year but I cannot share details on the same just yet. I’ve also begun to perform live a lot more after coke studio.”

The music world has been hit by a storm that goes by the name of Kolaveri di. Your opinions on it?

“I haven’t heard Kolaveri yet but I feel there’s something positive, there has to be something about the song for it to have become such a viral. It is however, essential that the artist recreates music with equal or more impact over and over again to avoid being a one hit wonder, only then is the artist enthralling. I do also Wish all these upcoming artistes all the very best, they have and are definitely doing something right, hope they continue to do so.”

November 1, 2011

November 1, 2011September 15, 2022 8octaves Music

Featured Artist December 2011 – Parvaaz

Introduce the band.

The band was formed in early 2009. It comprises of Khalid Ahmed (vocals), Kashif Iqbal (guitars), Sachin Banandur (drums), and Niel Simon (bass). The band’s name, Parvaaz, means “flight” in Urdu.

How did your band come to be?

Kashif and I have known each other since childhood. We were lucky to find each other here in Bangalore after a gap of about two years. Both of us have common influences when it comes to music. It wasn’t long before we started making our own songs. Sometime late in 2009, we added Niel on bass. It took a year before we found the right drummer and finally, with Sachin’s inclusion, we were a complete outfit and started jamming.

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What are your influences?

It’s a wide variety of music and musicians. Some of the artists and bands we are influenced and inspired by are: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Junoon, Fleet Foxes, Deep Purple, Coldplay, U2, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the likes.

How do you go about composing your music?

Well, it’s different from time to time. Sometimes a song is born just out of jamming with the rest of the guys. Other times it’s an idea or a lyric or some divine inspiration that makes the basic body of the song and we then go on adding colour, hooks, etc. Most of our songs, though, grow as we continue to play them live.

The Indian underground scene is dominated by English bands, so what is it like being a Hindi band in the midst of all this?

I don’t see any english band dominating the scene. Some of them are really brilliant, like Soulmate, Thermal and a Quarter, Parikrama. However there are equally great bands singing in regional languages. Avial is a prime example of that and, of course, the inspirational Indian Ocean. We just write what comes from our hearts and what we really want to do. I think language doesn’t matter for music lovers. We even have songs in Kashmiri and yet people like them. It’s the sound and soul of the music which is important.

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Do you do music full time? If not then, how do you manage work and music?

We do music full time. It’s the only work we know.

What is your philosophy on music?

All four of us have different philosophies about life but when it comes to music we find common ground. So music is something that brings people together. That’s our basic philosophy.

Send out a message to your fans and to other bands.

To our fans, I want to thank them for following us and I promise there is a lot we have in store for them. Other bands have been making good music and I hope they keep up the same trend and we all can together bring about a revolutionary change in the music industry.

Where else can we find you online?

Facebook | Bandcamp | Soundcloud

November 1, 2011

November 1, 2011September 15, 2022 Amar Singh

Featured Artist November 2011 – Mad Orange Fireworks

Introductions:

Hi, this is Mad Orange Fireworks. We’re an alt rock act right here in Bangalore. We are:

Michael Dias (guitars, lead vocals), Kaushik Kumar (bass, backing vocals), and Shravan Bendapudi (drums, percussion, backing vocals).

Where and how did your band begin?

It all started in Bangalore itself. Michael had a bunch of songs that had piled up from as much as 7 years ago, but they were rough drafts and he was looking for the right people to work the stuff out with. Through a common friend, he met a metal drummer with a soft corner for Dave Matthews Band and hit it off instantly. The final piece of the puzzle fit when Slingshot bassist and long time friend of Michael agreed to become a part of the project, which then became Mad Orange Fireworks. All this was about 7 months ago.

How would you describe your sound?

Our sound is an amalgamation of a large number of genres – classic rock, funk, jazz, pop, blues… the list is quite long. So, we’ve summed it up: Orange rock! That’s our sound.

How do you go about composing music? What inspires you?

It starts with a mood and a guitar line – a lick, an arpeggio, a progression – anything. Everything sort of builds around that core. We’re slowly getting into a groove, though, with songs like ‘Empty Saturday’ where it becomes more about how each instrument complements the other to form that core together. And when you love music, anything can inspire you – turning 25 (the horror! the horror!), dancing (or the inability to do so), or even getting thrown out of class in college. Love and heartbreak are in there as well…

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Your musical influences?

Well, Michael comes from a background of playing acoustic to himself in his bedroom. Thermal and a Quarter, John Mayer, and Sting are some of his big current influences. Kaushik’s background is more groovy with a lot of funk including Tower of Power and Marcus Miller. Shravan is more the metal dude with his music leaning towards stuff like Pain of Salvation, Porcupine Tree and Deftones. Overall, as a band, we listen to a lot of stuff that seeps in to our music – from indie bands like St. Vincent and The Magic Numbers, some heavier stuff like Extreme and Red Hot Chili Peppers, to jazz with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Sinatra… it’s basically this huge melting pot…

How do you manage work and music?

You sacrifice on other stuff… sleep included. The thing is, all of us are in fields and jobs that we like – Michael is a full time musician now, teaching guitar and performing all the way. So, in that sense, his work is music and he loves it!! Shravan’s a civil engineer by day and a rockstar by night. He compromises on sleep the most. And Kaushik is finishing up architecture at college and should start practicing soon. He sleeps the most 😉 . So we take it one day at a time and do whatever is necessary.

What is your philosophy on music?

Music is the soundtrack to life. Whatever you’re going through – pleasure or pain – and however trivial it may be, music can express it and let you have a good time doing it. It becomes a conduit through which the band members can open themselves up and the brilliant thing is that then people in the audience reciprocate… So, suddenly we know each other 🙂 . We feel that music keeps us from taking life too seriously sometimes as well. It’s there to tell you that no matter what, it’s all good.

What is the most important thing to you when you are on stage?

Two things – sound dynamics and chemistry. Without both of them, it just isn’t a show – it becomes a group of guys playing a bunch of songs. The audience feeds off the energy on stage – they have to see that we’re having fun. After all, it is that kind of music. Especially dynamics… that’s what gives any band’s music life. It goes from being a bunch of notes to a song.

What advice would you like to give to musicians and fans out there?

Practice. Practice. Practice. There’s so much to make perfect. You have to be tight, play knowing how you’d sound in the mix, jive with each other’s idiosyncrasies and within all that learn how to find moments of magic… moments that will catch anyone’s eye and ear and on a good day even give them goosebumps 🙂

And to the fans, we feed off you. We are a performance act that’s driven by the crowd and the music. Without you there is no magic, and in that sense there is no band. Thank you for being a part of Mad Orange Fireworks.

Where else can we find you online?

You can catch us online here:

Facebook | Reverbnation | Youtube

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October 17, 2011

October 17, 2011September 17, 2022 Shubangi Sundar

Interview With Jagged Surge

JAGGED SURGE: The way up

Power is an intoxicating thing, something that gets you involved and unable to look away. This is what Jagged Surge brings to the Music world. The foursome has a unique sound and sense of power that is electrifying. Eight Octaves looks beneath the edge, at the boys from Bangalore in an interview with Neil Rego, front man of the band.

Neil – Lead vocals. Schizophrenic Multi-tasker.
Avy – Guitars, backing vocals. He travels in his SUV just like an Eveready Battery “going on and on….”
Prashanth – Guitars. Gaming and alcohol wizard.
Mayur – Bass & backing vocals. Works hard in reducing the calories by riding on his ‘Royal Enfield Bullet’ motor bike.
Stan – Drums. Cell phone fiddling maniac.

Q’s: ANSWER IN AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE

There are mentions of the bands reunion and reentry into the Indian Metal scene, what does the band have to say about this?

Avy and me were part of another band called ENTHRALL in the 90’s. We reunited later after a gap of 12 years,to form Jagged Surge in February 2010. Stan, Prashanth and Mayur( the young guns) had been associated with different bands. Since 2010, Jagged Surge has performed at many events in Karnataka. Although, there is a relevant gap in ages within the band, the melding of Old School with New School traits has brought forth an identifiable sound for the band. We feed off each other, with regards to knowledge and experience that we have obtained, while being part of the scene. We are keen as ever to awaken the genres that have been dormant and forgotten,since the turn of the 21^st century.

Are they excited about being part of October Fest. Why? (I know this may sound odd, but bands have different reasons for wanting to perform so thought I would ask)

We performed in 2011 and garnered a lot of appreciation for our performance. In addition, as a band performing on the big stage, we get the opportunity to network with a lot of the other talented bands and their fans.

As always, in this edition, we are looking to top our previous performance, courtesy with our new band line-up and power soaked new songs .

What is the bands plan post October Fest?

We will perform at gigs, which welcome our brand of music. We are also in the midst of completing a set of new songs, which we are hopeful will make it on our EP/Album in the first quarter of 2013.

The bands dream is to be nationally known, what is the game plan to achieve that currently?

At the pole position, it would be gigs in different states. The gigs serve as a perfect platform for the band to network with fans and get their feedback. Feedback received helps us to visit the drawing board and piece together a strategy for our progress.

Admittingly, we have been poor with social network sites and the band is looking to increase fan traffic soon , by connecting with music listeners and promoters on a frequent basis.

October 1, 2011

October 1, 2011September 15, 2022 Abhiraj Ghosh

Featured Artist October 2011 – Solder

Introduce the band: / Introductions:

Akhilesh: Bunch of fun, energetic, completely awesome guys playing awesome fun, energetic and feel good music!

Joel: We are Solder: experience feel good rock at its best!!

Sylvester: Hi, we are Solder.

Philip: Well, we’re a bunch of like-minded people put together, who feel making music is one of the most awesome things to do… and we love playing it live n loud!!

Siddarth: Joel Rozario (drums and backing vocals), Sylvester Pradeep (lead guitarist and backing vocals), Akhilesh Kumar (rhythm guitarist and backing vocals), Samson Philip (bass guitarist) and I’m the lead vocalist and play the acoustic guitar. Someone has to introduce the band so people know whose who!

How did your Band come to be? / Your beginnings?

Akhilesh: Brought together by the power and drive to create music that anyone and everyone will listen to…Solder came together.

Siddarth: Akhi is quite the drama king, so you can ignore him at times. Solder was formed by a bunch of like-minded guys who want to make the world a happy place through music.

Joel: We are a bunch of guys brought together by music, each having his individual musical likes and inspirations but united by the fact that we collectively are here to make some good music. Some of us are college-mates and some of us played in rival bands but at the end of the day: WE ARE SOLDER!

Sylvester: a mix and match of different incidents from the past so many years, all of them collectively brought us together.

Philip: we all had mutual friends and well fate somehow got us together.

What are your influences? / Your influences?

Akhilesh: Queen, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Poison, Petra, Ritchie Sambora, Mr. Big, the Beatles, Dave Matthews Band, and a lot more.

Siddarth: More like inspirations as our music isn’t really influenced by anybody in particular. We all have varied tastes. I in particular grew up on Elvis, the Beatles, Jim Reeves, AC/DC, and then moved on to listening to Dave Matthews and Audioslave.

Joel: No influences, but inspirations include Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Dave Matthews Band, the Kooks, the Fleet Foxes, and the Killers.

Sylvester: As a guitarist, my influences starts from the roots of contemporary music, the Blues. I have been truly inspired by Jimi Hendrix and also motivated by several other guitarists like Slash, Joe Satriani, Edge, Derek Trucks, John Mayer, and many others. Some good guitarists from our own backyard too – Bruce [Springsteen], Warren [Haynes], and many others.

Philip: Queen, Dave Matthews Band, Mr. Big, and a bit of classic rock.

Tell us about your Favourite Original. How did you go about composing it?

Akhilesh: NO such thing as a favourite original; we love all our songs, just wanna play them all, all the time!

Siddarth: These are those times when you can listen to Akhi! As he rightfully put it, we don’t have a favourite original. Each one is somewhat different from the other and is meant to touch anybody and everybody.

Joel: We love all our originals as if they were our children, just as any parent with more than one child will tell you: we love them all equally and unconditionally!

Sylvester: Hate to be redundant but I just have to agree with the rest.

Philip: First of all, we like all our originals! And we sit together and write our music.

How do you manage work and music?

Akhilesh: I work around my music; right now I have a guitar school and that helps in more ways than one.

Siddarth: I teach kick-boxing three times a week, which gives me plenty of time to concentrate on music. Music is given first priority and everything comes after that, so when that is clear you just make time.

Joel: Where there is a will there is a way!

Sylvester: Managing work and music is quite a struggle, I must say, as I own a small company which deals with all kinds of fine arts and visual arts. It sometimes becomes hard to give time for both, since both these forms are equally satisfying but soon I will become a full time musician and run my company successfully.

Philip: Well, music is always a priority since I freelance as an audio engineer!! So it kind of works out.

Your philosophy on music?

Akhilesh: Music is something that I need to feel before I can play it. In all our songs, there is a lot of feel and its awesome because it not only helps me play them in the best possible way I can, but it also let’s me see the crowd and fans respond and that gives me an immense kick. And playing it with my friends who share the same passion: well, that’s a bonus.

Siddarth: Music is a language that everyone understands and that I strongly believe no matter what you play or what kind of genre. If you love what you play, others will too (eventually)!

Joel: Simple philosophy: music is something you should feel as a musician and you know you are a good musician when you’re able to make the crowd feel what you do!

Sylvester: I strongly believe music has to be taken seriously. Though it is fun to play it must not lose its essence: music is a strong element that can be used to communicate, converse, reach out, reach in, heal, and sometimes even hurt. It can evoke different emotions in different people. We are lucky to be able to understand music and be a part of one of the strongest forms of nature. We should just be thankful and give our best to learn more and give back to music.

Philip: Music means everything to me: right from the time I wake up, everything I do revolves around music. And I teach music too… So, yeah.

A message to your fans and other bands?

Akhilesh: The response we get from people is amazing. A big thank you to all our fans who’ve supported us through our journey so far and have helped us in someway or the other!! As for other bands: guys, keep doing what you’re doing, and if u believe in it enough to fight for it, you’ll go places.

Siddarth: Other than for ourselves, we play for the fans and anybody who just wants to feel happy and alive, and who loves good music! I’d really like to thank all those who’ve been with us so far, and who will be joining us in the future because, hey, the journey is the most fun part. To the other bands: it isn’t the easiest road to take but it definitely is the most fun and the most happening one. Do what you love and keep at it, and you will see things work out.

Joel: At our fans: WE LOVE YOU!! Thanks for all the support. At other bands all over India: LET’S GIG TOGETHER!!

Sylvester: We love you and thanks for the support. Learn all kinds of music to better understand the sound you are looking for. Appreciating all forms of music is the best way to get better.

Philip: Just do what you like doing. Never give up! It’s all worth it!!

Also check out:

http://www.facebook.com/SolderMusic

http://www.reverbnation.com/solder

http://www.youtube.com/siddarthabraham

http://soundcloud.com/siddarthabraham

And coming really soon

www.soldermusic.com

September 1, 2011

September 1, 2011September 15, 2022 Amar Singh

Featured Artist September 2011 – Bourbon Street

Introduce the Band.

Fidel: Chester Pereira on guitars , Sudhakar Prabhu ( yes we also have a mallu ) on drums , Bharat Kumar on Keyboards, Jerome Mascarenhas on vocals/blues harps , Ian Castelino on Djembe/percussions and Dr Sangeetha Swaminathan on Carnatic Violin. I play the bass.
Chester: Bourbon Street is a band that plays music from different genres. We grew up listening to and liking many different kinds of music, and when we came together as a band, we decided to play music belonging to different styles rather than picking a genre. Our music is mostly improvisational in nature, and I’d say we are more of a ‘performing’ band as opposed to a ‘studio’ band.
Bharath: Exactly what Chester said. Contrary to what most bands do, we have very little interest in recording our music to produce commercial albums. Our idea of a great band is just to re-interpret our own songs at every show, thus making every show unique. And because of this improvisation hang-up that we have, we end up doing jazz-funk and carnatic numbers, which inherently allow for a large degree of improvisation

How did your Band come to be ?

Chester: We started off as a three-piece and recruited people as and when the opportunity arose. We are now a 7-piece band! Fidel: Our origins are from Chester , the guitarist , whom I met at a jam some years ago. We decided to jam out at the LiveGig that used to take place on Sundays at Indira Gandhi Museum. We emailed each other some tracks , one morning I arrived I met Sudhakar on stage and we just improvised. Eventually we met more musicians and we’ve always managed to accommodate a growing number of performers in the same floor area !

Bharath: Haha! I remember the day the three of them played at The Live Gig. I was the founder member of The Live Gig, and I saw these guy playing some funky jive-ass shit! I said to myself, “I have got to play with these bad-ass mofos!” Ian: I don’t know man. I was at home one day and some masked goons entered my house (one of them in the same shape and size as our drummer). I was gagged, stuffed into my djembe and taken to a studio. They said “Make some noise”. I did. They said, “Good, you are with us now, just pretend like you know some shit”.

What are each of your Influences ?

Chester: Phish, Roy Buchanan, Manitas De Plata, Gipsy Kings, Nadaka, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Eric Clapton, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Slayer, The Police, Pink Floyd, Santana, Rush, King Crimson, Skunk Baxter, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai….the list is endless 🙂

Fidel: Bon Jovi , Santana , Jaco Pastorius, Dire Straits , Steely Dan , Dream Theater , Tool , Rush , Extreme, Roger Waters, Leonard Cohen.

Bharath: Chopin, Schubert, Mozart, Chick Corea, Thelonius Monk, Fats Waller, Bill Evans, B.B.King, Miles Davis, Richard Wright, Jean-Micheal Jarre, Keith Emerson, Dream Theater, Rush. And recently Deadmau5..

Sudhakar: Lots to name. But any kind of music or musician that dares to be new and stand out inspires me
Ian: Alcohol

Tell us about your Favorite Original. How did you go about composing it?

Chester: While jamming with Sangeetha, Fidel asked her “How does this raga Khamaj go? Can we do something with it?” and I suggested we try something in the 9/8 time signature as we hadn’t worked in that time signature. While putting things together, there was one part where I accidentally suggested something in a 10/8. It sounded good though, so we decided to keep it. We fit all the pieces together and the outcome was a number that we call ‘Serenity’.

Fidel: We have this one track called ‘When She Smiles’ played in a 5/4. When the song starts off with the guitar arpeggio, the mood immediately mellows into this nice, warm, comfortable zone. Personally I think we (re)compose it everytime we perform it because that’s the way we treat our music. You dont know how you’re going to end up treating the song and the solos everytime you play it.

Sudhakar: There is this jazz piece called Dust and then there is this one piece which we don’t play anymore. Can’t remember its name but I quite used to enjoy playing it.

How do you manage work and music?

Chester: With relative ease. Work takes precedence over music, but there is plenty of time for things beyond work – one just has to realize that.

Fidel: I would definitely love to be involved with more music than I currently am. But (sigh) work is work and play is play

Bharath: I do work as a musician. I’ve got a home studio, where I produce music for ads, games etc. I also build customized MIDI hardware. So its not really a work vs. music thing for me. They’re the same thing 🙂

Ian: Hey it’s easy man, at work I say I got a gig. At the gig I say I got work.

Sudhakar: HAHAHAHAHAHA!! You forgot to add family. I am the only married guy in the band and managing work, family and band….I sometimes wish I could Copy/Paste myself

What is Your philosophy on music?

Chester: Music is an art form that utilizes sound to instill emotions in people. Lyrics can be powerful but are secondary. If you want to present or compose a piece of music, realize what emotion or message you are trying to convey, and work towards it. It’s like narrating an incident – you wouldn’t talk in a drone-like tone throughout the story. You would change your tone depending on what you want to express; at times you would be soft and at times you would be loud; at times you would pick your pace and at times you would speed it up; you would choose your words and the sequence of events to drive your message through. That is what makes a good story, and similar ideas apply to making good music.

Fidel: All music to me , is story telling. Folk music, classical music, they all have different stories to tell. A background score for a film is also a story telling aid. Music is a tool, an expression, a medium to confess your sins , share your joys , wallow in pity , anything. It could be something personal or something you’ve learned or your bare thoughts. Spread the message. Whenever I write lyrics, there’s always a story immersed in the words. When you go up on stage, what’s yours?

Bharath: Well, the same thing has been running through my head for a while now. Contrary to what my fellow band-mates have to say, I think that music goes beyond just story-telling. (Maybe that’s a very guitarist way to look at it?) I think all of life is in music. Expressions and Descriptions are merely the tangible parts of the music. The music goes a lot deeper than that, in that it encompasses all the fine nuances of reality, without being bound to express-able emotions. Sometimes I can hear a joke in a phrase, or even a very indefinite sadness, not mournful, not resignedly sad, but just inexpressible sadness. Sometimes phrases even make self-contradictory statements, a la counter-logic. But in the end, what is important to remember that is that all music is contextual.

Ian: Any art form is a means for expression of the self. Music to me means the same. If I let loose I get as original as I can without sticking to conventions. Challenging though it is to shrug off popular influences and styles, it is a direction in which I would like to move.

Sudhakar: Music to me is the most natural thing any human can do. There is a pattern and rhythm in every aspect of nature making it the one language everyone speaks. Its what helps you make sense in chaos. Everything from the metronome of a beating heart to the rumble of the thunder there is a certain beauty in that sound. Its up to us as musicians and artists to make sense of those elements and communicate this to the ones who can’t.

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