Thursday 31 July 2014
Friday 25 July 2014
Thursday 17 July 2014
Mumbai's increasingly popular band, Spud in the box!!
Pop-rockin’ tunes -Afternoon-Wednesday, July 16, 2014!!
Mumbai's increasingly popular band, Spud in the box, shares their tale with Junisha Dama and dwells on a career in the Indian music industry
We met four members of this alternative pop-rock band, Spud in the box, on a rainy evening. The young band was buzzing excitedly and rhythmically playing tunes. The three-year-old band includes the musical brilliance of Joshua Singh on drums, Zubin Bhathena on bass, Rohan Rajadhakshya on vocals and keyboards, Ankit Dayal on vocals and guitar, and Hartej Sawhney and Siddharth Talwar on guitars.
The band has made a presence in the indie scene; and have performed at popular music festival, 'Bacardi NH7 weekender 2012', the 'Revival of the Bandstand' festival on two occasions, the fifth edition of 'Live From The Console' at Mehboob Studios, Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai, Sitara Studios (for 'Control Alt Delete 3') and have had several gigs at Blue Frog. They have also been the opening act for M Ward and Norah Jones when they played 'A Summer's Day' in Mumbai. And, have also performed at the launch party of Pepsi MTV indies channel alongside several popular indie bands of India.
Sitting around, the band recalled how their common love for music brought them together. “We initially started off by playing during college festivals and competitions. That is when I was offered to bring my band to play for the 'Revival of the Bandstand' festival. I agreed for the gig before I had a band and that is what brought us together. We jammed on a few songs, and soon started getting small gigs. We have been lucky to have entered the scene because we started very small but at least we got gigs consistently”, reminisces Ankit.
Often shunned for being an unpredictable career, music is preferred only by a few who dare to struggle and make a mark. However, the band believes that there is a spectrum of options available. Hartej elucidates, “Being a band is not considered a viable or conventional career. But there are other things that you can do, like create jingles. Artist Vishal Dadlani composes along with Shekhar for Bollywood and also has his own band, 'Pentagram'. Warren Mendonsa produces bands, he plays for Karsh Kale and other musicians, plays for MTV Coke Studio and has Blackstratblues. So, you don't have to only be a live performer and play at gigs because that does not work. Being a band is not enough, not at the moment at least.” Fresh out of college, the band for the moment aims to continue as live performers for a while, “This is the goal we've set for ourselves. We know that we can't carry on only with this as a full-time career but this is what we plan to do for now. As we grow, we will have to brand out in music,” says Rohan.
With the country seeing a music revolution in motion and technology taking a toll on the record and the recording industry around the world, the future seems bright although a little unclear in certain aspects of the industry. The record industry is facing a meltdown due to the quality that can be achieved by recording on one's laptop through various software at home. Several artists abroad prefer to go on tours and play at live events, which sadly fails to be as much of a success in India. Artists are often forced to release albums online for free or simply live stream their performances.
The band culture is still taking time to sink in and with an increasing amount of live performances in metro cities, it is a constant struggle for bands to perform live.
“The biggest challenge is infrastructure and the lack of knowledge of what artists require just to pull through a performance and the lack of technical requirements for the sound quality a live show requires. “In all honesty, people in India hire artists to perform solely for entertainment. They don't realise that a band will sound bad, no matter how good they are, e unless you get your technical requirements up to the mark. Then the audience is obviously not going to enjoy it,” says Rohan.
“That comes across as, the concept of bands for that venue is not working, while the fact remains that they haven't tried it wholeheartedly,” adds Hartej.
Artists in India face difficulties of not gaining adequate respect from the audience due to the shortcomings of the venue. The lack of facilities pose a challenge. Venues and platforms abroad depend on the artists to work; whereas the situation in India unfortunately, is the opposite.
Music is a skill-based industry, and one becomes a star if you possess the talent and the gumption to stick it out. Several institutes across India offer courses in musical training and sound engineering. Having obtained a formal education in music, Joshua clarifies, “A formal education does not help in getting a job or an assignment. It definitely helps you grow as a musician, however, your education does not guarantee a job in this industry. You are only studying for the betterment of your own skills. Although you can be a better musician by simply getting better over the years and improving your skills gradually.” Rohan believes that “If you have creativity and that drive to pursue music, a formal education does help in honing your skills.”
Music enthusiasts willing to enter the scene are skeptical about music being a financially stable career. Ankit advises them to carry on with enthusiasm. “Music will reach a stage where it becomes a viable option. It will become more absolute”, he says. “All we can do to help push that is to give out our best and put our best work forward. The whole DIY setup has changed the way things are and people use it as an excuse to not put out a good quality final product. But that is not what we are about. We give things a lot more time, because we want to provide a good final product. We want to raise the bar, because that's how you get things done. If we raise the bar, only then will someone else raise it further,” assures Rohan.
“If someone wants to get into the scene, this is the best time, because there is so much happening. There is a formal setup which is in process. Start with college festivals, because you never know who is listening to you; you can be picked up from anywhere. Such platforms offer great exposure, and use any platform – be it a bookstore or a cafe. Parents worry about a career in music because it does not have a formal education. When you enter the industry, you don't know where you are headed. But things are getting a structure now, so people should look at coming in the scene,” Hartej signs off.
Courtesy : Click Here To Read Article!!
We met four members of this alternative pop-rock band, Spud in the box, on a rainy evening. The young band was buzzing excitedly and rhythmically playing tunes. The three-year-old band includes the musical brilliance of Joshua Singh on drums, Zubin Bhathena on bass, Rohan Rajadhakshya on vocals and keyboards, Ankit Dayal on vocals and guitar, and Hartej Sawhney and Siddharth Talwar on guitars.
The band has made a presence in the indie scene; and have performed at popular music festival, 'Bacardi NH7 weekender 2012', the 'Revival of the Bandstand' festival on two occasions, the fifth edition of 'Live From The Console' at Mehboob Studios, Hard Rock Cafe Mumbai, Sitara Studios (for 'Control Alt Delete 3') and have had several gigs at Blue Frog. They have also been the opening act for M Ward and Norah Jones when they played 'A Summer's Day' in Mumbai. And, have also performed at the launch party of Pepsi MTV indies channel alongside several popular indie bands of India.
Sitting around, the band recalled how their common love for music brought them together. “We initially started off by playing during college festivals and competitions. That is when I was offered to bring my band to play for the 'Revival of the Bandstand' festival. I agreed for the gig before I had a band and that is what brought us together. We jammed on a few songs, and soon started getting small gigs. We have been lucky to have entered the scene because we started very small but at least we got gigs consistently”, reminisces Ankit.
Often shunned for being an unpredictable career, music is preferred only by a few who dare to struggle and make a mark. However, the band believes that there is a spectrum of options available. Hartej elucidates, “Being a band is not considered a viable or conventional career. But there are other things that you can do, like create jingles. Artist Vishal Dadlani composes along with Shekhar for Bollywood and also has his own band, 'Pentagram'. Warren Mendonsa produces bands, he plays for Karsh Kale and other musicians, plays for MTV Coke Studio and has Blackstratblues. So, you don't have to only be a live performer and play at gigs because that does not work. Being a band is not enough, not at the moment at least.” Fresh out of college, the band for the moment aims to continue as live performers for a while, “This is the goal we've set for ourselves. We know that we can't carry on only with this as a full-time career but this is what we plan to do for now. As we grow, we will have to brand out in music,” says Rohan.
With the country seeing a music revolution in motion and technology taking a toll on the record and the recording industry around the world, the future seems bright although a little unclear in certain aspects of the industry. The record industry is facing a meltdown due to the quality that can be achieved by recording on one's laptop through various software at home. Several artists abroad prefer to go on tours and play at live events, which sadly fails to be as much of a success in India. Artists are often forced to release albums online for free or simply live stream their performances.
The band culture is still taking time to sink in and with an increasing amount of live performances in metro cities, it is a constant struggle for bands to perform live.
“The biggest challenge is infrastructure and the lack of knowledge of what artists require just to pull through a performance and the lack of technical requirements for the sound quality a live show requires. “In all honesty, people in India hire artists to perform solely for entertainment. They don't realise that a band will sound bad, no matter how good they are, e unless you get your technical requirements up to the mark. Then the audience is obviously not going to enjoy it,” says Rohan.
“That comes across as, the concept of bands for that venue is not working, while the fact remains that they haven't tried it wholeheartedly,” adds Hartej.
Artists in India face difficulties of not gaining adequate respect from the audience due to the shortcomings of the venue. The lack of facilities pose a challenge. Venues and platforms abroad depend on the artists to work; whereas the situation in India unfortunately, is the opposite.
Music is a skill-based industry, and one becomes a star if you possess the talent and the gumption to stick it out. Several institutes across India offer courses in musical training and sound engineering. Having obtained a formal education in music, Joshua clarifies, “A formal education does not help in getting a job or an assignment. It definitely helps you grow as a musician, however, your education does not guarantee a job in this industry. You are only studying for the betterment of your own skills. Although you can be a better musician by simply getting better over the years and improving your skills gradually.” Rohan believes that “If you have creativity and that drive to pursue music, a formal education does help in honing your skills.”
Music enthusiasts willing to enter the scene are skeptical about music being a financially stable career. Ankit advises them to carry on with enthusiasm. “Music will reach a stage where it becomes a viable option. It will become more absolute”, he says. “All we can do to help push that is to give out our best and put our best work forward. The whole DIY setup has changed the way things are and people use it as an excuse to not put out a good quality final product. But that is not what we are about. We give things a lot more time, because we want to provide a good final product. We want to raise the bar, because that's how you get things done. If we raise the bar, only then will someone else raise it further,” assures Rohan.
“If someone wants to get into the scene, this is the best time, because there is so much happening. There is a formal setup which is in process. Start with college festivals, because you never know who is listening to you; you can be picked up from anywhere. Such platforms offer great exposure, and use any platform – be it a bookstore or a cafe. Parents worry about a career in music because it does not have a formal education. When you enter the industry, you don't know where you are headed. But things are getting a structure now, so people should look at coming in the scene,” Hartej signs off.
Courtesy : Click Here To Read Article!!
Thursday 3 July 2014
Awesome When Josh makes too much noise, we like to put him in drummer jail.Just kidding. But really, drum partitions FTMFW.
Awesome
When Josh makes too much noise, we like to put him in drummer jail.
Just kidding.
But really, drum partitions FTMFW.
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