Cadbury Celebrations - Songs For Sisters

 

You get on my nerves

For 6 Years

Piece Of Paper

Well Maybe I Just Got Lucky

You've always been a guiding light

I Can't Get Rid Of You

I may be away this time around

Spuds step out of the box to create magic in the Mumbai rock scene

Spuds step out of the box to create magic in the Mumbai rock scene   

   

	The new Mumbai rock act Spud In The Box or some reason, every time I spoke to someone about new Mumbai rock act Spud In The Box in the last few months, Mumford & Sons kept coming up as a reference point. Perhaps it's because the band's bio inaccurately describes them as 'folk-rock', or because some of their songs make heavy use of Mumford & Sons-esque vocal harmonies, but apart from those two things, I couldn't make out, having seen them live for the first time last week ("This is the biggest crowd we've played to," they announced at the Blue Frog), a distinct connection between the two. Regardless of their supposed influences though, this sextet needs to be on your iPod and your must-see-live list. Spud In The Box was formed in 2011 when Jai Hind college mates Ankit Dayal and Rohan Rajadhyaksha decided to get together and start playing acoustic sets, with Dayal on guitar and Rajadhyaksha on keys. They then added a bunch of musicians to bring some muscle to their near-twee pop-rock sound. That muscle took the shape of Vivaan Kapoor on drums, Zubin Bathena on bass and the dual guitar attack of Hartej Sawhney and Siddharth Talwar. In the last year, they've produced a solid, near hour-long set of original material that betrays a confidence and maturity well beyond their years, and well ahead of a lot of their peers. Spud's MO is pretty straight-forward – strong melodies power a euphoric pop-rock pastiche that's perfect for summer music festivals. Their arena-ready catalogue is chock full with sing-alongs and tongue-in-cheek references to stuff they're not supposed to be doing given they're all well below legal drinking age. At the Blue Frog gig, their energy on stage was infectious, and didn't once seem like they were trying too hard to connect with the audience, something that a lot of their peers regularly struggle with. The gig was reminiscent of mid-to-late noughties sets by now Bombay rock veterans Something Relevant whose jam band, pop-rock sound regularly attracted south Mumbai undergrads in droves whenever they played in the city. { The gig was reminiscent of mid-to-late noughties sets by now Bombay rock veterans Something Relevant whose jam band, pop-rock sound regularly attracted south Mumbai undergrads in droves whenever they played in the city
	oo young to be affected by Vasant Dhoble's recent crackdown on 'rave parties', Spud In The Box took full advantage of the change in programming at the Frog (many venues in Mumbai have reshuffled their programming to incorporate more live bands and less DJ sets since the SS man's recent series of raids) to play one of the tightest and most enjoyable sets I've seen a band as young play in a long time. Dayal and Rajadhyaksha nail unfaltering falsettos song after song, complementing each other's vocal styles particularly well (a recent video on YouTube of the two of them performing an acoustic version of their song Good Way To Die highlights this partnership particularly well). Kapoor is one of the most assured (and I overheard some people at the gig describe him as "excitable") young drummers in the Bombay scene, providing much of the punch and all of the backbone of the band's stage act. Sure the band still needs some polish and their musical excesses comprise prolonged solo interludes, and perhaps even one more guitarist than necessary for their sound. But their boldness is hard to ignore and easily overcomes their imperfections, which I'm sure will be ironed out as they play more gigs and hone their sound. Now, the only thing they need to ensure is not breaking up once they graduate and that old Bombay rock band-wrecker – "guitarist went to LA to study music" – rears its ugly head. Till then, I encourage you to find them on whatever social media you prefer and catch them live in your city whenever they show up. Courtesy: The Sunday Guardian - http://www.sunday-guardian.com/artbeat/spuds-step-out-of-the-box-to-create-magic-in-the-mumbai-rock-scene

GQ Playlist: Spud In The Box

The pitch-perfect harmonies and stellar live presence of Spud InThe Box mean all their gigs are a guaranteed good time. They’ve got top billing at national music festivals, been part of high-profile collaborations and have thousands of YouTube hits. Yet they’ve called their debut EP Attention Please – as if they weren’t getting enough already.
Arrived on the music scene: November 2011
Their music: Easy-on-the-ears, alternative pop-rock
The band: Rohan Rajadhyaksha (vocalist and keyboard) Ankit Dayal (vocals and guitar), Vivaan Kapoor (drums), Hartej Sawhney (guitar), Siddharth Talwar (guitar) and Zubin Bhathena (bass).
Ages:19 – 20 (one of them even had to miss a gig because of board exams)
Their first EP: January 2013, inaugurated by Rahul Ram from Indian Ocean
Youtube hits:  “Good way to die” and “Jokes aside”
Big wins: Headlined at the NH7 Weekender in Pune last year; shared the stage with Indie music veterans Uday Benegal and Mahesh Tinaikar (Indus Creed) and Carnatic fusion percussionist Vivek Rajagopalan
Things on their wish list: An Acoustic piano, 18-inch Sabian AAZ Aero Crash cymbals and a hamster named Jesus
SITB shares their favourite playlist with GQ:

Courtesy :GQ India -http://www.gqindia.com/content/gq-playlist-spud-box

Attention Please Review by RJS Online

Review Album Reviews

Spud in the Box - Attention Please 27 Mar 2013 AKHIL SOOD A cheesy, nasal introduction to album opener 'Lens Life' suddenly metamorphoses into a spectacularly bright bass-and-drum interplay. This eruption pretty much captures the pulse of the record in a nutshell, as Spud in the Box (just 'Spud' from hereon in) constantly play around with conventional structural and generic definitions of alternative/pop-rock music to create a really quite impressive debut record, titled, aptly, Attention Please. A resilient and intricate rhythm section and some crafty chops on the guitars and keys form a fluid backbone to the dual-vocal hook-filled delivery that essentially drives Spud forward. Of course, before I get too effusive, I should warn readers that Spud, just like Anakin Skywalker or something and the Mahabharata's Karna, have a terrible dark side. It's a side they showcase only on the last bit of the closing track, 'More than Once', as they resort to almost Bollywood-esque and vey typically Hindi-rock vocals toward the end. They sound a lot like Jal, to be honest. And one Jal in the world is more than enough. But I'm essentially just nitpicking; they're young, it's a debut album, and blah-blah. The band has actually delivered four very persuasive and crackerjack songs in this short EP to signal their arrival in indie consciousness – each song shuttles around gracefully through myriad moods and tenderly sculpted emotions, held together through the harmony-heavy vocals. In fact, it becomes difficult to pigeonhole the music into any specific category of manufactured rock music – the maturity of the compositions takes precedence over everything else on the record. Most surprisingly, despite using the keys as just a regular instrument in the mix and not as a coolio facilitator of sounds – I really hate the conventional usage of keys because of that pale and feeble timbre it brings – these guys still manage to make them sound more than bearable through a sensitive and clever approach: The introduction to 'Train of Thought', with its dreamy flourish of notes on the keyboard, is one such example. Like most young bands, Spud too betray some of their influences a little too eagerly – the double-vocal harmonies faintly reminiscent of Alice in Chains at times, as also the guitars, while the primary guitar hook on 'Train of Thought' is essentially an unfortunate Ctrl C – Ctrl V of Bends/OK Computer Radiohead, but these are fairly minor grievances on a record that offers a great deal, and the fact that it's a debut makes it all the more exciting, as one would expect these guys to further and more deeply explore territories that they've touched upon in Attention Please. And the shuffling, classically-tinged piano conclusion to the record is just the cherry on top. Attention Please is available for preview here and purchase here Courtesy: RSJ Online -http://www.rsjonline.com/reviewdetail.php?review_id=70

Artists To Watch Out For

Five bands made it to our list; more coming up in a second list later this year

By Lalitha Suhasini   | News & Updates January 15, 2013

When ROLLING STONE India kicked off the series in its launch issue in 2008, we found that Delhi seemed to be the seat of new talent in the country; Kolkata witnessed a rise of The Supersonics, a band that would soon make an indelible mark on the growing alternative music scene; Bengaluru saw a rush of electronica acts; Chennai had just taken an about turn from its Eighties rock fixation to a less self conscious, more original approach from Kishore Krishna, who had just kicked off Adam & The Fish Eyed Poets  and Mumbai had little to show.
In four years, both the number of bands and the size of their audiences have impressively swelled. While the country hosted more festivals in 2012 than it ever has in the past decade, we’re still a little far from not featuring the same bands on the bill at most festivals. This year, bands from Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru had strong contenders for our list, spoiling us for choice and giving us a compelling reason to run the series not once, but twice.

SPUD IN THE BOX
The Mumbai pop rockers plan to release their debut EP this month

Spud In The Box. Photo: Hashim Badani. Art: Sahej Rahal

 WHO: Within just a year of getting together in 2011, the six-member band has endeared itself to both audiences and artists such as Indus Creed’s Uday Benegal and Mahesh Tinaikar. “We were really indecisive about the band,” says Rohan Rajadhyaksha, one of the vocalists and keyboardist of Spud In The Box that was formed when its members – students of Jai Hind college – wanted to compete at Kaleidoscope, the annual fest of Mumbai’s Sophia’s College. Alongwith Rajadhyaksha, Spud In The Box includes vocalist Ankit Dayal, guitarists Hartej Sawhney and Siddharth Takwar, Vivaan Kapoor on drums and bassist Zubin Bhatena.
BIG BREAK: Soon after winning Kaleidoscope, the band was invited to perform at Live From The Console, the fortnightly series of gigs at Mumbai’s Mehboob Studios. “We had just two songs, so we were really surprised that we got called for that gig,” says guitarist Sawhney. Adds Dayal, “The response for that was really good and it was the first time that we played with this six-piece line-up.”
SOUND: Buoyant pop, clean, sweet harmonies and uncomplicated lyrics get Spud In The Box going. You’ll hear Dave Matthews and John Mayer in there, but for a band that’s just been around for just a year, Spud In The Box can hold their own
ON THE CARDS: Producer KJ Singh recently stepped in to produce the band’s four-track debut EP Attention Please that is slated to be launched this month. “He asked us pertinent questions about the future of the band and where we saw ourselves 10 years down the line,” says Rajadhyaksha of Singh, who is also the proud parent of their guitarist Hartej, “That’s when we decided we should put in everything to make this work now, so that later we don’t have any regrets.”
SPIN THIS: “Lens Life,” which also on their EP, is quotation marked catchy and remarkably mature when they tell you that “Happiness, believe me, it’s just a state of mind.” The kids are definitely all right.

Spud In The Box releases their debut EP Attention Please at Blue Frog, Mumbai tonight. Entry Free 

Courtesy: Rolling Stone India -http://rollingstoneindia.com/artists-to-watch-out-for/

Spud in the Box Rocking the Capital - Millennium Post

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Attention Please!

17 August 2013, New Delhi, Shrishty Mishra

Millennium Post catches up with alternate rock band Spud in the Box who are all set to hit the Capital this weekend with their original compositions.

When we asked these alternate rock band artistes about the inception of the band, they excitedly narrated a fairy tale. And just as their story, this band believes in making original compositions and are fun and power packed as their performances. Here are excerpts from a candid conversation we had before they went on to perform at Hard Rock Cafe this weekend . Read on...

What is the story behind the inception of the band?

 Once upon a time, in a land far far away (St.Xaviers college) Rohan and Ankit met in a bathroom during the college fest- Malhar. Later, Ankit asked Rohan to join the Jai Hind band that he was a part of and today we are here with a couple of line up changes here and there.

A band usually go through its set of ups and downs, how is your experience so far?

We've had our share of ups and downs, but we feel we've had it pretty good for the last 2 years. Even though we've had a recent lineup change, we feel we've recuperated fast and it has given us a whole new perspective. We're glad we can finally get back to doing what we love to do the most - playing gigs, everywhere.

Tell us about the chemistry you guys share off stage.

We started out with the band being the main connecting point between us. But over 2 years of being a band we've grown to become friends. Usually bands form due to friendship getting together to play music but we kind of did it in reverse.

Why there is no girl in the band, have you ever thought of including one?

We've had a female guest vocalist Vasuda Sharma, who is awesome and hyper-talented. But the band just fell into place so quickly that we didn't really put a lot of thought into genders and the possibility of a female member.

Tell us about your EP Attention Please?

Attention, Please! is a four track extended play (EP) that we released in January 2013, and is our first proper release. We're still pretty excited about it, it got the four songs that we were most confident about at the time. It was recorded at YRF with the Shantanu Hudliker and mixed by KJ Singh.

How has the response been?

It's been great. We did a little tour to promote the EP in January for it too. We got favorable reviews from critics from major publications. It was also great to see a lot of musicians we look up to like Bruce Lee Mani, Rahul Ram, Koco, Warren Mendonsa among others, supporting and encouraging feedback us with the piece.

What are the inspirations behind the tracks you make?

Well, it differs from track to track. But each track has its own vibe and the lyrics usually come from a personal place. We put up in a way that tracks are  relate-able to our audience.

What message you want to put across to the listeners by your music?

As commonly said, audience and artistes alike, we write and produce our own composition, we're very excited about being in the indie music scene right now. It's a time of change and we're very grateful to be part of it. We make music for the listeners and as an artiste it is important to have an audience to perform to. The more connected to audience we are, the better it gets. With more and more people supporting Indian Indie by buying songs, attending gigs and festivals its at a very interesting place and will make more interesting compositions.

Tell us about winning Best rock Artist by Radio City Freedom Awards?

It was exhilarating, we are still pretty kicked by it. K.J Singh, who produced the EP won the Indian Recording Artists Association award for Best Produced Band at the Palm Expo too.

Where are your next shows, any new tracks you guys are working on?

We're working on a couple of tracks with our new drummer, Joshua Singh. Apart from this gig we're playing for The Scene gig at Arc Asia in Pune with some other well-known bands. 

Courtesy: Millennium Post

http://www.millenniumpost.in/NewsContent.aspx?NID=36002: 

Blue Frog, Mumbai