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Still rocking
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The great granddaddies of rock in India, Skinny Alley, take pride in playing their own music
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Indian bands receive no help from the recording industry, say the members of Skinny Alley.
"WE ARE very modest. We don't like to talk much about ourselves," laughs Jayashree Singh, lead vocalist of the Kolkata-based band Skinny Alley, often called the great granddaddies of rock in India. The band was in the city recently to rock sari-clad housewives and diehard metal heads alike at The Landmark, Forum Mall.
The band members — which includes Amit Datta on the lead guitar, Jayashree's husband Gyan Singh on the bass guitar, Jeffery Menezes on the keyboard and Jeffery Rikh on the drums — have been musicians with various bands for over 30 years and can play almost any instrument, and also double as vocalists. They play almost every genre imaginable — rock, pop, funk, R&B, country, jazz, reggae and the blues. But apart from their musical talents, the group is known also for its steadfast resolve to give their original music precedence over the covers that they play. Each one of their on-stage performances is a healthy mix of covers and originals.
Around for long
"We have been here a very long time. We have picked up everything along the way. Country, jazz, blues everything. It is not planned. Our writing includes the contributions of each member of the band. That becomes the sound of the band. The story is basically what we have grown up listening to, what we like, and what we can do best. It is not about weaknesses, it's about strengths," sums up Amit.
"We don't want to sound like anybody else. We must sound like Skinny Alley. We should get into a space where we can write our own stuff and people can recognise us for that. That is the ultimate aim of the songwriter," says Jayashree.
But when they started out in the Seventies, they used to play only covers. "In the mid-Nineties we started seriously writing songs. It took us a couple of years for us to reach a point where we could play our originals without being ashamed of them. Playing covers doesn't give us that high. The true test comes when you can make the crowd rock to your originals. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing three sari-clad housewives head banging to your own music. That's when you know you know that your music reaches the people," says Jayashree.
But giving what the crowd wants in a live performance is often tricky. While one section of the crowd wants originals, another wants "Sultans of Swing". "The Indian audience is still not there. It is probably because they get to hear music only second hand. There are a few Indian bands that absolutely refuse to play covers. They have a select group of followers who will appreciate their music. But most people don't listen to them because they don't play covers. Thus it is not possible for them to survive on music alone. The Indian rock scene is changing. We must come to mid point where everyone gets what they want. But the listeners must grow their ears," adds Gyan.
Being one of the few bands to have chosen music as a career, they have been there and seen it all. But what pains them the most is the fact that musicians in the country receive no help whatsoever from the recording industry. In fact their first album Escape The Roar (released in 2003) was recorded part live to save money.
Doing it all
"We have to do everything by ourselves. The band always makes the first investment. Right from hiring studio time to recording music and marketing the music, the bands have to do everything by themselves. The music companies just distribute the tapes and CDs. They just see it as a business. The only money that we earn is from the live shows. The companies don't even promote our live shows. Even the royalty paid is nothing. What good is Rs. 7 per CD or cassette sold?" they ask.
ANAND SANKAR
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