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Rock on, dudes
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The state of the rock scene in town may draw some head banging (on the walls), but let's not conclude that our bands aren't rocking, says V. ABHISHEK
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Live shows are fine but no one supports local bands when they have to record their own album. — Photo: Murali Kumar K.
FOO FIGHTERS and Green Day are international bands who've been making albums for some time now. Million dollar contracts take care of their recording costs. Indian bands? Nowhere close, but some hints of a beginning with the bands Bombay Black and Orange Street securing opportunity to make their presence known and known outside India. In this, Bangalore has some way to go. Bands such as Bhumi and Galeej Gurus certainly record, but don't have million dollar deals and no (cut-throat) record executives to push their albums. There is much distance to travel before talk of high-intensity contracts for Indian bands. Even Bangalore bands.
This does not mean studio recordings are not on. Shrapnel has made an album in the recent past. By shelling out a jaw-dropping amount. TAAQ, Zebediah Plush and Kryptos too have been doing the studios. The very successful and popular band Bhumi is working on a full-length album. "The money involved in recording is very high. But quality comes at a price. All band members have pooled in. Also, the prize money we won recently at IIM-B's rock competition will come in handy," says Sujay, Bhumi vocalist.
Things seem to be working out fairly well for Kryptos too. Nolan Lewis, lead guitarist, says: "We never went into recording with the intent of making up the money we would spend. It is worthwhile considering we are getting offers from record labels. The band's base in countries like the U.S. and Germany is growing, thanks to the recording."
Zebediah Plush released a five-song demo a couple of years ago and sold close to 500 copies. And this number excludes the number of times their album has been ripped on to personal computers, written and passed around. A local rock show generates a mere 500 rockers on the high end. And of that figure, the actual number of fans is a finger count.
Abroad, much before an album is released, the race is on to sign up bands to headline music festivals. Oxegen festival organisers in Ireland have already cornered Foo Fighters to headline the event, for instance.
There is no such outlet for bands in India. If there is, money spent in studios can be made up in quick time. Bands record and distribute albums through independent channels or by word-of-mouth in the hope of finding that ever elusive record deal. There are practically no headline festivals that promote bands playing original music here. Most bands go through the "college rock competitions" grind to get their music across to audiences. The "college" is really the audience. It won't work if bands, even good ones, travel away from the circuit.
But recordings don't entirely go a waste because the bands manage to reach out to audiences they haven't in the live show line. Bands of course would be happy when their music reaches out to fans whether in a live show or on the record. "If music is documented, it is easier to get it around. Plus after live shows, fans have something to listen to once home," says Sujay.
"We were one of the first few bands to come out with a demo. The demo got us gigs in places like Bombay, Pune, and Delhi. Plus one song from the demo, made it to the Great Indian Rock (GIR) compilation," adds Anindita Gupta, bass guitarist, Zebediah Plush, whose new album is called After laughs. For an Indian band to be featured on a GIR compilation is the pinnacle of success. Winners of GIR in the past have been given opportunities to get their music anywhere. No limits. Bombay Black was given the opportunity to open for Aerosmith in Los Angeles. Orange Street from Delhi toured Europe last year. It might take a while for Bangalore bands to achieve similar feats. But they seem to be on track with their recordings. Apart from ZP, Aatma and Galeej Gurus have hit the recoding studios recently and the albums you should keep your ears open for are — Phenom's Unbound, TAAQ's Plan B (log on to www.thermalandaquarter.com) , Shrapnel's Intellectual Pursuit, Kryptos' Spiral Ascent, and Bhumi's Dead Time Stories.
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