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Never a pause
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Menwhopause, the rock band from the Capital, is in fast forward mode
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Great going Members of the rock outfit, Menwhopause
The band’s name is Menwhopause. But the truth is the reverse. Anup Kutty, Sarabjit Chadha, IP Singh, Randeep Singh and Rahul Chatterjee rarely pause. Even though they love it, their choc-o-bloc schedule leaves them with little time. With back-to-back trips to the U.S. for shows — a seven-city tour and Jack Daniel’s Legendary Mash at Tennessee — things were never this good for this Delhi-based alternative/rock band. The trip to the Legendary Mash came about as Menwhopause won the Best Band award at Jack Daniel’s Rock Awards. “It was really crazy. We had to leave for Tennessee within days of coming back from the U.S. tour. But we are loving it,” says Anup Kutty, the guitarist.
Obviously, the five aren’t complaining. The band got to collaborate onstage with bands like Hard-Fi (from Staines, U.K.) and Carbon/Silicon (featuring Mick Jones and Tony James), along with six other bands from across the world. Menwhopause also got a chance to record a track with guest producer David Barbe, who has worked with artistes like Son Volt, Kelly Hogan, Drive-By Truckers, The Glands and the American rock band R.E.M. “We worked with David for over two hours to re-record a track from our second album, ‘Easy’,” explains Anup, their first album being “Home”.
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The band members have been travelling a lot. Other than an upcoming tour to the North by Northeast festival (NXNE) in Canada, a trip to Pakistan is also being planned in September. Last year, they made a trip to the South by Southwest festival (SXSW) in Texas. And the experience, Anup says, is invaluable. “We realised every artiste is the same around the world. They live for their music, just like us. But beyond the stage, they all have fun. NXNE will be the first time for an Indian band, but we hope to find some sponsors for it.”
Known for their original music and unique song writing, Menwhopause discovered more about themselves on the recent trips. “We believe every band is unique. While the Irish band was more funk, the Spanish band was oriented towards rock-n-roll. But everyone felt our music was unique. Even we think we have a signature sound,” boasts a confident Anup.
Currently, the band is giving finishing touches to their second album, to be produced and released by their own label, Middle Earth Company. “We have finished song writing for our third album, but we aren’t thinking of it now. We did approach a well-known record label to produce our album but their conditions were not fair. So we decided to bring out own albums. That’s why all of us have a day job to ensure that the money keeps trickling in.”
MANGALA RAMAMOORTHY
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