Tag Archives: Dr. Rajkumar

Live Banned at The BFlat Bar, Bangalore

There is a lot of rock and heavy metal music being played in and out of town, but that is mostly directed towards the hardcore followers of those genres. Live Banned on the other hand, as spoken of by the founders, was formed with the sole purpose of entertaining the masses who are not really restricted with the choice of genres. Expectedly so, the band at its recent gig at The BFlat Bar (23^rd December 2011) brought rock closer to the crowd in its most palatable form. They mashed up popular tunes from regional cinema with famous metal riffs, funk overtures, disco influences, and a carefree attitude. And by the time the performance ended, they had encore requests coming from a packed house!

I arrived at the venue at 8:30 p.m. when the sound check was still on. Having never seen the band members sans their outlandish attire, I didn’t quite recognize them at first. But soon, they emerged in a new avatar – the men in regular attire transformed into exhibitionists of a ridiculous sense of dressing for some, and the performers of an entertaining repertoire for many.

The BFlat bar is known to be a venue that hosts a lot of gigs, such a venue not having a PA system of its own to support a gig that just reaches about 3000 watts in sound output, was a surprise for me, if not a shocker. I don’t intend to register any discomfort with this – the hired sound guy and the equipment left us with nothing to complain about.

Live Banned has Amrit on vocals, Dhruv on the lead guitar, Sid on the keys and occasional rhythm guitar, Raveesh on the bass and Dheeru on the drums. The band members, especially Dhruv and Amrit were encouraging participation from the audience, and their enthusiasm was well received and reciprocated. Throughout the evening, there were funny one-liners, small jokes, and hilarious comments in addition to the songs that kept the listeners entertained and involved.

‘Ringamukka Kats’ was the first song for the evening. This mash-up starts with a prudently rehearsed guitar solo, and a carefully refrained but punchy intro that lasts close to three minutes. The pieces sounded familiar, but I am still not able to recall the exact names of the original sources if any. Thereafter, the song took a curious dive into the Tamil hit ‘Nakka Mukka’, the orchestration remained very alternative-rock, highlighted with borrowed riffs from Wolfmother’s ‘Joker and the Thief’. Then there was ‘Appudi Podu’ and what sounded like ‘Dhinka Chika’ thrown in, and this mix immediately got people into the mood.

‘German Rollhouse’ was the next one for the evening. It started with a punk influence, with the infamous Malayalam song ‘Silsila hai Silsila’, then quickly caught Rammstein’s ‘Du Hast’, carrying the same groove forward, without slipping into metal, as the temptation may be. The mix then displayed a slow balladry, almost like a lullaby, but the band quickly woke the listeners up with an abrupt transition to ‘Roadhouse Blues’, and the vocalist delivered the “Roll baby Roll” part with witty vibratos, finishing it with “Kaati Roll”, leaving me chuckling at the cheeky creativity.

The next song ‘Iku Chika’ was the band’s funky take on Ilayaraja’s ‘Unakkum Enakkum Anandham’ (the song which took on international limelight when it was allegedly lifted by The Black Eyed Peas). This mix was made complete with the funky chord-work at the start, followed by an ambient guitar solo, which transitioned to have metal characteristics, making it a little dark but still groovy. I totally savored this song, especially the vibrant alaaps that the vocalist put in, and the way it ended with the popular Mission Impossible tune.

Next was the rollercoaster ‘Girlie Boys’. This is a cleverly crafted mix of pop, hip-hop, and metal, with a Bollywood finale. Starting with funky guitar and drum work, supported by the keyboardist with a tone that may remind you of the 80s pop, the mix took-off with Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t get you out of my head’, and an ongoing riff from No Doubt’s ‘Hella Good’. Carrying the riff forward, the song transitioned to Black Eyed Peas’ ‘My Humps’. Then after a teaser from System of a Down’s ‘Chopsuey’, where “Father! Father!” got spoofed to “Appa! Appa!” the song landed on ‘Milk Shake’ by Kelis. Sailing on the sound set by the keyboards here, the song came back to ‘Chopsuey’, and the vocalist finished a baritone rendition of Luke 23:46 part right up to “angels deserve to die.” Then the groove hastily moved to Britney Spears’ ‘Baby one more time’ and Backstreet Boys’ ‘Everybody’. Quickly, the tune followed up with what sounded like ‘Est affectus, et defectus’ part from Enigma’s ‘Modern Crusaders’, and the song concluded with a power-chords version of Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s ‘Katey nahin kat-tey’

Next up was ‘Dope Mix’, which is a quick fix kind of a mix, featuring Dead or Alive’s ‘You spin me Round (Like a record)’, Don’s ‘Aaj ki Raat’, and Yves Larock’s ‘Rise Up’. It may have got a bit monotonous for me, except that I enjoyed the very ambient guitar solo.

‘Fast Food’ is first of the two originals that the band has composed. It started with the sound of the synth building up the mood, and a slow lead guitar, and an alaap. The lyrics were however funny but sarcastic. The song mocks the culture of putting up a fast as a form of protest. Soon after the entry into the song, I enjoyed the work on the keyboards which was partially reminiscent of the background score of Psycho. The time signatures that the drummer glazed this one with were enjoyable, and also the jazzy work on the bell of the crash ride. Since this is an original, I would have enjoyed more creativity on lead guitars, for the tones if nothing more. Amrit displayed his range on vocals, and when the song ended almost three octaves higher for the vocalist, the audience only realized after a few seconds that the song was over. More cheerful applause!

‘Europe ko Jai se Pyar Ho Gaya’ was up next. It started with the famous tune from Europe’s ‘Final Countdown’, and cleverly incorporated a piece from ‘Baazigar, O! Baazigar’. Then riding on a metallic orchestration, it incorporated one whole verse, the chorus, and the bridge from ‘Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein’. Thereafter, as if approaching of the finale of an opera, with great work at the synthesizer, and perfect guitar solo, the song drove through ‘Raja ko Rani se pyaar ho gaya’, and tapped a bit of Iron Maiden, and concluded with ‘Jai Ho’.

Next was a metal version of ‘Barbie Girl’, and I immediately liked the choice of tone for the keys and the dexterous work thereof. The drummer and the bass guitarist were at their best on this speedy track. The lead guitarist got a mouthful of singing to do on this one, so a minor glitch here and there may just be excused. But I would have really preferred the volume on the backing vocals to be a little milder.

‘If you come today’ as made famous by Dr. Rajkumar, got the Live Banned treatment. ‘Tick Tick Tick’ married Audioslave’s ‘Cochise’, improvised guitar solos, and absurd but hilarious singing.

‘Auto Tune’ is the second original by the band, and despite the lyrics being not very clear, I understood it to be a commentary on the ludicrous behavior by the auto-drivers. The orchestration was dark, keys and the guitars working in great harmony, and the drummer highlighted his supreme comfort with experimental time-signatures, and thunderous rolls.

‘Mission Atyachar’ and ‘Rage in Ranipetti’ were the last two songs for the evening. ‘Mission Atyachar’ is where ‘Emotional Atyachar’ encountered ‘DK Bose’, ‘Mission Impossible’ married ‘Sheela’, ‘Eye of the tiger’ met ‘Munni’, and even applied a bit of “Zandu Balm”. ‘Rage in Ranipetti’ mashed RATM’s ‘Wake Up’ with A.R Rahman’s ‘Pettai Rap’ from the movie Kadhalan.

The crowd demanded an encore, and the band obliged with ‘Ringamukka Kats’. This is where the house totally came down to dance, and almost everyone could be seen moving, swaying, head banging. To sum it all up, Amrit gave an impressively energetic performance with his vocal range, and also his on-stage persona, the outlandish attire, and funny dance moves. Dheeru, with his effected drum sounds, and occasional and clever use of double bass, gave a solid groove, decorated with strange timed sequences, and virtuous software support. Dhruv seems very comfortable with his guitar, even with those leads on what looked like reaching 18^th/19^th/20^th fret. In my opinion, he could get more adventurous with the selection of tones, and those chord progressions which is for the band to determine anyhow when they improvise in their unique style. Raveesh with his bass line is the spine of the sound that the band creates. The measures where he was silent seemed like a lull that needed to end quickly. Sid has a captivating talent with the keyboards (I have always appreciated ambidextrous keyboardists), the tones were psychedelic and the effect, if I were to listen to the keys in isolation, may have just slipped me into a state of trance.

The chemistry between the band members gave the impression that the band has been practicing together for years, while they have not even been together for eight months. Live Banned is great to listen to and fun to watch, especially on a festive evening when you could care a little less about the diminishing boundaries of various genres. The band calls its genre “Awesome”, and that may just give you an insight of how confident this group is with what they are presenting. From my end, it is two thumbs up for them. On the path that they have chosen, they are sure to go far beyond most common sounds, and accomplish their mission of entertaining the common man.

Gaurrav Tiwari

Drummer at DIARCHY, and HR Manager at Genpact

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Bourbon Street at Legends of Rock, Bangalore

Sunday the 7th of August was a cloudy, drizzly evening that had me trudging up the road leading to Legends of Rock, Koramangala. I entered to find the place packed and was told that I might have to stand to listen to the band playing. Legends of Rock seemed like THE place to unwind after a week of hard work at the office; it was also the place to be to share space with a smoking hot band, rather literally considering its cramped and smoke-filled interiors.

I somehow found a seat just in front of the bar and settled down to enjoy an evening of music with Bourbon Street. I was looking forward to hear them play, having sampled their music online, but was a little apprehensive: recording music in a controlled environment is quite different from how you carry yourself in front of an audience.

The band consists of Jerome Mascarenhas (Vocals/Harmonica), Chester Pereira (lead guitars), Fidel D’Souza (bass), Bharath Kumar (Keyboards), Sudhakar Prabhu (Drums) and Ian Castelino (Djembe). The band is often joined by Carnatic violinist Dr. Sangeetha, who performs with the band for the fusion set.

Bourbon Street opened their gig with a rendition of John Scofield’s ‘A go-go’, an instrumental which lent a jazzy feel to the evening. I was glad they didn’t start off with something heavy, having come across artists who’re too eager to please by playing stuff that upsets the mood of the place. This pleasant number was soon followed by Roy Buchanan’s ‘Roy’s Bluz’. Chester doubled up by lending vocals to this song.

Starting off with jazz, Bourbon Street slipped into the comforting sounds of the blues. Chester’s waspy vocals were accompanied by their vocalist Jerome performing harmonica duties. I found myself cheerfully tapping my feet to the music, and I wasn’t alone. The place was suddenly transported back in time and there was no looking back: the audience was hooked.

‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ followed next, with Jerome taking charge of the vocals. Bold and empowering, this song was a little heavier than the previous two songs. By this time we’d understood that this band was going to surprise us with every new number.

Just when we thought the event was going to be a one-sided affair with the band doing all the hard work, Jerome asked the crowd if they were sober enough to follow their music. Dave Brubeck’s ‘Unsquare Dance’ followed, with the audience clapping in tandem with the beat. It proved to be quite a challenge keeping up with a tune on a 7/4 and quite a few members of the audience falling out of rhythm before long. But was great fun to be part of the magic of the band.

Bourbon Street’s version of Herbie Hancock’s ‘Chameleon’ followed next, as the crowd grooved to the snappy funky solos that each member of the band churned out with an ease that made it seem like they were in their element.

After playing a flurry of covers during the first set, the second set opened with an original composition ‘Opulence’. Opulence is a progressive instrumental track written by Chester, making use of an odd meter sequence from 7/8 , 6/8 to 5/8 + 4/8. This number was also shortlisted at the Yamaha Asian Beats 2011 contest. This number took a myriad of turns, one blending seamlessly into another, taking me through a mesmerizing trip. ‘Opulence‘ certainly brought out the best in each of the band members.

The song that followed took us all by surprise. What started off with funky guitar and harmonica riffs ended up being Dr. Rajkumar’s ‘If you come today (tick tick tick)’. Now it takes courage to belt out a Kannada film number at a bar called Legends of Rock, but Bourbon Street pulled it off and got the crowd shouting out for more. An excited Ashish, (of LOR) took stage and commended the band for flawlessly syncing their genre with a Kannada number. My verdict- Incredibly ingenious!

‘Got my Mojo Working’ was the next track, and boy did they get the crowd’s mojo working! Much heavier than the numbers played before, the rhythm and drums in perfect sync, this Muddy Waters cover got the audience singing/screaming/shouting out what they could of the chorus with Jerome. They also moved on to cover Doobie Brothers’ ‘Long train runnin’ which kept up the crescendo that was built up through the show.

Bourbon Street wrapped the evening with Santana’s ‘Black Magic Woman’. A familiar number to most on the floor, it was the perfect way to end a show that was sure to leave a lasting impression on everyone who was there that night.

I was lucky enough to get some time with the band once their gig ended, thanks to Jerome’s invitation to have a chat with the band. The first question I had was whether they were comfortable playing at a small venue like LOR, with the band members seemingly jostling for space on the tiny stage. “We performed here the first time LOR reopened for live music after the whole ban thing.” said drummer Sudhakar, who’d been obscured from view for the most part of the evening. “We like the place and are comfortable with playing here since the crowd is very responsive as they’re seated quite close to the stage.”

On asking Jerome, where Bourbon Street stood among blues bands in Bangalore, he replied with a smile, “In this city, there are bands that play the blues, there are bands that play jazz, bands that play fusion and then there’s Bourbon Street which plays a bit of jazz, a bit of blues, Carnatic fusion and a lot more. It’s a mix of genres packed into one show.”

On being asked as to why they chose to play cover versions for most of the evening, Sudhakar said, “None of the covers sound like the original. In fact we lend in our own touch to every cover that we perform, so you’d never find two shows sounding the same”. A soft spoken Chester added that they’d like to expose the public to a broader spectrum of music primarily from the older days. The artistes of that period, he said, performed with such passion that it puts many of the contemporary artistes to shame.

The gig went well apart from uncomfortable seating and an annoying light that kept shining into the audience’s eyes. I wrapped up my conversation with the band thanking them for the chat, making a mental note to catch them live again next time.

Sharath Krishnaswami

Sharath is a freelance journalist. When he's not working, he's either painting on walls, trekking, or writing short stories.

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Chilly Potato at The Kyra Theatre, Bangalore

I have a confession to make. I’m a Manchester United fan. How is this arbitrary piece of information relevant you ask? Well, I walked into the Chilly Potato gig at Kyra, wearing my Manchester United jersey just after having witnessed them lose possibly the most important game of the season to arch-rivals Arsenal. As depressing as that was, I was looking to the concert to cheer me up. During my college days Chilly Potato (CP) was one of those bands at whose shows you were guaranteed a fun time.

The crowd that had gathered mainly consisted of friends and family. There was a sizeable WTS contingent there as well (Support the scene, y’all!) and they patiently waited for the show to start. Chilly Potato started off their return-show with their staple cover of ‘Born to be Wild.’ The band looked comfortable on stage even though it had been almost a year since their last show. The band segued well into a couple of their own compositions as Sidharth Mohan, the newest member of the band (on drums) impressed with his precise and varied beats. CP’s set-list was dominated by cover songs but a feature to note was that they put their own spin on all of the covers that they did play. Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’ was pulled off with aplomb. CP did take the easy way out by covering ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ though. The expected crowd-chanting of the chorus didn’t happen either – the members in the audience were content applauding at the end of each song.

The band also played a four song acoustic set which kicked off with a full-feelingsu version of ‘Hallelujah.’ Singer Bharath managed to hit the right notes (well, most of them atleast!) in a song that isn’t the easiest to emulate. They also covered The Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ and interestingly enough, Radiohead’s ‘Street Spirit.’ Bassist Kevin and keyboardist Siddharth adeptly played the guitar parts for this phase of the gig. I thought they missed a beat (pardon the pun) by covering Porcupine Tree’s ‘Trains’ without a drummer though.

Chilly Potato then signed off the gig with what is possibly their best original – ‘A Million Miles Away.’ It was heartening to see few people in the audience know the lyrics to the track and sing along with the band. The band closed the show with a high-octane version of ‘Highway Star’ that segued into an encore of Phish’s ‘Tweezer Reprise.’ Although this wasn’t a drop-your-drink-and-stop-talking-to-the-girl-next-to-you-to-headbang sort of gig, every person in the audience seemed to have had a very enjoyable time. More importantly, the band, after their hiatus, had a great time on stage and will hopefully play few more shows in the future…and include their cult cover of Dr. Rajkumar’s ‘Tic Tic Ticâ’ in them. One more serving of some Chilly Potato please! This time with extra toppings of ‘Mungaru Metchul’ and ‘Sheela Ki Jawani’!

Sohan Maheshwar

Jack of all tirades, total shirk-off. Follow Sohan on twitter! @soganmageshwar

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Interview with Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street is primarily a jam band with a vision to play and write music unbounded by genre or style. With Jerome Mascarenhas on vocals and harmonica, Bharath KumarÂ on the keyboards and synthesizer, Fidel D’Souza on the bass guitar and vocals, Chester Pereira on the guitar, Sudhakar Prabhu on drums and percussion and Ian Castelino on the djembe, Bourbon Street encompasses a variety of genres such as jazz, funk, blues, reggae, and good old classic rock. WTS got in touch the band and got them talking about their journey so far, the music they make and more…

WTS: When did you guys start off and how has the Bourbon Street journey been so far?

Fidel: We started off as an embryo (each) and haven’t looked back since!

Chester: We started off as a three piece band – I played the guitar, Fidel on Bass and Sudhakar on the drums. We kept adding members as time went by and we are now 6 (We call Sangeetha as a guest but she plays most concerts with us, so the total number could be considered as 7!)

Ian: I have no clue when Bourbon Street started, I met these jokers one day and they found me suitable enough a joker to join them.

Jerome: I got a call from Fidel one morning. This is an excerpt from the conversation – “Fidel: Dude, can you make it to Bangalore this weekend? Jerome: I AM in Bangalore… for good! Fidel: Cool, grab your harps, dust those rusty vocal chords and head over to a jam.” I entered the jam room and Fidel goes “He’s the guy.” Fidel, Sudhakar, Chester in chorus: Welcome to Bourbon street, our new vocalist! Jerome: Huh?” (this expression continues to this day!)

WTS: How do you approach your songwriting process? Tell us about your lyrics, the themes/concepts, where do you draw influences from?

Fidel: Trey Anastasio (Phish), Donald Fagen (Steely Dan)…

Chester: We have only one song with lyrics. Everything else is instrumental in nature. For me, music is the art of stimulating the listener’s emotions via sound; lyrics are nice to have, but I believe that they aren’t necessary – let your instrument control people’s minds and hearts and imaginations and you are a real musician. I try to incorporate new musical formulae that I learn in writing tunes. Some of them have been ‘accidental’ though – I play some random stuff on my guitar and like it and few days later, we have a new track!

Sudhakar: We all have different backgrounds in music. In most of our originals we try and include these influences at the same time keep the feel fresh and relatable. We do keep in mind that as a band that mostly plays live we are able to bring in a lot of energy into these songs.

Jerome: I’m just the vocalist!

WTS: Do you think folks in Bangalore are hung up with rock and metal or are you of the opinion that other genres are enjoying equal attention as well?

Fidel: Yes we are of that opinion.

Chester: I’d say that school and college kids are hung up on metal and the slightly older crowd are hung up on rock music. But, play anything relatively well and they will appreciate it, if not accept it. While genres like jazz and funk do not get as much attention as rock and metal, I believe it’s mainly because people haven’t been fed much of other types of music. For example, most people that frequent Legends of Rock are hard core classic-rockers. But everytime we’ve played there ( 4 or 5 times in the past one year) we have been well received by the energetic crowd.

Sudhakar: I guess again, its the energy you generate when you perform. No matter what genre it is, if the crowd is entertained, they don’t mind. That’s why we have been able to pull off a Carnatic set in the middle of blues and rock!

Jerome: Totally agree with Chester on this one. It’s largely dependent on how the band is able to capture and retain the listener’s interest.

Ian: To each his own including the clueless like me, but yes, other genres are enjoying attention. Umm,what’s a genre? Is anyone paying attention to me?

WTS: How has the line up changed from the time you started off? How did it affect your music?

Fidel: Its gotten progressively louder at each show.

Chester: We’ve grown from a 3 piece to a 6 (7) piece band. Nobody has quit the band (and nobody has been booted either) since we started.

Sudhakar: Hey, I was fired during recession. You guys hired a drummer half my size! (laughs)

Ian: I suddenly realize I was the last in the line up, so clueless again.

Jerome: At one of our gigs I saw Chester playing the drums, Fidel playing lead, and Sudhakar playing Bass – I freaked out! But I also learned one thing – we sound kickass no matter who plays what! (winks)

WTS: Do you have any favourites among your own songs?

Chester: ‘When She Smiles‘ is my favorite – it was an accidental track. ‘Opulence’ is another one of my favorites as I incorporated four different time signatures and three different Carnatic ragas into it.

Jerome: All our originals don’t feature me, so nah! (laughs) Kidding! Opulence is real neat. Varying time signatures and fusion of Carnatic scales is very nice!

WTS: What according to you is your greatest achievement so far?

Fidel: Playing to a crowd of three!

Jerome: Playing to a crowd of three AND getting them to cheer for us!

Chester: Playing our version of Dr. Rajkumar’s song ‘If you come today’.

Ian: Being heard over the drums I suppose.

WTS: What are your plans album-wise?

Fidel: We are album-foolish in my opinion. Our tour started at Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain and will reach the outskirts of Mysore on September 19th! (laughs)

Chester: We don’t really have plans of making albums. I guess we’re too lazy for that. We’re more suited to playing live than sitting around and recording in a studio, that’s too much work!

Jerome: Alcohol forms an integral part of our band. The more you drink, the better we sound. Now, unless we hand out booze with the albums, it ain’t gonna work for us.

WTS: What has been your biggest challenge as a band?

Sudhakar: The biggest issue we have is getting jam time before the show. Since Fidel is from out of town and has to come only during a show, it gets difficult to get a full jam time before a concert. Most of the time we end up hurrying through songs and not really spending time as a band, refining them and structuring them. Then again, we end up jamming on stage. We mostly carry our shows through sign languages and the crowd’s inebriated state!

Jerome: Pretending to be a jazz band! We seem to be doing quite well so far! (laughs) On a serious note, it has got to be getting together for a full fledged practice session. How did we overcome this? Well, we didn’t. We just stopped practicing. To each his own!

WTS: What’s your opinion about the music scene in Bangalore?

Fidel: Yes, there appears to be one.

Chester: Getting into death metal and/or it’s gazillion sub-genres seems to be the in-thing for college kids.

Sudhakar: In general, you have to convince people that different is not always bad.

Ian: Hmmm,food for thought. Loads to improve!

Jerome: Music scene… Hmmm, it seems to be doing slightly better than the Bangalore ice hockey team!

Priyanka Shetty

Priyanka Shetty is the founder of What's The Scene? Follow Priyanka on Twitter @priyanka_shetty

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