All you Indian rock heads, here’s what you’ve been waiting for! Rising from the large crowd of cribbers, Beunos Entertainment has stood up to make a difference. Rock Ethos, the music festival on Feb 10th, shows promise of a new cult in the making. This is the first festival where the organizers insist on original music. “If your band wants to play covers, find other venues. Rock Ethos is where the talent of Bangalore can showcase original compositions”, says Raj Hansoge, Director, Buenos Entertainment pvt ltd.
The music scene in town has been picking up tempo of late, but the emphasis has always been on just the entertainment, and the bands tend to play international hits that the crowds have heard before. Original compositions usually drown out in the blaze of the international acts, often just managing to make just a temporary mark in competitions. Soon, a band that started out with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm realizes that music as a career is not worth it. Its not even funny, how many great musicians work in software companies just to survive.
The rock festival, which is scheduled to start off at 11am and will go on till 10pm, will have various other attractions as well. Paintball and gaming zones will be the main side kicks. The food court will be managed by Desmond’s. The organizers also plan to sell t-shirts and merchandise of the concert at the venue. The entry to the festival is free, but on an invite basis only. Passes will be given away by the organizers at coffee shops and in road shows where competitions will be held.
“There was a widespread response to the idea floated around to the bands in town. More than 60 professional bands sent applications, of which we have chosen the top 13, based on music quality, experience and popularity” said Srinivas V.T, Festival Artist Director, Rock Ethos. The sound is being managed by V and P sound pvt ltd, one of the best sound companies known in the music circle. “Usually in any concert we are instructed to work under a given budget. We end up compromising some part of the setup in order to fit into the budget. But this time, we are going all out. Money is not the focus here. Its music” says Vishnu P, V and P sound pvt ltd.
Says Raj Hansoge, “We are aiming to create an experience which everyone will remember for a long time. There are going be pyrotechnics and stages one sees only in international acts! I don’t want to disclose the exact details, but I promise, the opening will be grand.”
If you are a rock fan, you better be there at Rock Ethos because this will be, as they say, legendary!
(For a preview, visit On da Rocks this Saturday 7pm onwards when only original music by Bangalore bands will be played.)
Bands that will be performing at rock ethos:
1. BHOOMI
2. MOTHERJANE
3. GALEEJ GURUS
4. MYNDSNARE
5. KRYPTOS
6. THREINODY
7. SPITFIRE
8. EXTINCT REFLECTIONS
9. INVIKTUS
10. SLAIN
11. INNER SANCTUM
12. WHITENOIZ
13. ILLUMINATI
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
No Bread No Butter, only Jam
Driving along the Kanakpura road, just after the Metro, on Sunday 3rd feb, one would come across the blue neon lights spelling out “Shankara”. On the compound wall, there was a black banner titled “Sunday jam”. On entering the premises, the walk was dark and silent. About 100 meters in, and one could hear beats and could see bluish lights beyond the hillock. As soon as one went around the hillock, the scene would suddenly change.
Lights. Loud rocking music. And about 100 odd youths sitting casually on the amphitheatre steps slightly moving their heads to the beats emanating from the speakers down on the stage. Welcome to a unique phenomenon-“The Sunday Jam”
The first Sunday evening of every month, the music heads of the town get together to celebrate the music. No one pays. Its all free. All this happens because of two people-Gopal and Geeta Navale. Ever since they started in 1996, Sunday jam has been conducted regularly and with great success. “Kannada activists and the ‘moral police’ have always created problems for us, but the brilliance of music and the zeal of the youth has prevailed”, says Gopal Navale.
This month’s jam was no different. It was undoubtedly a huge success. The occasion provided a platform for amateurs to gain some experience, and also the professionals to showcase themselves. Bhoomi, the town’s band that needs no introduction was the headlining act for the evening, and they showed why they are what they are. Belting out their originals like ‘inside story’, ‘uncultured’ etc, they rocked the audience into a thrilling frenzy.
“Black Rubber Band” was the prime example of what encouragement does to performing talent. Minutes into their act on stage, they were looking a little weary of themselves. But soon, their confidence grew and suddenly they looked like a different unit all together! Another example was “Malice”, and band which, probably for the first time, had a bagpipe on stage! They looked like pros as they thrashed out blazing numbers, including “Wherever I may roam” of the Metallica. And to think this was their maiden performance!!
The evening more rock oriented, with a couple of death metal bands making lasting impressions. Among them were Kashmora and Crucifix Guide, who, though being the last band for the evening, managed to get the crowd standing in front of the stage in just five minutes of performance!
The talent of Bangalore really does have a lot of potential and needs a lot of encouragement. Long live Sunday Jam!
Lights. Loud rocking music. And about 100 odd youths sitting casually on the amphitheatre steps slightly moving their heads to the beats emanating from the speakers down on the stage. Welcome to a unique phenomenon-“The Sunday Jam”
The first Sunday evening of every month, the music heads of the town get together to celebrate the music. No one pays. Its all free. All this happens because of two people-Gopal and Geeta Navale. Ever since they started in 1996, Sunday jam has been conducted regularly and with great success. “Kannada activists and the ‘moral police’ have always created problems for us, but the brilliance of music and the zeal of the youth has prevailed”, says Gopal Navale.
This month’s jam was no different. It was undoubtedly a huge success. The occasion provided a platform for amateurs to gain some experience, and also the professionals to showcase themselves. Bhoomi, the town’s band that needs no introduction was the headlining act for the evening, and they showed why they are what they are. Belting out their originals like ‘inside story’, ‘uncultured’ etc, they rocked the audience into a thrilling frenzy.
“Black Rubber Band” was the prime example of what encouragement does to performing talent. Minutes into their act on stage, they were looking a little weary of themselves. But soon, their confidence grew and suddenly they looked like a different unit all together! Another example was “Malice”, and band which, probably for the first time, had a bagpipe on stage! They looked like pros as they thrashed out blazing numbers, including “Wherever I may roam” of the Metallica. And to think this was their maiden performance!!
The evening more rock oriented, with a couple of death metal bands making lasting impressions. Among them were Kashmora and Crucifix Guide, who, though being the last band for the evening, managed to get the crowd standing in front of the stage in just five minutes of performance!
The talent of Bangalore really does have a lot of potential and needs a lot of encouragement. Long live Sunday Jam!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Azadi Express
When I heard of the “Azadi Express” stationed at the cantonment railway station, I could imagine lots of families with kids. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine so many people my age to be present there! Honestly, I myself wasn’t very keen on visiting. I was pulled along by a friend, and boy am I glad that I went! A couple of steps into the first compartment, one is plunged into the pre independence era, where the atrocities committed on the Indians by the British is shown through sketches, pictures and text written in English, Hindi, and more interestingly, in the regional language Kannada. The successive bogies took me through the revolts, and struggle for independence and then the post independence growth of India.
All that said, I must confess, I didn’t expect so much youth to turn up! Many engineering students were strolling around, keenly reading about our independence struggle. When questioned what it was about the Azadi Express was it that drew them, pat came the reply, “Just the concept!” from Sindhu, a 4th year Telecom student. There were people of all age groups to be seen, and if the word of the volunteers is to be believed, more than 6000 people have visited in 24 hours! That’s a large number considering that it’s a weekday!
One of the visitors was 38 year old house wife Sarada, with her two lovely daughters Vasudha and Vaishnavi, 14 and 10 years old. The kids had pulled the mom along to see their history text books brought to life. When asked what the Republic Day signifies, Vasudha promptly replied while her mom stammered! This is the case with most who “grow out” of the school phase. A quick check revealed that 7 out of 10 young college going students did not know the significance of the Republic Day! Mr.Srinivas Murthy, a retired government official felt otherwise. He felt that there’s a lot of potential in the youth of today, and that while the youth may project an idea of reckless irresponsibility, they are infact very bright and hardworking. “The only thing we need to do is to make the youth realize that working for the country is as important as working for oneself and making money. Our freedom fighters are the best examples to this cause”, he felt.
While many strolled through slowly through the bogies, it was hard to ignore a few keenly studying every single detail, with a book in hand, making notes. One such group, was a bunch of men aspiring to be sub-inspectors. They are writing the PSI exam, which is scheduled on 2nd Feb. When I joked if they were making notes in preparation for the exam, R.Ramachandra,32, said that it was important to know as much as possible about the country’s past to take it into the future. Now there’s the kind of men we need in the Police Department!
In all this, it was difficult to ignore the young men and women in florescent jackets standing by as security. All these bright souls are recruited by the Nehru Yuvaka Kendra, where they work as volunteers. Every state has a different set of volunteers who are from that state, so that they can be of assistance to the general public.
The Azadi Express will travel, in all 70 stations, and will be managed by more than 300 volunteers. Most of these volunteers are young aspiring students studying basic sciences. They are very happy with the response of the public to this concept, but many felt that the advertisement could have been better and more efficient. Prabhu.V, a Bsc student, one of the volunteers said that contrary to general belief, a lot of young crowd was flowing in. Apart from the hoards of school children, there are also a lot of college-going students visiting the train. But he felt that not many IT professionals have visited yet. Let’s hope our techies find time to make it during the weekend, because this train definitely worth it!
All that said, I must confess, I didn’t expect so much youth to turn up! Many engineering students were strolling around, keenly reading about our independence struggle. When questioned what it was about the Azadi Express was it that drew them, pat came the reply, “Just the concept!” from Sindhu, a 4th year Telecom student. There were people of all age groups to be seen, and if the word of the volunteers is to be believed, more than 6000 people have visited in 24 hours! That’s a large number considering that it’s a weekday!
One of the visitors was 38 year old house wife Sarada, with her two lovely daughters Vasudha and Vaishnavi, 14 and 10 years old. The kids had pulled the mom along to see their history text books brought to life. When asked what the Republic Day signifies, Vasudha promptly replied while her mom stammered! This is the case with most who “grow out” of the school phase. A quick check revealed that 7 out of 10 young college going students did not know the significance of the Republic Day! Mr.Srinivas Murthy, a retired government official felt otherwise. He felt that there’s a lot of potential in the youth of today, and that while the youth may project an idea of reckless irresponsibility, they are infact very bright and hardworking. “The only thing we need to do is to make the youth realize that working for the country is as important as working for oneself and making money. Our freedom fighters are the best examples to this cause”, he felt.
While many strolled through slowly through the bogies, it was hard to ignore a few keenly studying every single detail, with a book in hand, making notes. One such group, was a bunch of men aspiring to be sub-inspectors. They are writing the PSI exam, which is scheduled on 2nd Feb. When I joked if they were making notes in preparation for the exam, R.Ramachandra,32, said that it was important to know as much as possible about the country’s past to take it into the future. Now there’s the kind of men we need in the Police Department!
In all this, it was difficult to ignore the young men and women in florescent jackets standing by as security. All these bright souls are recruited by the Nehru Yuvaka Kendra, where they work as volunteers. Every state has a different set of volunteers who are from that state, so that they can be of assistance to the general public.
The Azadi Express will travel, in all 70 stations, and will be managed by more than 300 volunteers. Most of these volunteers are young aspiring students studying basic sciences. They are very happy with the response of the public to this concept, but many felt that the advertisement could have been better and more efficient. Prabhu.V, a Bsc student, one of the volunteers said that contrary to general belief, a lot of young crowd was flowing in. Apart from the hoards of school children, there are also a lot of college-going students visiting the train. But he felt that not many IT professionals have visited yet. Let’s hope our techies find time to make it during the weekend, because this train definitely worth it!
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