Tuning in with the times

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Music has always managed to strike a chord with young blood. Today, with more avenues and better platforms, many youngsters are jamming together as amateur bands. And the appreciation they get, along with some extra bucks serves as a back up, and many are keen on pursuing music as a career. While it’s been a while since youngsters have been jamming together for the love of music, they’re now making money too.

“I may not be a superstar, with a glamorous lifestyle right now, but I know music is my thing,” says Roopam Singh, of the band Triple Aces (TA). The twenty-year-old adds that it is not easy when it comes to making a career in the music industry, but he’s ‘satisfied with the show so far’. The band has performed at some major pubs of the city like Café Morrison and Café Oz.
Rajat Kukreja of TA recalls their ‘mind-blowing’ concert at the Lady Shri Ram College.
“Our song kudi LSR di is still a hit among college goers,” he says. The band has shows lined up at a few colleges and is particularly excited about the one at the Indian Music Conference. “To me, music is the best medium through which one can bring about a social change, so why not take it further?” asks Rajat, 21, the rapper for the band.
Twenty-one-year-old Puneet Tandon started his Chandigarh-based band F-Luxx (break free, flow out) with his two friends Dipanshu Goel and Saurab Sharma.
“We perform at college festivals and private parties. Nothing can match the reward we receive in the form of positive reception we get there,” he says.
He recalls how the song Jo desh kay khilaf ha, they made in just two days after the Mumbai blasts was a major hit online.
Do gigs help them earn enough to buy instruments, or do they manage on their own? “Not totally, but yes, like travel. For purchasing instruments and recording our music, we use our pocket money,” says Roopam, adding that Facebook has been a major promotional tool for them.
In order to encourage young musicians, many pubs are coming up with special schemes to reward lesser-known bands, and win them a good audience.
DJ Siddharth, co-owner of Café Morrison informs, “When I started 10 years back, there weren’t many avenues, but the scene is certainly better now, with what we call pub-rock culture. Café Morrison was started with the intention of providing a platform for these budding musicians, who have been underground for long. I am presently training around 18 talented college students,” he says.
“We have started ‘band fund’ — guests at a café give some money for this at the entrance, and the collection goes to new bands performing there. Also, to give them an audience, we try to rope in a known band to perform before or after them in order to hook viewers,” says Siddharth with a wide smile.