So this is about a music band. And now all those readers who have passed that age of head-banging and foot-tapping may roll their eyes thinking this is yet again another of a hippie-kids-junk-music story. But this article doesn't intend to fall into that typical depiction. Mainly because it's not a ‘college boys gone wild kind of band.' It's the more serious Purple Blood.
Around four years ago, youngsters Ashwin Gopakumar, Arvind Nair, Ganesh Radhakrishnan, Babu Vivek, and Prashant Parameshwaran – came together to live their aspirations in music and give form to it together as a band. The name was coined on a lark by their college mate Faasil, which somehow clicked for them.
And since its inception, this experimental metal band has won a lot of gigs, did opening acts for popular bands such as Hammerfall and Junkyard Groove, released their single Darkness Falls… , and travelled extensively to entertain and enjoy. Their other original, unreleased compositions are Destructive vengeance… , Heal me… , and Perpetual emotion…
Success mantra
So what is their success mantra? “You need to be passionate about your music,” says Ashwin. Experimenting and mixing genres also helps, they say. Ganesh points out how important it is to promote the band's music as well, apart from the playing, something quite evident from their active online pages full of keen followers. And, practice – days and hours of practice.
It's amusing to see how these close pals share similar opinions when it comes to their band, in spite of their different tastes and personalities. They make their music, appreciate other artistes and are ardent music enthusiasts. They are responsible kids who try as far as possible to raise their own money for the band and not tax their parents.
But what sets the band apart is how they manage to balance their music with their careers, that has nothing to do with music for some of the band members. In this era of competitive professional careers being imposed upon Gen-X, here are five engineering graduates who have chosen to travel a different path. We have here Prashant (the bassist), who has been selected for training as a flying officer in the Indian Air Force Academy. He is calm and a man-of-few-words who has dreamt of being a pilot since his school days.
Arvind (the guitarist), is all set to undergo training at the Indian Military Academy in a month's time. He is the “wilder one” in the band, and it came as a surprise to most people who knew him in his long-haired avatar, that this fun-loving fellow choose a life of discipline and hard work. Meanwhile Ganesh (the drummer) has received an offer letter from a major software firm, and is also an MBA aspirant; a rather apt choice for someone who is used to multi-tasking – managing the band, being a drummer for another (The Down Troddence), and being an “ideal” son.
Musical aspirations
Ashwin (lead singer) and Babu (guitarist) have, however, chosen to go ahead with music and become full time artistes.
Ashwin plans to get formal training in vocal and make his own music. Babu, who is trained in Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam and tabla, just chooses to play music and go on living his quiet life.
Now, who says you can't have best of both worlds?
