“Even if you are sitting in some fancy Mercedes,
Honk Honk, Not Ok please”
When stuck behind a never-ending line of slow moving vehicles with your fingers hovering over the horn, hearing their peppy number on the radio may make you think twice before sounding the horn, hopes city-based band, Second Coming . The founder members are upbeat about their music taking a turn for a social cause with their upcoming ‘Horn Not Ok Please’ campaign to dim the din in the city.
Mixed audience
“The title is obviously from what you see painted behind trucks, ‘Horn Ok Please’,” explains Reji Varghese, band leader. “It is meant to be a fun song that gets the message across as honking is such a menace in our cities”. “ Old, young, every age-u; Rush-u, push-u, road rage-u;Horn Not Ok Please, ” chants Mark Wilcox, picking a line from the song. Currently the band has put out the word for videos from young film makers to supplement the Tanglish lyrics. It will launch the campaign in collaboration with The Hindu Nxg , Chennai Traffic Police and Big F.M. by getting the number viral on YouTube. Second Coming believes it is the right emissary for a message that must reach across age groups as the band’s music has succeeded in resonating with a mixed audience. “What is funny is how we have become sought after, when teenage bands are making inroads today,” says Regi of the not-so-young band with member aged between 40 and 65. Still, Second Coming is not comfortable being bracketed into genres. “We play rock, jazz, pop et al. It is not a deliberate attempt to be diverse. Each one of us brings brings our stuff to the table,” says bass guitarist Tenny Allwood, a fine example of the composite nature of the band. While Tenny is an erstwhile chef, keyboardist Mark is an employee of the Railways and Reji runs an engineering business. Sax-wielding Sengen Joachim used to supply granite blocks to artists in America.
What started as a simple jamming session between Reji and Sengen at a house on the hills in Yercaud, picked up momentum as a full-fledged band that now has 50 concerts across five States to its credit. Regi explains the band’s name, “The band was a second chance for us to do something we loved.” Though in its second innings, the band is just over two years old, the combined live music experience of the members is over 40 years, something that not many contemporary bands can boast of, says the songwriter.
While ensuring it plays the popularity card, Second Coming is not content playing covers. “These are the numbers that have been requested in India for the last 30 years — numbers such as ‘Hotel California’,” grins Tenny. The band takes its music a notch higher by adding a touch of jazz or bringing in artistes to infuse a Carnatic undertone or an international flavour. The band’s new album which will be out by year-end, comprises lyrics-oriented original numbers spanning as many genres as themes — from the tsunami (‘Raging Sea’) to suicide (‘Life’).
“In India, music is largely a monolithic genre where rock, pop and jazz get mixed up,” says California-based Sengen, a close associate of jazz legend George Benson. “Here you have to play for everybody, which is more difficult as it demands the ability to be versatile.”
(Second Coming currently includes guitarists Philip Kohlhoff and Darren Netto, vocalist Ryan Fernandez and drummer Maynard Grant)
