We have all thronged the numerous music venues that dot the city to watch our favourite artistes deliver our beloved songs. But have you ever wondered what inspired the names of the music bars and performance spaces in the music capital? MetroPlus goes behind the stage to reveal how our much loved venues got their names.
Windmills Craftsworks
Whitefield
Rudolph David, the creative head of music and events at the venue, explains that all the properties of Total Environment, their parent company, are named after songs. “Our performance space is attached to a property called Windmills Of Your Mind. That is the name of a song from the late ‘60s by a French composer called Michel Legrand. It went on to become the theme song of the film The Thomas Crown Affair and spun off versions and covers by Sting and other musicians. The jazz theatre space is supported by a microbrewery and our specialty offering is craft ale beer the term Craftworks came about. The easiest thing to do was to bring both terms together when the venue was launched.
BFlat
Indiranagar
Sunil Shetty, the owner and founder of the popular music venue and bar, admits that the name wasn’t an original name. “When I was in Zurich, I happened to see a bar called BFlat. I loved the name and decided if I ever open a bar, I would call it BFlat and in 2008, we did it. Of course since it denotes a musical term and represents a popular jazz note, it was perfect for the venue. Even visitors to the city identify that it’s a music venue because of the name.
Opus
Palace Cross Road
Opus derives its name from its mascot, the “overweight but very multifaceted octopus”. Started by artistes Gina and Carlton Braganza, the name in Latin means a ‘piece of work’ of art or music. The Goa-based design of the venue with coconut trees and pebbled walkways and semi-open stage is itself a work of art.
Pebble – Jungle Lounge
Palace Grounds
Matthew C.J., the in-charge at the open air venue, says the name was inspired by the sheer amount of rocks at the place. “It’s as simple as that. Giving it a name like Pebble helps relate to the rocky outcrops. Sitting under the banyan tree, surrounded by stone pillars and live music in the open air space gives people the feel of being connected with nature.”
Humming Tree
Indiranagar
The bar, café and performance space is the dreamchild of Nikhil Barua. The venue quickly rose to popularity since its inception with its strong focus on music. Inspired by a collective started in London called ‘Communion’ to support space for folk music in England, Humming Tree was started to be an entity for promoting good music in the city.
Pecos
Rest House Road
Collin Timms, founder and owner of easily one of the oldest pubs in the city, says when he started it in 1988, it was only a Mexican food restaurant. “After a year of not doing very good business since it was a fast food joint and probably way ahead of its time, we added beer to our menu in 1989 to rescue ourselves. The name stuck on though the venue evolved into a pub. The name came from a river in Arizona called Pecos. I like the name because it had a Mexican ring to it. There is also a personal story to it which I will not reveal now. Once I die, you can read it in my memoirs.”
Venues with brand names
Hard Rock Café
Indigo Live Music Bar
blueFROG
Church Street Social
SALT
