In the world of music there are two continents – that of covers and that of original compositions. Bangalore’s vibrant soundscape has, over the years, become accustomed to original music where the artiste is in control of their musical destiny, and plays songs that mean something to them. On the other hand, covers bands are still a major attraction and give artistes a high level of satisfaction to see positive reactions from the audience. Then there are the hybrids that play both. Metroplus talks to some of Bangalore’s music frontrunners on what they feel about the city’s shifting sound.
Nathan Harris, vocalist of Galeej Gurus, says the band plays a mix of both. “If we had the choice we would do the entire show with originals, but we are not biased against playing a small percentage of covers too. Giving the crowd what they like is important to us but we also like to play our own music. Bangalore crowds are becoming a little more patient and receptive to new music now.” He shares that venues normally give them an 80-20 split on originals and covers. “However, corporate gigs where they give entire set-lists are simply not our cup of tea. It depends on the venues actually. Last year saw a lot of tribute gigs in places like the Hard Rock Café.”
Vocalist and musician Christopher Avinash leads Retronome, a fulltime covers band, and is of the opinion that as long as a band is good at what it does, there will always be gigs to play and audiences to cheer. “We are a glorified hotel band but it seems to work for the musicians. There is passion involved in recreating the vibe of the original song. But there is no self-actualisation like what Agam or Lagori are doing. I believe the scene is equally placed in Bangalore.”
No matter which song is covered, Chris believes there is a signature added to it by the band. “There are two schools of thought – some bands modify the songs so much that it bears no semblance to the original such as Thermal And A Quarter which takes covers and does fantastic renditions in their own style. Then there are bands that try to recreate the same feel with a little bit of their own signature like what we do. Ultimately, entertainment revolves around the audience – they are the most important.”
Arati Rao, singer-songwriter and owner of BFlat, feels there has being a musical revolution in the city. “More bands are coming forward with original music. Even bands that used to perform covers have now progressed organically to play their own music. Bflat opened for that purpose – to create a platform for independent music. And today, we can proudly say that the Indian musician has truly come into his own.”
She emphasises that music is bigger than all of us. “It’s a person’s creative legacy to the world. From Pink Floyd and Beatles, Ravi Shankar and Jyotsna Srikanth to Konarak Reddy and Uday Benegal – they are all playing their own music. That for me is far more important than playing music that is already made famous by someone else. I do enjoy an evening of good old covers. But I also enjoy watching people do their own music.”
Rudy David, former bassist of TAAQ and presently Creative Head of music and events at Windmills Craftworks, clearly makes his stand for original scores. “Our focus in the venue is on musicians who break new boundaries and go beyond genres. We don’t tell musicians what to play but even if they do covers, we expect them to give us a fresh take on the songs.”
He points out that it is clearly two different careers. “There are bands that are really good at playing covers and make a living entertaining people with popular music. But when it comes to creating something special and making an impression, there is very little one can do as a covers band.” Rudy asserts that playing covers is a nice way to learn music itself. “But writing original music has more gratification. I think it’s a call on what you are doing the music for - money or creative satisfaction. Today, there are a lot more people open to listening to original music, appreciating it and even buying CDs if they like it.”
Gaurav Vaz, bassist of the Raghu Dixit Project, agrees the scene has changed. “Previously, audiences wanted only covers because they wanted to hear songs they knew. Now, most venues have bands playing original music. I believe it’s no longer the choice of venues or audiences. It’s the band’s choice. I don’t think any band has to bow down to audience pressure anymore. Of course there is a market for all kinds of bands now – from original music and jam bands to party and wedding bands. Finally, it’s the whole live band experience that counts.”
