'Rock' in the time of Indi-pop

In today's world of dial-ins and request shows, a world of mass promotion and digitising of fast-food music and ready-to-use loop arrangements, a world where even teens shoot to instant iconic superstardom, a world that digs popcorn and pop music, there are still a few voices that will make themselves heard.

``We won't give you what you want, we will give you what we want to give you. That's rule number one of rock,'' is once such voice, representing the city's own rock musicians. It is the voice of the lead singer of one of Chennai's best known bands, `Moksha'. It is voice of Leon Ireland at the mike. Sudhish Kamath is all ears.

A DECADE ago, little Leon went to a school at Kharagpur. If you had then asked him about rock, he might have thought you are talking about big stones.

Academics brought him to `Madras' in '93. He was doing B.Sc. Visual Communication here. It was in the environs of Loyola College, `Madras'....

No apple fell on his head, it was just that his Adam's Apple suddenly developed this fetish for rock as he got deeper and deeper into rock, by sheer listening. Loyola's band called `Sulphor' then, did not have a vocalist. And Leon Ireland was baptised a vocalist.

After college, `Sulphor' dissolved as the band members went their way. And another set of people got together. Christy Samuel landed up from Vizag. Allen Roy was another Loyalite, a guitarist for `Blud Hounds'. Ranjith Jeyapaul got clanging the cymbals. Keith Peters and Timothy Madhukar started pitching in with the bass and keys respectively. With Leon at the mike, the band attained salvation on November '95. And `Moksha' happened.

The mid and late nineties hard core rock-bands converted to softer varieties. That was when boy-bands got popular. And India's own rock-bands like Euphoria switched to playing what they called Hind Rock. And `Moksha' reigned in the city for five years, without much company. Until the younger bands came in.

``We stuck to rock. No `Please like me' music. We are not about giving people what they want, we are about giving people what we want. Rock is about making you buy what I want. Take it or leave it. Now, the new bands thank us for sticking to rock. The fact that we have inspired a new crop makes us glad,'' says Leon.

So why was rock music and musicians becoming an endangered species? ``The problem here in India is we don't promote our bands. We have to make ourselves heard. The key is marketing,'' says the lead singer who writes copy at Hakuhodo Percept advertising for a living.

``When we planned to perform at IIT Mumbai's Mood-I, people warned us against it, saying the South bands are not respected. But we were tempted. We landed up there, stayed at my sister's place and guess what...we came first. They asked us, `Where were you guys all this while'. So we need to go places and promote ourselves,'' he explains.

`Moksha' having realised cover versions is now ``in the process of recording an album''. It's never been easy for a rock bands to stick to their guns. ``We have to break the barriers involved. We have to make people aware of what rock is really about,'' says Leon.

``Rock isn't about drugs, sex or a rash lifestyle. None of us take drugs, none of us have a rash lifestyle... We have to let people rediscover rock music. Promote rock. Look at the people who are being promoted. They come on to stage, lip-sync wonderfully, dance a bit and go back,'' he alleges.

``That's because, they don't practice like we guys do. They just finish recording and forget about the song...because they know they just have to lip-sync,'' Leon continues.

Rock is sure about attitude and pure music. And Leon has a problem with boy-bands and their ilk, because ``It's `please-like-me' music''. Nor can he stomach the fact that many Indian bands are getting softer succumbing to market demands.

``Three people with guitars don't make it rock. Make money if you want to playing Backstreet Boys or ''please-like-me`` music. But don't insist that it is rock. Rock is about pure music, it happens when you perform live and when you can see the crowd take what you give them,'' he lashes out against the tribe of rock- converts.

Live concerts is how Leon believes rock can be promoted. Rock musicians should be encouraged and promoted, but that would happen only when cassette companies come forward and realise the potential of rock.

You just can't write off rock saying there's no demand. You have to create awareness and promote it and it's just a matter of time before we have a great rock revival. If you don't take Leon's word for it, maybe you should just drop in at Vineyard Centre any Friday this month, just to have a glimpse of what clean pure rock music can do.

``Rock you like a hurricane''. It's Leon on the mike, Moksha on stage. Don't miss it when Moksha brings the curtains down at the June Rock Out fest later this month.

``Three people with guitars don't make it rock. Make money if you want to playing Backstreet Boys or ``please-like-me'' music. But don't insist that it is rock. Rock is about pure music, it happens when you perform live and when you can see the crowd take what you give them.''

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