If you had to think of Unwind Center’s gig series as a person, it would be 17 years old. But then again, they have been going through a rebellious phase since day one. One of Chennai’s longest-running music venues, it prides itself on providing a stage to many artists who are now considered veteran. But at Unwind, the gigs do not stop.
Tonight, they host rock band Ground Zero and solo singer Kathryn Vanspall as part of Live 101. While both artists include covers in their set, they do have a bent towards eventually finding their own voice and writing original music.
All about talent
Ground Zero are still working on writing and recording their own music as well as getting a hang of performing live, while Vanspall — who has been performing for more than four years — released her pop-leaning, heartache-ridden debut single ‘Rewind’ earlier this April.
Edison Prithviraj N, director of Unwind Center, says, “It’s the talent that is important. Today they might play covers, and that might inspire them to grow and write their own songs.”
Formed in 2014 and featuring members based in Chennai and Arakkonam, Ground Zero return to the stage after nearly half a year (since their drummer Michael Fernandez was out of town). Featuring guitarists Shane Reneaux and Aaron Douyere and keyboardist Melvin, the band will bring in a new bassist, Sanjay Bedford, for this performance. Bassist and vocalist Gavin Fernandez says they have had a steady association with Unwind, who first hosted them in 2017.
According to Gavin, distances and time constraints have seen Ground Zero often tailoring their sets to the number of members available for the show — playing as a duo, trio and quartet in addition to the full five-piece setup. “We perform electric songs as acoustic as well. It was quite hard adapting the songs, but since we had no full band or electric gigs coming up, we had to,” he explains.
Although they are influenced by everyone from Zayn Malik to Ed Sheeran, Ground Zero go back in time for today’s show, featuring classic rock and timeless music from the likes of Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, The Beatles and Cliff Richards. When asked if any songs have been challenging, Gavin notes, “We thought ‘Sultans of Swing’ would not work acoustic, but it is pretty good. Everything is the same, but instead of drums, we’ve used cajon.”
Perhaps that is the real mark of a promising young musician. Prithviraj says they have rarely been disappointed. “We’re still finding great talent with every show,” he concludes.
Ground Zero performs tonight from 7 pm onwards, at Unwind Centre, Adyar. Entry at ₹200 per head. 42121631
