‘They only want covers.’ It is a common grouse among Chennai’s young crop of independent musicians, eager to find venueswhere they can play their original music. The complaint becomes all the more valid for bands playing non-English music. And even when independent music is allowed, the content could be monitored, Tamil singer-songwriter Siennor points out. Adds vocalist Alvin Presley, “Even with the limited number of venues, there’s always a chance of them not paying the musicians their share.”
So what are the spaces available across the city for its indie musicians and their patrons to sit back and enjoy some original music?
From the old…
Unwind Center
Do you enjoy Moksha? How about Junkyard Grove? Or Benny Dayal? Shaktishree Gopalan? Unwind Center has been a welcoming space for musicians — then up-and-coming, now household names — since 2001. “If the musician has grown up in Chennai they would have performed at Unwind at least once. Whether they went on to make a career in music, or eventually became scientists, their college band would have played here,” says Eddie Prithviraj, director of Unwind Center.
Juice, the LBG (Little Babooshka’s Grind), Anirudh Ravichander, Molotov Cocktail by Arjun Thomas… Eddie rattles off the names of now famous artistes who have played here.
Eddie, himself a vocalist for metal band Blood Covenant, recalls how Indian bands boomed truly in the 1990s. He believes that almost eight out of 10 bands that send them demos today have the capacity to amaze; “the competition is going to be tough”. Eddie has been working with former director and founder of Unwind Center, John Christian, ever since its establishment in 2001. “We also help the musicians grow, either as solo artistes, or by putting them in touch with other musicians who would work well with them. It’s not just about the performance space.”
@Sai Kiran Apartments , Kasturibai Nagar, Adyar
421216 31
Geoffrey’s
Of the many hotels and bars that give space to indie musicians, Geoffrey’s stands out for its long-standing niche for metal and rock music. Armaan RM, co-founder of Metal Chennai, recalls how Geoffrey’s has been home to metal fans since its foundation.
The pub is set to complete 18 years this November, and prides itself on its ‘English pub’ character. Jayashankar Gupta, general manager of Radha Regent says, “We were one of the first pubs in Chennai, to start that kind of pub culture.”
The pub is host to metal series Brutal Carnage and indie music series Homebrewed every alternate month. Gupta claims that while choosing whether to hire talent, profitability is not the only factor. “We have to think about the experience that we are offering. It is not easy for pubs to stay open for two decades in a metro like Chennai unless it offers a niche. We keep ourselves fresh that way, by maintaining the character of a place for bands — big, small or upcoming,” he says. On its 18th anniversary in November, the pub is organising War, a battle of bands from Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.
@ Hotel Radha Regent, A rumbakkam 66778899
...To the new
TIGOM (The Internet Generation Open Mic)
The night skies, light breeze and sing-along music — These are the ingredients that make up The Internet Generation’s Open Mics, popularly known as TIGOM. Originally a media company, the collective of eight turned the terrace of their building into a venue this March. They will have their 11th session this Friday, with 20 acts lined up. TIGOM has previously featured artistes like Siennor, Mr Kev, Sarah Black, the band Otha Sevuru, and even beatboxers like Rohit Sanjeev and Frederick John.
Jayatesh Sridhar, founder of The Internet Generation, recalls how he and 20 of his friends spent two days giving their terrace a makeover: building the stage, painting walls for photo corners, setting up a tea kadai where they could serve snacks and beverages. “That night, all of us slept on the terrace!” he says.
The open mics are focussed on connecting like-minded people, but mainly on having fun. “We have these concepts called savage mittai and pickup pop,” he explains. The first is a thaen mittai and the second, a lollipop. “You write any person’s name on a chit, even describe a stranger in the crowd, or one of the singers. And you can either roast/insult them — that’s the savage mittai , or write them a compliment, like a stupid pick up line — that’s the pickup pop, and give it to us. We will read it out loud in between the open mic, and give them the message along with the sweet,” he says.
@ Soundarajan Street, Parthasarathi Puram, T Nagar 9940237330
The Republik
With posters of Linkin Park, Queen and other icons, this recently-opened restaurant makes it clear that it is musically inclined. Most of the seating points toward the stage area, where musicians are invited to play a gig every Wednesday in collaboration with House of T. They also hold open mics once a month, in collaboration with RSVP.
The restaurant was started this August by Dr Muthu Rathinam, and their first gig was in September: a beatboxing battle held by Sunil Suresh. “We got beatboxers such as Dilip Sakhrani, an international champion from Bengaluru,” says Sunil, who also leads Beats Club to bring beatboxers together. “Republik wants to build a city that has a culture of original live music, and it understands that to do so, we need consistency,” he says.
So far, it has hosted artistes such as The Coconut Milk Project and Kochi musician Ago.
@ Above Odyssey, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar 7871468656
