What started as a fling has grown into a full-blown relationship for Best Kept Secret. The band from Bengaluru, earlier known as One Night Stand, came together in 2011 to play at a friend’s cocktail party. But the chemistry between the band members seemed as good as the couple tying the knot. People wanted to hear more of them. So they stuck on and played at a lot more events.
“Three years back when we went international for the first time, we realised there were many artists with our band name. We even received an email from an Australian DJ who wasn’t too pleased with our name. So we changed it,” says Behram Siganporia, vocalist and bass guitarist. It took a radio contest and and an online poll for them to get their new name — Best Kept Secret. The band comprises Hemanth Diwakaran - guitarist, Abhilash EK - drummer and Steve Rajan - on the keys.
The four-member pop rock band was in Chennai to perform at Radio Room. They start with ‘Love Me Enough’ (Maroon 5), and follow it up with ‘Uptown Girl’ (Billy Joel), ‘Faith’ (George Michael), ‘Rock DJ’ (Robbie Williams), ‘Get Lucky’ (Daft Punk)... and end it with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (Queen). They manage to keep the riveted crowd on their feet and even play a couple of their original compositions — ‘Can’t Let You Go’ and ‘Moving On’. “For most gigs, our staple is our original compositions. They are mostly about girls, relationships and break-ups,” grins Behram. Then there are songs such as ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ that they’ve performed so many times that they say even if you wake them up in the middle of the night and ask them to play they can, without practice.
This month, Best Kept Secret has 20 gigs lined up. And with their growing fan base, they are hardly a secret. “We’ve done around 300 shows and played internationally in Germany, Norway and other parts of Europe, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and other Asian countries,” says Behram, adding, “We like giving our audience a surprise and have the experience to do things impromptu.”
But one thing that irritates them is when the audience says: “Punjabi bajao” or “Bollywood hits”. Undeterred, they just continue to play English songs but with a twist to funk them up and make them more groovy. Good enough to match your Bhangra steps with.
