Thank God it’s Friday! There was a time when a section of Chennai had a very specific reason to say this. This population consisted largely of youngsters, more specifically college students who were testing musical waters. For them, every Friday came alive in riffs and beats at a small, acoustically-prepared space in the basement of a commercial plaza on Nelson Manickam Road. Friday was Live 1O1 day at Unwind Center. (Live 1O1 now makes a comeback, after a break of around two years, with concerts every Saturday at its facility in Adyar)
Promoting rock music sans intoxicants and swear words, Unwind Center was setting a new benchmark in rock music. Unwind Center could reach a vast section of college students with this message only because of two of its sub brands — Live 1O1 and June Rock Out — which managed to have a massive following, immediately after they were launched.
In their time, they probably provided the only platform in Chennai for college students with huge musical ambitions and the talent to support it. Live 1O1, which was launched in 2001, used to draw many promising bands and musicians from Loyola College and Madras Christian College, and some of them used it as a launchpad in their music career. One band that springs to mind is Powder In The Ashtray (PITA). Most — if not all — of its members were from Loyola College. Its extremely talented lead vocalist Vishal Thomas — a shy boy wearing a permanent smile and something of a Bon Jovi hairstyle — Siddharth (who, in the years that followed, went places with his lead guitar), Jitesh and Rodney, whose abundant talent on the bass guitar and drums respectively was evident, made a great combination. They had a particular liking for Red Hot Chilli Peppers, which they demonstrated whenever they took the stage.
And, it was Live 1O1 which showcased the irrepressible talent of Ameeth Thomas, the brother of the mighty Arjun Thomas.
Edison Prithviraj, who is the managing trustee of Unwind Center and the prime mover behind the revival of Live 1O1, now happening every Saturday in Adyar, says Ameeth was first part of the Unwind Band, and then went on to found the immensely popular Junkyard Groove. In its early years, Little Babooshka’s Grind (better known as LBG) — a band that has differentiated itself by refusing to present cover music and stick entirely to their own compositions — found Live 1O1 helpful in building their fan base. Eddie (as Edison Prithviraj is called) points out that even music director Anirudh has a Live 1O1 connection.
“As keyboardist of a band named Zinks, he has performed at Live 1O1,” says Eddie.
Live 1O1 was not just a space for promoting talent. It was, as the nomenclature of its mother brand Unwind Center suggests, a space for music lovers to unwind.
Those Friday evenings at Unwind Center was characterised by an engaging wackiness. For an entry fee of Rs. 50, which was how it was priced around 10 years ago, one was assured of good, clean fun, besides music. John Christian, the founder of Unwind Center, and his team, which included the affable, ever-smiling duo, Lijin Varghese and Saroop Oommen, would present theme Fridays that added refreshing interludes to the Live 1O1 concerts.
Snapshots of some of these theme Fridays remain in this writer’s memory. One of them is “Nair’s Tea Kada”, when concert goers did not have to pay for tea. The free tea however came with a condition. The tea seeker has to utter a password — “ Cheta oru nalla choodu chai tharu ” — wearing a dhothi .
