Walk into the room and you are met with loud laughter, easy banter and guffaws. The three-piece Chennai-based band Skrat (yes, it is inspired by the Ice Age character), as the name suggests, is all about eccentric fun. Their music deals with serious issues, but in a fun way.
Their philosophy of not getting bogged down by the seriousness of things works to make their music more fun, and that’s exactly what they dished out in their recent gig at Lost Society, organised by Tooth & Nail Productions.
The band comprises T.T. Sriram on lead vocals and guitar, Tapass Naresh on drums and Satish Narayanan on bass and vocals. Formed in July 2006, they landed their first gig within a week and have since performed allover the country including the recent NH7 and the 2009 Campus Rock Idols at Hyderabad. “The crowd in Hyderabad loves music and they know what they want. It’s great performing here,” says Tapass.
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Quiz them on the band name Skrat and they reveal, “The thing is we had our first gig coming up and no name yet. I was watching Ice Age at the time and randomly suggested Skrat to Tapass. He immediately called the organisers and registered as Skrat,” laughs Sriram.
Known for their alternative rock, garage and blues-based music, Skrat believes it has evolved hugely as all three sound out ideas, try new tunes and lyrics till they reach a consensus. “It’s a very organic process. Our individual influences are what make our songs work,” explains Tapass.
The witty trio share an easy camaraderie – a simple query on what inspires their music elicits a quick response, “Apples” before they burst out laughing. “Seriously, we like to listen to The Foo Fighters, Muse, U2 and Raconteurs,” says Satish, better known as SAT.
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Things are looking up for Indie bands with people willing to experiment, they say. “In 2004 you couldn’t play at venues if you didn’t have covers. But now at least 80 per cent of the music should be original,” says Sriram. “Various rock fests like Coorg, NH7, Rajasthan etc are also helping bring about the change,” Tapass adds.