Blend No 3220 @ Cafe 1730

On the Holi/Women’s day weekend, I decided to catch up with a couple of old friends at Koregaon Park and
watch Blend No.3220 live at Café 1730 Beans & Booze last Friday. It happened to be an important gig for this newish blues band, which was welcoming its new lead guitarist Pratyush Pillai and bidding farewell to its faithful bassist Sajib Biswas. Named after a blend of Old Monk rum, Blend no 3220 plays blues rock with provocative lyrics, repetitive chords and the idea of reaching out to people rather than chasing commercial success.

Quite appropriately, Blend’s first song ‘Mean Trouble Woman’ was about members of the band who have come and gone. Losing band members can be hard, especially if you’ve been jamming for some time and realize you’re good at it. Earlier this year, Sandro Sadhukhan left Blend No 3220 to fulfill other music dreams. The backbone of the band was his partnership with lead singer, Arnob Chouduri. Tonight’s tragedy was Sajib Biswas, their bassist, returning to his homeland - Bangladesh.

Attrition forced the band to look out for fresh talent and through Biswas’ contacts they were able to procure the
Best Guitarist of MTV Rock On fame - Pratyush Pillai. This shy 25-year-old is not only technically precise but also immensely humble after his desi-fusion band, Khilaugh finished second at MTV’s rock music reality show. Nicknamed Shredman because of his metal/hard rock influence, Pratyush is evidently still learning to complement Blend’s passionate Bengali blues soul. As a recent addition, he has been practicing with the band for just a week and you can tell that the blend is not as perfect as it should be. When Arnob went “Pradyush, baby you know how you make those dirty sounds on the guitar”, he seemed to think it was probably part of the lyrics and there was no response from Shredman.

Some joked that Blend no 3220 should have been named ‘Three and a half men’ but really what would Blend do
without its well-dressed drummer Sumair Zubairy? He sported a black studded jacket with flare and proudly held
his Mohawk head high even as local blues legend, David Mansey, took over for a guest performance. Somehow his demeanour and showmanship made him slightly unapproachable and I only attempted a handshake at the end of the show, as I was told he’s the reason the band doesn’t require an agent or a recording label.

Continuing with their soft rock intro, the band played ’Somebody Else’, a warning to any lover in a mediocre relationship. Next up was ‘Highway’. Introduced as ‘deep and pervasive’, this one was about getting high – ‘one of the greatest feelings in the world’. Some audience members smiled and whistled in recognition while others left in search of the metaphoric highway.

Then came the soulful ‘I'm coming to get you’ which was based on Arnob’s experiences while working at a forensics lab. ‘I felt like a rat hiding in your house,’ he commented when asked about the back story. Forth on the list was the explicit ’Down Rite Dirty’, talking about things that are otherwise taboo. ‘Crying Still’ was about a 45-year-old insomniac who was so frustrated with life that he took his shotgun and killed his entire family. Lucky number six was ‘Beeswax’ a standard folk song from Mississippi - a typically fun-to-perform 1800s song. The thing about blues is that it’s familiar. Even if you’ve never heard these particular songs before, you can relate to them. Especially if you’ve listened to enough old rock music, everything begins sounding like home.

The European themed Cafe 1730, I’m told, is more of an after party place. It’s just above Kivas and earns its
patronage from the fact that it’s open till 4 a.m. It has nude paintings on the ceiling above the 40-inch screen and
Boss speakers worth 2 lakhs. They didn’t have a sound engineer that evening, just someone to help set up the
equipment and then the band members were left to ‘do their thing’. No one in the audience would have guessed
that the piano was never meant to be incorporated into the gig. The way Arnob used the instrument after the
intermission, felt as if he was familiar with it and had planned it that way. But I talked to him later and found that it
was done on the fly.

Throughout the random jam-based set list, Arnob handled the harmonica with ease earning him the
nickname ‘Blowman’. “Other people tune their instruments, I blow”, he joked. It’s this type of explicit references
that got the crowd going and encouraged the band to perform old favourites. Arnob is a passionate writer but
prefers to have sloppy jam sessions on stage rather than covering other musicians. This time, though, they did
three covers and a few blues standards just to keep things going. Chuck Berry’s ’Johnny B. Goode’ and Muddy
Waters’ ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ gave the night a much needed upbeat familiarity, which was missing from Blend’s own compositions.

The audience consisted of friends and fans from the music community. Much to my amusement, someone with a
Lamb of God t-shirt sat in a corner nodding away to the blues. At our table, a friend nursed his Vodka as a garrulous flirt charmed a pretty girl. I guess one could blame the sad turn out on the fact that most Pune people were at Blackstratblues/Warren Mendoza’s gig at High Spirits and given a chance this band would have been there as well. Arnob dreams that one day it’ll be possible to gather a few music enthusiasts and roam the city from one gig to another with just a guitar for company. This gig, however, ended with a tribute to Sandro Sadhukhan, their ex-vocalist and guitarist. Pink Floyd’s ‘Shine On you Crazy Diamond’, with a little bit of ‘Wish you were here’ thrown in for effect, was a perfect fit for the end of the evening.

It’s not surprising that most of the audience stayed back to chill with the band over crappy cocktails (stay away from the ginger wine and never waste your money on ‘Chocolate Dream’) and wholesome dinner (Bolognese Spaghetti was a hit!) I got to talk to the band in the everlong intermission (why bother about time when things aren’t shutting down at 10.30?) and they shared their experience with the music scene. Newcomer Pratyush seemed to feel that Indian musicians can’t afford to make their passion a full-time occupation. He is the proud owner of a Gibson Les Paul Studio Edition (Ebony) thanks to MTV Rock On. “Even though we didn’t win, the show helped me pursue music as a hobby”, he says “Indian bands don’t get to perform like this unless they’re well connected.”

Personally, I hope Pratyush can dedicate more time to Blend no 3220. Especially because I’ve seen Biswas, Arnob and Sandro jam together and I know how tight their music is. In impromptu music that depends, almost solely, on the partnership between the vocalist and guitarist, you can’t afford to have anyone who is too passionate about his or her musical instrument. Here’s hoping that Pratyush will break out of his metal/rock mould that was created around his MTV Rock On fame and blend into the current blues rock scene.

Blend’s frontrunner, Arnob had a different opinion about the band’s future. “It’s not that difficult to market a band. We get mall and restaurant gigs quite easily but they expect us to be human jukeboxes and play commercial hits.” said Arnob. “We might record a live album”, he adds “But we’re against commercializing our music because that spoils a musician’s way of thinking.”

This was Sajib Biswas’ final performance as Blend No 3220’s bass player. “His forte was ‘thinking music’. He loved to experiment and learn from everyone around him,” says Arnob, who’s sad to see another familiar face disappear. But they've wasted no time in finding a replacement. Another MTV Rock On participant, Keshav Iyengar, will be joining Blend’s line up. Along with all their fans, I’m looking forward to see how this new chapter of Blend No 3220 turns out. From the looks of it Blues abhi baaki hai, yaar!

The Bicycle Days at B Flat - UNCUT

Dreadlocks, a leather beret and a familiar Floyd note was all The Bicycle Days cared to give us as an intro to their unique brand of psychedelic rock music. The Bangalore-based band performed at B Flat, Indiranagar, on Friday, 28th Oct. It was their new bassist Abhishek’s debut on home ground. The 8 p.m. gig started out with an experimental reggae-trance sound, making the 5-member band seem like an acquired taste. By the end of the evening, TBD settled into racier Radiohead-influenced material, which pleased their head-banging, foot-tapping fans.

The band’s opening number, ‘27’, had the much-required, shiver-down-your-spine effect on their early-bird audience. Taken off their 2010 debut EP '42', the song first sounded like Pink Floyd; suddenly it sprouted alien sounds and drummed itself into something halfway melodic!

The second song, ‘Zorbing in Space’, confirmed the band’s non-conformity with the basic rules of song-writing. It gave us a glimpse of lead singer Karthik’s Marley phase. Following the half-hearted applause from the audience, they decide to talk to us about their third song. “This is Something Human”, said guitarist Rahul Ranganath, “It’s about humans.”

As soon as the Metallica news started dampening spirits at our table, the Bicycle Days kicked in with ‘Tele Drug Zombies’. It reminded us of Incubus with a slight jazz undertone. A hand full of die-hard TBD fans were lingering at the bar, mouthing the lyrics of ‘Fevered Ego Circus’ and bouncing up and down to the more upbeat ‘Something Human’. Little did they know that Karthik Basker had listed this song as ‘Something Gay’ on his tissue paper setlist.

I like a band that doesn’t take itself too seriously and chills out with the audience more for the love of music than for the love of themselves! The Bicycle Days weren’t trying to be cute or charming. They didn’t play to the audience, but they did encourage applause. “We want more energy, Bangalore! Get drunk!” instructed Karthik just before their 5-minute timeout. “Awesome guys!” cheered the front row tables.

Our table was filled with half-empty beer bottles and Kung Pao potato. We were surrounded by the usual chilled-out Bangalore crowd, who just wanted to escape the Diwali bang-bang, which seems to be the only music we’ve been forced to hear over the past week!

While observing the crowd, I snuck away to the starstudded B Flat restroom, where Rihanna and Cher paintings made the Bangalore gals look rather gossipy and insignificant. A sneak-peak into the green room shed light on the band’s seemingly sober state. All I found was one can of Red Bull. When I returned, I heard a friend complain of how B Flat smelt like the corner where Landmark stores its Barbie dolls! By the time I soaked in the smells and sights of this tastefully decorated pub, The Bicycle Days had subtly returned with their sixth song ‘In This Moment’. It was the only song with a hint of Indian classical instruments, but it retained the band’s mysterious experimental tone. On their MySpace page, the band categorises their genre as ‘Alterantive / Experimantal / Indie’ music. But I think the word ‘Alternative’ is the only one that truly captures their essence.

Seventh on tonight’s setlist, ‘Radio Song’ was slow and enchanting. Maybe not as a much of a ear-pleaser, it had the energy to captivate listeners. Finally I could place Bicycle Days in the same zone as alternative rock band Radiohead’s 'OK Computer' album. The band thanked the audience for the heartfelt applause that followed.

Mostly instrumental, ‘No Battery’ started off with dripping-water sounds and progressed into squeaky echoes of a child’s voice. Karthik had his arms folded across his chest and he randomly threw in some awkward hand gestures, which perfectly matched the song. The Bicycle Days had escaped into a world of its own. I sensed an element of disconnect, because of the lack of eye contact and verbal communication among band members. But more experienced TBD fans seemed to disagree. “Tonight the band is very ‘in-sync’ with each other. They’ve tremendously improved since the last time I saw them,” said Shruti Naik, who had attended TBD’s Dec 2010 gig at Xtreme Sports Bar, Bannerghatta.

As the night progressed, the 6-year-old video-gamer behind us fell asleep in his father’s arms. This didn’t stop his rocker-dad from head-banging and air-guitaring to ‘Circles’, the most popular song of the night. ‘Circles’ was the encore and became my favourite as well. The stick-in-your head guitar riffs caught my attention and sustained it through indecipherable lyrics. Considering I was a first-timer to a Bicycle Days gig and to B Flat, I couldn’t afford to be biased. But being a wordsmith, the absence of meaningful lyrics was my only pet peeve for the night.

The show met a 'Sober Death', which the band had strategically saved as the last song on their setlist. Throughout the gig, I was dying to ask the bassist, Abhishek, about the psychedelic stickers on his guitar but had to contend with staring at the equally psychedelic Dylan poster on the B Flat wall. Overall, I came away with an acquired sense of appreciation for the band’s music and a strong desire to see them live more often.

Puddled Musings

In a puddle I ponder

Of love, hope and wonder

If I could wash away my innocence

In muddy puddles of rain

Would it make me any more insane?

If I could drink an ounce of joy

And love that tramp for who he is

Would I know all the answers to the next quiz?

If I could cheat the wealth of an obstinate fool

After counting each blessed sin

Would I be allowed to evil grin?

If I could measure darkness

Of an empty room

Would hearts be filled with that much gloom?

If I could confide in a summer ray

And anchor hope on bashful pride

Would you bother to choose a side?

If I could thread sparked thought on a spindle

And weave enough to make a skirt

Would I still be dreaming here on earth?

Dream on

We can grow to the extent of our dreams.
Anything outside of this realm seems unreal, unME!
There's a reason we're told to dream big, reach for the stars.
Tonight, there's a song called DREAM that refuses to leave my playlisted head.
It reminds me of this poem I made up in the eight grade. Five years after it was written, two lines got published in the school magazine.

Dream of the world the way you see it
Make the world the way you dream it

And year before last it was mutilated and added as a quote to the month of April in a corporate calender. Since then I have given up on a list of dreams. I have cut and proportioned myself to look like the person I thought I should be. On the way, giving up many of the pleasures of dreaming. I once thought of becoming a beautician so that I could punish little girls with horrendous haircuts similar to the ones I was forced to have during my preteens.

May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young

It seems only the young are allowed such dreams. Such altering states of imagined achievement in our little heads. Now they're labeled fantasies, analyzed my men called Sigmond and discarded as minor infractions in normal thought process. As an adult,I'm not allowed to envision long lustfully gorgeous hair swaying in the breeze as I, the trapeze artist, sway from one silk ladder to the next. Sigh!

I was a little girl alone in my little world who dreamed of a little home for me.
I played pretend between the trees, and fed my houseguests bark and leaves, and laughed in my pretty bed of green.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest swing.
I had a dream.

Long walks in the dark through woods grown behind the park, I asked God who I'm supposed to be.
The stars smiled down on me, God answered in silent reverie. I said a prayer and fell asleep.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest tree.
I had a dream.

Now I'm old and feeling grey. I don't know what's left to say about this life I'm willing to leave.
I lived it full and I lived it well, there's many tales I've lived to tell. I'm ready now, I'm ready now, I'm ready now to fly from the highest wing.

I had a dream

THANK YOU PRESCILLA AHN :) I shall be humming this tune for days to come. Farewell tomo...don't want to think about it..I had a dream...

"You have their numbers"

Is that supposed to be consolation for leaving all by best friends behind?!!
I say that as if I'm leaving to the States next week. Ah! it just feels all distant.
Yeah, one week for college to end. good! get rid of this shithole place! move on!
I went to JWT job hunting the other day and felt very professional.
Colleagues still get to scream at me with smiley dirts from the backrows.
There's nothing like an inside joke in the middle of formidable CIAs.
Every breakdown I've had right here in this very classroom.
Every LOL moment I've shared in this very classroom!
And all those out-of-the-window DC moments.
There're endless memories, even the Asian paints ad agrees.
'I'm always right', says a know-it-all
'I have a doubt', says the rabbit toothed first bencher.
'I couldn't care less', says the window seat dreamer

I love everything about college!

Except the system and the way we've been guinea pigged through it from college to autonomy to University. I guess those suggestion forms were sacrifices we had to make for a better future at the cost that lost magazine journalism certificate. Ah! the joys of a graduate life.

Live - Poet's Society

Ha! I just thought of this name for this imaginary writers club in college.
now see this is the kinda thing I'll miss. Whatever the drawbacks, I'm an optimist to the core and believe, wholeheartedly, in change! Not exactly voting for Obama (they printed my name wrong on the voters ID!! That's story reserved for another night) I'm avoiding 'Oye! It's Friday' as my mom (who still packs sandwiches in my lunch box) will not let me play the Foo Fighters loud enough. Now that's a bracketed entry that would gaurantee admission into the club! (Watch Sydney White for insights)

'I'm a soul rebel'-Bob Marley

College life involves a lot of growing up. I mean even though you're a teen for only about a year of it, you're still learning a lot, in terms of how to live and deal with the brickbats. Last week I put the last fullstop in those worthless record books and thought to myself. I'll miss this. I'll miss sneaking food in through the back window. I'll miss hiding behind a shielding fiend cos I'm in sleeveless. I'll miss walking down to the loo with a waterbottle. I'll miss overheard choir practice, the borrowed Sony Ericsson chargers and the lack of sweatshirts till it's too hot to wear them!
Yes, that's an odd list. I can't help it, my playlist is finally up and running. Skin n Bones kicks in.
Everlong...College felt endless, boring, mundane...

'Kill me! Kill me now', she yelled

And there were times I wanted to jump right out of my seat and obey! Then a simple peice of crumpled chit paper would make me feel meekly better about myself. It's fascinating to trace the cliques I've manufactured over the past three years. Nostalgia can be it's own crybaby. I'm not gonna go into it right now. The point is these people I call friends, what's left of them, I'm really proud to have made the choices I did. Even the hasty last minute ones. I guess all's well that ends well and I don't need that yearbook to tell me how much they've made me smile over the years. I feel old when I don that graduation garb. It'll be the forth time. Most likely, the last time.

"So what are you doing after college?"
"Watching Grey's Anatomy season 1-3 back to back!!"
"No, I mean after COLLEGE!"
"Oh that!"

Now isn't that the most annoying question you have ever heard!!? If I knew, I'd write it on my forehead and walk around fringeless!! I'm young for a reason! lemme think for Christ's sake! Why is the whole world acting as if this life altering decision is gonna be made (by me!?) in the microscopic list of options in their heads!! What if I really did volunteer to save the whale?
"Oh you kids have so many options these days" They say it like we're fortunate, like we're ungratful little wretches who don't have priorities! They say it not knowing we're wishing for the little checklist that says 'Doctor'
'Teacher'
'Engineer'
Really! we'd rather live in the 60's at this point!

Ok I take that back! I have to admit it's my lack of a decisive mind and addiction to Blogger that's got me into this mess. But FEP really put my finger in too many pies and 'emmy mouthwatering ones at that! and now they tell me my pockets will still have to pay for them! :*(

'Your not the only one'-Dave Grohl

I remember the day we went internship hunting. In the middle of the sixth auto ride, which we had virtually converted into a Coldplay/RHCP concert, my glory hogging air guitarist said, "This is how life should be. A challenge. Just running around, being rejected, refusing to give in."
Of course, he just meant it's a cool change from a 75% must-have-ness of our college attendence sheet. But it made sense. Wouldn't you rather be told 'You can't stand on your own feet' than 'I'll explain how gravity works but the rest's upto you' ?

Everyday of my life I've lived like there was something to live upto. Some days it was my peer group, some days my teachers, some days my own report card. But this kept me going. Past the red circled Blueprint, past the album cover anthology, past the malaria-infected radio show. There were times in the rat race when you'd prefer the inside of a cat's mouth. When you haven't learnt to bell the dork and open that cellphone only between breaks, you'd rather just swallow your pride and write that apology letter to the department of Psychology. Living it a day at a time, as if 3 or 4 days at a time was ever a choice! And every calender was only used as a countdown to the next semester! Every Practical hour was used as an excuse to play with fiddleworthy bracelets. Every party was used as an excuse for Class Reps to wake up and smell the cash. The tomfoolery of Keeda! ha ha! What would I do without Phrasebook!?

"The outcome of the result was that..."

At the risk of quoting teachers who google themselves, I shall put this post to rest. Those double hours of creative writing sure improved conclusion techniques. Hmm...I'll be coming home next year...Ah! that reunion piece we were forced to write, it summed up ambition in our loserish class. I clearly recall having a leader of the league to interview. Insisting you're good for nothing has proved to be a strong point. 'You decided to shine in third year', he said. 'It's better than burning out!', I quipped. Cobain reference or not, I think originality was never my forte. I hang on to the scraps you vommitted yesterday. I'll debate over remakes of Hindi movies and watch English realty shows at home. My point is, who are we really? Christ College Graduates? That stamped certificate is all we have to show for the toil of three long years. For a minute there, I side with the drop out before considering the ones who packed their cloth files with extra curricular certificates, the ones who insisted on perfection through every crappy assignment cos their main objective was to get into JNU or NYU.

Who're you kidding?! Even I'll have to grudgingly admit, college paid off! Certainly not our pillar- to-post fee system, but just college and the life it made us lead.

Cheers to that! Leaders of our own destiny? Now, isn't that how I'm supposed to end this magazine worthy essay! ha! Evaluate now, lecturers!

For college- It's not what they've taught. It's about what I've learnt.
For Puddled- It's not about being read, it's about being written. :)

RIP. SIGN. SUBMIT.

Letter to Canadian Parsi

EXTRACT FROM Oscar Convo with Abi Aunty who believes India is clueless about Queen:

'We have a holiday on Monday. It is telecast at 6am here...will catch
it at prime time.
I have seen Slumdog Millionaire. Not as thrilling as everyone makes it
out to be. A very real portrayal of India. But only the slum side.
Some love it. Some see through the copycat. Did you know the story is
taken from a book called 'Q n A' by Vikram Swaroop? And the Indian
media has found so many Bollywood movies with the same storyline. I
guess it's getting this much attention only because of it's
international appeal. The music is brilliant though. AR Rehman
deserves his BAFTA. All the best to Danny Boyle too. :)
Haven't watched the rest of the nominees. Will wait for April, after I
graduate, they'll be released in India by then.
I'm on the look out for a job and the recession is making it hard to
get a good one easily. It would be nice to intern at a media house
for a short time. Options are open and the last few weeks of college
are packed with fun moments to treasure. I'm sure Alina would agree.
Give her my love. She's hoping we can make it for the wedding and so
am I. It's still a long way to go. Depending on what I'm doing at the
time, we'll decide what to do.
For now, my focus is on my studies and recruitment.
Wish me luck'

Boyle didn't need a bit of luck and neither did Pookutty!
DB+PK+AAR=India super shine!
Heath Ledger+Christian Bale+Hans Zimmer= Batman simmer
Button+Pitt+Fincher=Made up unoriginality!
Doubt+Streep+Nuns=lots of screaming
Changeling+Jolie+Green gems='U no have good black dress! thu!'
Hugh Jackman+Ann Hathaway=HOTNESS!!
I'm still reeling over the foot tapping sequence the werewolf conjured.
The most memorable acceptance speeches were 'I am berry berry happy' & 'Mere pass Ma hai' :) I also loved the way each nominee had a predecessor telling them how awesome they really are..makes it so special :) good night to be dressed up.
1st August 2009..my only cousins and first and hopefully only wedding! that's a day i don't wanna miss! Oh readers of blog! please job hunt for moi! find me smt that'll make Oscar dreams possible! sigh..

Happy people

'Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory'
This is what my new orkut fortune says today.
Fortunately, I quote better sources.
Check out

www.anilpinto.blogspot.com
www.overheardinfep.blogspot.com
www.thequintessential-shar.blogspot.com
I would add to that list. But privacy is a must have for some and the muddle learns from it's mistakes. I still don't believe in Blog rolls. It takes away the attention from MY blog!
Yeah, call me a glory hogger!