On the rocks

“When we organised the reunion gig last year,the response was great so we’re back this year,” says Das,49,who rounded up old pals,Ram from Indian Ocean,Tyagi,Deepak Castelino and Tony George from another band called Applied For. But this time around,more musicians,well entrenched in careers like advertising and HR,stepped in: Anirban Roy,now in his late 40s,has flown in from Hollywood where he works as an editor; Abhinav Dhar,still referred to as Delhi’s best drummer,is taking a break from advertising to play for Applied For and a new band called Unfinished Business.

“Tony,Anirban,Amitanshu and I decided to float Unfinished Business and we’re joined by two youngsters,Obed Zeme on the guitar and Vinayak Gupta on keyboards,” says Dhar who describes himself as a weekend musician,since he still gigs with a band called Babylon Extension.

The bands are jamming by the hour,eating chola kulcha with Old Monk,catching up on time gone by and making music like they used to. While for Ram,this is a day in the life,the others warm up to the studio by the minute. George takes his jacket off,getting into the groove,while Das and Roy try to work out the beginning of a song. As for the music,it is great oldies stuff that endures. The Beatles,The Doors,Procul Harum,Whitesnake,Heaven on their minds from Jesus Christ Superstar and some original compositions such as Running out of time by White Fang. “We’re not only uniting with our contemporaries but also with bands that came before us. I remember watching my first Electric Plant concert,” says Ram. Initially a school band from St. Xavier’s,Electric Plant became Delhi’s hottest rock band in the early 80s,everybody knew Varun Sharma and Pradip Chaudhury.

“We’re looking at musicians and bands from the last 30 years of rock music in India. It can only get bigger,” says Ram. That’s the idea,as Das and the others plan to play one concert every year and,if possible,take the show to cities such as Kolkata and Mumbai,where India’s rock scene started in the early ’70s. For now,there’s no time to lose,the next band will be here soon and time needs to be respected. After all,it’s what allows them to go forward or backward,at will. With a little help from their friends.

Concert on January 9 starts at 7 pm. Entry is free. Contact: 46782243