Journalism of Courage
Nine budding bands give this contest their best shot to win an opportunity to play with singer Bruce Springsteen at the Hard Rock Calling festival in London
How many young rock bands can imagine performing alongside Bruce Springsteen,’the Boss’ of American music? On March 21,a total of nine bands will battle it out at Hard Rock Cafe to live this dream. The Hard Rock Calling 2012 music festival is described by these groups of youngsters as a golden ticket. This rock band contest is taking place at 86 HRCs across the globe. The winner will get to share stage space with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the festival at Hyde Park,London,in mid-July.
These youngsters feel that consistent practice sessions are the secret to forming a good band and retaining the line-up. Bands are formed and suffer fall-outs every second day. Striking the right balance between music and life leads to the growth of a successful band, says Jainam Modi,bassist of Meghdhanush,an Ahmedabad-based band which will participate in the finals. With 12 original compositions to its credit,this five-member band which specialises in Hindi,experimental pop and rock,will perform in the city on March 8 along with Swastika and Point Blanc. Unlike Pune, Ahmedabad has lesser number of opportunities for amateur bands, says Modi who travels 20 km everyday to practice at a farmhouse with his band members.
Bands playing alternative genres have also made it to the finals. Swastika,a four-member band which experiments with guitar sounds,has nine self compositions to its credit. We will play three new compositions for the first time at HRC, says Varun Singh,bassist. Life,a Mumbai-based band,which experiments with Indian alternative music,took centrestage in the first half of the finals on March 1. Our music has no boundaries and we do not confine ourselves to any particular genre, says M Prashant,vocalist.
