Journalism of Courage
From ego clashes to a lack of substantial support from the music industry,Talk looks at the reasons behind the split of Indian rock bands
From broken teacups to broken marriages,everything comes apart for a reason. The binding forces are no longer together,little cracks appear,and the pieces start falling off,destroying something that was once beautiful.Music bands aren’t an exception. Bands in India seem to have an alarming tendency to break-up,before they can realise their true potential. Delhi bands Parikrama and Indian Ocean have been around for quite a while Parikrama completes 20 years on June 17,while Indian Ocean has been around for 22 years. So,where do the others fail?
It is tough to keep a band going in India, observes Nikhil Rufus,who now plays for Indigo Children and was the bassist for the broken band Superfuzz. The culture here is such that society frowns in a very supercilious way on those who dare to do something different,make a career choice which doesnt fall under their scheme of things. And this attitude hasnt helped the cause of rock bands in the industry which is unable to support rock music as a whole. In the west,the music industry is very organised,very evolved. Whereas in India,it is still in its infancy. In other words,the industry is not commercially viable for Indian bands, says Subir Malik,keyboardist for Parikrama.
Another reason that makes band members fall apart is ego. It usually comes when a band hits sudden success and the success is not easy to deal with. A sort of beginning of the end. Without naming anyone,Ashwin Andrew,drummer for the now-defunct Orange Street says,There are some people with whom it is impossible to work with.
When getting together to make music,it is important for the members to retain their individuality and yet merge in with the thought processes of their partners. And Rahul Ram,bassist for Indian Ocean,thinks it comes with age and maturity. We were much older than bands nowadays when we first started out. We were in control of our actions and had an idea of the consequences of our actions,so we never did something that might offend a fellow band-member, he says. Most of the bands in India are college bands. And when college gets over,people start going their own separate ways. And just like that,there is no band left, he adds.
