Corporate Bands: The new ‘underground’?

I was introduced to the world of Indian rock about 4 years ago. In fact, it’s not just Indian rock but  ‘Indian bands’ in general was a new concept to me. The first time someone told me about geeks from the IIT fraternity shredding and headbanging, it seemed crazy. Now, four years later, when a friend casually mentions the increasing number of corporate bands in this country over coffee, I find it bizarre! Imagine, your father or brother, working for a multinational, leading the secret life of a celeb in his company, rocking out on stage!

Recently, anEcho, launched Bands Inc. 2009 - a competition restricted to corporate bands and artists. Bands Inc. is designed to ” help corporates connect with an audience with music as the medium”. At first, this seemed like something out of a book and to an extent, it actually is! With the current economic crisis, companies are now looking for alternative methods to bust stress and after reading a report in a leading financial daily, I agree that such alternatives often play on the psyche of worked up businessmen and the like. It helps them vent out and channelise all that pent up stress and energy in a positive manner. But how much has music on the corporate front evolved? While talking to Shawn Pereira, vocalist of the famous I-Rock band ‘Black’ who also works at Bajaao.com (A music based website dedicated to providing equipment for Indian musicians from across the board), I find that not much is known of this scene mainly because the work force can barely find enough time to sleep and eat, let alone make music. ” I’ve seen corporates come to Bajaao and jam, but they’re not exceptional or anything- it’s just a passtime for them”, says Shawn when asked about what he thinks of corporate musicians.

But making music was never treated as a profession you’d like to be stuck in, in a country like ours. Our culture never really embraced western music and it was more often than not, treated as a distraction from the mundane. Fali Damania, part of Sound.com (and sound engineer for Pentagram) thinks that “the music business is one of the toughest businesses in the world to be in/survive in and you’re only as good as your last hit”. So you can only imagine what it’s like in India where you’ll only be minting money if the audience can “thumka lagaao” to your “desi girl” beats. However, Bands Inc. has a lot of incentives for the participants of the competition- firstly you’re judged by probably two of THE most experienced in the global music industry- Seymour Stein (V.P Warner Music) and Terry Stewart (President Rock n Roll Hall of Fame). To judge all auditions and semi final rounds we’ve chosen Luke Kenny, by far one of the known personalities in the music industry today. The prize you may ask? A chance to play at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, a framed Epiphone Les Paul, a Bands.Inc trophy and MUCH more! And even if you don’t win- there’s always that added advantage of having played for the biggies in the industry- a chance you wouldn’t want to miss, a platform that only Bands Inc. will give you.

A competition like this one, lets you “live the dream”- quite literally. And you never know, some ambitious businessmen might actually come up with revolutionary strategies to promote independent artists and this infact could be the formative stage of the indie music industry in India! And with bands registering by the dozen, I’m actually looking to find some new talent and a fresh sound. This could very well be the ‘new underground’.

Courtesy: anEcho