Luke Kenny: On Bands Inc.

Luke Kenny has always been one of those people who’ve let their work speak. If you look him up on Google, you’ll find that Luke is one of those multi-talented people that has literally transitioned from one profession to another, but has always remained a patron of the arts- whether it was dancing, VJing, his musical career or acting, directing and producing. However, since we’re talking music here, to me, and many others, he’s always been the face of independent artists in India and more often than not, “the protector of the underdog”. And he reconfirms this once again with his decision to judge Bands Inc 2009.” I was humbly pleased and honoured that Nihar and Viraj thought of me for this, because I would like to think that I have always been a champion of the band or musician that has not got his/her rightful chance. And my decision to be involved with many such competitions has always been for this purpose. The judging and the evaluating are not as important for me as is the result of the competitors getting their visibility and recognition. And to add to it the tireless efforts that Nihar and Viraj and their teams are selflessly putting into this is absolutely commendable”, he says.

A conversation with Luke is insightful to say the least. With his kind of experience, one would expect him to know everything about everything! And he doesn’t disappoint. Almost every competition I’ve seen in the past year has either been rigged or the judges didn’t know what kind of sound they were looking for/ were inexperienced. But Luke, on the other hand, knows what to expect having seen several corporate bands perform at parties etc. He says he’s “expecting to see all those people who gave up Rock n Roll for modern life, to go and bring it back out of their basements, closets, attics or the back of their minds, wherever they might have pushed it to and throw it back in the faces of the unbelievers.” Those are pretty strong words there in a country dominated by Bollywood. The way I see it, I think Indians work too hard and too much and analyse and speculate even more. Corporates abroad (mind you, the one’s that hold the highest positions in companies) seem to find the time to unwind and de-stress whereas we’re always caught up in the daily grind or sometimes, overtly ambitious. I think this competition is going to be a platform to unleash more than anything else. Luke agrees. ” It’s a way to keep Rock n Roll alive”, is what he has to say. ” It is a constructive diversion from the daily drudge of corporate life, a detour into a release of creative energies that might just not be getting the right platform. Bankers who play guitar, advertising copywriters who can play drums etc. It is also a chance for top management to see their employees go up against their rivals in their own business, but this time in a musical way, its an exciting never before done effort. In fact I won’t be surprised even if I see a few top management participants as well, Mr.CEO on keyboards?”

For all those bands who’re looking to get a brilliant start, Luke advices that you give a complete performance. He seems to like the bigger picture however; details do play an extremely important role too. The jury consists of two other judges as well, Mr. Terry Stewart (President Rock n Roll Hall of Fame) and Mr. Seymour Stein (V.P. Warner Music). When asked about what it’s like to be judging a competition with these personalities, Luke says that he’s ” humbled to be in their presence! I mean Mr. Seymour Stein! Without him we would have no Madonna, no Talking Heads! There’s a man who is a true music visionary and can see not only the whole picture, but the future of that picture. And Mr.Terry Stewart, he’s the St.Peter of Rock n Roll; he holds the key to the ‘heaven’ that is the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Under his care the history of rock n roll will live on for generations to come..”

Courtesy: anEcho