Ravi Iyer of Vayu talks to Chordvine about Vayu’s rocketing success, his musical background, his love for the guitar and the people and bands that influence him. A stimulating discussion on his tabla playing and its influence follows, with Ravi talking about the state of Rock in India, difficulties musicians have, the indie and college scene and the piracy plaguing the scene and how it has made bands averse to cutting records. He also talks of how teaching and his students drive him. All of that and more in the 20 minute exclusive.
For the un-enlightened, Ravi is the founder of Vayu which expresses itself through fusion, rock, jazz, blues and even a bit bit of grunge/alternative. There’s a lot more about Ravi here, and about Vayu here.
Comments
34 comments. Add your own comment below.
Vidhi
Mar 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 pm | #
Good stuff dude !
Mithila
Mar 23rd, 2008 at 8:00 pm | #
Very cool!:)
Nikhil
Mar 26th, 2008 at 4:07 pm | #
Sir is super cool……
ZJK
Mar 30th, 2008 at 1:09 am | #
Awesome episode, guys. Tons of thunder.
Jason
Mar 30th, 2008 at 1:52 am | #
The beginning was quite energetic, but mate, you could have definitely made the interview more lively. And what’s with the funny camera angle ?
Manish
Mar 30th, 2008 at 3:10 am | #
Great one guys…top 5.
GaryB
Mar 30th, 2008 at 3:12 am | #
Hey,
Great words, you were almost manic, which is when you’re at your best.
I haven’t listened to your stuff in a long time. A simple change of e-mail addresses and i lost all connection. I remember the time when Classic Rock was the most favored with every audiophile!
Keep up the great work.
JiggyLove
Mar 30th, 2008 at 5:22 am | #
I saw you guys perform @ RiOT AcT ‘08 last month. It wasn’t exactly something special you know. So wht gives you the rigt to go arnd on a high horse dissing ppl who listen to ‘wrong’ music ?
The Silent Rocker
Mar 30th, 2008 at 6:26 am | #
I don’t understand the comments on the Riot Act ‘08 @ Borivali. Wasn’t a bad performance, but it was one of the best I’ve seen, and I’m a Vayu lover.
Who's Who
Mar 30th, 2008 at 6:47 am | #
Now now Jiggy, why don’t you just smother your self in you 50Cent-ish music and die ?
Route Canal
Mar 30th, 2008 at 8:12 am | #
Me likes.
DJ Banana
Mar 30th, 2008 at 9:05 am | #
Always thought Ravi would list Fleetwood Mac or at least Allman Brothers as his influences. Nice interview Rishi. Heard some new stuff about Ravi, and he is quite right about how money influences the way a band releases albums and videos and the like. Especially with tickets to college ‘concerts’ going at 50 bucks a pop.
@Jiggy - Ravi means music which may not be technically profound, and may not give you the right base so as to learn and advance. Anyone who’s tried to learn music and failed understands that. But for the casual listener, its all the same.
JiggyLove
Mar 30th, 2008 at 11:02 am | #
Who, if you were to actually make a comparison of my juvenile music tastes you should atleast have made them to Nirvana/kurt cobain. Sheesh!
SManik
Mar 30th, 2008 at 11:45 am | #
Nice show, man. Nice show.
Parag
Mar 30th, 2008 at 1:10 pm | #
Coincidence!
Was jes listening to one of your songs and the the next n in que is a Floyd number.
Will come back and see this one. Thanks for mailing me and letting me know about this one.
zippodude
Mar 30th, 2008 at 1:15 pm | #
First episode huh? Nice choice with the musician. I would say Ravi is one classic act.
Su*kH
Mar 30th, 2008 at 1:24 pm | #
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Bismark dude
Mar 30th, 2008 at 6:29 pm | #
When people tell me “have you seen that awesome guitarist from Vayu?”
i raise my hand and say “he’s my student! he’s my student!”
NaRjIs
Mar 30th, 2008 at 9:30 pm | #
cool.
Luke! I am your Father!!!
Mar 31st, 2008 at 2:41 am | #
Awesome guitarist but a bl**dy sell-out!! Vayu is an absolute joke and a sell-out band!!! Now why would a band with a world of talent like Vayu want to make money playing other band’s music.. Freckin ridiculous!!! Now if we have gay a** local college bands doin stuff like that, you can understand but when you have a world of talent to work with then freckin channelise it into some more productive original music!!Its those bands that are ready to slum it out in the Potholes of Vashi that are ace!!! Check out the band Black!!
edit: put in those *s. Be civil Darth.
Yo-dah!
Mar 31st, 2008 at 4:14 pm | #
@Mr Vader
So doing covers makes one commercial eh? Johnny Cash is a b**dy sell out then. Jose Felicano is a waste of talent. Jimi Hendrix was a waste. So were the Who. All blues musicians ever are f**king sell outs. And Miles Davis, of course, would be the biggest joke of them all right? He covered Micheal Jackson after all…
Bam-Bam
Apr 1st, 2008 at 3:32 pm | #
Eh you “Yo-dah’…ch***ya……calling johnny cash a sell out…take a hike!
And luke i am your father……STFU !
edit: put in those *s. Be civil Bam-Bam.
Ankit Soni
Apr 1st, 2008 at 6:23 pm | #
@Bam-Bam I think Yo-Dah’s just being Sarky…
and luke… well, he just seems a bit daft.
Harish
Apr 5th, 2008 at 10:17 pm | #
Dear Mr.Iyer,
I want to learn the Guitar. Please help me out in this.
Harish (0-9820133983)
Ishaan
Apr 10th, 2008 at 6:08 pm | #
where does he teach???
Kamdar
Apr 16th, 2008 at 4:49 am | #
the jam at the end was amazing!
Priyanka
Apr 17th, 2008 at 5:23 pm | #
yes Kamdar. Ravi Iyer is really amazing.
What the Heck!!
Jun 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 pm | #
Ravi is one of the best axemen in India contrary to any opinion. The interview was more from the heart and not made up. I completely understant the tryst with fate about making origninals in the current rock scenario where
People start cribbing when a show ticket is 150 bucks for an Indian band
Where albums are made with lot of effort and money and people don’t buy them - Leave apart their low pricing… its hardly an influencer
Ever since I began my career as a musician - I have seen people just criticize and criticize and honestly you f***ing critic guys don’t deserve to judge - As far as my experience goes - most of these critic fellows know jack Sh*t about playing any instrument but have quantums of F***ing gas in their A**es about how it should sound. Every single band in the rock scene requires nothing but motivation - If you can’t give it stay out of it - but don’t run people down for their opinions - especially if their words are supported by their years of experience.
Captn. Obvious
May 8th, 2009 at 11:27 am | #
Mechanical and sloppy as hell.
Roadrunner
May 10th, 2009 at 9:30 am | #
This guy is the worst guitar player you can ever see. The real guys are playing quietly somewhere in our gallis.Fucking overrated sloppy shit how on earth can this old loser be even considered to interview albeit on a random forum.
dhiraj
Jul 11th, 2009 at 12:06 pm | #
@roadrunner madarchod! bhencod ! raandchodike!!
ravi iyer can fuck ur happiness at any given!!
u motherfuckers dont understand what it takes to reach that level!
if i cud c u i wud have kill u wid a shovel!!
ravi is god
ravi sabkaa baap hai!
AGuitarist
Jul 20th, 2009 at 8:35 pm | #
Well, I haven’t seem him live.Plays fast and shit but something’s amiss. I agree with Captn Obvious. It’s good to see Indian musicians getting a platform.
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