Blues For The Common Man

This is the last song is wrote for the band. We played it once. The first and the last time. 

' Its an early wake up

  Twelve in the noon

  I look around i gotta heat my brew I've had

  Enough of this kinda life

  I've gotta start something new.

  Yeah i'm the wasted kind

  Well thats the common view '

' No time for lovin'  There's no

  Room for 2

  My time ain't comin'

  Any time soon I got

  JUST what i want

  And she knows its true

  Im the wasted kind, 

  Thats the common view '

Everyone takes turns to solo. And then head to double time in blues kinda like the SRV tunes.

 ' Take it slow.

   Take it slow.

   Comeon Take it slow.

   TAKE IT SLOW!!!!!

  Just one phone call 

  It takes thats all

  To take me back into the wretched 

  NEED....i dont like speed

  Take it slow

  Yes im the wasted kind.

  Thats the common view '

Thank you guys. For playing my stuff.

The End

FUCK! I cant believe its been more than 6 months since i wrote. I have been writing though here and there.....few songs, memories and thoughts. Anyway, now i have the time. Just read my last post and its been just too long. Worked on 6 WSR jingles after that plus the usual AV stuff plus also finalised on many other projects. Sent in my music applications as well. Which was quite a load off. Now i need to work on my next audition. Damn.....where's my guitar. Well, Its been quite disappointing lately with the band not being around to jam. Its a jam band after all. So we got this big gig last weekend and i realised that should be it. For me especially it was a very easy and a very difficult decision. The band had a potentially unmatched sound. You might take me for a childish enthusiast but thats what it was. Because of this sound, i was forced to write for this format and hence i wrote some god songs....all of which we played for this last gig. Almost all. Writing those songs and finally sitting down to play jam them wit the band was an awesome feeling. But i think only i felt it. Everyone seemed into it. But maybe i was a fool. Maybe they did not see it coming. MAYBE! JUSt maybe. I was too cool. HAHA. Anyhow i took it upon myself to call it off and i think its right. I cant live in this fake realty of a perfect band which is not there. Good times. Fabulous times. Crazy times. But its times like these we learn to live again. Hey, isn't that a line from a Dave Grohl song? Sheesh how original. Where s my guitar god? Cuz i see a reunion coming.

Return To Forever

Finally. I have the time and the patience to write my blog. PHEW. Where do i start. Its been three months since my last post. Seems like a lifetime. So many things have been happening. Unni left Bangalore and hence the band. I cleared FTII written exam which i wrote before my previous post and NOW they have given out the dates for the second round. I might be applying to Berkelee. SHILPA HAD A BABY BOY!!!!!!! How could i forget that with all my end of day prayers for her etched in my head. Chandy's much awaited peice-BROOD is finally finished and recorded. Working on its mix nowadays. Had a very deep heart to heart talk with many close friends and i love them and am greatful to them for have been patient enough to give me their time. Speaking of which. Its that time when everyone seems to be leaving. I am quite packed and booked with work nowadays, but there are moments when i sit and think to myself that there is noone to go and eat with. Ankit and Raghav have left to the US. So has Cheti. Phoebu has started her hectic course in Mangalore and Akshay leaves to Manipal soon. Aunty Pauline left sometime back and Chandy's departure is also close. Very few people left here to look upto. Only my Aunty is there. Anyhow people come and go and in the long run if only i could interchange my important thoughts with the people....it might make more sense. I feel. Not that the people are not important. I am not playing the guitar at all and am ashamed whenever i think about it so i just dont. Which is bad again. God? Where Are You? Waiting.....

My band in Bombay

Ceasars Palace, my immensely talented jam band from Bangalore did three gigs in Bombay recently. It was big, no huge, for us. Cuz we're just about one and a half years old, and we were called there by the organisers. Hats off to Kishan Balaji Maharaj for doing his smooth talk and getting the gigs. Anyhow. The train journey was majorly uneventful except for the ahem....a eunuch who came and felt my thigh nicely...and i was wearing shorts....ya so...that was it. Anyhow.
We got there and split to out staying locales. Me and Unni were at this amazing guest house which was organised courtesy Uttara, Aunty, and Uncle. Words are not enough to thank this family and how much they love our band. I wonder why. Unnamed feelings. So. It was crazily humid and beer was required every moment. We got their on the day of the performance at Hard Rock Cafe. Me and Unni had to get their after having couple of beers and picking up instruments from Furtado's and Co.(feat. Demonstealer.thanks so much man). Still we find that the rest of the band is late. HRC is a fantastic place and it took a few moments for the feeling to sink in. So while me and unni looked around, stargazing, the manager came up and said-'Boys, the firang is here, from hardrock international, so do your soundcheck soon'. Hehe. I got down to setting my rig up. Took some time because the sound was quite fabulous and we aint used to that. Boys reached very late and by six thirty we were done with the check. Pretty satisfactory. Hats of to the sound guys at bombay. We need to learn how to behave from you guys. Afterwards we hogged on some awesome helpings of awesome free food and one drink each. We were on stage by 93opm and we started off with Wolchod to keep with our funk/soul tag. Crowd took some time to warm up, but by the middle of the set, courtesy some nice playing, a guitar vocal rendition of jeremy, and a drum solo, the crowd seemed to like us. That was the only sad part. They like only covers. I mean bombay out of all the places. Anyway we gave em some Deep Purple, Hendrix, Roadhouse BLues and some other shit to keep em happy. I would say it was a decent show considering its our first time in bombay we got a good response. Happiness. As we clinked our glasses together after the show it was already around one thirty. Demonstealer, Rahul and the boys were there to support us at it felt great. Thanks a lot guys. A certain ahem...manager was missing. Anyway. Put our content heads down for the day at 2 pm. Woke up pretty late the next day and immediately left to colaba to guzzle some beer at Leopold's cafe. Then woke around to the gateway and then rushed back to the guest house cuz it was too hot and we needed to get dressed for the gig. The boys were getting the stuff from furtados today. Late again. Very late. Anyway the gig was a casual unplugged drunk gig where us and the crowd everyone had fun. The place sucked quite a bit, not to my taste. Anyway the show was good, kishan and unni were drunk. Fun. Got back even later this day. The next day was JazzByTheBay, A place all of us have heard about, a place out of which we were expecting a lot. But it was the worst. I dont think anyone goes to jazz anymore. Cuz it was full of floating crowd which kept coming in an out. Plus they had a stupid clause that any band that plays MUST play three hours no matter what. Doesnt work. Anyway. The sound was best here and so was the crowd response but sadly people had lot os things to do so they kept shuffling in and out. Nevertheless it was nice cuz we were really tight. There were some later arguments over drinks etc. Who cares. Never playing there again i guess. They dont know how to respect bands sadly. Nevertheless it was a good fun trip being the first out station trip of the band. From jazz to the airport and back. Bangalore. We love you.

My Babaji(P.D.Backerney)

Yesterday i did something which i had done nine years ago. Cremated my grandparent. Yes, babaji passed away on early saturday morning(21st April). He was sick for the last couple of weeks but thats it. We all thought he will recover and will be back in action but he evidently had other plans. Well this had to happen some day and there is only happiness we can take away from here. Hapiness because he went in peace, without a sound. Because his last few days looked like his good times, mentally. He bonded with his son finally. His son did the same to some extent. All the ceremonies have ended succesfully(i think). Im not sad that i could'nt get to see him. Thats because he was never like that. Making a fuss over small things like this was'nt his way. Im sad that i could'nt help mummy and papa out in the last days when it was needed. But maybe that was planned as well from above. Anyway, its all been so perfect(touchwood) that i dont feel the sting on the 5th day of the demise. He went so happily that it feels like he's still sitting around here somewhere and sub-conciously one waits for his voice to cut through the crowd. I can see him catching up with old friends, dadi and all the innumerable relatives he would have missed during his life after they left him. He looks happy, just like he does in this picture of his that we have put in the drawing room, just like i thought. Cant write much more now cuz the mind is flooded with emotions or lack of them, dont know which. Bye Bye Babaji, JaiRamJiKi.
Would love to come and see you somewhere where u are and share your happiness with you.

Farewell to some heavenly music. Pauline Warjri

I told her myself that words are not enough to say how much i will miss her. But i definitely will try. I remember when i first heard about her. Manroi told me that her aunt is a choir/vocal teacher or something like that. And all i thought was like -'hmmm....nice'. Then few months later i heard that she wanted me to join a choir she had started. I was so excited at the prospect of hearing some new pro music and working with other fellow musicians/singers that i never gave it another thought. It was her patience that struck me first. I at my age itself start getting fed up of kids and their childish behaviours that i quit bands pick on ego s and what not. But here she had the pick of the best young singers in the city and she was so patient with all of them and instead of scolding them or being hard on them she only became calmer. This drove the kids to respect her. And respect she deserves. The standard of music she plays, writes, and lives is nowhere close to what we could dream of achieving in this lifetime. We were in the presence of a musical legend...nothing less. She worked so hard selsfelssly just for the choirs sake so that the singers could go places and sing songs that would change their lives. I really dont know if she had a vision but from her commitment to turning us into better musicians and further...better human beings, it sure seemed like she had one. Although i would not show it but mentally i was definitely attached to this amazing person. Or more appropriately i was in awe of how selflessly can someone nurture music in others. Many came and left the choir for various reasons, But only those who hung around till the end know the value of this unbreakable bond that we share with her now. Its priceless. Even though she leaves us to move to another part of the country, Just to know that somewhere in the corner of her mind she remembers us as she enlightens many other souls with her gift, is enough to make you feel worthwile. We are nothing compared to the musicans and singers she has worked with in the past. But she treated us like the best of the best and gave us the respect which we dont think we deserved. I shall never forget these two years of my life that i spent with her. Even a little time once in a week opened my eyes in ways more than one. She definitely has affected the lives of all the choir members in a most positive way and i hope she knows that. She will be glad. God bless you Aunty Pauline. Thank you for all you did for me and all of us till today. No words will ever be enough to really explain what you mean to us. All this i just wrote now seems like crap to me. But im sure you know how we all feel. God bring you back to Bangalore soon. We love you.