The band doesn't have a name because we thought we weren't 'cool' enough, or weren't steady enough to have a name of our own. I tried to make them accept names like "Scarlet Fever" and "The Rubber Band", which were much laughed at and conveniently tossed aside. Everytime, just before we get on stage, I ask the boys how we should introduce ourselves out there and jokes follow, most of them mocking the two names that I just mentioned. So as of now, we're known as the the band of the Batch of 2006, or in short, the "2K6 Band".
We formed this band in 2008 when we had to perform for the college Holi celebrations which our batch was organizing. Amidst all the Hindi and Tamil songs we burst on the scene with a line-up of English songs. I personally didn't think it would be a good idea to blotch the sanctity of an Indian festival with English songs, but my batchmates thought otherwise; they were of the opinion that it would be a good way to launch our band, and oh boy, were they right about that one! We did a decent launch gig and got the message across: we are here to stay!
The next performance we did was for the Inter-Batch Cultural Competition in July 2008. We took part in the Western Music category and our line-up of songs included: "All the small things" (Blink 182), "Lonely Day" (System of a Down), "Shine" (Mr.Big), "Hanging by a moment" (Lifehouse) and "To be with you" (Mr.Big). I was so drained by the pre-performance practice that my voice was already hoarse by the third song. Nevertheless we won top honours that night: 2 of our songs ("Hanging by a moment" & "Lonely Day") got 1st and 2nd best songs, our band stood 2nd overall, we had 2nd best drummer and bassist, the best rhythm guitarist and best vocals (yes, my hoarse voice pipes won that night)! We got a lot of people talking after the show and many of them asked me to give them the songs that we'd performed. And the weirdest part of it all was that I'd never imagined I'd have a Certificate in cultural activities and now I had one.
By the time our Graduation Day came around this year, I had made up my mind to perform for the outgoing graduates, the batch of 2003. I was just left wondering how to get our band in the long line-up of performances that feature on the Pre-Graduation Night, because most of it has to do with dancing, and not singing. And I always wanted to perform with a member of the faculty. My prayers were answered when we were asked by Prof. Mariette D'Souza, Prof. of Dermatology, to perform with her. She's been a regular feature on the Pre-Graduation Night for many years now, and she usually includes students in her performance. We were on board. Song selection was a tad bit difficult since she wanted us to go retro and my bandmates wanted something contemporary. We struck a balance finally and the line-up looked like this: "La Bamba" (Valens Richie), "When you're gone" (Bryan Adams ft. Mel C), "Hard Day's Night" (The Beatles). Ma'am Mariette wanted it to be a medley and thus we ended up with one long performance rather than three separate songs. We had little time for practice, about a week or so. We would practice in the new college auditorioum, where the event would eventually be held, from 6 pm till midnight, with dinner on Ma'am's tab.
When we came on stage on Pre-Grads' Night (that's what it's called), a string of sombre performances had preceeded us and the outgoing graduates, looking to headbang and shake a leg, had largely been hushed and seated on the plush chairs of the new auditorium. Had it been at the old venue, Lister Square - an open-air theatre, they would have been all over the stage and making as much noise as they could. But the auditorium was a different affair; the Director and Dean of the college and members of the faculty were seated just feet away from them and somehow, cooped up in a large hall one becomes a lot more concious of oneself than one normally is. Just before we took the stage some of the graduate seniors came up to us and pleaded with us to not deliver a humdrum performance like the others before us. With high expectations we went on stage and as my bandmates tuned, I found myself talking to the faceless audience and urging them to "get on their feet" and "sing along." It got all the seniors on their feet and they came flooding down to the front row. Everyone played flawlessly and all of us did it with a huge smile on our faces, we had fun playing. We enjoyed playing for them as much as they seemed to enjoy us perform. We certainly brought up the tempo and the seniors out of their seats. Our performance was met with rave reviews from right after the show till about a week later too. My wish, to perform with a faculty member, and to pay a tribute to the seniors who have looked after me like their kid brother, was fulfilled that night.
Now, that brings me to the matter about which I wrote this post in the first place, band meeting we had in my room yesterday regarding the Inter-Batch Cultural Competition 2009, which is to be held at the end of this month. We will try and play in both Indian Music and Western Music this year since we are the Executive Batch and also because we might not be able to perform next year, our final year in college. We finalized a list of songs (about 15 of them, in each category) which we'll further narrow down to about 7 for each category. Here's a list of some of the songs we selected: "Gotta be somebody" (Nickelback), "How far we've come" (Matchbox 20), "Home" (Daughtry), "Delilah" (Plain White T), "Everything about you" (Ugly Kid Joe), "The Dolphin's Cry" (Live), "The Zephyr Song" (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), "Your Guardian Angel" (The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus), and "Your Winter" (Sister Hazel).
Today I got tablatures, chords and lyrics for all the songs and handed them over to my bandmates to learn and practice on their own. We'll be starting practice from next week. I'll write posts about our practice sessions once we start.
The 2K6 Band lineup:
Neiseville Nisa (Lead)
Hibu Pai (Rhythm)
Sanjeev (Bass)
Pruthvi (Drums)
Yours truly, Dinesh (Vocals)
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