6 Bands Performing at Bands United Share Their Favourite Gigsâ€¦ As Of Now

10 Aug 2016
Fathima AbdulKader
Features

If you are not familiar with Bands United, we are going to assume that you have been living under a rock and ask you to read our previous article on how this music festival is going to change Kochi’s music scene forever. Now that you are better informed, you will realize just how much expectation surrounds this event and want to more about the bands who are going to perform at Bands United. We talked to the bands and got details about them and their most favorite gigs... till now i.e. we are hoping that the Bands United Kochi event would become an unforgettable event for both the bands and the audience.

(The bands have been listed in alphabetical order)

Blank Planet

Established: 2012

Blank Planet performed for the first time at Viswajyothi College of Engineering & Technology in 2012 and have not looked back since. The band has Niranj Suresh as the front man and songwriter, Durwin D’souza on lead guitars and back vocals, Chandhu Salim Kumar on bass and Akhil Babu on drums. Their single ‘Maya’ is a song any progressive metal rock must listen to. When asked about their best gig, Niranj Suresh said,

“Ragam 2014 at NIT Calicut was one of the best best gigs we've had so far. We won the event ‘Amplified’ at Ragam and got the opportunity to open for Benny Dayal.”

Masala Coffee

Established: 2014

Masala Coffee entered the music scene with their rendition of an age old favourite “Kaantha” and shot into fame instantly. The band consists of Sooraj Santhosh and Gokul Eknath on vocals, Varun Sunil on percussion and vocals, Joe Jacob on Drums, Preeth PS and David Crimson on Guitars, Pauly on Bass and Joe Johnson on Keys. Their recent music video featuring some of Kerala’s best models with yet another old classic song “Aalayal Thara Venam” by Kaavalam Panikkar is currently trending on all social media platforms. When asked which their favourite performance was, they said that

“The ALVA’s Chakravyuh 2015 event in Mangalore was a gig that we can never forget. We perfomed alongside bands like Shankar Tucker’s ‘SrutiBox’ and ‘Indian Ocean’ and there was a crowd turnout of around 8000-9000 people.”

Perfect Equation

Established: 2011

Perfect Equation is an experimental/progressive rock bank. Perfect Equation has Irthasa Aazem on vocals, Arjun Aravind on the guitar, Santo Joseph on bass, Paul Emmanuel on the guitar and Nekheeb Shah on drums. They are a band that enjoys playing their own compositions. Perfect Equation released a single ‘Towards the light’ in April this year and will soon release an album. When asked about the group’s most memorable gig, Nekheeb said,

“It has to be the first time we played in Bangalore. The Indigo Live - music bar, the crowd was amazing.”

Rocazaurus

Established: 2009

Rocazaurus is a band that has its roots in Kochi. Rocazaurus has Fredy John on lead guitar and vocals, Lesley Rodriguez on bass guitar and vocals and Alfred Noel on drums. When asked about their music, Fredy said, “Music from the 1980s, classical rock is what we love.” They are ‘the answer to classical hard rock and heavy metal’, as per their Facebook page. Rocazaurus’s favorite concert moment?

"Our most memorabe moment was when we opened for Slash, the former Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist, at the Supernova Arena in November 2015.

Segments

Established: 2014

Segment, formerly known as Counter Clockwise is a Progressive/Alternative Rock Band founded by Nikhil J Menon in 2014. The band consists of Nikhil J Menon on Guitar & Vocals, Nithin R on Bass, Chris Paul and Ajay George Joseph on Guitars and Ritwick Wilfy Bivera on Drums. Nikhil J Menon shot to fame into the mainstream music scene through the movie “Neena”, especially the song “Gravity Fails”. Their other famous songs include Second Hand Love, Lullaby and Introspection. When asked which their favorite performance was till now, leading man Nikhil J Menon said

“One of our best concert experience was in Bangalore at the event Indie March where we got to play in a huge stage and we got to play in the same stage as some of the bands we look up to in India”

Thakara

Established: 2012

Citing their influences from Vaikom Mohammed Basheer to George Carlin, Thakara is a band who blasted to fame with the “Puttu Paatu” and “Podi Penne”. Their thought provoking lyrics and catchy tune had all of Kerala singing “Vaa vaa putte vaa” and the band members include James Thakara, Ashwin Nath, John Joel and Sreekanth Bhasi. Although formed a few years ago, Thakara only recently started doing live performances and on being asked which their most memorable gig was, front man James Thakara was quick to say

“Although we have only performed at 7 venues so far, the Trissur Roundabout Music Festival was our first and most memorable performance and The #UBERLIVE Event in DH Ground, Kochi is a close second."