Independence Rock 2006: Indian Rock becomes legal

It was that time of the year again for the rock and metal fans to celebrate Indian Independence in their own special way. A baby known as Independence Rock (better known as I-Rock) was born in 1986 for the rockers of Mumbai to come together and treat themselves to some good old rock n’ roll. Over the years, rock music has undergone a lot of changes and the Indian rock scene has adapted and matured over the years.

Till about a decade ago, the rock scene in India comprised of only a handful of musicians and bands – Gary Lawyer, Indus Creed, Parikrama, Brahma, Agni and Pentagram. However, the introduction of a contest at Independence Rock along with the boom in music channels and globalization of the Indian market has seen a sudden rise in the number of rock bands. Bands are appearing not only from the big cities like Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore but also from far off places like Guwahati and conservative cities like Pune.

The current breed of rock bands in India span the entire spectrum of rock from pure rock n’ roll to alternative to melodic metal to hardcore death metal. The musical influences are as varied as the genres and include Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Children of Bodom, Slayer, Slipknot, Rage Against The Machine and many more.

However the most impressive fact is that the focus of these bands has changed from just performing cover versions of songs to performing their original numbers. This change in focus has put the Indian rock scene in high gear allowing the bands to actually express themselves and be creative. The biggest indication that the rock scene has matured in India is the fact that the crowd now sings along with the originals compositions of the local bands and prefers the bands performing their originals rather than playing covers.

Some of the current bands that have impressed me are: Sceptre, Zero, Pin Drop Violence, Human Abstract, Demonic Resurrection (Mumbai), Brute Force (Pune), Them Clones, Orange Street (Delhi), Clockwork Orange (Bangalore), Evergreen (Cochin), Faith (Guwahati)

This year too, I made it a point to attend I-Rock. Day 1 featured a contest between 6 bands:

1. Nemesis kicked off the show with an awesome rendition of Iron Maiden’s “Fear of the Dark” followed by their originals whose names I didn’t quite catch. They finished their set with a cover of Megadeth’s “Hangar 18”.
2. Next up was Evergreen who performed a set of 3 originals. The lead singer had a great voice and their basslines rocked. Their performance was quiet tight but seemed to lack a certain punch.
3. Brute Force from Pune took the stage next. This hardcore metal band performed like a well-oiled machine – heavily distorted guitars, some amazing shredding, a growling bass and brilliant double-bass drumming. Their originals kicked some serious ass. Their rendition of Testament’s “Return To Serenity” (a favorite of mine) was brilliant. They finished their set with Megadeth’s “Holy Wars” (another favorite of mine).
4. Next up were Split from Mumbai. They performed a long 5 or 6 song set that included two covers – one by Marilyn Manson and one by RATM. This band has some of the best musicians in Mumbai, but they didn’t seem to have that chemistry that would set the band apart. The joke of the evening was that the fifth band – IIIrd Sovereign – had mistaken the contest day as the next day and hence was unable to make it.
5. The final band to take the stage was Faith from Guwahati. They started off with an original and it was a welcome change to hear some 70s style rock in an evening dominated by hard-hitting, bone-crunching metal and alternative performances. They then performed Deep Purple’s “Burn” and completely blew the crowd away. Another brilliant original was followed by a marvelous rendition of Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”. They already had the crowd begging for more and they obliged by performing Van Halen’s “Jump”. This band was the most impressive in terms of talent and stage presence. The lead singer hit the high notes with ease, at times reaching frequencies only audible to dogs! The two guitarists were brilliant and the bassist played some killer slap bass on their originals. The drummer was excellent on both the ultra-fast as well as the groovy tracks. The star of course was the keyboard player who rocked on the solo pieces of Highway Star and Jump.

The contest was jointly won by Faith and Brute Force. The statement of the evening was made by Farhad Wadia, one of the main organizers of the show. He said, “I-Rock turns 21 today and can legally get drunk”. I don’t know about the others, but I was definitely on a high that night, thanks to the wonderful live performances by some of the best musicians from around the country.

Long live Indian Rock!

Why I call myself FenderBender?

Many friends and readers on my blog asked me one or all of these questions – “What does FenderBender mean?” or “Why do you call yourself FenderBender?” or “Have you had any accident that you always remember?”

Let me answer the third question first. Well, according to Merriam-Webster, here is the definition of Fender Bender: A minor automobile accident

But my answer is no, I have not had any accident and has got nothing to do with me using this screen-name. However, I am crazy about cars and driving, so in some weird manner, yes, it does relate to my personality.

The real reason though has got something to do with my other passion – music. When we say guitars, the first name that comes to our mind is Fender – the guitar manufacturer who gave the world the first solid body electric guitar. What’s that got to do with me? I am one lucky bastard who happens to own and play a Fender bass guitar. There’s half the mystery solved.

Now let’s move to the second part. Bending is a technique used in guitar playing where you either push the string up or down to change the pitch of the note. It’s a fun thing to do and can make your guitar/bass scream. And I like to bend. Put together Fender and me i.e. the bender, and voila! You got FenderBender!

The Low End

This is a post from my old blog but I wanted to give recognition to the masters of the low end and some of my idols when it comes to playing the bass guitar. The following is my list of the best rock bassists. The bands they play for are mentioned in the brackets.

1. Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big / Steve Vai) – this guy can work wonders with the bass. Extremely technical and the master of tapping. Creates a unique sound with one-of-a-kind stereo setup on his bass.
2. John Myung (Dream Theater) – if you thought 4 strings were a handful, think again! Give this guy a 6-string bass and you won’t need a guitarist! As if matching John Petrucci’s notes was not a difficult enough task, he has Mike Portnoy’s oddest timing on drums to contend with.
3. Les Claypool (Primus) – I rate him as the best bass line creator. Creates some of the coolest sounds with his amazing slap-pop technique. Listen to the song “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver”
4. Flea (Red Hot Chilli Peppers) – the heart of the band. He leads the pack when it comes to playing funk. Probably has the largest number of memorable basslines and can make even the simplest bassline sound real cool.
5. Stuart Hamm (Joe Satriani) – what can I say. Its not easy to handle the low end for a guitar virtuoso like Satriani and match him note for note.
6. Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) – bassist and lyricist for the monsters of metal. His galloping bass sets the tempo for all the Maiden songs.
7. Late Cliff Burton (Metallica) – the story goes that Hetfield and Ulrich entered a bar and heard someone playing a mean guitar. They started looking around to locate the guitarist, but all they could see was a guy on bass. They couldn’t believe their eyes that this bassist was playing the bass like a lead guitar. The rest is history. Listen to the song “Orion” by Metallica to know what I mean.
8. Geddy Lee (Rush) – he writes songs, he sings and he plays a mean bass. And to keep up with a master drummer like Neil Peart is no easy task.
9. Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) – get your hands on the songs “N.I.B” and “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. They will do the talking.
10. Justin Chancellor (Tool) – once again, if you can keep up with the beats of a drummer like Danny Carey, you have to be listed here.

That’s all from me for today. Hoping that someday my name might feature in somebody’s list of top 10 bassists! Yeah ok…you don’t need to laugh! One can always dream right??