Missing out on a big moment is so infuriating because you never hear the end of it. Fans of music get reminded all the time that they missed some huge event and unfortunately they “will never understand because x event changed everything.” It is inconvenient that huge events are missed and we can’t always be there but these huge moments are usually the culmination of a lot of smaller moments. Woodstock didn’t happen out of the blue and almost a million people did not go to that farm in New York state for the promise of something, but rather a finished product. Many factors contributed to Woodstock and one of them was the ritualistic gathering of people for Ken Kesey’s ‘Acid Test’. The Acid Test was notorious for many things including the use of psychedelic drugs but it was also a launchpad for Ken Kesey’s (the author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, which was made into a movie) favorite band at the time, The Grateful Dead. They were relatively unknown until they became regulars at the Acid Test’s around California and people started to spread their music and so grew their influence. Woodstock was only a possibility because of bands like The Grateful Dead (who in turn inspired a lot of musicians that played Woodstock). The small event influenced society and geared it up for a big event. So what do we have to offer in terms that can compare with the Acid Test? Where will the big moments in Indian indie music come from?
Many venues across the nation are hugely influential in the indie music scene and people know that these places are great for live music but are they really all about the music? Owen Roncon, founder of Oranjuice Entertainment, wanted to make an event that revolves around music but he wasn’t totally sure of what he had to do. “There were many bands playing everywhere and there were places that already did this. We just wanted to find a new kind of spot where people could come and hear these new bands. It was a bit selfish for me because I kept hearing about these bands and I never got to hear them and a lot of other people didn’t,” says Roncon. He teamed up with Jayesh Veralkar of Sony Music and they started talking. “He (Roncon) felt the independent music scene was there and the discovery of new music was missing. When he spoke to us, we had some synergy,” explains Veralkar. “We waited six months for the venue and we got the production right because Oranjuice is really good at production. We said we’ll do the simple things right. ‘Let’s keep it affordable and accessible,’ and that’s what we intended to do.”
Bay Beat Collective at Live From The Console, Mehboob Studio, Mumbai
Oranjuice and Day 1 (Sony Music Independent) launched Live From The Console at Mehboob Studio on July 16. The acts on the night were singer-songwriter Alex Rintu, and local rock acts The Mavyns and The Color Compound. The evening kicked off with the Foo Fighters documentary Back and Forth and moved on to the performances as the evening progressed. The formula for programming Live From The Console is simple enough according Veralkar. “It starts out with a music-based documentary/movie. We really like this idea because people can watch the film on the big screen together, and it’s not like this is a regular occurrence in other places. Next we have a singer-songwriter to open the show and the rest of the night picks up on this theme.” Pradeep Mathews of The Mavyns, who played on that first night, felt honored to be there. “It was really cool to be one of the first people to play at Live From The Console,” says Mathews. “We felt it would be a good gig because there are no venues left to play in Mumbai. Plus, we got to play at such an iconic venue. People have been recording at Mehboob Studio for so many years now.”
It is no doubt that the venue is one of the main stars in this story. “We think the venue is more important than most things because the idea of playing in a recording studio means that the sound is great. We saw a lot of venues but we loved Mehboob Studio and decided to wait and go for it,” says Veralkar. It wasn’t easy, but they managed to make it work and Roncon describes it as more of a balancing act. “It was the venue that we really wanted and it took a while because they (the Mehboob Studio management) were really apprehensive and they weren’t sure about letting us set something up at all. We managed to convince them in the end and you can see that everything is really centered around the venue. People who go to other venues eat or party, but here people only come for the bands. It’s true we are planning to take Live From The Console to other cities in India, but if we don’t find a location which is on par with this (Mehboob Studio) we just won’t do it at all.”
Siddharth Basrur of Goddess Gagged at Live From The Console
Live From The Console has received almost unanimous positive feedback, and this has a lot to do with the simplicity of the event and the suitability of the venue. Amit Gurbaxani aka The Groovebox of Mumbai Boss is quite impressed by the event and has nothing but accolades for it. “We (Mumbai Boss) picked it (Live From The Console) as ‘the Best New Night of 2011‘,” says Gurbaxani. “We picked it because their production values are good. Good venue, good sound and good lights. Not to mention they kept the price really low. They also had some really good acts although the programming has had a few missteps along the way. The main thing is that it proves that on a Saturday night out people will go for a gig. This proves that if you do it well, people will come. We’ve seen gigs on the weekend but they were never a regular fixture. I was pretty impressed with the turn out on the first show but I wasn’t all that surprised that they managed to keep up the level of attendence.”
It seems that the value for money is a big factor in keeping the crowds coming back for more and Aditya Kundalkar, who writes for Time Out Mumbai, feels that it makes a lot of sense. “It’s (entry to the event) Rs 150 which is really cheap. It’s great music and many of them are good musicians. The atmosphere is laidback. I mean, it’s only music and there is a bar and so people know exactly what to expect. Also, it’s just 150 bucks. Even if you don’t like the bands, you can just go for a drink and snacks and that’s all. I think it’s perfect right now, it’s in a recording studio and it sounds great and that’s all you need.”
It starts to hit home that the formula here can get a little bit infectious as it really starts to draw people in and get them hooked. Siddharth Basrur has played twice at Live From The Console already, once as solo act and once with his prog rock band Goddess Gagged, and he couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for the event. Basrur is getting geared up to play for the third time at Live From The Console by taking up guest vocals for electronica group, Bramfatura but he was effusive in his praise. “I’m a huge fan,” he admits. “I love the venue and the people. I think it gives people something to look forward to every two weeks. I also think they are really prompt with their payment. There was a payment to be made in December but I forgot to pick it up. They kept calling me to come pick up my cheque! They are just so very professional.”
Rachel Sermanni playing at Live From The Console, Mehboob Studio, Mumbai (gig review here and interview here)
When he found out that the organizers were thinking of making more editions of Live From The Console outside Mumbai, he was quick to endorse it. “I think other cities deserve something like this because they really got me to listen to new music and I think that will happen for other people as well. I just hope they don’t do it at a bar or a restaurant. I think they’ll keep it about the music though,” he said. While it is all looking pretty rosy so far, the ambitious move to try and set up Live From The Console in another city has got to be a daunting task. This doesn’t seem to have phased Roncon, who has even bigger goals in mind. “We are thinking of doing a music festival. It would be Live From The Console, the festival.” The first step to making the Live From The Console much more visible has taken place with the event occurring every fortnight instead of monthly, however growing into an annual festival still seems a long way off. Right now, Live From The Console is fertile ground for new artists to grow and it has the capacity for producing defining moments for indie music in this country on a regular basis and perhaps that’s all that Indian indie music needs right now.
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