Punk Ass Orifus
Sidd Coutto recently told us why we should attend the Punk Ass Orifus gig at the Lower Parel venue. We had hoped that, as promised by the moniker of the band, the music put out by yet another permutation of Coutto, Gaurav Gupta, Johan Pais and, first-timer Zorran Mendonsa (on drums), would have been more punk. Louder, and definitely noisier than any of the other bands (ToT, Helga’s Fun Castle, Ankur & The Ghalat Family, Blackstratblues) they play for, PAO brought an interesting, yet not incredibly imaginative, set to the Blue Frog last week.

Gaurav Gupta of Punk Ass Orifus @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

Dressed in suits, Pais and Gupta seemed at ease and more energetic and lively on stage than in any other avatar we’ve seen them in before. Zorran Mendonsa (brother of axe-wielding scene star Warren Mendonsa) took up drum duties and though he isn’t part of any of Coutto’s other projects, seemed confident and self-assured behind the kit. Senior Mendonsa joined the band on stage for the last song, alongwith Bobby Talwar (of Zero) on the djembe, who also joined the band on ‘Matter’.

Bobby Talwar joining Punk Ass Orifus on stage @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

Warren Mendonsa joining Punk Ass Orifus on stage @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

Coutto (on vocals and guitar) was his usual entertaining self, with his uncanny ability to draw in an audience with his goofy antics, quirky facial expressions and off course his penchant for creating addictive hooks and singable choruses. He also mentioned that an eponymous album, by PAO, is in the offing.

Zorran Mendonsa of Punk Ass Orifus @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

Setlist
‘Can’t Do It On My Own’
‘Don’t Want This Life
‘Homely’
‘World Will Carry On’
‘I Got A Feeling’
‘Matter’
‘Who Could It Be?’
‘People, People, People’
‘King Of My Castle’
‘On Your Own’
‘Mayans Know’

Johan Pais of Punk Ass Orifus @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

Tough On Tobacco
After a short break, more or less the same band, with Jai Row Kavi (replacing Mendonsa) on drums, took the stage. The band opened with ‘Happy’, which isn’t their usual set opener (the band has, in the recent past, opened with ‘Come On Down’), off their debut album, The Happy Goat, and quickly moved to ‘Do What You Gotta Do’.  The band also played a borderline grunge version of ‘Wonder’ before going into the lighter stuff, and the crowd singalong favourite ‘Taxi Song’.

Sidd Coutto of Tough On Tobacco @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

With Pozy Dhar back in action, the band also debuted a new song, ‘Rock n’ Roll Party’; a dance-rock track, tracing its roots in the bylanes of catholic Bandra. Though Coutto’s vocals weren’t top notch in the former avatar, he peaked with Helga’s Fun Castle’s track ‘Alone’, bringing out his signature stage energy and laying down some spine-tingling vocals into an extended outro.

Pozy Dhar of Tough On Tobacco @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

Their set fixture of improv songs included one about yellow hi-tops and Nirma washing powder, followed by a song Coutto christened ‘Demonstealer Crack Whore’. The band dropped all sorts of references to the frontman of Demonic Resurrection, as Stringfellow who had now joined the band on stage insisted it be a “beautiful song” since it was about a crack whore, against the previous improv rendition which was fairly angst-ridden.

Ken Stringfellow with Tough On Tobacco @ Blue Frog, Mumbai

The band closed with ‘Smoke Some Ganja’. We also got an answer to our questions about the band’s promised sophomore release, Big Big Joke. For those of you who want to know when it releases, check back in the year 2038.

Setlist
‘Happy’
‘Do What You Gotta Do’
‘Come On Down’
‘Wonder’
‘Yahweh’
‘Taxi Song’
‘Rock n’ Roll Party’
‘Alone’ (Helga’s Fun Castle)
‘Love, Love, Love’
- (with Ken Stringfellow)
Improv Song # 1 – ‘Washed My Yellow Hi-Top in Nirma And It Turned Pink’
Improv Song # 2 – ‘Demonstealer Crack Whore’
‘Smoke Some Ganja’ (Helga’s Fun Castle)

Photos by Naman Saraiya

Sidd Coutto can either be referred to as the drummer of Zero/3 Guys & A Girl/Ankur & The Ghalat Family/Blackstartblues, or frontman of Tough On Tobacco but it’s best to refer to him as “that-guy-who’s-part-of-every-other-band.” One of those other bands is Coutto’s latest project, christened Punk Ass Orifus. It’s a project that sees Coutto fish out some old songs and write some new ones, arranged around a semi-punk structure. Supporting Coutto in this musical jaunt are old time friends and bandmates – Gaurav Gupta on guitars (of Ankur & The Ghalat Family) Johan Pais (of Helga’s Fun Castle) and Zorran Mendonsa on drums.

At the Lower Parel gig tonight, besides scenesters and expensive beer, you can also expect the band’s performance to include a collaboration with Ken Stringfellow. Known best for his work with REM (our obit here), Stringfellow will join the Dadar boys on stage where they will hopefully create some new (not unexpected) impromptu material that is the signature of any typical ToT gig, along with some more hooks to take home.

Also, the gig may shed light on why it’s taking so long from the promised ToT sophomore release, Big Big Joke.

Check out artwork for the band below.

Punk Ass Orifus - Design by Siddharth Chavan

Of the new act, Coutto says

It’s a brand new band, it’s a brand new act, and it’s a brand new sound. We’re doing things differently, like we’ve not done before in all these years. So come and watch it, it’s happy entertainment, more or less and there’s Zorran on drums as well. These are songs I just wrote, because I was just pissed off. I’ve never been a fan of genres and I don’t bother too much about them. Come, have fun. It’s as simple as that.

Over the span of 2011, we saw Coutto release his debut solo effort, Sunny Side Up (download here), Tough On Tobacco breaking out of their hiatus towards the end of the year (and playing an excellent set on day two  of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender), play more gigs with Blackstratblues, Alien Chutney, 3 Guys And A Girl, and made his debut as a Bollywood playback singer for the film Ra.One (deets here). He also went missing in November.

Stream some of their music here.

Check out the track ‘The World Will Carry On’ below.

Punk Ass Orifus – the world will carry on by punkassorifus

We spoke to Coutto about his My Cam ramblings and this is what he had to say

MTV asked me if I’d be interested in doing this, so I said, “Yes,” as I always do, before saying, “No.” But, seriously it’s helped me reach out to people who essentially wouldn’t be a part of the scene. More people, especially the ones who would visit the website for Roadies will hear my music. So, more publicity is good, and what’s better – it’s free.

Coutto, in the videos, is his usual affable self, making the short clips fun to watch. Also, they’re family-friendly. In several videos, Coutto makes up songs as often seen at Tough On Tobacco gigs; the songs are based on requests from fans via Facebook comments. He “talks crap” and just chats about music. Prior to Coutto’s appearance on the show, Riku and Kautuk were also featured.

Check out some of Coutto’s other skillz here, here and here.

The My Cam video below features the ToT frontman talking about the Bacardi NH7 Weekender.

Prep yourself for the gig with this playlist of some classic Zero songs

[trackplayer 1378,1380,1385,1361,1357]

Photos by Naman Saraiya

The secret set at the Pepsi Dub Station is

Four dudes from Dadar

Zero will play the Pepsi Dub Station at 8pm tonight.