DIARY OF A JANIAC

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Showing posts with label baiju. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baiju. Show all posts

October 5th 2014 will remain a special night. It'll be remembered for a long long time. And here's why.

For people that know me, or even people who've read my blog, know how big a fan of motherjane I've been. It's hard to put to words the significance that they have on my life. I wouldn't be doing any of the things that I'm currently doing in the music industry if it weren't for them. Hell, I wouldn't even be listening to other Indian bands if it weren't for them. I've walked around proud for the last few years with nearly everyone forgetting what my real last name was and simply calling me "Hari Amajaniac" instead.

I'm fortunate enough to have worked in this industry now for three years, in whatever capacity. But my real journey into music started seven years back, with motherjane. I've been truly blessed to have caught 50+ gigs of the band(with the Maktub lineup). And trust me, when I say I'm truly blessed I do realize the weight of those words. And maybe, over the course of this blog I'll be able to explain why.

I've been able to spend a lot of special moments with them. Birthdays, surprises, big ass college festivals, meeting Opeth in their green rooms because of them, and a whole lot of other stuff. But when they went on stage, I never lingered by the side of the stage. I would paint my face. Ten minutes before they went on, I would always make it a point to run right to the front, from the other side. Touch the barricade. Hold any fan who was right next to me and start screaming along with them.

"MOTHERJANE MOTHERJANE MOTHERJANE"

And then the smoke fills the stage, the intro music goes on, and with half painted faces, a few Gods step onto stage for us mere mortals to watch in awe. And Bang, Disillusioned would ring through the PA. The crowd would go wild. We would shout at the top of our lungs and completely lose ourselves for about ninety minutes. This was almost a ritual for me. Almost twice or thrice a month I got to perform this ritual, thanks to how incredibly popular they were. They were at the top. Easily, one of the best Indian bands there has ever been, to be politically correct. But to me, they were THE band. No other band mattered as much to me, Indian or International. And most likely, no other band ever will. 

And then, soon after I caught their acoustic show for the first time ever, Baiju departed from the band. The reasons didn't matter. But I knew it was the beginning of the end of something truly magical. I remember that I was helpless on the day that I heard the news, frantically calling everyone in the band, except Baiju, because I didn't know what I would say to him. I called every fan I knew and asked them to send me letters pleading with Baiju and the band to get back together and uploaded them all(http://amajaniac.tumblr.com/). Of course, it didn't really help. But I was helpless. It honestly felt like I had lost an uncle. A guiding light, if you will. But there wasn't anything that could be said or done to undo what had already been done. I was in mourning. There is no other way to put it. 

The band and Baiju moved on, and I still chose to stand by them. I still traveled for shows and even caught Baiju live with Wrenz, at what I think was the only live gig was their only gig with Baiju. It failed to evoke that same emotion, but I still stood by him. 

Soon, Suraj left too. Citing health reasons. He was back a year later, in his all new avatar as the Tattva Tripper. I was lucky enough to get a job as the tour manager for both, The Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate and Suraj Mani and the Tattva Trippers. I even mixed for the two, on two consecutive days and I remember feeling extremely nervous before the gig, but they both turned out pretty alright nonetheless. 

Everyone moved on. Except the fans, There were always a lot of fans that came to Baiju, during his gigs or workshops and asked about motherjane. The possibility of getting back. Interviews had questions about the same. It was just not quite the same seeing another band perform the same songs, whether the name of the band was motherjane India, or Suraj Mani and the Tattva Trippers or Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate. But, as fans, the least you can do is to stand by the artists, and that is what a lot of us did. Thankfully, my work allowed me to do that a little better and I immersed myself in it, trying hard not to think about the years gone by and everything. 

We got to do some kickass work, made a few excellent collaborations happen, helped Baiju play at huge festivals and at great colleges, and so on. Let the axeman run wild through the country. And it was quite something to watch. 

But as a fan, there was one collaboration that I really wanted to see happen again. It was a collaboration I was quite skeptical about, but it was something that the little janiac in me was dying to see. I wanted to see all these musicians on stage once again. But I always thought that it wouldn't be quite the same. That the spark wouldn't quite be there. 

October 3rd, I got word that Suraj and Baiju have mutually agreed to get on stage together at Sound Awake's Free Wheel Rolling 2. It was an exciting prospect to say the least and I couldn't quite wait for the show. 

Five bands played and then All The Fat Children went on, and there was suddenly a visual in my head, that I had to share. I went to Suraj and said, "Chetta, this reminds me of Autumn Muse, when ATFC opened for you. What a mad show that was. You guys killed it that night." and he played it down and just said, "Yeah, good times". I was quite bummed that he didn't share my excitement but then again, he had his own set to worry about and everything and I let it go. 

Suraj went up on stage next for his set. A peaceful acoustic singer/songwriter set, which is a perfect set for a man like Suraj, in his new avatar. I remember just two things during that set. One was going over to Baiju, embracing him, as I do before each show of his, and saying, "Chetta, I'm just glad I got to be here when this happened". And the second, was when Suraj asked the crowd for requests and some one screamed Broken and he simply said, "I have a feeling you'll hear that tonight". I was giggling and clapping like a little kid, just visualizing what was about to unfold. 

And then, came the Syndicate. And they played an incredibly tight set, and after a few songs in, Baiju signaled me on. I got up on stage, took the mic from Siby, the vocalist, and was quite literally trembling. I had done these introductions before. But none of them meant quite as much to me as this one did. I composed myself and was able to get through announcing Baiju's new crowd funding project for his latest music video, which you guys have hopefully contributed to (http://www.wishberry.in/campaign/kaithola). But as soon as I was through that, and as soon as the magnitude of what was about to happen hit me, I lost my composure. Professionalism flew out the door and I was screaming at the top of my lungs as I announced that "It is my immense fucking pleasure to call this man on stage. Give it up for SUUUUURAJ MANIIIIIIIII". I couldn't help but stick around stage long enough to tell the two how much it meant to me and embrace them together. "My favourite vocalist and my favourite guitarist on the stage together again. Over 2.5 years I've waited for this to happen. I think I just might cry tonight", I could hear myself say.



Broken was the first on the list, and I wasn't surprised when the crowd was louder than the band. Every word was echoing through the small venue and I remember feeling that exact same emotion that I felt five or six years back when these guys rocked the stage. I was overjoyed not just by the fact that these guys were back on stage again, but that I was able to share it with some of the biggest motherjane fans around, Munz and Ganesh from Down Troddence, Akhil from Heretic, Sangeeth, the organiser, Sachin, one of motherjanes yesteryear managers, and Dhruva, one of my closest friends from school. We went absolutely nuts. Headbanging. Screaming at the top of our lungs. I couldn't believe that this was really happening. I had missed this energy. I had missed this madness. 

They went on to sing Mindstreet and Chasing the Sun too. And Suraj made an extremely kind gesture of asking Siby, Baiju's vocalist, to join him on stage for Chasing the Sun. I remember embracing Suraj one last time on stage. And Suraj and Baiju did the same. That feeling of seeing those two long-lost brothers embrace again, will remain in our hearts for a long time. I remember walking away as soon as Chasing the Sun was done, with Sachin and Sangeeth. And just holding on to Sangeeth and crying my heart out. And I was inconsolable. Not many would understand, but I'm glad these people did. That feeling. I've been asked plenty of times, why motherjane means that much to me. And even how I am so deeply affected by the departure of just a band member. But to us, motherjane means a whole lot more. To bands like the Down Troddence and Heretic, they were the ones who led the way and paved a path for the incredible talent in Kerala. To me, they were the ones who showed me how much I really loved music. They were the ones that made me want to live my life, going from gig to gig helping artist after artist. 

Tears refused to stop flowing. It was an emotional day for us all. Suraj and Baiju were thoroughly professional about it, but didn't mind indulging me whenever I needed some comfort from either. Somewhere in between, Sachin just said that "The worst thing about everything is that good things have to come to an end". And I knew then that the night had ended for us. But it was a feeling that I didn't want to let go.



But looking back, it was easily one of the best night I've had in a long time. I can't thank Baiju and Suraj enough for making it happen. And who knows, one day maybe I'll get to see all my idols on stage again. 

Hope!


17 Years ago, a cultural head came up with a band just to fill in for a professional act that had backed out of his college fest. The band went on to cover a few songs and played their first live gig in a few days.

In a span of 17 years since then, they have seen the absolute peaks of the Indian Rock Scene to the gory depths. MOTHERJANE. One of India's premier rock acts turned 17 today and it was incredible to talk to John today. For two reasons, though he was extremely proud of the achievement of having survived in an industry as shaky as this one for such a long time, there was a tinge of nervousness. 17 years later, and John, a legend in his own right, at least in my eyes, still has doubts about where it will all go from here. Still challenging themselves to push the boundaries that may exist. It is easy for one to just settle or even call it quits. One might say that Maktub was their best period, and they've struggled post the departure of two of their lead members and that they should have called it quits before facing the crap that they've had to go through. But John and the other members, decided to move on, head held high. Come sunshine or rain.

It was a bold step indeed. Yes, they've had a few setbacks but to think that these guys have got the courage to move completely away from all previously existent frameworks to create something entirely new is a refreshing thought.

An entirely beginning after 17 long years. As was indicated by John tonight, there's a tinge of familiarity and a lot of uncertainty. But I know for sure, that irrespective of what happens, what has happened and what is happening right now, they will have my unanimous support forever, in any quest they wish to take up. Cuz these 5 men, and the people who were a part of them in any capacity, have created such a huge impact on me, I can honestly say they have largely shaped the person I am currently. Absolute role models each and every one of them.

Amajaniac! Will always be one. Cuz there aren't too many who deserve as much respect as this band does. I hope to see them back on the pedestal they once were on. It would be quite incredible.

Also, one day, Creative differences, personal issues, etc all aside, I would love to see all of these people come together one last time for a jam, orchestrated in heaven. 


NIT Trichy always brought to my mind an image of a bunch of the countries biggest brains stuck together in a classroom solving a bunch of complex mathematic equations, after going to NITT for Festember '11 I've got to say I couldnt have been more wrong. Here's why!


The first time I had heard of Festember was when my band decided to send in our entry for the battle of the bands contest. Unfortunately, we didnt make the cut. Later I heard that motherjane were headlining the show and I thought to myself that we had actually been selected, I would have actually played a gig in front of my idols. Woah! I'm pretty sure I would have been shivering so bad before getting on that stage, but yes it would have been such an amazing moment. *sigh* -- Some dreams do take time to come to life I'm guessing :)

Saturday early morning, and I set off on a bumpy bus ride to the land of NITT. Reached Trichy at about 3 and headed straight for the hotel where motherjane was put up. A nice little nap, a bit of TV, and a little tea and motherjane was all set to rock the night. And so was I.

Soundcheck got super delayed because of a lot of technical difficulties, but the show did go on and motherjane took to the stage at around 9.30 PM or so.

The Panchari Melam music began to play and the stage was filled with smoke. The stage was set for motherjane. The crowd began to go wild. And soon, motherjane lit the stage on fire with Disillusioned. The energy was mesmerizing and the guys were really starting to enjoy (i specifically say guys because the guys were made to stand about 50 feet away from the stage and the girls were made to stand right in front. The only sad thing in an otherwise brilliant setting). The girls, still sitting, were clapping and cheering but very very few had gotten into "the zone".

Next up was Maya and Suraj dedicated this song to all the beautiful women that were sitting right in front. He urged the girls to stand up and get dancing. If I were asked to name two people that came to mind right away that had the ability to get a crowd going, I would say "Suraj Mani from Motherjane and Vishal Dadlani from Pentagram" without giving it any thought. Suraj got the girls going and soon there were numerous girls dancing to motherjanes tracks.

SURAJ MANI - MY SOCRATES
I love this picture :) -- so natural.. so much passion.. and so much fun :D

Blood in the Apple followed, and motherjane played the song sans the bass solo at the start of the song. The solo that Clyde plays gives the song a little more feel, or so I think and I did miss that part. But the rest of the song was note-perfect and by this time, everyone in the crowd was headbanging deliriously.

CLYDE ROZARIO - BUDDHA ON THE BASS


Deepu really seemed to be enjoying himself and he could be seen jumping all around on stage. It made for a really nice sight :)

DEEPU SASIDHARAN - SILK AND STEEL
Soul Corporations, tweaked at the start a little bit, followed. Santhosh played a mind numbing solo during the song that left me speechless. It was an extremely beautiful solo that had that unique motherjane touch, yet had many more elements that were new. If anyone has any doubt what so ever as to where motherjane is headed after Baiju leaving, trust me, they are in real safe hands. Santhosh is a guitarist that will blow your mind over and over again every time you watch him. No exaggeration what so ever, I promise.

SANTHOSH CHANDRAN - THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN TOUCH

The auditorium was then filled with the words Thaka Thakita Thaka Thakita as motherjane belted out Chasing the Sun. John, playing with a finger injury, and yet brought so much life to the song.

JOHN THOMAS - ZE METRONOME

Their newest single, No Contest, was up next and I with my short hair successfully executed ze WINDMILL! WOO HOO!! I believe that the aggresive riffs that Santhosh has composed for this particular really does suit the theme of the song and though it aint very pronounced but Santhosh has played some really beautiful parts in the song that will not fail to amaze you.

Fields of Sound, Broken, Jihad, Mindstreet followed. Santhosh played two brilliant solos, one at the end of Jihad and one after the last verse of Mindstreet. I'm sorry if I'm talking way too much about Santhosh but he was just that brilliant.

motherjane ended the gig with Karmic Steps. It was unfortunate but the gig was a rather short one because of the delays and the curfews. But none the less, it was a brilliant show and I really did think every single person in the crowd enjoyed himself.

MOTHERJANE - A BEAUTIFUL NOTE IN A SYMPHONY OF SPIRITS

I did hope they played a few more tracks, especially Maktub as Santhosh(yes him again) has added a lovely piece at the start which plays on the Flamenco Guitar(Box Guitar). It sounds so beautiful and adds a lot of soul to the song. I cant wait for the new album now. He has promised to bring in a lot of new elements and I cant wait to lay my hands on it.

Anyway, the bumpy bus rides well worth it and I must add a note to thank all the students at NITT for making it a lovely experience, and special mention to Pankaj for the hospitality and the company. Thank you all :)

p.s. Photo Credit : Charles and Vishal Nambiar

Cheers
Hari



This blog has been LOOOOOOOOOOOONG overdue but unfortunately, a certain set of Board Exams got in the way.


Before I get to the actual content of the blog, there is a small development. I have decided to start blogging about more than just music or atleast try to blog about a few more things. :) Hence the new blog, Diary of a Janiac!


Now to describe the awesomeness of the 19th February!!


We(Raja, Remya and I) left for Hyderabad on 18th night by bus and reached Hyderabad on 19th morning. We headed over to a friends place and got ready for a full day of sight-seeing and well of course the gig that we had traveled all the way till Hyderabad to watch.


First we headed to the Charminar. Nestled in what the locals call "Old Hyderabad", the quadruple-towered mosque made for an amazing sight. Right at the centre of the mosque was a moderate size yet intricately designed fountain. Though partially damaged, the minor details of each carving of the fountain piece could still be seen and admired. We then climbed one of the minarets to reach the second level of the tower(the higher levels are sealed off). The second level was the one with the prayer rooms. There were around 30-40 of them, each with a beautiful window and brilliantly carved frames. An unfortunate sight was the numerous etchings on the walls. "Romantics" used the walls of a great mosque and an even greater monument, to proclaim their love for their girlfriends and boyfriends, thinking that they are immortalizing their love when in fact they are defacing an immortal piece of history.


Right outside this mosque was a small Muslim Shrine where the priest(don’t know exactly what they are called, ulemas? Not sure) offered prayers and applied a grey powder on our foreheads. Right next to this shrine was a Hindu Devi Temple. The amity between the priests and the people too made for a visual treat.


We then clicked a few pictures and then proceeded to the next monument, Mecca Masjid. There were a huge flock of pigeons sitting at the front yard of the Masjid. Just as we walked in after an extremely brief security check, which consisted of a guard glaring at you, a boy ran right towards the pigeons and made them all fly. A brilliant way to enter a monument huh? [:D]


Unfortunately we were unable to enter the Masjid, but we did look around and it was beautiful. There were a large number of prayer stones lined up outside and a priest prayed for us and for our good health.


We then went to the nearby local Bazaar, famously known as Choodi Bazaar. The Bazaar is especially famous for its pearl jewellery and we did pick up a few pieces of jewellery for our mothers and sisters. There were shops nearby which were also famous for their black metal pieces.


Next, we visited the Hussain Sagar Lake. However, we didn’t get off the car to take a closer look at the lake and the huge monolithic statue of Gautam Buddha. We did admire the statue from a distance for a while though.


The next thing on the itinerary was to go home, freshen up and leave for THE concert.


I was super excited when it was time to leave. It was the first time that I would see the NEW MOTHERJANE live. This was the first time that I was going to see the new guitarist, Santhosh Chandran on guitar. There were a lot of questions in my head. Would he be as good as Baiju? Could he pull off those solos that The God of Small Strings played with such beauty and with such precision? I was excited but I was equally nervous!


We reached the venue, after a two hour drive. We had a surprise visitor with us when we left for the venue. MY DAD! My dad was working in Hyderabad during the time. Though he had spent the entire day sight-seeing with us, none of us thought that he would join us for the gig. It was a pleasant surprise to say the least.


We started the process of donning paints when my dad decided to surprise us once more. He wanted us to paint his face too. He was going to involve himself in every activity and it was super cool of him to do that. [:)]


Before motherjane took stage, there were two opening bands that had apparently won some local competition in order to open for the Gods. The bands, however, were pretty ordinary. Then, it was time for MOTHERJANE to hit the stage. The one reason why we had travelled over 500 kms was to see these 5 men rock the stage.


The Panchari Mellam music started playing and I went high. I was about to see my favourite band live after about four months and it was an amazing feeling. The band soon came on stage and started their set with DISILLUSION. Their energy was infectious and soon the entire VJIET crowd was singing their hearts out. Motherjane performed all of their songs with immaculate energy and the new guitarist was hitting every note perfectly (as far as what the songs sounded like were concerned).




This new guitarist was abnormally down to earth too. During the solos on one of the first few songs, Santhosh was standing near his processor and playing the solo. Suraj came over and pushed in front towards the crowd and into the spotlight. It was a really funny moment that one.


Another part of this gig that I was really looking forward to was Jihad. This was the first time that I was going to hear the Anwar O.S.T live. I loved the track, especially due to the amazing vocals on this track. For the first time in a motherjane song, the vocalist was the one that provided the Indian element to the song.


Unfortunately due to a slight glitch with the speaker on our side of the crowd, we couldn’t hear that song properly. [:(] We soon moved over to the side of the crowd and still got right to the front and soon continued to enjoy the music.


The solos played by Santhosh and John were splendid. Though the usual Metal Mataram that Baiju played was missing, Santhosh played a brilliant solo which sounded just as beautiful. [:)]




My guru, John, played a kickass solo too. Its amazing to see him perform solos live now. The first time he performed a solo live on stage was at Kyra on October 15th at Bangalore thanks to a lot of screaming and shouting from us janiacs right at the front. It was a splendid solo filled with various rolls and a few funky beats too and other stuff that I'm not musically literate enough to even begin to understand.


The crowd at VJIET was a really fun one. They were singing every word along with Suraj for every song. It was a heart warming sight.


All in all, 19th February was an amazing day. We went to meet the band after the gig and got ourselves introduced to the new man, Santhosh Chandran. The band was also extremely delighted to meet my father, with his face painted et al.




On our way back home, my dad told us what he felt about the concert. He thought that the music was pretty nice but what really struck him was the energy with which they performed. He was especially impressed with Suraj, not just because of the high level of energy but also because of the way in which he interacted with the crowd and brought out the crazy men and women in everyone in the crowd.


It was extremely inspiriting to see that my dad understood why I loved this band to death and would travel this far 10 days before the start of my exams even though I’ve seen them more than 10 times live before.


The entire day was a brilliant experience and I don’t think I’ve ever slept with such a huge smile on my face.


The next day was kept aside for one huge place – RAMOJI FILM CITY. But that story is for another blog. I’ve already written way too much on this post. Unfortunately didnt get pics of the concert but I hope the videos will make up for the long read.


Special Thanks to youtube user jovanightfall for the videos.


p.s. Eva, So sorry for the delay [:p]


Cheers


a\m/ajaniac


After a very very long wait, HEADBangalore had finally been blessed by the presence of motherjane. This was the first ever unplugged gig I was going to see live and the excitement started pumping in me from about a week before the gig itself.

October 15th took its own sweet time to come and when it did arrive, it came with a bang. The day started with a birthday party for me and soon, I met up with a couple of janiacs from school(Balaji and Dhruva) and our journey to Kyra began.

We reached the venue at about 6.30 and I ran inside to the toilet to paint my face. There was a lot of painting to be done. 15 minutes down, I had painted myself and though, many people had questions about my bowel movements due to my extended session in the toilet, I was pretty pleased with the outcome. (It was the first time I painted myself)

In another half an hour or so, I had finished painting Balajis and Dhruvas faces and we were waiting for the other janiacs to arrive. Soon, the hugest janiacs in Bangalore, Raja and Praveen arrived and in a while, we were all painted and ready for motherjane to hit the stage. We went in and took our seats (read temporary chairs to be sat on till the show began).

A few people came to us and asked us whether we were motherjane and I must admit, it felt great to be in the spotlight :P - sadly, good things last for a very short time and the spotlight was soon removed of us.

At about 9, the show began with the Gods taking their seats on stage. I ran down from the top floor right to the front. At the start of the show, we all sat on the floor and were left with our mouths wide open at the insane feel and aura around each song. It felt extremely different from a plugged gig and it threw us off our feet. Though we had seen videos of the unplugged gigs previously, the songs when played live right in front of you gave rise to a billion emotions all at the same time within us.

They started the gig with Disillusion and Suraj explained the philosophy behind the song and the reason it came about. Soon, they had all of us enthralled and played just about every song from their two albums except for "Ode to Life II" and as Suraj said, they still hadn't come up with the acoustic versions of "Tribes of Babel" and "Jihad" and hence, we couldn't catch them play their newest two singles but none the less, it was a brilliant set.

The acoustic versions of all their songs sound brilliant and they have been able to maintain the emotions, energy and sentiment of each song. What I liked best of the entire set was the verse riff on "Mindstreet". It was simply "WOW!".

Baiju played a brilliant solo filled with Carnatic Ragas. I never had the chance to ask him exactly what he played but it was a piece that was heavily influenced by Prasanna and had a touch of Western shredding to it. The solo had all of us with our mouths wide open and we were unable to do anything but bow down to the man, nay GOD after that piece. They, as usual, slipped into "Fields of Sound" after his solo.

As soon as this solo came to an end, all of us were on our feet, jumping, headbanging and basically having a ball. The solo took the gig one notch higher, if that was ever possible.

Another spectacular thing that we discovered over the course of the concert was that Clyde was actually on stage even though he had a splitting migraine. Suraj said that Clyde was the only person who could ever smile even with a migraine and he was spot on, as always. He dedicated "Walk On" to Clyde.



Another first in motherjanes profile came on this day. For the first time ever on stage, John Thomas played a drum solo. And I can proudly say that I was one of the loudest voices in the crowd when we chanted his name out really loud to play a solo.

After the intended setlist, motherjane took a break with a promise to come back and play a couple more. A wait of 15 minutes followed, with some frantic photography taking place on the sides with the band.

The band came back on stage and were taking requests. They had played their entire list and were about to play a couple of encores. Everyone voiced their favourite songs. After a few seconds, there was a slight pause in the noise and as everyone was thinking of which song they wanted their favourite band to play, I had a slightly different idea in my head. I screamed as loud as I could, "SILSILA".


Poor Suraj was drinking water and had to try very very hard not to spit it out, but the band obliged. Well, partly. Baiju played the melody and John gave the beats. We, malus, in the crowd, who knew the song and who knew the legacy that was Silsila sang our hearts out and we had a blast.

They then played an encore of Mindstreet. THAT RIFF!! :O -- and unfortunately that was the end of one hell of a night. It was a brilliant night and my first ever unplugged gig was KICK ASS! I hope someone soon brings motherjane back in town because I cant wait to see them again.


Here is the set list for the night :-
  1. Disillusion
  2. Mindstreet
  3. Blood in the Apple
  4. Maya
  5. Chasing the Sun
  6. Ode to Life I
  7. Walk On
  8. Questions
  9. Maktub
  10. Shh.. Listen
  11. Broken
  12. Prison Chains
  13. Before One Million Comes One
  14. GUITAR SOLO followed by Fields of Sound
  15. Soul Corporations
  16. Karmic Steps
  17. DRUM SOLO
  18. Mindstreet Encore
p.s. Special Thanks to Balaji and Praveen for pictures

Cheers
a\m/ajaniac

August 20th, 2010 -- history repeats itself. motherjane releases yet another mindblowing song for the malayalam movie ANWAR, titled JIHAD.


Jihad took me by storm the first time I heard it. I shouldnt say Jihad took me by storm actually. I guess the right way to put it would be to say that Suraj ripped me apart from head to toe. I expected a song with a possible Arabic edge to the riffs and a heavily Arab inspired solo but the vocals would be ordinary is what I thought. OK maybe ordinary is an understatement for a man who has best rock vocalist at AVIMA. So I guess, I expected something less awesome but I guess I should have known better. Suraj caught me from the moment he said "I" from "I believe in Jihad" and I got goosebumps when he sang "Thus my faith speaks to me.. No innocent shall be slain".

The first time I heard the song, I heard nothing but the vocals to be frank but then I heard the song again. And again. And again. And over and over again. [:)]

The progression from heavy/hard rock to acoustic is smooth and the transition seems so effortless. I change back from acoustic to the heavier riffs and everything too is ever so easy on the listener with Suraj again blowing my mind with his line "Whats alien to heaven.. Is practiced in vain" (I'm sorry if I cant stop talking about how awesome Suraj is on this track. Sincere apologies. But its just way to hard to stop talking about him)

The beats are fantastic and yet again my guru, John Thomas proves to us that he is definitely one of the best if not THE best drummer in India. Deepu and Clyde provide just the platform that Baiju needs to set the song ablaze. And like all great Gods, Baiju doesnt fail his followers, he sets the song and our hearts on fire.

Suraj never fails to amaze me with his lyrics. I asked him once about how he thinks up of such stuff. And all he said was that they are "simple thoughts". But, every person has simple thoughts in this world, but one man can write like Suraj. The positiveness that flows out of the direst circumstances is just something to applaud. And Jihad, is no less. There is a heavenly touch to the entire song, lyric-wise.

Here are the lyrics :

I believe in Jihad
I die to "Him" return
And I know in my heart
"His" will is the sermon

Thus my faith speaks to me
No innocent shall be slain
Louder than most thing
This world shouts out in "His" name

All hate is poison
Distilled from pain
And whats alien to heaven
Is practiced in vain

Whats alien to heaven
Is practiced in vain

Thus my faith speaks to me
No innocent shall be slain
Louder than most thing
This world shouts out in "His" name

I believe in Jihad
If love is the weapon...

All in all, Jihad is one hell of a song. I'm hoping to see the song aired on Asianet or Surya or any channel of that sort back home in Kerala. I would love to see the response that the song would get from the non-rock Malayalam masses. I'm sure it'll be positive and I'm sure this song will do much good in this world. [:)]

Do check out the song here : http://www.reverbnation.com/motherjane
then leave a comment here : http://www.motherjane.in
after that visit this site too : http://www.facebook.com/motherjane
and maybe visit this one too : http://www.anwarthemovie.com

a\m/ajaniac





27th Feb was a day I marked on my calendar a long while back. It was a day I had been looking for a long long long time. motherjane at NITK, Suratkal! It was like 350 kms away but hell, it was MOTHERJANE! My mom was wary of sending me because it fell right in the middle of my exams, two days before my Comp Exam and a day after my Math Exam. What a time for a concert innit? :P

Its actually quite awesome to note that I went for a motherjane concert during my exams during the previous semester too. And I must say, there is nothing that relieves stress and tension like a motherjane concert and a chat with the band. Anyway, on with the show and less of my rants.

I reached NITK at about 2 or so, just in time for a solid lunch on the house. :P And soon, the drum techs, band manager and lights technician moved onto the venue to set up John Sirs kit and check out other stuff, so we headed over and got started and I must say, another guy was setting up the international act, Led Zepplica's drum kit, and John Sirs kit was so much bigger compared to the one he was using. It was abnormally funny how people came around saying "Wow Led Zepplica uses a bit kit", while pointing at John Sirs kit and I would say "Nope, thats motherjanes man" :D :D :D - cool isn't it?

Anyway after a much delayed soundcheck the show actually got under way. I was told by few students of the college that people had been waiting in queues to get inside for over 4 hours. Now those are real janiacs! SALUTE! And the students there had a stall at the entrance where people could get half of their faces painted just like motherjane. I told Suraj Sir when I was driving back to our guest rooms and he was super touched by the gesture. Backstage or something he told me that my friends and I had started a movement, at Hard Rock Cafe when we came with t-shirts that had pictures of us and I felt so proud of myself at that moment and all I could say was "Before 1 Million comes 4" (there were 4 of us who had such t-shirts). But standing in the midst of all of those students who had painted faces and who knew how every song went, I was overtly happy because finally I was with my real brothers and sisters. I was with people who I related to because we all loved motherjane.

motherjanes show was power packed from the start. Their entrance was with their usual Kerala music which never fails to give me goosebumps for a reason I'm yet to find. They started their set with Disillusioned, and everyone around me went into a fit. Me? I was already in a fit. :P I was having the time of my life, I was singing my heart out and though my throat was out completely I still sang out with what little remained. I was shocked when people around me joined me while singing. Wow! What a moment. I had never been with such people before. I was used to standing in the middle of a crowd, me and my friends singing while everyone else headbanged due to lack of knowledge of the lyrics but they still had the love for the music. But these guys around me, they had the love for the music and they knew the lyrics. Simply amazing. motherjane played Mindstreet and Blood in the Apple and then came the song I had been dying to hear live. TRIBES OF BABEL!

Tribes of Babel is a song that motherjane had written for Amnesty International. Its a song about peace and how music can bring about peace. motherjane took the concept of the people of Babel. The story says that the people decided to build a tower so high that it can touch the heavens and thus they would challenge God and prove that nothing is beyond humanity. God decided that if it progressed as it were then there would be no end to their greed and decided to cast a spell on the people. He decided that the people would all speak different languages. Our wars and our fights are all because we say that "He respects a different religion!" or "She speaks a different language" and in our quest for peace we look for similarities and we loathe differences but motherjane looks at peace different. Imagine a world were everyone spoke the same word or every musician sung the same note and no one was different. Boring? Now imagine the beauty of the differences how, the 1st note and the 5th note in a song are similar yet they are different in their own ways. How you and me are different yet we both share something in common. Peace is when we, and all of humanity learn to embrace our differences and appreciate them. We must respect our differences and not shun them away. This is precisely what Tribes of Babel talk about. Catch live streaming of the song on : www.buffetlibredjs.net/peace.html - it is worth it. Trust Me!

Now back to the show, motherjane were soon ripping the place apart with Fields of Sound, Maya, Broken, Walk On, Karmic Steps, Before a Million comes One, Maktub and Soul Corporations. A beautiful mix of Insane Biography and Maktub and all plastered out and laid out well beautified for all of us, their fans. A special mention must go out to that solo that Baiju Sir played. I stood in the middle of the crowd speechless for about 10 minutes and then he switched to Fields of Sound and I was thrown of my feet. That guitarist is nothing short of a GOD! He had the entire 5000 or so students sing out "Saare Jahan Se Ache". India was displayed to the world right there. We didnt need a President or a Prime Minister salute the national flag on national television to fill us with a sense of patriotism all we needed was a guitarist like this playing a tune on his guitar and people all around would join hands and sing. Sing for the love of our Nation! Never seen anyone instill a sense of pride in me like he can. Hats off Baiju Sir! :D

And before I forget, March 7th was Baiju Sirs birthday. Rush to his profile if you didnt wish him yet. :D

Soon after motherjane were an international band called Led Zepplica, a bootleg band of Led Zepplin. I didnt wait to check them out, so you will not be seeing a review on them here. Apologies.

So till the next concert! Adios

amajaniac n so r u


14 years ago, on Jan 24th, yet another college band went up on stage as a cover up for a band that failed to keep its promise of playing in their college. No expectations whatsoever were around. Their drummer was the club secretary and they had to this show to get the crowd going. They had had just a week or so of practice and were on stage. Their sound check was at 12 at midnight. It went on till about 5 AM. Soon their drummer crashes at his home and leaves home in 2 hours. Everyone is sleep deprived. Yet they are all nervous as its their first show. I have no clue how that show went, but I have to say this band, in just 14 years, has done miracles that most other bands can only dream of. They’ve touched a billion hearts the world over and will always do so. They’re celebrities in their own right yet remain firmly rooted to the ground and have no air around them whatsoever. A band that has done everything from rocking the most unruly crowd to opening for major international acts like Megadeth to Opeth to rocking HIV positive kids. This band is one like no other. This band is MOTHERJANE!!!

Many people have asked me why on earth I’m so addicted to motherjane. My reply to them has always been “It is written” or “MAKTUB”. I don’t know why that is my reply and I will always keep wondering and never figure out an answer. But come to think of it I don’t think there can ever be a better reply. I’ve never pressurized anyone to listen to motherjane; I’ve only expressed my love out in public. But many a times, I’ve had many people come to me and asked for their music. They’ve come to me and said “Wow! This band is brilliant”. I’ve bonded with men from Java over motherjane, more notable people like Thoriq Arridlwan Aria and Ben Prasetyo. I’ve known these men only from facebook. But Thoriq is one man who was so touched by the music since they played the first note at Java Rockinland. Thoriq is one proud janiac, his display picture right now on facebook is that of him and his friend standing with John, the drummer and Suraj, the vocalist/lyricist. I’ve bonded with men and women and even kids my age, just a tad bit older, even a few younger and the only thing we have in common is our love for motherjane.

motherjane, motherjane, motherjane! It’s the only word that I chant all night and day. If I’m writing an exam, I’m superstitious enough to wear a motherjane t-shirt inside. I play the drums. I’ve learnt for just about a year or so. I dream of making a band and blah blah. And if I said that I don’t dream of becoming a band like motherjane I would be lying. BIG TIME! But I swear to God, everytime I play on a stage I’ll pray to God, yes, but I will definitely pray to JOHN THOMAS, my guru, to watch over me, in spirit, as I play my set. I’ll pray to SURAJ MANI, to be by my side, as I recall every word of his advice that I have been blessed to have. I’ll pray to CLYDE ROZARIO, pray so that I can get his temperament and loyalty to the music that flows through our bodies. I’ll pray to BAIJU DHARMAJAN, pray that I can be truthful to what I play and never forget the path that I have followed to reach the destinations that I hope to reach. I’ll pray to DEEPU SASIDHARAN, pray that not only do I play my instrument with as much love as he does but also that I can carry off an attitude like his on stage.

This band has produced some of the best sounding songs that has ever been made in India. And the most admirable quality about them is the fact that not only are they extremely patriotic, they are extremely proud to be patriotic. They end their set at every show with the words “Jaya He! Jaya He! Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya He!” from our national anthem. Baiju plays his rendition of Vande Mataram, admirably named Metal Mataram by few, during every gig. And each time (I have no clue about the notes mind you) it sounds so different in a way very motherjane. I hope that makes sense but its very true.

motherjane has brought out two albums and one EP in these 14 years. The EP got lost in the wilderness of Indian rock but there albums have been received with so much love and affection from people from all walks of life and their upcoming albums too shall be extremely well received. They brought out Insane Biography in 2003 with their ex-guitarist Rex, he currently plays for Avial which is also a super awesome band. They brought out Maktub in 2008. They released in a way no other band had. They had a web release! Their idea behind it was that they would be close to their fans on this very special day. They believed that this was the album that would give them the break that they deserve and my goodness, has it given them a super huge break or what? They’ve won the AVIMA and they’ve rubbed shoulders with Mr.BIG. They’ve extended their fan base from a few hundreds to many thousands or is it millions. They’ve grown from strength to strength and they shall always do so.

Their contract with Aum-I Artistes states that they must produce 5 albums in 5 years and they’ve produced 1 in 2 years. So we’ve got three years and four albums coming out! JANIACS I SWEAR TO YOU WE ARE IN FOR A HUGE TREAT!

Nelson Mandela once said that he dreamt of a while guy walking hand-in-hand with a black girl and vice versa. I don’t have such huge dreams. But I have one dream that many janiacs that I know will proudly support and stand up and say “Yes! I’ve dreamt of this too”. I dream that one day 5 men going by the names Suraj, John, Deepu, Baiju and Clyde will walk with head held high onto a stage and thousands of men stand up and clap in awe. They’ve just won the GRAMMY!!! They lift up their newest addition to their trophy case and then suddenly boys and girls in black t-shirts with motherjane written on them storm the hall and they sing out proud :-

YOU ARE THE BEAUTIFUL NOTE IN A SYMPHONY OF SPIRITS

A THREAD IN A TAPESTRY OF DREAMS

WHERE EVERY COLOUR BLENDS TOGETHER

LIKE THE DROPLETS, THE OCEANS, THE RIVERS AND STREAMS!!

motherjane is not just the first but the only band I know off that has composed haikus. They’re called the Odes to Life. And they seriously are! What John Keates did in Ode to Autumn in 3 stanzas, Suraj Mani did in the four lines on both tracks. The two odes to life talk about two faces of the same coin, LIFE and DEATH and yet both have a positive ending. I feel that one of the best things about motherjane, which other bands lack, is the fact that each one of their songs ends on a positive note. Take Broken, it switches from such a dire topic to a supremely positive note on the ability of humans to be courageous. I personally love that a lot about them.

No post on motherjane is complete these days without mentioning Eva Dowd, their online promoter. She has helped this band reached out to so many more people than motherjane personally ever dreamed off. Any post that involves me has the words “motherjanes no.1 fan”. I’ve thought of this tag. I’ve been called motherjanes biggest fan by so many people. But come to think of it honestly, I’m just one of them. There are so many out there who are as crazy about motherjane as I am maybe even crazier than me. I’ve had the honor of getting to know a few. Infact I actually want to take up this space to thank my cousin, Raja. He was the one who made me listen to my first motherjane song. Without him, who knows, maybe motherjane might have just sounded like a joke to me. There is one fan. RAJA! Then there is JABRI! There is NIKHIL! There is DAMIEN MARWEIN! (Very few named. Pardon me for omission of any names) There are ever so many and I have blessed with the company of only few of them but I am sure there are tons more out there who will give their life in support of this band. So to all the janiacs out there, here is yet another one of you, raising a toast to all of us who have proudly stood by our one true love – MOTHERJANE! And I’m sure I speak for all the janiacs out there when I say that we will always proudly stand by your side when all of us together CHASE THE SUN!

Here is wishing you a happy "anniversary" / "birthday" once again motherjane! May your songs dominate our souls in all the years that we may live.

AMAJANIAC!!!

motherjane had performed at Bangalore 12 days ago as part of Times of India International Arts Festival. That was in between my exams but this time around, it was after those irritating hours in a small room, similar to a prison chamber, with endless droning hours in front of sheets of paper that you barely understand head or tail of. And this time around, i vowed to enjoy this day like I've never enjoyed any day of my life. The day started with me jumping out of bed with butterflies in my stomach. Because today was the day that I was going to give something in return for all those brilliant notes of music that those 5 fine gentlemen have supplied to me. Today was the day when I was going to give them just as great a feeling as they had given me when they all sang happy birthday to me at Opus.

So before I get to the concert. Let me tell you what this kickass surprise was. And trust me, if you were a part of the crew that gave this surprise, you would have woken up with butterflies in your stomach too. Well here goes. Me and three other diehard janiacs that I know decided to paint our faces and make a t-shirt of our own. This idea came up when I logged on to pringoo.com and decided it was time to buy the motherjane t-shirt. The hopeless choice of colour ranging from baby pink to bright orange inspired the idea of coming up with our own t-shirt with our own faces painted on them. We could flaunt them and it would be truly ours. The t-shirt says AMAJANIAC. This is, in physical sense, the title of one of the songs that Suraj Sir has written. However, to us, it goes way beyond just a song. It represents the collective sense of belonging that we feel towards the band. It represents that spirit that dwells in us. It represents our true selves. It represents us!

We took an entire day to paint our faces and pose for our photographs and everything. I even made pizza and went on to be complimented as being a kickass cook which drove me to make dinner that night. We didnt really bother going to photo studio to get our faces done. We had a one lakh camera in our midst and we decided we'll do all the photo shooting at home. We had a black lamb of god t-shirt for a background, and thats quite an insignificant thing compared to the fact that we kept pillows on the chair and sat on the pillows to make sure our height was just right for the photo, which was on auto-shoot mode. LOL!

Our day turned out to be an out-right sucess, as you may see for yourselves.

JABRI - a.k.a. PRAVEEN :P

HARI - a.k.a ME :P

RAJA

NIKHIL

Well, those are our painted faces and that was just one half of our adventure. We then shifted the photos onto t-shirts and the front said AMAJANIAC and had our face. The rear had the chorus of the song written.

I WOULD UNDERSTAND IF YOU SAID THAT POSING IS AN UNDERSATEMENT


THATS US - JABRI, RAJA, NIKI n ME - JANIACS FOREVER


Now, for the big day. THE CONCERT! I was as nervous as I was when I went for my very first concert. We went to the venue with this t-shirt well concealed. An hour or so before the gig was to actually start, we decided it was time. FOR PAYBACK(refer to my last post)! :P - we called all the members of the band and made sure they could see us all and we slowly removed the shirts we wore on top of our t-shirts and we revealed our t-shirts and the moment they saw it, they were stunned. They had emotions running from shocked to happiness to crying out in joy to excitement to any emotion you can name. It was all there. I personally was extremely happy that they loved it. Mission Acomplished! This was one of the dreams that motherjane had envisioned when they started off as a band and I was really quite proud of myself to have been a part of this. I was proud that I had done what I wanted to do and that feeling is simply unmatched. We then took snaps with the band.

US AND THEM!

Infact, a cameraman from Deccan Chronicle came up to us and asked us to pose for him. That was my first taste of the celeb life [:P].

MOTHERJANE @ HRC - I'M SURE BANGALORE FELL IN LOVE :P


AND THATS CLYDE ROZARIO ON THE BASS

The concert began soon later and we were once again doing what we truely loved. We were watching our favourite men doing what they do best. Rocking! And rocking real hard at that. They played all their songs, except Prison Chains, Shh.. Listen and the Odes to Life. A couple of my classmates came for the concert. One of them came for his first ever concert. It was such a pleasant sight to see him thoroughly enjoy himself, but it came as no surprise, everyone thoroughly enjoys themselves at a motherjane concert! And so will you, if you go for one! [:D]. And thats a decision you'll never repent. I'll even buy you a ticket. Hehe! Anway, signing off folks! [:D] Sorry for the long read couldn't help. [:)]

ROCKING BANGALORE

SURAJ MANI - PASSION REDEFINED

THE GOD OF SMALL STRINGS - if you ask me he is the GOD OF ALL STRINGS

ME n MY GURU - JOHN THOMAS

ME WITH THE BUDDHA ON BASS - CLYDE ROZARIO

And before I sign off, here is a small song that I wrote about motherjane. Its my first song about them and hopefully the first of many to come. Read and enjoy. [:)]

Child of motherjane

We've all had our share of dreams
Blinded by faith and tested by time
But I've got a new saviour
That'll carry me through just that

A bond that I shared
Since I heard the first note
A bond that lingers
In every move of my soul

Each beat, each note,
Every melody is now
A part of me and it shall
Always be

Coz

I am a child of motherjane
A man that stands tall among many
And forever flying towards the stars
To reach his one true love "MOTHERJANE"

The lessons I've learnt
through just your songs
And lessons I shall learn
from nothing but your presence

Your faces feature in all my dreams
And your music flows through all my veins
And I am really blessed coz
You not just show me in yourselves, you
Give voice to all of my thoughts

And

I am a child of motherjane
A man that stands tall among many
And forever flying towards the stars
To reach his one true love "MOTHERJANE"

Looking forward to your comments about it.

Cheers
Hari
amajaniac n so r u


The Times of India International Arts Festival brought together some of the biggest names in the world arts field together in one city. Spread over about two weeks or so, this was one gala event with over 20 artists performing. Out of that 20, I was stunned to find an artist that I least expected in that list - MOTHERJANE.


CLYDE ROZARIO - BUDDHA ON BASS

motherjane played at Opus, Brookefield on the 12th of September, just a day before my birthday to those unaware. [:P] For a janiac like yours truly, there is no better birthday celebration that this one. It had been quite a while since I last saw them live. That was at Le Rock if I'm not mistaken. And for an impatient man like me thats a loooooooong time.

SURAJ MANI - SINGING SENSEI

Anyway, I got to the venue, which I would say fails to fall in the boundary of Bangalore but well, no complains. The show, started off at about 9 or so and my was it a blast from the beginning. They started of with a kick ass rendition of Disillusion. The song has been made slightly heavier and gives it a perfect feel to either headbang like never before or jump and just have fun throughout. The crowd, most drunk, went berserk from the start to the end. Most carried on being berserk even after the show ended. [:P]

JOHN THOMAS - THE METRONOME

motherjane, I've always said is the perfect example of a vortex of energy combined with 5 musically brilliant men combined with a bunch of great gentlemen. Throw in some passion in there and voila, you've got your men of dreams. They played a really good mix of tracks from both their albums. They've got four more albums coming out in four more years and I am super excited. Their next album, as announced by Suraj at Opus is to be titled "Graffiti Without Walls" because music in its truest meaning is really graffiti without any barriers whatsoever. Its the will and wish of the artist to create music in his/her own manner. And its the will and wish of the listener to interpret in his/her own manner, so music quite aptly fits the definition graffiti without walls.

DEEPU SASIDHARAN - SIX STRINGED SPARTAN

The crowd really had an amazing time and I, personally, had a superb birthday in advance. They were many hilarious incidents during the show some of which require personal sight of the situation to really laugh out loud.

BAIJU DHARMAJAN - GOD OF SMALL STRINGS

The crowd was so enthralled by motherjane that it got motherjane to play an encore of Chasing the Sun and the band gratefully obliged. motherjane kicked ass on 12th and after the concert we settled down for a nice dinner. And I was pleasantly surprised when the whole band sang Happy Birthday at 12 o'clock. If I'm not mistaken, I felt my eyes water right there. My that was a really touching surprise and I vowed to surprise them just as much and read my next blog to find out what I and a bunch of friends of mine did to get even [;)]

cheers
Hari
amajaniac n so r u

About this blog

A true Janiac to the core, this is my opinion on the beauty that surround all of us :)

A Janiac, initially was defined as fan of the Indian Rock Band MOTHERJANE. But this word, for me, can be used to describe a man that listens to his heart and is filled with passion. I describe myself as one such Janiac!

Cheers
a\m/ajaniac

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