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Welcome back Live Music Scene in Bangalore !
Its never been better than this with a lot of new bands getting some fresh crowd regularly at clubs ,pubs,open air concerts and even the occasional corporate gig.
Operative words here are new bands , fresh crowd and most importantly - regularly
My first experiences with performing in Bangalore were with the Sunday Jams at Indira Gandhi Musical fountain organised by The Live Gig .Those were the days when you would wait hours on the lawn outside the gazebo tracking the shade of the tree next to you , finally to get your 20 minute slot and play to your heart s content . And that was a privilege! . Things have changed now with the guys focussing mainly on promoting live music at establishments in the city. Freedom Jam last year had a fantastic format,where each venue was genre-specific and the schedule was clearly indicated prior to everyone, and knowing bangalore , people here know exactly what they want to hear.
Eventually we formed our by-now veteran Jazz / Funk band Bourbon Street and have succesfully completed myriad City Wide tours throughout Bangalore. It was difficult at first to get gigs and have people sit and listen to us playing our avant garde non-style of music but eventually figured out some tips and tricks.
Word of mouth is an extremely powerful tool in promoting your band
Just telling people how good we are didnt bring in any extra crowd. So we said theres free beer !.
Ok maybe we lied. But the point here is that word of mouth is effective.
Taking word of mouth to the next level is what Whats the scene is aiming for. The team is hungry for the who ? , what? , when? and where? of any concert/gig/jam/show/band/ in this country. Voracious for info, these are the guys taking the scene by storm online with their newsletter packed with equipment reviews,interviews and profiles.
Over the course of two years we've met and jammed with many musicians, from diverse backgrounds and its been very enriching personally and musically.People at shows have been very supportive and at times offered us tips on how to delicately introduce Raagas in our Carnatic Set (see below). Meeting up with like minded musicians for some gear talk and obscure band recommendations is the best way to access credible info and learn some chops while at it too !
Bourbon Street | Myspace Video
Recently we were approached for an interview on Radio One, and this is being broadcast on Sunday 13th March. Again we promised people freebie for listening in. Lets see what happens this time :)
