Eastern Fare Music Club

Eastern Fare Music Foundation - Music of Euphonic Sounds

2011-01-03T06:13:00.000-08:00

Author: Niyor Bordoloi

Upon the fabric of silence does one weaves notes and creates music.

Eastern Fare Music Foundation is one such turf which still holds on to such a thought and proudly propagates it. In an era where music is being bargained over as a fast moving commodity, Eastern Fare affectionately tries to preserve the accent of sound. Located in Koramangala, the heart of Bangalore city in India, this music institute with a difference engages in providing tutelage to music enthusiasts of all ages. It had its inception in the year 2007 with a bitty total of five students. In today\'s date, Eastern Fare has half dozen branches all over Bangalore giving Music education to more than a hundred pupils.

Eastern Fare prepares students for grade exams conducted by Trinity School of Music, London; but it diverts itself from the regular method of teaching. The institute focuses on a concept based learning method where students are made to understand the core concepts of Music before strumming a guitar of holding a key. 'Play the music, not the instrument' is what they preach. Currently classes for Guitar, Keyboard and Western Classical vocals are being conducted on a regular basis, but there are also provisions for instruments like drums, tabla, flute etc.

The idea behind the genesis of this institute was to incorporate the thought that Music can be pursued as a mainstream career instead of a hobby or pastime. Eastern Fare encourages and motivates people with a musical inclination to explore their full potential and be able to create amazing work. All the students are given individual attention and guidance making it easier for them to discover their musical abilities. The students are generally screened based on their basic knowledge of music but most importantly they must have passion and sincerity for learning music. The very best of the students and the ones who have constantly exhibited progress never go unrewarded. The institute\'s has its recording facilities which are made available to the students at zero cost so that they can prepare their samples easily. The institute also promotes aspiring musicians, and artists through various media.

When the melodic notes fade away, it vibrates in the memory. Eastern Fare hopes to influence people on similar notes. Even when the students are over their training and are long gone, the musical sojourn will linger on in their hearts and the amorous poetry of sound that they will sing will ripple, spreading the magic of music further and beyond.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/eastern-fare-music-foundation-music-of-euphonic-sounds-3937144.html

About the Author

A freelance writer and journalist from Bangalore.

Count Your Blessings: An Eastern Fare initiative

2010-11-08T04:24:00.000-08:00

(From Merinews)

Members of Eastern Fare at Anandashram

EASTERN FARE Music Foundation, a premiere music institute in Bangalore, India, added a splendid twist to their Diwali celebrations this year. In continuation with their philanthropic initiative ‘Count Your Blessings’ established earlier this year, the students of the institute visited senior citizens home cum orphanage called ‘Anandashram’ on November 7, 2010.

Anandashram is a society for senior citizens, destitute children and also empowerment of underprivileged women. Situated opposite Jal Bhawan in Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore, the society houses nearly 30 elderly residents and around 20 destitute children and provides training on tailoring and knitting to underprivileged women. The society neither has any government funding nor any major corporate aid. However, the managing ladies Dilshad and Fathima mentioned that they can avail subsidised rates at various hospitals and medical institutes for the treatment of the elderly. In appreciation of their efforts, Eastern Fare Music Foundation made a sizeable donation with generous contributions from its students and members. Few of the members, who visited the ‘Anandashram’ on Sunday were Jim Ankan, Anand PM, Parmita Borah and Ajay Shankar.

The initiative ‘Count Your Blessings’ by Eastern Fare Music Foundation was established earlier this year in recognition of their social responsibilities. Although in its nascent stage, the members have engaged in many noble initiatives. In the month of October, the members of the ‘Eastern Fare Music Club’ donated the entire cash raised from a concert organised at Olio, one of the fine dining pubs in Koramangala, Bangalore.

Eastern Fare Music Foundation is the brainchild of Jim Ankan Deka, a noted musician from Assam. He is a familiar face in the Western/rock music scenario with his band 'Eastern Fare' and his Fusion band 'Veenar' (a blend of Jazz and Carnatic music) with Carnatic vocalist Suchethan Rangaswamy is gaining popularity by the hour. In the recent past he has also developed a flair for the digital media and has created many information databases on the North-eastern states of India on Facebook, blogspot and Twitter.

CYB - Count Your Blessings

2010-10-11T03:46:00.000-07:00

We live in a greedy little world,
That teaches every little boy and girl,
To earn as much as they can possibly
Then turn around and spend it foolishly…

Do these words in Shania Twain really hold true? Have you ever taken a moment from your busy lives and wondered - where does all the rush, all the stress, all the running around lead to? Isn’t there anything more to our lives than Cell Phones, Play Stations and LED TVs? What about the world around us? What about the ones who are less fortunate ones?

Eastern Fare Music Club strongly believes that ‘Happiness’ was born a twin; it is complete only when shared. Our new initiative “Count Your Blessings” (CYB) came into being with this philosophy. We do believe that we have been bestowed with ample health and wealth and sharing our blessings with someone who is in need of it makes it only better. Believe us when we say that there is tremendous happiness when happiness is shared, for, when sorrow is shared with someone, it is only half the sorrow; but when joy is shared, it is double the joy.

Team Eastern Fare at Anandashram

Although in its nascent stage, Eastern Fare Music Club’s “Count Your Blessings” initiative has driven many young adults to visit some Senior Citizens home in Bangalore. In the month of October, members of the Count Your Blessings initiative visited a senior citizens home called “Anandashram” in Bannerghatta Road. The members collected whatever money they could and donated the society with three emergency lights. The residents of the Ashram were, however, much more thrilled and delighted with the company of these youngsters who took their time to spend it with the senior citizens. All they want is to feel loved, that someone cares about them, that they are not alone. The joy in their eyes was simply marvelous and the feeling, simply incredible.

In the coming weeks and months, Eastern fare Music Club plans to visit few more places and help out places like these with cash, kinds or services. A musical event dedicated to these people is also in the planning phase, so if you want to be a star for an evening, feel free to get in touch with us. Remember, it isn’t about when, what and how you donate, the bottom line is, like we mentioned earlier, make them feel cared for. Smile at them and they will smile at you.

-by Parmita Borah

Eastern Fare's Joyous Weekend

2010-10-05T03:06:00.000-07:00

(From MeriNews)

Eastern Fare Music Foundation, a premier music club in Bangalore had an interesting weekend, to say. To begin with, the band Eastern Fare promoted by this foundation delivered a fabulous performance last Friday (October 1), night at one of Bangalore's hot spots, Olio - the Lounge Mix. Accompanied by fine dining and drinks, the band covered some classic rock numbers with their usual panache. Siddharth Tanti, who has now become a familiar face in the rock and roll scene of the city, rendered vocals to songs like Light My Fire by The Doors, Time by Pink Floyd, All Along The Watchtower by Jimmy Hendrix, Proud Mary by CCR, Blowing In The Wind by Bob Dylan, Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd etc. Jim Ankan, founder of Eastern Fare truly rocked the lead guitar with some stupendous solos; while Anand PM on the keys and bass and Suchin and Girish on the rhythm kept the beats going on.

The very next day, on Gandhi Jayanti (October 2), which also happened to be one of the joy of giving days, the members of the foundation, explored their philanthropic side. They visited one of the senior citizens home ‘Anandashram’ in Bannerghatta, and spent time with the residents there. The senior residents in-turn welcomed them with a lot of enthusiasm. Anandashram is a senior citizens home located at Bannerghatta which houses 22 senior residents and many destitute children. The society has been active since 1930s and survives solely on donations in cash and kinds; but, the most important gift that its residents require there is the gift of time and companionship. Eastern Fare would shortly be organising non-profit music events for societies like Anandashram and many others.

A tribute to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika on his 85th birthday

2010-09-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika - known for his crisp baritone voice and flawless diction, is a noted music director, playwright, actor, journalist, author, lyricist, politician and film-maker of the highest repute from Assam. He wrote and sang his first song at the age of 10 and worked for the second Assamese film, Indramalati, in 1939, when he was 12 years old. He is considered today the last of the great mass singers and the only great ballad singer alive in India.

Dr. Hazarika was born on 8th Sept, 1926, in Sadiya, Assam. He was born to the family of Neelkantha Hazarika, a teacher. Bhupen Hazarika did his Inter (Arts) in Guwahati in 1942, and went on to Banaras Hindu University to complete his Bachelor of Arts in 1944. After completion of Masters in Political Science in 1946, he left for New York, USA where he lived for five years and received his doctorate (PhD) in Mass Communication from Columbia University. He also received the Lisle Fellowship from Chicago University, USA to study the use of educational project development through cinema. Between 1949 and 1955 in USA, he met musician 'Paul Robeson' with whom he became closely associated. He also met artist 'Picasso' in France. In November 2001, he was honoured with the Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) from the Tezpur University.

Bhupen Hazarika was solely responsible for installing the first state owned film studio in Guwahati, Assam, first studio of its kind in India. He produced, directed, and composed music for Arunachal Pradesh's first Hindi feature film in colour "Mera Dharam Meri Maa" in 1977. Apart from this he has produced, directed, composed music and sang for 32 (thirty two) films in Assamese, Hindi and other languages.

He is one of the leading authors/poets of Assam and has to his credit more than one thousand lyrics and more than fifteen major books on short stories, essays, travelogues, poems and children's rhymes. He has produced and directed many documentaries in various languages. He had also produced a 52 (fifty-two) episodes tele-serial titled "Dawn" for telecast on StarTV. Bhupen Hazarika has scored music and sung for the highest number of Assamese films made in the past 40 years. His remarkable popularity brought him to the legislative Assembly as an Independent member between 1967 to 1972.

He has won the President's National Award for the best film maker thrice - for Shakuntala in 1960, Pratidhwani in 1964, and Loti Ghoti in 1967. He won the Arunachal Pradesh Government's Gold Medal in 1977 for his outstanding contribution towards Tribal Welfare, and Upliftment of Tribal Culture through cinema and music. He also won the National Award as best music composer in India in 1977 for the Assamese film Chameli Memsaab. While he was studying in USA, he was awarded a Gold Medallion in New York as the best interpreter of 'India's folk songs' by 'Eleanor Roosevelt'.

In 1977 Bhupen Hazarika got the Padamshree award. In the same year he also got two awards in West Bengal for the best music director for the film 'Dampati' from The Bangla Chalachitra Prasar Samity and the Bangla Chalchitra Purashkar Samity. In 1978 he won two awards from Bangladesh as rhe best music director for the film 'Simana Periye'. In 1978, the Gramophone Company of India bestowed on him the Gold Disc for his outstanding contribution towards Indian Music. Apart from this he receieved more than 100 awards for his cotribution towards different fields.

In 1987, Sangeet Natak Academy in New Delhi awarded him for his outstanding contribution towards Indian music. In 1999, he has been appointed by the Honourable President of India as the Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi for a period of five years. In 1987 he won "Assam's Man of the Year" award. Same year the Government of Assam bestowed its highest award the 'Shankar Dev Award' for his contribution to Assam's culture

His biggest achievement in terms of awards would be 'The Dadasaheb Phalke Award', also considered as 'India's Oscar', which he was honoured In 1993 for his lifetime's contribution to development of Indian cinema.

In 2001, he was honoured by the Government of India with the 'Padma Bhushan', one of the highest civilian award, In the same year, he was given the Lata Mangeshkar Award for his overall contribution in music by the Madhya Pradesh Government.

He represented India in Berlin at the World Conference of Composers who used songs as an instrument in social change. He was given the honour of inaugurating the World Seminar in Congress Hall with his own songs on the liberation of Bangladesh. In 1993 Dr. Hazarika had been conferred the highest honour by making him the president of Asom Sahitya Sabha.

Dr Hazarika married Priyamvada Patel, who belongs to the well-known Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel family, and has a son named Tej Hazarika. He met Priyamvada in America where he fell in love with her. But his parents opposed the match. So, before he returned to India, he got married to her in America. They were separated after 13 years.

Bhupen Hazarika has been associated with noted film directors like painter 'Maqbool Fida Husain', 'Sai Paranjype', 'Lekh Tandon', 'Kalpana Lajmi' and 'Bimal Dutt'. He has directed music for many movies by these directors. At present he is staying in Mumbai with Kalpana Lajmi with a 40-year-long association. M F Husain preferred him to music veterans such as Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. He says, ‘Bhupen, you paint when you sing. Your music paints, but my brush can’t sing.’

(From the North-East India page on Facebook.)

Eastern Fare Celebrates Again

2010-08-10T04:47:00.000-07:00

After scoring highest (98%) in the Practical Examination in Karnataka in 2009, students of Eastern Fare break the record again by scoring highest in Karnataka in the 2010 Theory Exam conducted by Trinity College London. With this, Eastern Fare becomes the only music institute in Bangalore to have a 100% success rate in the Trinity Guildhall Examination.

The Trinity College London Examination for Music Education attained a grand success with most of the students clearing the exam with flying colors in Bangalore. Eastern Fare Music Foundation in particular makes it to the top for the second time in Karnataka. With a cent percent pass percentage, the institute re-affirmed its position as one of the finest Institutes for Music in Bangalore. Majority of the appearing candidates scored 80% and above, while fourteen of the students who had appeared for the exam from Eastern Fare earned a distinction with a score of 87% and above. Nafeesa Fathima majoring in Guitar, scored the highest total in the city of Bangalore with an outstanding 98%, followed by Vijay Pazhani(97%), Anjali Devangan(97%), Ashwani Raj(97%), Udaya K(97%), Harsh Khanna(96%), Baskar Babu(93%) and Rashi Jain(93%). The examination was conducted at the Good Shepherd’s Convent, Bangalore, reputed for it’s excellence in Western Music education.

Eastern Fare Music Foundation is a music institution and a production house in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The institute provides training for instrumental music in Western Classical music and contemporary style. It started early in 2007 with Assamese musician Jim Ankan Deka with the intention to promote western classical music, and at the same time, spread the message of oneness and harmony across the country. In today's date the institute has six branches in the states of Karnataka, Assam and Meghalaya and provides training to over a thousand students. In 2009, Eastern Fare Music Foundation opened a club known as Eastern Fare Music Club, in the city of Bangalore for the music enthusiasts, which includes a library, a jamming room, a semi acoustic music studio and a discussion room. Teachers and students of this school believe that music can bind people emotionally and bring peace to the society.

However, Eastern Fare’s initiative is not just confined to music alone. Jim Ankan and his team’s love for North East gave forth to the creation of a popular page on Facebook – North-East India. The page currently has above 10,000 members, with regular updates of imperative, fun and frolicky facts about the North Eastern Corner of India. The page also focuses on significant travel destinations and esteemed North Eastern Personalities to a worlwide audience. This service is provided by the Eastern Fare team completely free of charge.

Parmita Borah

North-East India on Facebook (an Eastern Fare initiative)

2010-08-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

An initiative of Eastern Fare Music Foundation, the North-East India page on Facebook was founded in July, 2009. It was Jim Ankan and his team’s love for North East that gave forth to the creation of this popular page on Facebook. As of today, the page currently has close to 10,000 members. With regular updates of imperative, fun and frolicky facts about the North Eastern Corner of India, the page also focuses on significant travel destinations and esteemed North Eastern Personalities to a worlwide audience. This service is provided by the Eastern Fare team completely free of charge. Below in an article by Alipta Jena published in The Telegraph (Calcutta) about the page.

A site to behold the seven sisters - Page on Facebook endeavours to showcase the best of the region.

Calcutta, April 8: It’s the whole of the Northeast at the click of a mouse.
Be it information, discussion, photographs, music or current issues, North-East India, a site on the popular social networking site, Facebook, has fused anything and everything you can think of about the region, into a complete forum.

The administrators say, “We started this page in July, 2009 to showcase the not very famous but attractive places, talented people and rich culture of different tribes and communities. We have got wonderful support from people and friends from Facebook and other portals. When the country, specially the Northeast, is suffering from insurgency and poor political outlook, we hope to present a different picture to the world.”

Not only is the site a mine of information on tourist hotspots, it also fans nostalgia among the people of the region settled elsewhere. Uma Richmond spent her teenage years in Shillong. Currently based in Indianapolis, Indiana in the US, she finds the page a great help in keeping abreast of affairs in the region, especially “the descriptions of festivals and locations” in the region that she still considers her home.

The site has registered a phenomenal rise in the number of members and provides the latest updates on current events as well.

Martha Misquitta, a Goan from Mumbai settled in Bloomington in the US, says, “The Northeast has been close to my heart since 1982. I was a teacher in Imphal for two years and thereafter, in Assam. When I first discovered the North-East page through a common Mizo friend I got goosebumps.”

“The site keeps you informed on what is new in the region and is also a way to find friends. I am looking for a friend named Jacintha Thankul from the Thankul tribe from Manipur, and Barbara Sangma, a Garo, from Tura. I am hoping that someday they too join the page and I am able to connect with them,” Martha says.

The fans, though, are not limited to the people of the region. They also comprise ardent fans from other states and even countries, who consider the region a traveller’s paradise and a cultural haven.

Rajeev Agarwal, a businessman from Calcutta, says, “Having been born in Manipur and spent some years there, I have been lucky to experience some of the flavours of this region. The page reminds me of the same.”
The site is also a boon for tourists looking for destinations which have been largely unexplored.

Browsers can read up all they want on Phawngpui peak in Mizoram or Khecheoplari lake in Sikkim through the featured links and articles.

Dhiren Dukhu, a writer from Delhi, says, “The page is a preview of the beautiful land which waits to be explored. Not only does one get the ground realities of the places one wants to visit but also gain access to specific information. One can connect with prospective co-travellers or hosts. The tourism industry and local residents can benefit a lot with such free-flow of information.”

Those missing the lush hills of Mizoram and Nagaland or evenings on the Brahmaputra can gaze at the rich collection of photographs. It is also a forum for aspiring photographers.

The discussion board is widely used to seek aid and travel tips.
For some, it has helped dispel fears and myths about the region.
Balaji Srinivasan writes on the discussion board, “It is one of the few really illuminating groups about a region that’s completely ignored by our mainstream.”

Balaji says all he had to do before planning a trip to the Northeast was to start a discussion and there was an immediate stream of people eager to help.
One can also tune in to a collection of traditional and modern folk songs on offer.
It is also a place to pay tribute to pioneers who have gone unsung in history, shedding light on on the life and times of persons like Aideu Handique, the once illiterate village girl who became the first woman to act in the first Assamese film, Joymoti, in 1933.

Nikita Bankoti, Facebook enthusiast, echoes many fans when she says, “I am not from the Northeast and have never been there. But there is something about the region. I love the culture...The place believes in equality. The women’s movement is so strong….They are free to express themselves. I hate it when people from Delhi discriminate against them.”

Link - www.facebook.com/northeastindia

A Mirthful Experience

2010-08-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

The cacophony of notes that I wake up to every morning, always leave me in a enigmatic euphoria!! Have never been able to understand why so????. Well however, the notes are a lot different in this biiig cosmopolitan city of Bangalore as against my sweet home Assam. Back home my morning platter of euphonic delight was filled with cock-a-doodle-doo of my neighbour's rooster!! Well, that was just the appetiser; to be followed by a gourmet breakfast of chirping of birds, barking of dogs, the beating drums and prayers in unison from the ‘Naamghar’ at my neighborhood . I believe those harmonic sounds were a greater source of inspiration in directing my career towards music more than any legend- living or dead.

Two years and half in Bangalore in the corporate sector and I didn't take long to realise that routined life is not my cup of tea, not at all!! So, that's when I decided to take a U-Turn and head back directly towards the music junction. Few friends with common interests and I ended up landing in the Music Teaching Organisation called Fuzions Music. Now my life revolves around MUSIC , a full circle, after establishing my own Music Institution – Eastern Fare Music Foundation, altough a regular office goer might consider me a misfit, but seriously guys you don't know what you are missing :).

And today, altough I have fine tuned myself to wake up every morning to the sounds of the Mixer Grinder and Pressure Cooker in my neighbourhood, I still survive... CUZ MUSIC IS MY OXYGEN!! And so life goes on in harmony......

Music-
An intense desire;
..Hungering.. Thirsting..
A sensible horizon,
with emblazons of tomorrow;
A fiesta of dark and light..
somewhat self-contradictory..
Menifesting a high level of sophistication..
And demonstrating;
Marching in protest..
Establishing illusion!!

Jim Ankan Deka

Music and Bangalore

2010-07-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

Karnataka plays an important role in the scene of Indian classical music with both Carnatic and Hindustani styles. The word ‘Karnataka’ doesn’t mean the State of Karnataka. It means Carnatic Music as a performing art form. Many Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan award winners and celebrated Carnatic and Hindustani musicians like Basavaraja Rajaguru, Gangubai Hangal, Sawai Gandharva and several others hail from Karnataka.

In the recent years umpteen musicians and students have come down to Bangalore from various places with a common dream of sharing and acquiring the knowledge of music. Today there are dozens of music institutions in Bangalore that are dedicated to contributing to the progress or growth and supporting Indian Classical and Western Music. Out of those, the Bangalore School of Music in RT Nagar, Eastern Fare Music Foundation in Koramangala, Sumadhura Education and Cultural Trust in Vijaynagar, Shreepada Sangeeta Kala Kendra in Bannerghatta Road, World Music Centre in Malleswaram, are but a few who are helping the beginner and advanced level students by offering them assistance and professional knowledge in both Western and Indian classical music.

With the courses offered by these institutions a student can sit for different examinations as well as participate in the commercial field of music. A few of these schools take assignments to elevate artists by giving them a platform to help establish their careers as professional musicians. Institutions like Bangalore School of Music and Eastern Fare Music Foundation conduct different shows every year for their students, who get a chance to showcase their talents.

Many of these institutions are run by widely known and esteemed musicians themselves. Behind the World Music Centre are noted musicians Gopi (drummer and percussionist) and the singer Sangeetha Srikishen. The founder of the Sumadhura Education and Cultural Trust is prominent vocalist Suchethan Rangaswamy who is also a member of the fusion band Veenar. The man behind the Eastern Fare Music Foundation is Jim Ankan Deka, a music composer, who has become the first Assamese to start a music institution and a production house in Bangalore and a member of the fusion band Veenar.

With the increasing number of students in the field of music education, in the coming years there will be a bigger demand and hope for these institutions.

Parmita Borah
(From GNews)

New Video/s of the band

2010-05-13T04:55:00.001-07:00

Jamming session in Koramangala, Bangalore

Euphony - a winter nocturne

2010-02-17T01:46:00.000-08:00

Our joy knew no bounds when we realized that we have completed a full solar year as a music foundation. It feels just like yesterday when we were jamming in a garage and all of us were saving pennies and working like labors to create this musical nest. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe the journey that we have undertaken as travelers of the music cosmos. There were times when the stakes were high, the challenges meticulous; while there were times when the seeds of our efforts started sprouting and we were thrilled. It has been a joy ride of humungous ups and downs, but together we made it this far and hope to continue this sojourn with the same rhythm.

The anniversary celebrations were conducted on 12th February at the Furtados Music Showroom in Koramangala. The event also marked the launch of the official website of institute www.easternfare.com. The show took off with some quick and crispy piano recitals by the beginners; while the intermediate students did some covers like “Heal the world” by MJ and “To be with you” by Mr Big. The institute’s band Eastern Fare really got the temperatures rising with some original tracks like “Personally Your’s” and “Least Liked Best”. Vocalist Siddharth Tanti and Faheeda Fahad made the crowd groove to some equally nifty covers like “Friday”, “Wild World”, “Heart Shaped Box”, “Give Me Some Water” and “Animal Instinct”. However it was the featured performance by Chief Guest Suchetan Rangaswamy with his fusion band “Veenar”, whose melodious phonation touched some meticulous Carnatic notes leaving the crowd awe struck. Mr. Rangaswamy also felicitated the top performers of the institute. Parmita Borah anchored the show with her usual panache.

Eastern Fare Music Foundation is a full-fledged music institute and is recognized by the Trinity School of Music. The courses offered are purely western classical, but the management has decided to foray into Carnatic and Hindustani classical music towards the second half of this year. The foundation also has a club where the members are provided with facilities like jamming room, studio and library. The members of the club have been associated with charitable causes like ‘blood donation’, ‘helping the poor’ and ‘teaching the under priviledged'.

Parmita Borah

The Ménage

2010-01-20T19:48:00.000-08:00

I have been playing the guitar for about 6 years now. It’s been a hell of a journey because I had never really imagined I would be where I am right now. So I feel like looking back at the “times that were” leading up to the “times that are”. The real joy of learning an instrument is that no matter who you learn from its still “you” who has to discover it. A teacher is just someone who gives you a nudge when you are stuck or brings you back to earth when you are wandering away at the speed of light.

Six months into this voyage laid my hand upon what would be my first guitar. It is a beautiful blue coloured Signature (cost me Rs1600), which I guess is a very popular startup guitar here in India. Now the guitar is clinging to its life by a strand of hair but I just can’t seem to let go. It would probably fall apart if one sneezed anywhere near it!! It has seen me play Metallica and it has seen me play “Kya Mujhe Pyar Hai” (he he... never again...). My first stage performance was with this guitar where I played “Nothing Else Matters” at Town Hall. The song went well until I was building up to the solo and SNAP! The first string snapped and I realized what is meant by the butterfly effect!

Soon I was in college. By this time I was able to play major, minor chords and basically manage to badly cover a few songs. I figured it was time to pick up an electric guitar and start playing a lot more gigs. I just wanted to be in a band. So it was then that I met the next member of my “family”. The Givson G.S1000 is actually quite a nice guitar for its price. Then Rs 4200 for a peculiarly shaped guitar seemed great! It made me feel like I was Dave Mustaine with his Flying V. I couldn’t really think too much in terms of a good sound output because I didn’t have any reference. It was better than the Signature. Turned out that the sharp shoulder of the guitar jabbing into your thigh is not a very desirable feeling every time I sat down to play! Along with the Givson electric guitar I also bought a Zoom 707 and a Stranger Cube 20 amplifier, both of which I am still using. I think that the 707 is a wonderful effects processor if you spend a little time to understand all that it has to offer, which I have come to realise only now!

This was about the time when I tried my hand at making fusion music. What I really did was just play three chords while a flautist played a Carnatic song. Now I understand that the chords weren’t even right! But people seemed to like it. I began to find out where Western and Carnatic music come together. Instead of looking at how different they were I started looking at how they were similar. I am “still trying” to create fusion music with my band Hamsadhwani.

After a while I began to feel the drawbacks of the Givson electric. It was time to upgrade! This time it was an Ibanez 250DX that joined the family. Unfortunately I had to sell the Givson in order to get my hands on the Ibanez. At Rs 17,000, I believe that this guitar is worth every single penny I paid. Two years and thirty gigs later I still love this guitar as much as I did when I first laid my hands on its “softer than silk” fret board. I credit most of my learning to my Ibanez and Signature.

The latest addition to my family is a Takamine EG-400C. This is by far the best guitar I have ever owned. I have had it for 5 months now and its sound only gets better. Ageing like fine wine? No, something much better. Versatility is the word to describe this guitar. Any genre, any style. It works very well with the processor too. The inbuilt tuner makes life much easier along with making me “lazier”.

So here I am a little less benighted and a little more cognizant. “The Family” has sculpted me into who I am today. As a guitarist one learns that every guitar is an experience and understands that it’s not a just journey but a quest. A quest of learning, discovery and clairvoyance. It is, in short, a spiritual journey.

Suchin Ravi

Rocking Cyberspace

2010-01-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

Music never stops at being just a muse, what follows is a well-thought-out, complex process of learning, practising, composing, improvising and finally convincing the audience that your music is worth listening. The musicians of Generation Now are no longer daunted by the challenges in opting for a career in music, thanks to the multitude of opportunities created by films, television, FM, advertising, internet and the like. In the past couple of years, internet has emerged as a powerful medium for aspiring musicians to promote their work in front of oodles of music loving audience across the globe.

It came as a pleasant surprise to discover an ascending eruditeness of the World Wide Web among a significant percentage of Assamese citizenry, irrespective of demographics. Apart from the regular stopovers at the social networking junctions and blogs by Assamese people; Wikipedia, YouTube, MySpace and Yahoo Groups are some of the spaces that I frequent. My heartiest thanks to people like Luit Chaliha and Bipul Jyoti Saikia for leveraging the internet to herald the rich cultural heritage that the greens of Assam have churned. Bipul Jyoti Sakia’s Homepage collates biographies, interviews and works of a myriad of literary bards of the state. Luit Chaliha’s channel on YouTube ‘luitchannel’ is like a sunken treasure, an assortment of some of the rarest and most melodious songs the music and film fraternity of Assam has created.

The musical space was also dominated by a bouquet of well-known as well as upcoming musicians who have diligently optimized the usage of the cyberspace to endorse the finer notes of Assam.

Angaraag Papon Mahanta

Papon a.k.a Angaraag Mahanta’s claim to fame was definitely his kinship to legendary musicians Khagen Mahanta and Archana Mahanta. But the real reason for the success of this frizzy haired folklorist lies in the way he has implemented innovation into his ethnic roots giving forth to an eccentric yet appealing genre — Folktonics — a merger of folk tunes and electronic beats. Apart from composing jingles and tracks for many ads and films (including The Last Monk), Papon has been in the news for his band East India Company’ the name indicating a musical invasion. His mellow voice accompanied by the soulful melodies of his band members (Brin, electronics; Krishna, guitar; Kirti and Diphu, drums and bass) have taken him places.

East India Company’s compositions are some of the most sought after numbers on sites like YouTube and MySpace. Papon also has a huge fan following in Facebook and Orkut.

Jim Ankan Deka

Nicknamed ‘Jim Morrison’ by his friends and fans, for his curly hairdo, Jim Ankan not only resembles Morrison in his aphrodisiacal looks, but also shares the same ardor for music. Jim plucked the string for the first time at an early age of three and has never felt the necessity to find solace in anything but music. He drew his inspiration from the chimes and chants of the naamghar close to his Pubsarania residence in Guwahati and composed music for a folk album Goalporia Lokageet while he was still a teenager. This was followed by many vernacular albums. In the year 2008, he initiated a musical sorority called ‘Eastern Fare Music Foundation’ in Bengaluru (Bangalore), which today has turned into avant-garde music institute housing over a thousand students.

Jim Ankan remained one of the most popular keyword searches in 2009 and his jazz fusion band ‘Veenar’ with noted Carnatic vocalist Suchetan Rangaswamy has fetched widespread appreciation in MySpace.

Kalpana Patowary

The powerhouse vocalist set the stage on fire when she hit some orotund notes on the sets of NDTV Imagine’s Junoon Kuch Kar Dikhane Ka. Kalpana had been taking Assamese and Bhojpuri folk songs to various corners of India for more than a decade and Junoon Kuch... was simply the perfect platform for her to attain nationwide recognition. Her journey, however, didn’t end there. This Assamese daughter went to sing some popular numbers in Bollywood films like Billo Barber staring Shah Rukh Khan and Irrfan Khan.

She recently made another demonstration of her musical genius with the brilliance of her performance at Blue Frog Studios in Mumbai with music maestro Trilok Gurtu. Kalpana’s songs and MP3s have been downloaded incessantly, while her large fan base in Orkut and Facebook speaks volumes about her popularity.

Zublee Baruah

She has barely lived a quarter of her life and has already begun rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of music industry. Zublee Barua’s penchant for music began at the early age of three when she heard her mother hum lullabies. She began her formal training in Hindustani classical from the age of eight and soon earned herself a Visharad degree.

She has rendered her vocals in Assamese films including Ranangini and Joonda Emman Goonda and Bihu albums such as Tora 2006, Tora 2007, Joontora, Ringa Ringa Mon, Soru Phool and Kolija. Her solo album Pranipat is a tribute to the late Jayanta Hazarika. Zublee has also anchored the musical show Saaz (NE Hi-Fi) — an exclusive show on musicians in Assam. In 1997, Zublee was awarded the Nabin Surya Award for the best female singer of Assam.

Her duets like Tumi jana ne with Zubeen Garg and O Mur Jaan with Debojit Saha have celebrated thousands of jubilees on YouTube, while her singles like O’ Lord and Janma continue scaling greater heights of popularity on the internet.

Zubeen Garg

This music virtuoso of consummate skill needs no introduction. Perhaps every Assamese has followed his musical sojourn to the last detail. Zubeen Garg stepped into professional music scene in 1992, with his debut album Anamika which became an instant hit in entire northeast India and redefined Assamese musical landscape for the coming 21st century. His nationwide fame and recognition was fostered by the immensely popular number Ya Ali (Gangster) followed by his Hindi album Zindagi. He has sung more than 9,000 songs in various languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Oriya, Bengali, Marathi, Nepali, and many others. In 2005, Zubeen won the coveted National Award for his musical score in the Assamese film Dinabandhu.

In the league for internet recognition, Zubeen has not remained behind either. His videos on YouTube posted by his diehard fans have had multitudinous hits while his MP3 downloads are ever increasing in number.

Parmita Borah

(Previously published in The Assam Tribune)

How I Found Rock and Roll

2010-01-15T19:17:00.000-08:00

"With the power of soul, Anything is possible; With the power of you, Anything you wanna do." - Jimi Hendrix.

I am listening to 'Jimi Hendrix' as I’m writing this.

I would possibly not be able to tell you what I think of Woodstock’ 69; all I can say is that I wish I was there to hear Hendrix play…

My introduction to pop music was through ‘Boney M’ and ‘Beatles’ – I liked their tunes – the groove, the melodies and the old school charm of the Beatles as well as the disco of Boney M. My now very old desire to experiment awakened me to some very rude surprises in my journey of musical enlightenment. I remember having bought my first metal album, a compilation album which I mistook for a ‘groovy’ album owing to a catchy cover. When ‘Side A’ opened to ‘Firehouse’, I felt dismayed at the unholy racket. I very hopingly flipped to the other side to see if there was anything more listenable, something calmer, something ‘pop-py’…

The hammering velocity and volume of ‘Alice In Chains’ greeted me on the other side, and I almost wept in frustration; fourty-five bucks wasted on this! I cursed myself. I dropped it there until my close friend and musical confidante, Kukil borrowed the tape from me – we were in the habit of tape-trading at that time – ah! good ol’ days…he told me that the tape was real cool and that he loved the howling guitars within. I gave the whole thing a re-listen, this time with serious intent because I really wanted to know what had made my buddy like it; and it’s been a long journey ever since.

I remember how I headbanged when I had first heard ‘Holy Wars…Punishment Due’ by ‘Megadeth’. I also remember how I headbang now to ‘Am I Evil’ by ‘Diamond Head’ – that is where the beauty of rock and roll and metal lies - in giving you a reason to pump your fist and say ‘Hell yeah! F**k yeah!’ no matter who, what or where you are. I got introduced to most of the bands through tapes. That’s how I got into the habit of collecting original stuff. I started liking the originality of the real deal – the cover arts, the artist credits, the equipment, the producers and the lyrics. I became an early fan of ‘Iron Maiden’ and heavy metal, and then the rest followed.

‘Black Sabbath’ were the first band that made me want to have a band. I had got myself a copy of the ‘Nativity in Black’ – A Tribute to Black Sabbath compilation; those of you who have a copy or have heard one – you know what I’m talking about. That album just blew a hole in my head with its heaviness; I liked the new noise, I liked the new mayhem. Metal had arrived and it wanted to take me with it, and I gladly followed…

But I never really let go of my love for melody – I kept listening to ‘alternative’, ‘progressive’ and ‘blues’ based sounds along with ‘metal’, to keep me in touch with the roots. Analog sound was changing over to digital at the time when we were growing up – cassettes gave way to CDs and very rapidly to mp3 – but I stayed stuck in tape buying. I got into mp3 for a while in college but could not lose my love for tapes which continued till I moved to CDs.

In Bangalore I met another ‘blues rock’ and ‘grunge’ dude who became my roommate, Anindya. A lot of ‘Zeppelin’, ‘The Doors’, ‘Sabbath’, ‘Hendrix’ and ‘Nirvana’ exploded around us – we became wiser in the 60s and 70s and re-discovered the 90s, I rediscovered grunge and we invented a whole lot of demented headbanging and moshing to let it rip on the music. We got blown away by Zeppelin’s enormous sound and sleazy lyric-writing. We had found the benchmark, the ultimate band – Led Zeppelin. We marveled at the raw power of the loud sound, the volume, the release…

Through this all rock and roll never stopped doing its part for me – saving me from the clutches of banality; it fed my every mood. Metal to ‘psychedelia’ – rock and roll will always do what it was meant to do. As Black Sabbath once said – “We sold our soul for rock and roll”; Devil, here I come…

And yes, I still think Jimi did us a favor by playing his music.

Siddharth Tanti

The Club

2010-01-06T02:52:00.000-08:00

Foreword by Parmita Borah

A bunch of twenty somethings catching up in a basement filled with expensive musical merchandise - what would your first impression be? Hmm… let see, a bunch of wannabe rockers smoking pot and strumming a couple of hard core grunge beats. Well, considering this pervasive image promoted by many happening and non happening bands, one cannot be blamed for perceiving most bands to be superficial. Just so you know, not every young adult embraces the in limbo lifestyle of a metropolitan; there are still some who dig their dope by seeking a deeper meaning in their lives.

Eastern Fare Music Club (EFMC) is a herding protégé that dares to move away from this stereotyped trend of so called “music frenzy”. What started off as just another garage band today is a group of over a hundred of music lovers surpassing all age groups. The members have also been attempting to fulfill their civic responsibilities.

It’s no secret society, the Eastern Fare Music Club brings together a group of music enthusiasts (irrespective of genre). As initiative by Eastern Fare Music Foundation, the club is located in the Koramangala branch and is equipped with a state-of-the-art jamming room and studio for musicians to master their forte and create demos. The club also stocks a rare collection of valued literature on music. Besides, there are a lot of reference materials for musicians preparing for graded examinations. Members of the Eastern fare Music club can also avail discounts at leading musical instruments stores across the city.

So far EFMC have churned out two bands of its own - a country-blues-rock styled band Eastern Fare and a fusion band Veenar that merges Jazz with Carnatic music. Other bands like ‘Anarchy’ and ‘Big Deal’ have also recorded their demos here and received widespread appreciation and acceptance. The club has also worked on a couple of Hindi gospel numbers earlier.

The vision of the club is to spread its presence in every city and town of the country. It is possible. All it needs are people who are enthusiastic about music and want to take their social responsibilities seriously. This is just a humble beginning; in other words - “Elvis Has Not Left The Building"!!

Metal and Me

2009-12-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

Metal – a headbanger’s daily fix or a living room moshpit, the purpose has probably been the same since the word was invented – to act as a release to whatever is waiting to be released inside a you and a me. Whereas the efficacy of rock and roll to act as an instrument of protest has found favor with minds that have been wishful of being a stiff middle finger in the face of convention, metal has also acted as a drug to disenfranchised minds looking for something to believe in, ever since Black Sabbath started pumping up the volume way beyond eleven.

Even when Mars Bonfire wrote the lyrics to ‘Born to be Wild’, which used the term heavy metal for the first time, I wouldn’t know if he imagined that what he had coined would stick for so long and more so come to become a tool of self-discovery for all the seedy punks trying to sound as evil as possible in their garages. Right from the proto-punk days of The Stooges to the heavy blues rock of Led Zeppelin, music had been undergoing a revelation in terms of the volume and technicalities that characterizes metal as we know it now. But until Sabbath stepped in with their downtuned guitars, unpretentious attitude and doomy lyrical agenda, the nascent metal scene was still heavily borrowing from the blues. It was the mighty trio of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath who did us all a favor in terms of the sheer volume and the technicalities involved. The time had come…

NWOBHM, thrash, death, grindcore, black and doom all followed, metal evolved, went underground with grunge, resurfaced in nu-metal and came to India. We loved it, we hated it, we ignored it – but metal remained. People also started to see metal in new ways – from an effort to look cool to extreme catharsis, metal served the outlet to the release again. I personally have been metallified, with initial experiments with Metallica and Iron Maiden. The whole troop followed, I got converted in grunge, did glam rock, thought to progressive, smelt doom and raised my horns on death – I kept liking heavier sounds. The journey got a hiatus when I started getting serious with the blues and the sounds of the 60s and 70s. I came to believe that analog was where it’s at and I have come to realize that the ones who started it all were and still are the true masters; the creators of all sounds heavy. Off late Opeth has been a band that has been doing the rounds of my musical soirees’ – been good, been heavy.

But I really don’t think I’ll ever be too old to hang up my boots and stop listening to metal, to stop raising those devil horns, to still be able to pump up the volume at eleven again. I will keep growling, keep howling and keep that headbanging on. Yearghhh! \m/

Siddharth Tanti

Blogger Profile - Siddharth Tanti

2009-12-14T11:18:00.000-08:00

A Chemical Engineer, presently based in Bangalore and the 'lead vocalist' of Eastern Fare. An ardent and enthusiastic supporter of Rock n' Roll, Siddharth is known as the 'Encyclopedia of Rock Music' among his friends.

Lists of posts by Siddharth Tanti

Metal and Me

How I Found Rock and Roll

Woodstock ‘69

2009-12-11T04:49:00.000-08:00

“I used to live in a room full of mirrors; all I could see was me. I take my spirit and I crash my mirrors, now the whole world is here for me to see. “– Jimi Hendrix

Forty years ago, over 300,000 people were turned up to watch Jimi Hendrix and many others at The Woodstock Festival in August 1969. People from all over America congregated on a 600acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York to spend the three days with music and peace on their minds. The music began Friday afternoon at 5:07pm August 15 and continued until mid-morning Monday August 18. It was one of the Greatest and most pivotal moments in the history of rock and roll.

Woodstock turned a rain soaked chaotic gathering into the greatest rock festival ever. It involved performances by legendary artists like The Who, Santana, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Pandit Ravi Shankar and many more, over the course of four days.

“You couldn't really wrap your mind around how many people were there. It had never happened before, and it was sort of like having aliens land." – David Crosby

Woodstock was initiated through the efforts of Michael Lang, John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, and Artie Kornfeld. It was Roberts and Rosenman who had the finances. The idea started off as retreat-like recording studio but evolved into an outdoor music and arts festival. Woodstock was designed as a profit-making venture. It famously became a "free concert" only after it became obvious that the event was drawing hundreds of thousands more people than the organizers had prepared for. Tickets for the event cost US$18 in advance and $24 at the gate for all three days. Creedence Clearwater Revival were the first act to sign a contract for the event, agreeing to play for ten thousand dollars. The Beatles, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Bob Dylan are amongst the few who Declined invitations for the Woodstock festival. Woodstock, although didn’t seem all that important at the time, turned out to be the Apex of their careers for many who did perform. Serendipity can appear in unlikely places and come from unexpected sources.

By Wednesday, August 13, the lush green bowl in front of the massive 75-foot stage was already filled with some 60,000 people. On Friday the roads were so clogged with cars that the only way most artists could reach the festival was by helicopter from a nearby airstrip. To add to the problems and difficulty in dealing with the large crowds, recent rains had caused muddy roads and fields. The facilities were not equipped to provide sanitation or first aid for the number of people attending; hundreds of thousands found themselves in a struggle against bad weather, food shortages, and poor sanitation. But nothing could stop the revelation. On the whole the festival was peaceful considering the size of the gathering. There was a sense of social harmony, the quality of music, and the overwhelming mass of people, many sporting bohemian dress, behavior, and attitudes.

True believers still call Woodstock the capstone of an era devoted to human advancement. Cynics say it was a fitting, ridiculous end to an era of naiveté. Then there are those who say it was just a hell of a party. Even Though Woodstock faded away into a legend it has forever become a part of the cultural lexicon. It will be etched in the minds of those who were there to witness this celebration of freedom and peace engulfed by music. For others it’s a chronicle of music transcending all boundaries to bring us together. Woodstock has become an idea that has suffused our culture, politically and socially, as much as musically.

Two days after Woodstock ended, the New York Times ran an editorial praising what had happened at Bethel. It concluded with a quote from Shakespeare's Henry V, which seems appropriate upon the fortieth anniversary of Woodstock: "He that outlives this day, and comes safe home, will stand a-tiptoe when this day is nam'd".

Suchin Ravi

Blogger Profile - Suchin Ravi

2009-12-11T04:27:00.000-08:00

An Engineering student, has been playing the Guitar for five years and is a part of bands - Hamsadhwani and Eastern fare.

Lists of posts by Suchin Ravi

Woodstock ‘69

The Ménage

Don’t join Eastern Fare Music Foundation!!

2009-12-10T01:02:00.000-08:00

A huge percentage of so-called music-mongers confuse “Music" with “Cool”. It is commonly assumed that frizzy hairdos, death metal T-shirts, black nail polish, subscription to music magazines, guitars/drums and the “DUDE” lingo are what it takes to be a rocking musician. Half of the enquiries that the Eastern Fare team respond to are infuriatingly aweless towards both Music and our institute. Here are some samples-

• Is it “Western… Fear… Music something”?
• Do you teach rock music?
• How many tunes do you teach?
• Will my kid learn music in one month?
• I don’t want to learn notes and chords, just want to play for myself!
• I want my kids to learn Hindi music only, the Bollywood types.
• I want to buy guitar

Well, lets get a clear picture here; Eastern Fare Music Foundation is a coveted institute that imparts training in Guitars (Indian Classical, western Classical and Commercial courses), Keyboard and Piano. Occasionally, based on the aptitude of a student we provide training in western classical vocals as well. The name of the institution is “Eastern Fare Music Foundation” and not “Western Fear ... whatever”. That should sum up a quite a lot about the institute right now.

Coming down to the learning experience - a student or a student’s guardian always needs to remember that to specialise in any genre of music, one has to get his basics correct. In music, the notes are like letters or alphabets or script. When notes of certain frequencies are collated and played together, it forms a chord and there are over 14000 thousand chords to be learnt (if you are interested). These notes and chords form the basis, the grammar or syntax of any form of music- right from folk or Hindustani classical to trash metal. How do one expects to write a language if he doesn’t know the letters, words and grammar?

We don’t mean any offence to any genre of music, but we do not teach rock music, pop music or Bollywood/Hindi type music (there’s apparently no such genre as Bollywood music). As mentioned earlier, we adopt a holistic teaching method and allow our students to take their own course once they have mastered the technique. Let’s say we teach you how to read and write well, whether you write prose or poetry or journals after that, is entirely your call! We also request parents and guardians to avoid pressurising their wards to take up any particular form of music. Let them develop their own interest and then make an informed decision. The point is- Music lasts really long, longer than Duracell batteries, so what’s the rush?

Our students do appear for Trinity Guildhall Grade Exams (as we encourage academic development in music) and come out with flying colours (result - click here). This however, doesn’t indicate that we have a very stern ambience within our premises. We do have our share of fun, jam sessions and outings and our students rarely miss any concert and flaunt their Metallica T-Shirts, funky hair dos and attitude with great pride and aplomb - but the difference is “They have earned it! They are rockers not posers.”

So if you want to be a part of this musical brigade called Eastern Fare Music Foundation ask yourself “Am I a rocker or poser? Can I endure the long hours of practice that takes to create a skilful musician?”

If you are still in doubt here’s our humble request “Don’t join Eastern Fare Music Foundation".

Parmita Borah

Richard Wright

2009-12-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

The world of Rock suffered a dispiriting loss with the death of Richard Wright. Wright was 65 when he breathed his last on 15 September 08 after fighting cancer for a long time.

Wright's claim to fame was as the founder member as well as the pianist and keyboardist of the renouned Rock Band PINK FLOYD. Amazingly this legend who rocked the whole world with his power chords happens to be a self taught pianist and keyboardist. For all those who have followed his career must know that Richard William Wright actually studied architecture before dedicating his life to music. In the infant stage of Pink Floyd, Wright was actually seen as a strong musical force in the band and he wrote and sang several songs of his own during 1967–1968. While not credited as a singer on The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, he sang lead on Barrett-penned songs like "Astronomy Domine" and "Matilda Mother", as well as notable harmonies on "Scarecrow" and "Chapter 24. As Pink floyd began to emerge and evolve, he lost his interest in song writing and concentrated mainly on composing and creating his discreet style to extended instrumental. Wright developed his own unique blend of music inspired by Jaaz and neo classical compositions. These enriched the simple harmonic structures of the more blues and folk-based songs of Roger Waters and David Gilmour. As a keyboardist, he was more interested in complementing each piece with organ or synthesizer layers and tasteful piano or electric piano passages. Unlike his contemporaries Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks or Keith Emerson, he opted for solo erformances only on rare ocassions.

Wright prefered to have the lowest profile of any member of a band known for their disinclination to seek individual attention. Wright was very rarely seen in the live footage from the Live 8 reunion performance; with a few exceptions he was shown only in wide shots.

Wright was not just a music lover. He made conscious efforts to innonvate and evolve music to take it to the next level. Richard William Wright raised the bar for himself and kept on doing so. His death is a terrible loss to the world of music, but he will continue to live in our hearts through his soulful voice, the vital playing and the magical components of his music.
In Elton John's words, the candle's burned out long before...... the legend ever did..............

Parmita Borah

Blogger Profile - Parmita Borah

2009-12-09T06:51:00.000-08:00

Senior Creative Consultant for IBM and is responsible for developing creative/business/technical content interactive collaterals. Her hobbies include writing, photography and theatre.

Lists of posts by Parmita Borah

Euphony - a winter nocturne

Richard Wright

Don't Join Eastern Fare Music Foundation!!

Rocking Cyberspace!!

Michael Lee Aday

2009-12-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

Of people who can claim to have been everywhere and done it all, Michael Lee Aday is one such personality. Born on September 27th, 1947, this Libran singer-actor from the United States has quite a number of feathers in his cap. Known by the stage name of Meat Loaf, Adav had a successful music career, engendering some of the largest-selling albums, and breaking several records for chart duration.

Adav formed his first band Meat Loaf Soul subsequently with his acting career right after graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School. His work was so impressive that during the recording of his first song, he bagged three other recording contracts. Meat Loaf SoulÂ’s first gig was in Huntington Beach at the cave, opening for THEM, Van MorrisonÂ’s band. The band later did the opening act at Cal State Northridge for Renaissance, Taj Mahal and Janis Joplin and started to undergo various changes like changing the bandÂ’s name each time - including Popcorn Blizzard, and Floating Circus.

Meat Loaf received an invitation from Motown Records for a duet with American female singing sensation Stoney Murphy. The album, titled Stoney & Meatloaf (Meatloaf being shown as one word), was completed in the summer of 1971 and released in September of that year; it ranked number thirty six on the R&B charts and seventy-one on Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Prior to this Motown Records, Meat Loaf was engaged with LA production of HAIR- the American Tribal Love- Rock Musical. . A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the antiÂ–Vietnam War peace movement). After the Album Stoney & Meatloaf, Meat Loaf rejoined the cast of Hair, this time on Broadway.

In 1973, right after returning from a short production of Rainbow in New York in Washington D. C Meatloaf received played the part of Eddie and Dr. Scott in The Rocky Horror Show. The success of the play led to the filming of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. About the same time, Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman (An American record producer, composer, and lyricist responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer), started working on the album Bat out of the Hell. It was during the making of this album that Meat Loaf decided to leave theatre and concentrate entirely on music. This turned out to be a period of clamber for Meat Loaf and Steinman as their approaches were rejected by each record company because their compositions did not fit any specific recognized music industry style. Finally, they performed the songs for Todd Rundgren who decided to produce the album, as well as play lead guitar on it. On October 21, 1977, Bat out of Hell was released and its success knew no bounds.

This was soon followed by Ted Nugent's Free-for-All in 1976. When regular Nugent lead vocalist Derek St. Holmes quit the band, Meat Loaf ended up singing lead on 5 of the album's 9 tracks. In 1978 In the middle of recording his second album, Bad for Good, Meat Loaf lost the ability to sing; the real cause still remains unclear. Doctors opined that it was more of a psychological problem that brought about this tragically drastic change in this legendary singer’s career. Just as his singing career seemed to be reaching a dead end, he got the role of Travis Redfish in Roadie. The movie had cameos by Debbie Harry, Roy Orbison and Hank Williams, Jr., but still bombed at the Box Office. Meat loaf resorted to drug addiction unable to cope with this pressure. This led to his suicide threat off the ledge of a building in New York. However overtime Meatloaf got his voice back and managed to overcome his drug problem. The struggles that Meat Loaf faced making Bat out of Hell paid off. It now has sold more than 37 million copies worldwide, making it one of the biggest-sellers of all time. In the UK alone, its 2.1 million sales put it in 38th place.

The 1980’s saw him in a bankrupt condition. His attempts to create and sell music conked out completely. This started with the firing of his manager Dellentash and Sorenberg who were cheating him on his money. They in turn froze all of his assets and sued him for breach of contract. Meat Loaf headed off to England in 1984. There he recorded the album Bad Attitude, which included a duet with Roger Daltrey. Two songs written by Jim Steinman in 1986, when Meat Loaf found a new writer, John Parr, and started recording a new album, Blind Before I Stop. Unfortunately, the producer put a dance beat underneath every song, resulting in a write off by the critics. Meat Loaf condition worsened, he eventually lost everything. His relationships with lifelong friend Jim Steinman and Leslie also deteriorated.

But perhaps the love of music and a burning passion kept him going. He started touring small venues, anywhere that would have him, such as pubs and clubs. His attempts soon liquidated. Slowly, he developed a faithful following which grew to the point where they were unable to fit into the venues that Meat Loaf was playing. This carried on until the late '80s, where he began to sell out arenas and stadiums again; including over 10,000 tickets at The Ohio State University The success of this tour put meatloaf back on the map. Meat Loaf got back with good old buddy Jim Steinman to work on Bat Out Of Hell II which was finally released in 1993, sixteen years after Bat Out Of Hell. The album was an instant success and is considered one of the greatest comebacks in music history. He released Blind before I Stop in 1986.

He was pretty active during the 90’s with release like Welcome to the Neighborhood, and The Very Best of Meat Loaf topping the charts. In 2003 Meat Loaf released his album Couldn't Have Said It Better. The album was a minor success worldwide but reached #4 in the UK charts. This was accompanied by a sellout world tour which was used to promote the album and some of Meat Loaf's biggest hits. Meat Loaf had begun to work on the third installment of Bat out of Hell with Steinman. The album was released on October 31, 2006. Meat Loaf sold out over 160 concerts during his 2005 tour.

This versatile musical genius has had an eventful lifetime. His is said to have deceived death many a times. Couple of instances are having his car crashed and rolled over, been hit on the head with a shot put. He was also struck by Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. In October 2006, his private jet had to make an emergency landing at London's Stansted Airport after his plane's forward landing gear failed.

Just like his life, Meatloaf’s musical career has been a roller coaster ride, his success ranging from extreme highs to depressing lows. But his never say die attitude kept him going and has embarked him as a sovereign in the realm of music. Here’s wishing him the very best of luck and success for his forthcoming ventures.

Jim Ankan

Agnetha Faltskog

2009-12-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

Agnetha Faltskog, known as a member of the Swedish pop group ABBA, was born on 5th April, 1950 in Jönköping, Småland, Sweden. She is also famous as a songwriter and record producer. Fältskog showed much interest in music like her father Ingvar Faltskog from her early childhood. At the age of eight, Faltskog started taking piano lessons, which continued until she was 14. She also sang in the church choir groups of Sweden.

In 1960, Agnetha formed a band ‘The Cambers’ with two female friends but soon dethawed. In 1966 Faltskog started performing with ‘Bernt Enghardt's Orchestra’. in 1967 she got her first solo recording contract after the band sent a demo tape to the record label Cupol where she recorded her first two singles. Cupol was more interested in Agnetha than the orchestra. In 1968, she released her first album. In 1969, Faltskog released the single "Zigenarvän" about a young girl attending a gypsy wedding and falling in love with the bride's brother. In 1970, she released "Om tarar var guld" which was possibly her most successful song in Sweden before the ABBA period.

In 1972, Agnetha starred as Mary Magdalene in the original Swedish production of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, providing vocals for its original Swedish cast recording. And in the same year she, along with Bjorn Ulvaeus (ex husband), Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, formed the famous band ABBA. In 1975 ABBA recorded two albums Waterloo and ABBA. And in between the sessions and promotion for the ABBA albums, she recorded her Swedish number one album Frida ensam and recorded and produced her solo album ‘Elva kvinnor I Ett Hus’. Elva Kvinnor I Ett Hus spent a stupefying 53 weeks on the chart, even longer than any of the ABBA albums. Altogether ABBA has released eight albums. On 11 December 1982, ABBA made their last performance ever.

Between the years 1968 and 1980, Faltskog had a total of 18 entries on the important Svensktoppen radio chart, starting with debut single "Jag Var Sa Kar" in January 1968(peak position #1) and ending with "Nar Du Tar Mig I Din Famn" from compilation Tio år med Agnetha twelve years later, in January of 1980 (peak position #1). The 18 entries, most of which were composed or co-written by Faltskog herself, spent a total of 139 weeks on the chart during this time, with the biggest hit being 1970's "Om Tarar Vore Guld" (#1, 15 weeks). In 1981 she also recorded the Swedish Christmas album Nu tändas tusen juleljus with daughter Linda Ulvaeus which reached #6on the Swedish album sales chart. Faltskog is also the only member of ABBA to have won Eurovision with "Waterloo" in Melodifestivalen in 1974.

In the 1980s, Fältskog released three English-language solo albums which success was mostly limited to Europe. In 1982, she sang with the former ABBA backing vocalist Tomas Ledin on a song called "Never Again", which became a Top Five hit in Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and South America. In the same year, Faltskog starred in the hit Swedish movie Raskenstam, and received irrefutable reviews for her film debut. In 1983, she released her first post-ABBA solo album, Wrap Your Arms Around Me which was #1 in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium and Denmark (where it became the biggest-selling album of the year), and #18 in the UK. Two singles from the album became relatively big hits in continental Europe. In the same year Aftonbladet voted her as the “Best Female Artist Of The Year" and received the Music Award Price ‘Rockbjornen’. In the beginning of the year 1985 she released her next album, Eyes Of A Woman reaching No. 2 in Sweden. In 1986, Faltskog recorded another duet, "The Way You Are," with Swedish singer Ola Håkansson, which became another No. 1 hit in Sweden. In 1987 she released the album I Stand Alone. It was #1 in Sweden and became the biggest selling album of 1988. After its release, Faltskog took a break from her musical career till 2004.

In April 2004, she released a new single, "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind". It reached #2 in Sweden and #11 in the UK. A few weeks later, the album My Colouring Book, a collection of Faltskog's covers of 1960s classic oldies, was released, topping the charts in Sweden, hitting the Top Five in Finland and Denmark, #6 in Germany and peaking at #12 in the UK. In 2004, Agnetha Faltskog was nominated for Best Nordic Artist at the Nordic Music Awards. In October 2008, a new compilation album "My Very Best" was released in Sweden containing Swedish and English hits of her whole solo carreer from 1967 to 2004. It entered at number 4 on the Swedish album charts and has already certified gold in the first week.

In 1956, Agnetha’s father organized a Christmas show that was Agnetha's stage debut. She started to compose songs at an early age. At age 15, Agnetha decided to leave school and pursue a career. She stared working as a switchboard operator in a car dealership. It was during this time she wrote a song that would soon catapult her to fame, Jag var så kär.

Her music career has been a fruitful sojourn. Agnetha is one of those rare multifaceted musicians who have reigned in the kingdom of music over four consecutive decades. Let us hope that her success endures; and may her sensational voice and soulful compositions continue to mesmerize our hearts.

Jim Ankan

John Bonham

2009-12-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

John Bonham was born on May 31, 1948 in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. He was known for his powerful drumming and as a member of the band Led Zeppelin. He first learned to play drums at the age of five but never took any proper drum lessons. Bonham used the longest and heaviest sticks available, which he referred to as “trees”. His hard hitting style was displayed to great effect on many Led Zeppelin songs, including "Immigrant Song" (Led Zeppelin III), "When the Levee Breaks" (Led Zeppelin IV / ), "Kashmir" (Physical Graffiti), "The Ocean" (Houses of the Holy) etc.

In 1964, Bonham joined his first band, Terry Webb and the Spiders. He also played in other bands such as The Nicky James Movement, The Blue Star Trio, and The Senators. The Senators, released a moderately successful single “She's a Mod”. Two years later, he joined A Way of Life, but the band soon became inactive. Later he joined a blues group called Crawling King Snakes whose lead singer was a young Robert Plant. In 1967, Plant decided to form Band of Joy where Bonham was the first choice as a drummer. At the same time Bonham was getting famous as a Rock Drummer and was formally invited by the famous American singer Tim Rose to drum for his band. All these while, Bonham was working for his father Jack Bonham as an apprentice carpenter. But Tim Rose’s offer gave him a regular income. Ultimately in July 1968, Jimmy Page (vocalist of Led Zeppelin) and manager Peter Grant selected Bonham to be the perfect fit as a drummer for the band Led Zeppelin. Although Bonham was receiving lucrative offers from established artists like Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe, he decided to accept Grant’s offer.

Bonham is also credited with the first in-concert use of ‘electronic timpani drum synthesizers’. His famous drum solo ‘Moby Dick’ would often last for half an hour and regularly featured his use of bare hands to achieve different sound effects. In Led Zeppelin concert tours after 1969, Bonham would expand his basic kit to include congas, orchestral timpani, and a symphonic gong. While with Led Zeppelin, Bonham also found time to play on sessions for other artists. In 1969 Bonham appeared on The Family Dogg's A Way of Life, with Page and Jones. In 1970, he sessioned for Screaming Lord Sutch on his album Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends. He played drums on Lulu's 1971 song "Everybody Clap," originally written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. Later in his career, Bonham drummed for his friend, Roy Wood, on his 1979 album, On the Road Again, and for Paul McCartney's Wings on their Back to the Egg Rockestra project.

On September 26, 1980, John Bonham was found dead in Page's house, The Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. Weeks later at the coroner's inquest, it emerged that in the 24 hours before he died, John Bonham had drunk forty measures of vodka which resulted in pulmonary edema - water logging of the lungs caused by inhalation of vomit. It was an accidental death. The alcoholism that had plagued the drummer since his earliest days with the band ultimately led to his death. Despite media rumors, the remaining members decided to disband Led Zeppelin after Bonham's death.

Jim Ankan

Bon Scott

2009-12-09T05:59:00.000-08:00

Bon Scott was an Australian musician born in Kirriemuir, Scotland on 9 July 1946. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the Australian band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. The Scott family immigrated to Australia in 1952. In 1956 Bon joined the associated Fremantle Scots Pipe Band and learned drums.

In 1964 Scott formed his first band, The Spektors. He was the drummer and occasional lead singer for the band. Two years later the Spektors coalesced with another band, The Winstons, and formed The Valentines, in which Scott was co-lead singer with Vince Lovegrove. In 1970, after gaining a place on the National Top 30 with their single "Juliette", the Valentines disbanded. In 1970, Scott joined the progressive rock band Fraternity. Later in 1971, the name was changed to "Fang". In September 1974, Bon Scott replaced Dave Evans as the lead singer of AC/DC when he was working as a driver and general hand in Adelaide. After Bon joined AC/DC, the band released High Voltage, their first LP in Australia in February 1975. In December 1975, AC/DC released their second album T.N.T. In the following years, AC/DC gained further success with their albums Let There Be Rock and Powerage.

On 19 February 1980, Bon Scott, who was only 33 at the time, passed out after a night of heavy drinking in a London club called MusicMachine. The official cause of Scott's death was listed as "acute alcohol poisoning" and "death by misadventure”. Although common folklore claims that ingestion of vomit or drugs were the cause of Scott's death. Five months after Scott's death, AC/DC recorded Back in Black as a tribute to him hiring Brian Johnson as the new vocalist.

Bon Scott began his life working as a postman, bartender and truck packer; but became one of the most famous vocalists of all times. Bon’s grave is reportedly the most visited grave in Australia and the “National Trust of Australia” has decreed his grave important enough to be included on the list of classified heritage places. In May 2006, the town of Kirriemuir in Scotland held a service and unveiled a Caithness stone slab commemorating the singer. On 24 February 2008, a bronze statue of Bon Scott was unveiled in Perth, Western Australia.

Jim Ankan

Blogger Profile - Jim Ankan Deka

2009-12-09T05:20:00.000-08:00

Prominent musician and music composer, has composed Music for various Films, Music Albums, Jingles, Video Games, Documentaries and serials in an array of languages including Assamese, Hindi, English, Kannada, Nagamese, Mizo as well as "Goalporia Folk Songs". He has been involved with bands like Veenar, Voodoo Child, Prahar, Four Strokes, Eastern Fare etc.

Jim Ankan pioneered the music insitute "Eastern Fare Music Instituation" in 2008 which today houses over a thousand students. His fusion band "Veenar" with Suchethan Rangaswamy conflating Jazz and Caranatic music is also widely known and esteemed.

Lists of posts by Jim Ankan

Chris Curtis

Bon Scott

John Bonham

Agnetha Faltskog

Michael Lee Aday

A Mirthful Experience

Chris Curtis

2009-12-09T05:14:00.000-08:00

The person who originated the concept behind "Deep Purple" is Chris Curtis. He was born in August 26, 1941. He taught himself to play the piano at a very early age. By the age of 16, Curtis knew to play Violin and Drums. Ultimately, he joined the 1960s famous Pop Band 'The Searchers' as a drummer having international hits with "Needles and Pins", "Sugar and Spice" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away". Curtis wrote most of the band’s songs near the furniture store where he worked.

Curtis was a loner most of the time. He rarely mixed socially even with his fellow band members. He was thought to be insane. Infact George Harrison referred to him as 'Mad Henry'. In 1998 Curtis gave his first interview in thirty years; to Spencer Leigh for BBC Radio Merseyside. He left The Searchers in mid 1966 after a disappointing tour of the Philippines, Hong Kong and Australia, with the Rolling Stones where he became very unreliable and came to the point where he fell off the stage at one venue.

After leaving 'The Searchers' Curtis recorded his only solo single, "Aggravation" which entered the UK singles chart at number 40 in 1966. The other musicians included Jimmy Page, Joe Moretti, John Paul Jones and Vic Flick on that record. By 1967, Curtis had started to use LSD and came back to London at the beginning of 1968 and moved into a low-rent flat rented by 'Jon Lord'. Curtis was planning to form a band and shared the concept with Lord. CurtisÂ’s concept was a band named 'Roundabout' with a core of three members: Curtis, Lord and Robbie Hewlett. Later Curtis introduced Ritchie Blackmore as the guitarist. But due to erratic behaviour, Curtis was removed from the band and other members of Roundabout changed the name of the band to Deep Purple. Their first single was Joe SouthÂ’s "Hush", which Curtis had been playing in LordÂ’s flat for months.

After this, Curtis left the music industry for good and worked for Inland Revenue for 19 years. By the time of his retirement, people had forgotten him as a musician. But he kept singing for churches. He died on February 28, 2005 at the age of 64.

Jim Ankan

Eastern Fare - the Music Foundation

2009-12-07T21:56:00.000-08:00

Eastern Fare had its inception in the year 2007. In today’s date there are half a dozen branches of this institute all over the city of Bangalore and a Recording Studio. It started with the perseverant efforts of Jim Ankan Deka, an expertise in the field, noted for his contribution to Assamese, Hindi and Kannada music industry .

Eastern Fare is discreet in its teaching methods as here we focus at a very thorough understanding of Music in itself, apart from understanding an instrument and playing it. We don’t teach how to play the instrument; rather we teach how to weave music out of it. Our students do not play their guitars, drums and pianos as a pastime; but for the genuine love of music. Our teaching style embodies a format that enables learners not just to focus on playing an instrument, but helps them to be able to compose and create music.