JOIN US“Give us love Give us moments Give us time
Not just tokens...” sang the chorus at Hard Rock Cafe, the lyrics and music lingered on in memory long after attending the performance.
The song titled ‘Head Held High’ has come to be known as the first ever gay rights track which has firmly put the spotlight on the band Friends of Linger, earning it much appreciation and praise.Once the lights are turned off and the music stills, the members of this “inclusive” Delhi-based band share their musical journey with Metrolife.
“It was more about hanging out together for the four of us that we started going for karaoke at a cafe,” reveals Devyani Shankar who is at her best when it comes to singing soft rock. Her friend and rock ‘n’ roll crooner Varun Kapoor, a dentist by profession, laughs at the memory of his parents getting a shock of their life when he expressed his desire to go for karaoke!
“Now, wherever we perform, they make it a point to attend the show. I on the other hand find it thrilling to help people get rid of their pain when I am at work in the morning, and hold the mike in the evening to sing on the stage.”
Devyani’s colleague Craig Cranenburgh informs, “Each vocalist has his own strength but it was the love of music that brought them together.”
Devyani and Craig are colleagues in a public relationsfirm along with Sharif D Rangnekar who is the brain behind the gay anthem.
“In one of our conversations after the karaoke sessions we thought ‘Won’t it be wonderful if we get a chance to perform live just once’,” says Sharif whose amateur words were in search of professional guidance.
Guitarist Adhir Ghosh’s role became prominent at this stage and the vocalists sought advice on moulding their voices according to the strings and percussions.
“Since I was into the music scene, I brought other musicians on board and all this transpired into what we performed at HRC,” says Adhir.
Initially, they christened themselves ‘Friends of Lingha’ “since we believe in inclusion and our songs talk about issues like productivity, gender, role of society, human rights, etc,” says Sharif who later realised “that the word ‘lingha’ could be socially contentious and thus altered it to ‘linger’.”
The heterogeneity of the group doesn’t end here for the band neither sticks to one genre nor to one face. “We are working on another track which will be based on the genre of Blues. We might invite an established Blues singer to join us because none of us is well-versed in this genre,” says Sharif without any qualms.
The group also sing covers of other artistes such as Pink Floyd and The Beatles but soon after officially launching their song ‘Head Held High’, they plan to compose music for a song based on “change and how people can be a part of it”. Inspired by the current political scenario?