'We weren't planning for the future'

Band chronicles

If you ever need to find a human personification of the phrase ‘high-octane’, ‘Skrat’ would be a good option.

The three-piece garage rock band infuses an infectious energy both into their vocals and live performances and is a general favourite with the musical crowd that likes their song loud.

The band, which comprises of Sriram T T on guitar and lead vocals, Jhanu Chanthar on bass and Tapass Naresh on drums and vocals, will be performing at The Humming Tree on October 15.

Taking a breather in between gigs, recordings and more gigs, Sriram spoke to Rajitha Menon about the story behind the band’s name and their influences.

How did you select this name?
We didn’t think any of this would go anywhere when we started; we weren’t planning for the future. Tapass and I had been watching ‘Ice Age’ the previous night and were fascinated by the acorn-chasing squirrel ‘Scrat’. The name remained in our head and later, we named the band that within a moment’s notice when we were doing a show. It just stuck.

How would you describe your music?
Loud and heavy with a bit of melody.

Has the band’s musical style changed over the years?
Yes definitely. Times Change, people change, band members change and influences change. Change is inevitable and our musical style too has undergone a transformation over the years.

What do you prefer- live shows or recordings?
Live shows, no doubt! That’s where we can be ourselves and completely live in the moment.

The craziest fan reaction till date?
It has to be from Jhanu. He walked into the jam room one day and said ‘I’m the bass player you are looking for.’ We were surprised to say the least. But we decided to give it a try and here we are, still together after so many years.

Who are your influences?
Our influences are varied and diverse. ‘Queens of the Stone Age’, ‘Foo fighters’ and Jack White would be a few of the common ones among Western acts. More recently, we added Courtney Barnett and
‘Royal Blood’ to this list.

Have you goofed up on stage? How do you handle it?
We screw up all the time. But we manage to have a great laugh about it afterwards and let it go. Like I always say ‘A band that screws up together, stays together’.