Talk the rock

Trooping on

A set of young musicians is on a quest to ensure that rock n’ roll does not become a dying brand of music.

Together, Ranjan Michael Robinson, Aniruddh Naidu, Vishal Naidu, Shashank Dutta and Siddharth Bathla form ‘The Troopers’ — a band that provides a vibrant blend of psychedelic tones and melodic grooves, all neatly wrapped in that good old rock crunch that audiences know and love.

Having performed at The BFlat Bar in Indiranagar recently, Ranjan and Aniruddh speak to Rajitha Menon about music, performances and more.

What is the appeal of rock n’ roll?
Ranjan: I think it is the fact that the music represents utter freedom without the constraints of society.

The story behind the name of the band?
Ranjan: It was completely impulsive. We had a show the next day and we needed a name for the band. We had four names on the table and since everyone hated the other three names, we finalised ‘The Troopers’.

What were the other three names?
Ranjan: They were terrible. Something along the lines of ‘Northern Lights’, ‘Hanging Pendulum’ and so on (laughs).

Funniest backstage incident?
Ranjan: During one of our shows, the bass player was late. He arrived just five minutes before we got on stage. And when we started playing, he forgot the first song. But we managed to cover it up quite well and nobody noticed. Oh and our lead guitarist was also a bit tipsy that day. It was all just rock n’ roll randomness.

What’s the best thing someone has said to you after a gig?
Ranjan: Sometime last November, a girl came up to me after one of our gigs. She said that one of our songs ‘Crazy little liar’ spoke to her as she had gone through the same emotions in her life and added that the song was beautiful and meaningful. It was the sweetest thing anyone had said to me after a gig.

What sets you apart from other bands in the genre?
Ranjan: Everything, right from our vocals to the instruments. It is a fine blend of the randomness that comes with five individuals who have nothing in common except their music. We are so different that without music, we wouldn’t even have spoken to each other.

What would be a dream venue for you?
Aniruddh: Any opportunity to travel outside the city would be great. I have not had a chance to travel with the band outside the city as I joined them quite recently so to travel and play music would be a dream come true.

What do you do together other than make music?
Aniruddh: Beyond music, there is a huge variation in terms of individual interests. The only thing that we have in common outside of rock n’ roll is FIFA. A good deal of our spare time is spent on that.

If not a band, then...?
Aniruddh: Maybe we would be an organisation that promoted art; all kinds of art, not just music. We all have different interests in music so we could have pursued those. I
personally may have taken to teaching music. I believe it is a language we should all know.