Bonding with music

High school buddies with a common love for soft rock, punk and bluesy tunes got together to form a band with a catchy name Eveda Chechi and rocked the audiences with a lively performance held as part of the ongoing Reliance TimeOut Rock Festival last weekend.

Shoppers and browsing book lovers were pleasantly surprised when the young six member group set up their instruments and treated them to a live concert that was both impromptu and informal.

Abhijit and George were on the vocals and guitar, Tejus on lead guitar, Rohan on drums, Ram on the tabla and Aditya on the saxophone. 

The group played an interesting mix of popular hits, golden oldies and their own compositions.

How did these bunch of young music aficionados come together in the first place? 

“Some of us played in our Mallya Aditi school band and we have been buddies with a passion for music for several years.” 

“We started practising for the May 2007 Sunday Jam and since Abhijit had his exams, we inducted Ram, who plays the tabla and other percussion instruments into our gang. He sounded really good and the tabla adds an interesting dimension to our music. Since then he has become our lyricist as well,” says Aditya.

The group played popular songs from different groups and genres ranging from
Dire Straits to Bob Dylan and Cold Play to Eagles interspersing their playlist of
singles and medleys with their own compositions from their first album titled 171 Hutchins Road.

“It was the address of the recording studio where we cut our album and it’s quite a sentimental spot for us,” says Ram. Some of their own compositions were Either way, Wintergreen and The Leprechaun Song.

“We favour a mix of experimental soft rock, punk with touches of improvisation in our music. Either way is about the choices a person makes and how any choice can be positive and life affirming. Wintergreen is about a person who has abandoned a relationship and gone away forever and The Leprechaun Song is a spoofy, bluesy number,” he adds.

The concert was thoroughly enjoyed by the crowd who gathered around, clapping, swaying and keeping time to the music. 

They were especially familiar with the hits from Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Oasis, Dave Matthews and Junkyard Groove which Eveda Chechi played with infectious enthusiasm.