JOIN USGone are the days when young musicians and songwriters went on stage and performed covers. Original compositions are the way forward these days, as was seen in the gig at Hard Rock Café by Mumbai-based alternative rock band ‘The Colour Compound’.
Formed in 2008, the band comprises Bradley Tellis and Rohan Mazumdar on guitars and vocals, Adil Kurwa on bass and Aditya Ashok on drums. If one went purely by their looks, they could have been just any group of four young boys trying to make music. But that perception invariably changes when one sees their on-stage energy and hears their guitar riffs, lyrical content and groovy bass lines. Over the course of their set, they performed more than 15 originals, including ‘Porcelain People’, ‘Re-arrange’, ‘What Lives Inside’, ‘Can’t Be Mine’, ‘So I’m Told’, ‘Déjà Vu’, ‘Turn Back Time’, ‘Why’ and ‘Miracles’ to name a few. Some of the songs were written a long time ago, while a few were from their upcoming album. They even threw in a cover of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ by ‘The Beatles’.
There may not have been too many people in the crowd who were there to watch the band. But as is the case with most gigs in the City, there are always some who are there for the music, not food. “It’s the first time I’m hearing these guys and they’re pretty nice. It’s the regular pop rock kind of sound but they’re very fresh and have a lot of sing-along tunes,” says Siddharth Shashi, an audience member. The band was quite happy with the response and ranks the experience higher than in other cities. “It was really good, given that we had no idea what to expect. None of the band members have played at this venue before but it definitely has a better vibe than Mumbai. It’s not really the kind of music where the audience participates. You just sit back and listen,” says vocalist-guitarist Bradley Tellis.
He adds, “In Bangalore, more people are coming out for gigs than they used to. People didn’t know our new stuff but they sang along for all our old songs. I guess we just need to play here more often.”