Videos of our performance at VIE Lounge for Radio City's "Fun Ka Antenna" Launch

On the 11th of March, Shor Bazaar performed with Tatvakundalini at the VIE Lounge (in Juhu) for Radio City's "Fun Ka Antenna" (Radio City's online portal with 24*7 music streaming). We stumbled on three videos at their website. Check them out and leave comments. Although the sound/mix wasn't great, these videos are fun to watch.

Rasili - http://www.planetradiocity.com/videolounge/playvideo.php?vidid=1385
Chuppi - http://www.planetradiocity.com/videolounge/playvideo.php?vidid=1384
Yeh Haseen Vaadiyaan (cover of AR Rahman's classic from the "Roja" OST) - http://www.planetradiocity.com/videolounge/playvideo.php?vidid=1383

(PS: Joy's guitars are hardly heard in the recording and you can hear Robin improvising solos in parts!)

Sunday Mid-Day article on Hindi bands being denied opportunities at live venues across Mumbai

This is the Sunday Mid-Day article by Lalita Suhasini about Hindi bands being ignored by live music venues in Mumbai. I, KK, am being quoted.

I sincerely hope that the venues take my critique in a positive manner and help young Hindi bands to showcase their talent.

Swarathma, Raghu Dixit, Ankur Tewari and the Ghalat Family, Faridkot, Prayag, Anhad, Talaash, Coshish, Kamaal Ke Phool, and many more - let's all join hands to fight for our rights!

Rolling Stone India Feb 2010 article

Shor Bazaar and our Savita Bhabhi was commented on by (guess who?) Palash Krishna Mehrotra in this month's edition of Rolling Stone India. We were a little late to catch up on it - that too, thanks to Anuj Gupta (OML, E-18) who showed me the article when I was getting tipsy on wine at SulaFest 2010.

Here's the article as an image.

We would like to thank Palash for being kind to us and our song. We would like to thank Rolling Stone India who have been wanting to write about Savita Bhabhi for quite some time - ever since our June release! We'd like to excuse ourselves for being so tardy in letting you know about this.

KK

Shor Bazaar's Savita Bhabhi quoted in Hindustan Times

It’s been about 6 months ago that we let loose “Savita Bhabhi” on the Internet. We are still astonished by the amount of interest it has generated, and should we say, is still generating.

Our take on the immensely popular Savita Bhabhi comic trip was commented on by Palash Krishna Mehrotra in yesterday’s (Jan 23rd, 2010) Hindustan Times. Here’s the excerpt about us from the article that describes the emergence of Indian artists who dare take on the more edgy subjects in our society.

While the mainstream remains where it was sixty-three years ago, there is, however, for the first time, a new rumbling in the Indian underground. Young bands are putting out songs on the Internet that take on everything from our squeamishness about sex to joint families and religious tradition. Shor Bazaar's 'Savita Bhabhi' goes, ‘Yehan ka tu native/ Society conservative! Aise in halaat mein/...Best to go online/Leke apne haath mein.’

We thank Palash for his generous comments!

You can read the entire article at the link that is attached.

http://dailyme.com/story/2010012300003845/hindustan-times-delhi-palash-krishna-mehrotra.html

Dr. D. Y. Patil Dental College: Fahrenheit ’10 – Jan 23rd, 2010 – our experience

During our trip to the venue, through heavy traffic on a warm Saturday afternoon, our drummer Sidd Coutto (ex-Zero/HFC, ToT) was reminiscing about the fact that he had won his first competition at DY Patil College a few years back. Apparently, once he had had to play drums without drumsticks (yes, with bare hands). He went on to mention various anecdotes from the numerous times he had performed there. It was encouraging for the rest of us because it was the first time that all of us apart from Sidd were about to perform at DY Patil, and more generally in Navi Mumbai.

We were taken care of very well by our hosts (special thanks to Shruti Shanbhag and the team) after our arrival. The entire process of soundchecking was marred by some technical snags related primarily to the monitoring situation. But the sound consultant Carl Alfonso (Elektra events) and our friend Geo (sound engineer) did their best to provide use with decent stage sound.

We started out with “Jaisalmer Express” as an experiment; usually, it what we end the show with. Despite a low turn out, the crowd seemed to enjoy the first half of the show – especially, the appreciation that we got for “Chandramukhi” and “Savita Bhabhi” was remarkable! The second half was rather lukewarm as the audience seemed to looking forward to the “Battle of the DJs” event which was scheduled immediately afterward.

It’s ironic that a few uncivilized (drunk) members in the audience assaulted one of the DJs and halted the “battle” almost before it started. Police and security had to intervene to restore sanity to the proceedings, which unfortunately ended on a rather dull note.

However, we enjoyed ourselves on stage – for the first time in humane temperatures – with our new line-up that includes Sidd (drums) and Rohan (Utpat) on percussions/tabla. We would like to thank the entire team of Fahrenheit ’10 for their excellent co-operation and care. We also would like to thank Aditya Jha and Kaniskha (our manager) for the necessary communications which made this gig happen! Also, thanks to Carl and Geo for the sound!

All in all, a wonderful experience. We look forward to performing there again. Here are some band photos that we took before and after the gig!

Our set-list for the night

1. Jaisalmer Express
2. Mumbhai (Bombay Boys cover)
3. Nahin Accha
4. Yeh Hasin Vaadiyan (Roja/AR Rahman cover)
5. Chandramukhi
6. Savita Bhabhi
7. Pehla Nasha – Pal (QSQT cover/KK cover)
8. Rasili
9. Yaar Bina (Junoon Cover)
10. School
11. Madhushaala
12. Sayonee (Junoon cover)
13. Apsara

Shor Bazaar LIVE! @ DY Patil College of Engineering, Nerul

Drum Roll!

Shor Bazaar is back to performing LIVE in Mumbai. Year 2010 began for us on the freezing slopes of the Himalayas. Now, we are going to heat up the annual festival at DY Patil College of Engineering in Nerul.

We are headlining the event on the 23rd of January, 2009. This is the first time that we are being joined by Sidd Coutto, the multi-talented musician ex-Zero, ex-HFC, ToT on stage. He’ll take the honors of drumming for us!

In addition, we have the a Rohan Utpat on percussion and tabla. So, we invite you this brand new power-packed line-up! We promise you fultoos fun! Be there and help us make a Shor success!

Happy New Decade - update

The new year has arrived and has been done and dusted, and we are well aware how late we are to welcome it! We didn't want to create any hoopla because there wasn't anything substantial to write about - not until two days before the decade renewed itself, that is!

Yes, on the 29th of January, we got confirmation of our performance at the New Year's Bash organized by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir as part of their efforts to make the coming decade a booming one for snow tourism. We flew to Srinagar, rode up the snowy slopes of the Himalayas, and performed in a make-shift tent on top of a hill at Gulmarg at a temperature of -10°C! This event was attended by a crowd of over 300 locals and, needless to say, we froze our asses off!

It was truly remarkable that we survived. We honestly thought we wouldn't make it back, and would end up as frozen specimens of humanity that would be discovered many millennia into the future. Fortunately, we arrived safely back in Mumbai. The smoky haze and mugginess of our beloved city felt like heaven when we touched down.

The trip taught us a lesson and we seemed to have turned a corner- quite a big one at that. There is newfound optimism and structure to our plans for the future, not the least due to the fact that we have Sidd Coutto (TOT, ex-Zero/HFC) who has agreed to play drums with us on a regular basis, and Rohan Utpat, who will be playing percussion/tabla with us regularly. Furthermore, to manage our events, we have found an extremely efficient and talented group of people in Promo Sapiens, with whom we are currently in the final stages of negotiations.

I hope these changes will herald a bright future for us during this year, and hopefully for the entire decade. I would like to raise a toast on this occasion! Here's to YOU GUYS for supporting and appreciating our efforts as you have been wonderfully doing until now, and to US (SHOR) for hopefully providing you with more music that you will enjoy, be proud of, and easily relate to!

Cheers! Happy New Year!

(A picture from Gulmarg - From L to R - Sidd Coutto, Rohan Utpat, KK, Robin, JD, Joy, Kanishka (Promo Sapiens)

KK (Krishna)