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)

Shor Bazaar @ Celebrate Bandra festival - Nov 19th, Carter Road promenade

Hey y’all! After a period of intense procrastination due to the fear of outlash from right-wing extremist groups for the excessive usage of non-Marathi languages in a public speech/performance/swearing-in ceremony, after investing in multiple security upgrades ranging from a team of 22 Black Cat commandos, a crate of chappal-repellents from the U.S.A., and anti-anxiety drugs including newer generation benzodiazepines, Shor Bazaar is venturing to perform at the Carter Road promenade in Bandra, which is the social capital of Mumbai, which, in turn, is the economic capital of the nation, as part of the “Celebrate Bandra festival” alongside Xenabob.

It’s apparent that the guy who wrote this has forgotten the art of simplicity. We, at Shor Bazaar, apologize. What he meant was this.

Shor Bazaar Live! @ Celebrate Bandra Festival alongside Xenabob
Stage: Carter Road promenade, Bandra
Date: November 19th, 2009
Time: 7 pm onward

We would appreciate it if you would turn up and provided appropriate laughter/applause. We promise to show placards to help you decide on the appropriate amount of response for each moment.

FB event page: http://www.facebook.com/krishnakumarv?ref=name#/event.php?eid=176029404386&index=1

MyBand MyMusic event @ Hyderabad - 26th of September

So,

Adam Gilchrist calls us and says he needs someone to infuse some energy into the likes of RP Singh and Rohit Sharma (vis-à-vis the Champion's League). Needless to say we agreed.

Umm, we wish!

The real story is like this. 8 of the top bands from the country. MyBand MyMusic event. 26th of September (this Saturday). 6 hours of non-stop music. Last time we checked, the Nizams are going to dance with us. Well, let's see.

As a part of this, we are going to be on TV, radio, and the papers. The gig will be telecast live on a Music television channel as well! So, are YOU gonna go our way?

You better!

Details:

Saturday, September 26, 2009
5:00pm - 11:55pm
Rock Heights
Hyderabad, India

Price: Rs. 100/-

(Tickets available at select Cafe Coffee Day outlets in the city.)

More details at

http://www.myband.co.in/MyBand_MyMusic/
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/myband-mymusic-concert-by-indian-music-bands-at-hyderabad/520116/
http://www.facebook.com/myband.fanpage?v=app_2344061033&ref=ts#/event.php?eid=134796262435&index=1

We aren't I-Rocking XXIV

Shor Bazaar regrets to announce that we will not be participating in I-Rock XXIV. We were very much looking forward to performing there, but due to reasons beyond our control, this has become impossible.

Our next scheduled gig is the MyBand MyMusic event at Hyderabad on 26th of September. Don't miss it!!

Deccan Chronicle story on the upcoming 'Savita Bhabhi' video

Today, Deccan Chronicle published a story about our single "Savita Bhabhi" and its upcoming music video directed by Varun Agarwal from Last Minute Films. You might want to read this. Plus, it's got that fantastic photo of us posing in marching band costume. Aren't we all excited about this now?

Read on, here, if you are lazy!

Tribute video for Savita Bhabhi

September 1st, 2009
By Our Correspondent

Remember Savita Bhabhi? Yes, she’s the same bhabhi who was India’s first online toon porn figure who was recently banned by the Indian Government. The desi cartoon porn series is now an inspiration for a tribute video made by Bengaluru boy and filmmaker Varun Agarwal and Mumbai-based music band Shor Bazaar. Says Varun, “When I was in Mumbai, I saw the whole Savita Bhabhi mania. The office boys would watch it and she was a cult figure there. Jayajit Dash (front man of Shor Bazaar) and I met up. I proposed the idea of creating a song about Savita Bhabhi and we decided to make a one-off video.” While the government has banned the porn series, Varun insists that their video does not promote the porn figure. “We have not used even a single image of Savita Bhabhi. The video is just a fun take on something popular,” he says.

After Shor Bazaar created a song dedicated to Savita Bhabhi, they found out that the website would be banned by the government. There were protests by bloggers and by people on Facebook and Twitter, says Varun, adding, “It’s amusing how the government decided to ban this one site when there are tons of other porn sites that are easily accessible.”

So would they have used Savita Bhabhi’s images in the video if she wasn’t banned? “No, we still wouldn’t have used it ‘coz we aren’t promoting porn or her,” says Varun, referring to the video which shows a guy who can’t find a job during recession and also has a tough time finding a girlfriend. “He suddenly comes across Savita Bhabhi and his life becomes rosy as he gets whatever he wants from her,” reveals Varun.

While the unique video will be out by the end of this week, Varun says that they won’t be able to get it on air ‘coz of the ban on Savita Bhabhi. “But we will release it on the Internet where we will surely get a lot of responses,” says the young filmmaker who feels that there’s more to Savita Bhabhi than just being a porn figure.

Here’s to some ‘clean’ fun!

(Courtesy Deccan Chronicle)

Mumbai Mirror online article on topical/conceptual song-writing

Mumbai Mirror's Ashwini Gangal* has written an article about the conceptual song-writing among Mumbai-based rock bands. Shor Bazaar (and the Doc) have been quoted along with a couple of dozen other bands (including Coshish, Tough on Tobacco, Demonic Resurrection, Zygnema, Ankur Tewari and the Ghalat Family etc.).

Find the article here. It's an interesting read!

Musical Tales

By Ashwini Gangal

Storytelling through music is not alien to rock music but there of late seems to be a positive surge in the kind of song themes and story concepts. We nose around and explore what Mumbai's rock bands are singing about nowadays

Come in dear sir,
Let me show you around.
I serve the master,
Who lives in this house,
The guests are arriving,
Dont look so pensive,
Dinner will be served shortly,
A treat for the senses...'


Not the likes of David Bowie, Jim Morrison or Roger Waters; the lines above represent the kind of lyrics city-based rock bands are penning these days. With more and more bands mushrooming constantly, lyrical and musical narratives are hitting some bold notes.

Mangesh Gandhi, songwriter, Coshish, explains, "There are scores of new bands and hence newer ideas and issues to write about. Many progressive bands are releasing concept albums where one single story is woven through all the songs .The effort is also to create 'musical films' where the audience hears not only the words but also visualises the story being narrated. These are great new developments."

Krishna Venkitachalam, bass guitarist for Shor Bazaar, observes, "People don't think of bands as sources of stories and interesting concepts – a huge misconception, because the point of being a musician is not to perform but also to convey a message.”

Gandhi points out that although a recent trend in Mumbai, this has been happening in the West for a while now. Riju Dasgupta, songwriter for Albatross, agrees with him. “Internationally, musical storytelling is common; in fact there's an entire genre in the west that's LOTR-based, called 'Tolkien Metal',” he informs.

He further adds, “In Mumbai, concept albums are picking up though – Demonic Resurrection for example has a fantasy-based one. Also, bands are now expressing unique things; Bangalore-based band Slain sings about Christ, for instance."

Spreading the word

Singing about socially relevant issues and spreading preachy messages almost seems ironic given the bratty image most bands portray, but surprisingly enough, this is true. As songwriter Sidd Coutto (Tough on Tobacco) puts it, "We send out socially relevant messages like 'don't drink and drive' and 'don't start smoking'. I know it's a strange message coming from a pop-rock-reggae band, but it's more like 'like look at us we're all addicted, so learn from our mistakes and don't start smoking!'"

Along the same lines, Krishna calls Shor Bazaar an ‘educated band of radical thinkers’. “We write about serious issues like ragging/school bullying, the notoriety of Savita Bhabhi and use a lot of Indian mythological analogies," he says.

Similarly, apart from penning songs inspired by Lord Voldemort, Spiked Crib writes about all the issues that society loves to deny. Lyricist Gareth Mankoo reveals, "We sing about abortion, suicide and infidelity. Our song 'The Butcher's Prayer' is about the mindset of a rapist."

A lot of these songs on prevalent issues stem from personal experiences. Siddharth Basrur, songwriter for Dog Ate Disco,confides, "I used to be in a drug rehabilitation centre, so I write about my journey. I also write about current themes like item girls, the saas-bahu TV culture and the need to vote for the right politician."

Art imitates life

It comes as no surprise that the 26/11 terror attacks have become a common topic for bands to be vocal about. Mayank Sharma, drummer, Zygnema, shares, "We have a song called '59' which tells the story of those 59 gruelling hours faced by hostages at the Taj during the 26/11 attack. The song addresses the way the goverment reacted, how politicians resigned and how it became a political issue instead of a national one." Zygnema also sings about the North Indian-Maharashtrian divide, the Indian economy and encourages national unity.

Coshish has songs like 'Rehne Do' about the Godhra riots, 'Woh Kho Gaye' which addresses alcohol and rehabilitation and 'Raaste' strives to encourage secularism, religious tolerance and humanity. Meanwhile, Urdu band The Ghalat Family also sings about terrorism, 26/11, materialism, government manipulation and blind faith in country and religion.

Attributing his own creativity to today's unsteady times, songwriter Ankur Tewari, The Ghalat Family, says, "The country is full of crises today and there's a lot of meaningful stuff to write about. It's no longer about rhyming random words; lyrics are crucial."

Clearly, rock bands today are emerging as an excellent medium for one to gauge the ethos of the prevailing era.

Thanks to Mumbai Mirror and Ashwini!

(Article courtesy Mumbai Mirror.com)

(* Apologies for the typo which is now corrected)

Tonight on Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM with Jeeturaj RJ

Shor Bazaar will be on air with Jeeturaj on Radio Mirchi's Klub Mirchi show from 9 pm. What can you expect? A wacky interview, a few of our songs, a couple of special songs as requested on air by Jeeturaj (including a Ganapati song) etc.

This is part of the 'band banaao jeeturaj ko sunao' contest which airs every Saturday from 9 pm onwards Radio Mirchi in the Klub Mirchi show. Tune in and let us know what you think. Did we sound good? Did we sound foolish but entertaining? Did we strike up a controversy? We'd love to hear from you!

We would like to thank Vaibhav Wavikar (Filter Coffee) for joining us on tabla and percussions for this gig!

Time: 9 pm onwards
Where: Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM
With: Jeeturaaj, India's most wanted RJ