It is a leafy lane in a quiet neighbourhood. Except for the pounding from a drum kit that seems to come from deep within a studio lodged inside a house. I knock on the door, hoping to be let in. No one answers. The five men inside are busy with The Scorpions.
The iconic German band founded 61 years ago still seems to cast a spell – the men in the studio are rehearsing ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’, a signature song of The Scorpions from their album, Love At First Sting,from that great era of rock, the 1980s. A heavy guitar riff from a Yamaha Revstar and an Ibanez Five String anchors the song, there is a soaring sing-along chorus and the lyrics are peppered with deep desire. When the last note bounces off the walls, the men who are part of the Madras Rock Collective (MRC), turn around and shout out their hellos.
The MRC, comprising seasoned musicians, is a young band that plays old music. “We had our first gig only in April this year,” says bass guitarist Mario Nambiar. “All of us play with other bands too and we’ve been around for at least two decades. The idea to form this band came up in 2018, when we thought we should form one instead of getting together just to play tribute pieces. But it took its time coming.”
Drummer Rahul Gopal, a BITS Pilani graduate who found his calling to rock while hanging out with seniors in college, and has since been part of other well-known bands such as Little Babushkas Grind, says, “We’ve done tribute gigs together and there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on WhatsApp but it was only last year that we thought of a name for the band. And rock from the 1980s-2000s is where we are at – ballads and hard rock.”
Band members of the Madras Rock Collective. From left, Josh Mark Raj on the guitar, Rahul Gopal on the drums, Mario Nambiar on the bass, Vivin Kuruvilla on the keyboard, and Aakash Jacob on the vocals.
| Photo Credit:
VELANKANNI RAJ B
If one was thinking that the sounds of rock music from the 80s was fading in the city – after all it was nearly half a century ago – Aakash Jacob’s guttural vocals would tell you otherwise. His voice underlines the rebellion that rock music set out to speak for, something he learnt early on in his days at Madras Christian College. “We are all part of the same music circle. Mario and I were at a concert together once and thought we should speak to Rahul, Vivin and Josh and explore if this was what we wanted to do together. It happened rather organically,” says Aakash, who is a banker.
Vivin Kuruvilla, keyboardist, founding member of the metal band Blood and Iron, who works in sales and marketing, plays the opening chords of Van Halen’s ‘Right Now’on his Korg Nautilus. Vivin did the whole Trinity College of Music exam grind for the keyboard starting while still in school.
‘Right Now’ is also the favourite of guitarist Josh Mark Raj, an award-winning full time musician and teacher who says, “I’m often in recording sessions and rarely do you get to play music like Van Halen’s, music that you are passionate about.” Rahul, a self-taught drummer who is now a nutrition coach with a new-found love for pistol shooting, says twirling his Vater drumsticks, “We stick to classic English rock because it lends raw energy to the stage, to the evening.”
Mario who also walks the fine line between the corporate world and his alternate life as a musician says he was gob-smacked by the guitar when he first heard it at Loyola College’s culturals, Ovations. He went from learning the instrument from scratch, from acoustic to bass guitar, along the way being part of the famous band Nerve Wreck. “We have four gigs lined up over the next few months, including one in Bangalore on August 22 and one at Hard Rock here,” he says.
In Chennai, the band will be playing anthems by Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Deep Purple, Toto, Journey, Mr Big, Extreme, The Scorpions and the odd song from Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi, among others.
As I leave there’s friendly banter about which is their favourite – the votes are between ‘Cupid’s Dead’ by Extreme or Van Halen’s ‘Right Now’. I’d choose the latter; as the lyrics suggest “catch that magic moment” this Friday.
The Madras Rock Collective will perform on August 7, 8.45pm onwards, at Bay 146, The Savera Hotel, RK Salai. Entry for ages 21 and above. Tickets priced ₹250 onwards on www.district.in
