Join musicians and pay tribute to 'Papa Rock' Amit Saigal on birth anniversary

In the 1990s, bands, despite a good sound, failed to get gigs, they would often call up a man who ran a music magazine and had a great rapport with event managers. The late Amit Saigal - founder of Rock Street Journal (RSJ) - not only published stories on bands, but he also ensured all of them played live to a full audience. He designed events like The Great Indian Rock (GIR) and Pub Rock Fest that toured many cities in India. On his 52nd birth anniversary, a few musicians are coming together to pay tribute to their ‘Papa Rock' at a gig. Saigal reportedly drowned in Goa in 2012, due to unknown reasons, while on a vacation with his friends.

"It was because of Amit that we got a chance to play at the Inferno Festival (Norway) in 2010. RSJ, through its network, had a tie-up with Norwegian concert companies and we won a ticket as part of an exchange programme. He was there with us throughout," recalls Sahil Makhija of Demonic Resurrection, who also participated in the music conferences in that tour with Saigal.

Saigal didn't divide musicians into genres. His events catered to pop, rock as well as metal. "He was a large part of the independent scene. The entire pop/rock fest ran across cities because of him. When RSJ was doing well, we had something to look forward to. We miss that today. And he had a special place for metal," adds Makhija, who would perform the track, Apocalyptic Dawn, in his memory. "It is one of our popular songs from those days, it got us into GIR."

Rishi Bradoo, the frontman of Blek, grew up on Saigal's events too. "When he passed away, we had just broken into the scene and unfortunately, we could never interact that much. But I remember how he made bands tour all around India in different venues. I remember attending one of his events at the old Razzberry Rhinoceros, where Superfuzz (a popular band from New Delhi) was playing," he shares.

Bradoo used to buy copies of RSJ from Chembur railway station on his way to college. "I would pick up a copy each time I would commute; they were the only mouthpiece for bands. I want to dedicate our song, Minus The Make Up, to Saigal. It means being real and upfront, it describes him the best," he adds.



EVENT MANAGER TALK
‘I first met Amit when Tripwire, a band I managed, went to New Delhi to perform at the GIR. During soundcheck, he was constantly on stage shouting instructions to billions of people about their respective jobs. He directed us to the backstage artiste area, where we gorged on Chicken Sandwiches. It was like meeting Amitabh Bachhan'

Rishu Singh, organiser of the event and Proprietor [ennui.BOMB]

ON July 6, 9 pm
AT antiSOCIAL, Rohan Plaza, 5th Road, Khar (W).
CALL 65226324
COST ‘300