Rock the night away

Debarati Palit chats up with two city-based rock bands who are set to perform tonight

Debarati Palit chats up with two city-based rock bands who are set to perform tonight

New Breed
New Breed is a four-year old Pune-based band consisting of Tripti Pandkar (vocals), Saurabh Bhalerao (keyboards), Rishikesh Dapar (drums), Abhay Nainepalli (bass) and Sanjeev Pandkar (guitar and vocals).

Formerly, Sanjeev was a music teacher and the other band members were his students. This teacher-student band has performed at numerous places over the past couple of years. WHAT's ON asked Sanjeev Pandkar about what makes the band different from the older breed.

Members of the rock band New Breed

You call yourselves New Breed, which means a new generation of musicians. How much are you different from the old breed?
The kind of music we listen to and our attitude is very different. We prefer to talk less and let our music speak for itself. We also prefer to listen to lesser-known music bands.

You have been in the industry for 15 years and are now working with a new generation of musicians. Have you noticed any difference?
We find today's generation of musicians less disciplined and more confused. After a certain point, they stop learning.

What are your future plans as a full-time band?
We want to play good music and are also working on an album, though nothing is confirmed. But, hopefully, things will work out.

What have you planned for your performance?
We will play more female-oriented classic rock numbers, and cover numbers, but not chart toppers. We do not like playing commercial numbers and opt for the lesser-known ones.u00a0

At: Hard Rock Cafu00e9, 81/82, next to Pyramid Lawns, Koregaon Park Extension, Mundhwa.
Call: 40158888
On: 29 April, from 8.45 pm.
Entry: Free

Rox-I-gen
Rox-I-gen was formed three months ago. The band members Rana (vocals) and Maniche (guitar) have performed at numerous occasions even before the band was formed. WHAT's ON quizzed Rana on the unique band name.

Musical duo Rox-I-gen at a previous performance

What does your band name signify?
Rock is like oxygen for us. The name is actually a combination of rock and oxygen (Rox-I-gen). We thought the name suits us perfectly.

Tell us more Maniche and you.
I am a full-time musician with a rock band called Lambada and Maniche is also a full-time musician with Vaidasha, and an alternative band called Gamma Champion. I have performed at over 500 shows nationally and internationally. This Diwali, we will be performing in Singapore.

Rock music has witnessedu00a0 a remarkable change in the last few years. What have you noticed?
It's a fact that there are buyers for every kind of music but what's important is the sound. One will get listeners only if the music sounds good and soulful. There are many bands who interpret rock in a certain way and then revise it, which at times sounds good and at times does not. Speaking of the audience, a lot depends on where we are performing. We have performed at some malls, but the response that we get there is very different from what we get at Not Just Jazz By The Bay or Curve.

What can the audience look forward to tonight?
We will be performing a variety of famous songs from all over the world. We will do classic rock covers of bands like Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Eric Clapton and The Doors. We have previously performed Blues Night at Curve and know that the listeners prefer commercial numbers. There will be a few retro classics from Eagles and The Beatles.

At: Curve, Koregaon Park Extension.
Call: 9657388143.
On: April 29, from 8 pm onwards.
Entry: Free