Attending My Gig – Drummer’s account

Arko Ganguly — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 21:07:54 +0000

Hello!!

How is everybody doing? I hope you are enjoying exceptional health and rocking out to Antariksh’s songs everyday! September was an amazing month for us and October seems to be coming out even better. Our ‘10 Years of Antariksh’ Tour has been programmed for Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore! We are super stoked to play some mad gigs for all of you. Talking about gigs, I had a very interesting experience during our last show at Gurgaon. A memory I will retain for long. It was the fact that I didn’t play the gig at all! Sitting with the audience I enjoyed Varun, Josh and Shrikant perform our amazing set. Well, I did clap, sing along and take multiple videos to make up for my absence on stage. If not for drumming, I got paid to be the best audience for the day!

The Mad Rains!

To begin with, Delhi NCR received an apocalyptic downpour! Well, pardon my exaggeration, but for us Delhi folks, it felt that way. Roads turned into little streams of water while the traffic waded through it! The Sun God probably took the day off, went for a swim and here was Delhi taking a hit off His pool splashing! Antariksh had a high tea gig the same day. The client had chosen an outdoor venue without covers and you guessed it, high tea was now a late supper event. All of us reached the venue considerably on time given the roads blocks and Uber cancellations! And now the great Indian Rock Band had nothing much to do, but sit at a restaurant talking, laughing and eating sandwiches, coffee and pizza. I admit we musicians have a great life, barring the time we waste trying to maintain The Indian Standard Time.

Drummer Chucked?

Clock struck 9 in the evening when we realized we hadn’t done a formal sound check. Let alone a check, the drums were yet to be set up! Instead there was a comedian and a couple of well-decked ladies playing the violin to entertain a dimming crowd. The event organizer ran to us with NEWS. They were giving us ten minutes to line check before we started playing. The guys smirked at me. It meant the drummer had his day off.

Delightful audience

Through the back door, into the performance hall, Shrikant and myself walked into a handful of people waiting with dinner plates. Interestingly, they looked indifferent towards the dying night and weren’t in a hurry to get home. Our great horror of playing to the walls finally eased out. In fact, it was a very informal and easy setting. Everyone felt relaxed and the sound check was painless without people crying to wrap it fast. I had my phone ready and captured all I could of the band doing its thing!

Gig is good!

The rest of the night was great. Our audience, a little too small, yet captivated, was enjoying themselves and singing along to us. The Chef specially loved it, video called his wife to make sure she wasn’t missing all the fun! I was running around capturing little snippets of my dear band mates and definitely blocking them from the viewers. They might have hated me for it, but I couldn’t care less. That is what you get for not allowing a drummer to play his gig! Lol!!!

Come join us?

All the hassles were slightly bothersome, but it was a great night of getting together and having some good fun. Owing to the constant rain, our ride back home too was pretty much an adventure! We did eventually reach and slept well. Not Varun though. He had to fly to Mumbai next morning and catch up with unfinished business. Ohhh..talking about Mumbai, we are there on the 20^th of October for our ‘10 years of Antariksh Tour’ at antiSOCIAL Lower Parel! And also Bnagalore the next day at Fandom. You must come for these. I promise to play the drums here. No kidding! Delhi folks, you are welcome to join us on the 16^th of Oct at SKOL! (get your tickets here) These gigs are close to our hearts as we play our original music for you. Some incredible local bands also join us at each city. We will have a blast I promise!

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Antariksh’s Club Gig Blues

Arko Ganguly — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 21:07:43 +0000

A confused morning

It was the 8th of October and we were to travel to Jaipur to play at taBLU rooftop bar – Hotel Clarks Amer. The cabs arrived at 5 am for an early pick up. Exactly then, our manager Akash’s phone decided to give up on him! With the main co-ordinators phone down, the whole “let’s leave early” idea went for a toss. Shrikant prepared some tea for himself and the driver while trying to resolve the confusion. It took us a good 2 hours to figure things out before we could finally leave at 7. We picked an irritated Akash on the way and headed straight to McD’s.

Some fries and amusing stories

The sky was overcast. A light drizzle kept the windshields moist and the cool breeze addressed the approaching winters. All the commotion from the morning faded away in the calm weather. The other folks were slightly ahead of us and had ordered their share of morning fries and burgers until we caught up. The evil breakfast of oil drenched French fries and loaded cheese burgers satisfied our palates heartily. Our driver had some amusing stories to share about how Sanjay Dutt was his drinking buddy! He also proudly discussed his feud with Ashwariya Rai during which he asked her to vacate his vehicle!

Ohh..the rains!!

Heading past the borders we realised the light drizzle had now turned to a heavy shower. One after another each of us cosily dosed off. A couple hours later we found ourselves parked at a restaurant. To our surprise, it was still pouring! Though not hungry, the weather propelled us to settle for some hot kulladh chai and paranthas. Having satiated our impulse, we got back to our drive. No matter how far we went, the rains wouldn’t give in. Endless amounts of water constantly poured down the highway wetting everything on it. Poor bikers took a toll with trucks, busses, cars splashing gallons of water on them.

The tension and release!

The road seemed endless. It had never before taken us this long to reach Jaipur. After a long tiring drive, the hotel showed up through the window. The fries and paranthas had disappeared by now and our tummies called for some lunch. We quickly checked in and sat ourselves over a delicious buffet, but there was a little unrest. taBLU’s gig venue is an open rooftop and the rains just refused to stop! Antariksh’s club gig adventure was under serious threat. We had enough for the day, finished our food and went straight to bed and let Natasha (our dear friend and the gig organiser) storm her brains. About an hour into my nap, Sahil (our sound engineer) woke me up to call for a sound check. YES!! The gig was happening. Not at their usual venue, but inside the restaurant. The stage was neatly set up with a large candlestick and aromatic flowers!

Such a lovely club gig experience!

Despite the rain, a fair number of people turned up for the event. It was intimate and personal. The audience was calmly energetic and very receptive of our music. What started to look like a jeopardised club gig, turned out to be one memorable evening for us! Natasha, almost at the brink of a breakdown a while ago, was absolutely rocking and dancing to the music. The organising team, the audience and us together pulled off a great gig through the major set back and I enjoyed playing a drum solo on some tables, chairs and railings. You will find this solo on Instagram.

Happy Birthday!!

Post the gig, we sat together to conclude an interestingly eventful day. Just then, Natasha got us a cake to celebrate 10 years of Antariksh. How overwhelming it was for all of us. taBLU too was celebrating it’s 19th birthday the same night! I had promised not to touch dessert that night, but my will power to withstand the desire for that delicious chocolate cake faded away. I gorged onto it like a child! Having satisfied our cravings, we left for our rooms. Varun, Sahil and Akash were to stay back, while Shrikant, Josh and I decided to head back to Delhi right then. The journey back was nothing short of a nightmare and definitely is another mad story to tell! keeping it for another time. Meanwhile, keep listening to our last release Quest (English Reprise). Do catch up at a future Antariksh’s club gig and say Hi? Here is our calendar so you know when that is. See you soon!

Cheers!

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