An Upside Down Tale

I'm happy. 

The world's quite messed-up right now, but I'm happy. 

If this isn't a testament to my selfishness, then I wouldn't know what else is. 

Success has a lot to do with my happiness, and vice versa. That elusive album finally happened, and happened well. Years of playing with several bands, implicitly gave me good insight into how to approach this production process. 

This is all in retrospect, of course. 

The actual way 'Upside Down' unfolded was a little more chaotic and unpredictable. While there are several people who have aided this piece of work, these lovely folk bubble-up to the top, chronologically.

Anushya

Technically the first person to hear all my songs, at every stage of development long before ‘Upside Down’ took any significant shape. Trooper that she is, enduring countless cacophonous renditions that iteratively bubbled up into semi-acceptable IG upload worthy versions, Anushya would patiently provide feedback and solid encouragement. Although I may have a few miles on my musical journey, this album would not have been, if not for her. 

Thanks, Love. 

Sylvester 

After all the songs structures were ‘done’ (at least in my head), and since most of the songs had a fairly traditional structure with a space for an instrument solo, it only made sense to approach somebody whose playing style I loved and was quite familiar with. So obviously, Sylvester. (for the uninitiated, I play bass for The Sylvester Trio and there is really no need to wax emotional about Sylvester’s guitar skills; that’s already an established fact)

The initial plan was to put in a couple of electric guitar solos, followed by a pinch of programmed drums. Sylvester was the first person who floated the idea that some songs deserved ‘more’ (while also emphatically stating that some should be left as is). His kind and welcoming response to the songs is what made me re-think the home recording route, and actually consider the possibility of roping some professional help for the entire process.

I could already sense this project getting out of hand.

Paul

A lucky encounter introduced the Sylvester Trio to Paul's sound engineering talent. We had roughly 3 hours to record a song from scratch at Alive 1 Studio and what resulted was of quality we'd previously only heard in world-class level recordings. 

Needless to say, he topped my personnel list to approach for the engineering of 'Upside Down'. Not only was Paul kind enough to agree to listen to my scratch tracks, but kinder still to offer his services at Alive 1 Studios.  This is where things took a drastically different turn. Safe to say  that the whole 'home-recording' bit was now long forgotten, and the access to a studio like Alive 1 for recording, meant that my songs could have acoustic drums tracked, live. 

Things were changing, and very quickly.

Joel

And that brings us to Joel, who needs no introduction.

The Sylvester Trio’s practice sessions happen at a sweet little jam studio created by Joel at his ancestral home (literally that; it’s over a 100 years old!) recently renovated, and treated sound-wise to standards good enough to give most jam-rooms in Bangalore a run for their money. 

Joel had offered this space as an alternative to recording at home, and even more generously, his services on the drums which I had to turn down, quite reluctantly, owing to my initial plan of intending to engineer ‘Upside Down’ myself, and obviously quite diffident about my acoustic drum tracking abilities.

Of course, that plan changed after Paul’s offer.

Considering that we’ve been band-mates for nearly 6 years, It’s no surprise that Joel’s understanding and interpretation of my songs fit so well with what I had in mind; there was very little I had to ‘explain’, and it was as if he knew exactly what had to go with each song.

In this album, Joel has ‘played to the song’, while managing to maintain his characteristic flavour.  

There are very few drummers I know who can do that. 

Osi

 With Joel entering the mix, literally (kind of), and with a personally set time  constraint on studio session time, the next important aspect to sort out was the bass. I truly believed that my songs deserved a well thought of and carefully crafted bass part and as tempting as it was to play the bass parts myself, considering the timeline and my skill level, I saw no possibility of that happening in such a short span of time. 

Turn to the Pro, and enter Osi Gomango.

Years of experience, and unfathomable insight into bass playing, is what Osi brought with him. His vast experience with multiple bands over the years contributed immensely to the jam sessions for ‘Upside Down’, while he astutely suggested parts and transitions that aided the growth of these songs into finer and more mature versions of their earlier selves. I couldn’t be more grateful. 

This association with Osi was a learning experience in musicality, professionalism and extreme skill levels. I consider my self blessed. 

What started as a thought, structured around a home studio setup, eventually mutated into this. Parting shot wise, I owe so much to the musical ethos of Bangalore and her vibrant collection of musicians and (swiftly dwindling) performance venues.

'Upside Down' is available for streaming and free download, here.

 

To Me

When i gaze over this hazy spin

The spiral locks eye with me and says

“Come on in”

Though it might be just a single line,

Undulating in time, so fine

Weave of a legend or tale of a liar

Reaching out for me like the arms of a fire

She takes control of my senses, six — and says

“just wait until you feel what’s in this mix”

And when my eyes roll in to the back of my head

That’s when the madness will reveal itself,

    To me

So i dig my heels into this groove,

The world is spinning by, but i cannot move

It’s a feeling that’s so contrary

Of being moved around while i’m stationary 

Round and round while i take this tour - she says

“there’s a lot to be guessed, and you can never be sure”

But when my eyes roll in to the back of my head

The beast of confusion retracts its claws and speaks

    To me

Stepping on that box I take my shot 

But he laughs and says ‘Is that all you’ve got?’

And I stand there like the fool on the hill

Sans insight and only half the skill 

It slips away and that’s exactly when - she says

“Well you’ve lost now, but you can try again”

So when my eyes roll in to the back of my head

That’s when I see what music means 

    To me

**************************************************

Some conversations are so meta and imaginary

Stroll

Stepping out for a stroll in my mind 

Hoping to steer my thoughts, but only to find

There’s no up, no down, no left no right 

This broken moral compass keeps me up all night

While it’s getting increasingly clear

    

    That there’s only here 

Imprisoned in a spot, for my crime 

I’m sifting these zany thoughts, through the lens of time

These knotted lines are strange, they make no sense 

And presently, the past makes my future tense 

So I’m inclined to believe somehow 

    That there’s only now 

Each moment passing, feels the same 

Like visages through the glass, of a photo-frame

Countless faces i see, but it’s one, no doubt 

That’s filling me with thoughts I'm not so proud about

And even though they might say it’s taboo 

    I know it’s only you

**************************************************

The simpler the rhyme, the scarier the implication

Silly Geometry

                

      Start with a point, grow it into a line

      Criss-crossing through all of time

      All these lines, curved in time and space

      Arranging you and me in the same place

      But now just feels so anachronic, so

      Frame-drag me into yesterday

        Because as soon as you appear, you start to leave

Why does time have to be, so cruel to me?

          Stuck in this silly geometry        

      Dotted my i’s and i crossed the t’s

      Might even say that i’m at ease

      Ironed it out and now the jig’s complete

      Ready for this extraordinary feat

      But this fabric is so convoluted

      I wouldn’t really have it any other way

        Because as soon as you appear, you start to leave

Why does time have to be, so cruel to me?

          Stuck in this silly geometry  

        You take away a piece of me when you go 

        What kind of sorcery i just don’t know

        And all that there is left to do is wait

      Opened my mind, now i feel so free

      But it’s hard to get a grip on reality

Because as soon as you appear, you start to leave

Why does time have to be so cruel to me?

I roam around this loop so endless

And now i’m just a royal mess

Because i’m stuck 

          Stuck in this silly geometry 

*************************************************************************

Damn time loops and desire.

(That album's finally happening.) 

May's early...

Canvas by Ga-Joob

"Canvas"

Melodies harmonise
Entwined verses from midnight to sunrise
Sailing ships,
Armies of poets fill up seas with words
About Your amazing smile

Flowing rivers of honey
Rippling the fabric of space-time
Over pastures of happy sunflowers
The Big star forgotten, they follow
Your bright eyes, in the sky

* I'm just an ordinary guy
With celestial cravings
Waiting for stars to align
And when The stars align,
You'll be right by my side

---
Vocal+harmony
Acoustic guitar
Bass
Rhodes Piano


Full on missings happening.

Beautiful Morning and the morning rush :)

Beautiful Morning In A Rush by Ga-Joob

I just found out what her name means. I lau it.

This is April's. Bass playing is getting slightly more refined, i think.

Bass + Bass-wah + Rhodes layered.

Practice, practice, and some more practice.

April's late

Maha G. by Ga-Joob


Late by a few days; only laziness.

This is for Sid-the-boar's latest short film.
On:
Lead Vocals - Chandni Venkataraman
Backing Vocals - Sid-the-boar
Guitar - Ken-Dawwg
Bass - Naanu


I dont like it too much...the song. Too much tailor work.


It's very likely i will not do such things again.


Break-ups are bad, grey areas suck... separation is the worst.

Sea of Es

Seas of Ease by Ga-Joob


This month.

Too lazy to fill it in with colour. Botched up GATE, and fell ill for nearly 5 days (both being mutually exclusive).

I like my progress on the Bass. Lots more to pen-down, record and fret over.

Blues and all that

The objective is to record one song, every month. By the end of 2011, i should have enough for an album. Here's January :

Beaney Blues Town by Ga-Joob

The piano in this song annoys me, sort of. The bass seems to come through more naturally.

I've always felt like a guitarist trapped in a pianist's body. But then again, it's more about through which instrument the song was born. In this case, the bass. Framing bass lines to the disorganised, unstructured vague songs that i write on the piano could be challenging to me...have'nt tried that yet. For the moment, it's mainly lots of practice on the bass...occasionally a little tune creeps in...

Tiny riff, fleeting jingle

Would you like to mingle?

Serenade my mind

Till I'm lost inside

This loop to find that 'hit' single.

Sambadikeelim!

I want this to carry on. Maybe even join a band on bass.

So long

No inclination of any sort, to 'pen' things down. However, i have been playing, and recording...more of the former.
Sound Cloud is a lovely site i found through Kman.

Long live Kman and Mo.

The side-bar shows the music in a quite 'in-your-face' way.

Besides, there are things i want to write about; The impending ban on beef in the state; 'vegetarianism' in general; how i screwed up an important interview; how i got stuck in an unplanned meeting (brrr...). All to be written about soonly, i hope.

Interestingly, after all these months of deliberation, on music and life, i have come to an annoying juncture, where one person in particular, rather violently, rattles the cages of the chimps in my brain. Her voice annoys me terribly, and her face pisses me off. I'm not saying who...but somebody gonna get a herrt reel bad....somebody.

Long live Russsssal.

Anyway, hope this works:

Swirl by Ga-Joob

Para-gone

.I write this post as a lament...not regret, but more as an expression of grief, although it's often tough to segregate the two.

The past one year had held a lot of promise, primarily, in the music scene of my life. Having taken a long hiatus from live performances, while in Singapore, i pretty much played alone (except for friday nights). All this musical wanking, i hoped, would eventually lead me to a state where-in, if i were to be part of a band sometime in the near future, i would be 'ready'.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Playing alone for nearly two years, and the events over the last few weeks has made me realise one thing: I am selfish, hence i make music only for my personal pleasure and growth.

Here, growth and pleasure are not mutually exclusive, and strangely, either one begets the other.From this, i know, playing music is not just some hobby that i'll run to after a hard day's work, nor is it something that i'll ever want to do under inebriation. To me, playing music is sacred. This means, i dont care if the music i make is heard by anyone else or not. The only thing that matters is the process of 'creation'...if i may even call it that. After all, any song of absolute music is either a note-re-organised,augmented or reduced version of any other song...and pithily, that's all there is to it. Yet, i find it so sacred and this i can't explain...yet.

There is more to how music and the human mind works. Any 'familiar' tune i listen to, 'brings back' memories of times when i first got familiar with it. This process of bringing back, transcends almost all barriers of time. I remember VERY vividly the colour of the sky and the 'setting sun' one evening, while i was listening to 'The Carpenters' at the age of Four. I remember at the age of Six, the warmth (or the lack thereof) of water during chilly Bangalore school-mornings when my Father religiously played those select few 'foreign' tapes accessible to a typical middle class family by means of relatives in distant lands. I remember at the age of Seven, playing at home with 'action figures', and my Mother returned from the market, carrying a brand-new, wrapped-up G.I. Joe Bike, while Konkani folk songs played-on in the background. I also remember at the age of Ten, observing how my Brother would lay back and read all those books while listening to tapes of Grammy Award artists of the 80s & 90s...tapes he procured by cajoling my folks...tapes that i owe my entire life in music to. I also remember at the age of Eighteen, falling in love head over heels, while The Beatles' "Abbey Road" and Queen's "Greatest Hits" spun like merry-go-rounds in my hormonally influenced mind.

In,through and out of all these memories, it was never the words/lyrics of a song that actually made me relate with the moment. It was always the 'tune'...the absolute music aspect of the song. This is what i cant explain. Further, it hurts that i can't explain something which evokes such emotions from me; Something that can drastically change my mood literally by the flick of a switch. Music has always been there, its presence shameless and very evident,but its purpose? ...always mysterious, clouded and often contradictory to whatever reason i could attribute. Like a puzzle, music has driven me on a search and has subsequently lead to a near rabid hunger for the answer. Though unrecognised at first, of late, it has reached a different level, both, with respect to the recognition and the intensity of the search. From what i recall, and what i figure, the first step i took towards this search, was inadvertently but undoubtedly, hours and hours of fooling around with my keyboard (also read piano). Hours and hours of playing songs...ANY song. I just wanted to play. I liked the sound, i loved how it made me feel. It generated a great sense of accomplishment to play a song that i heard on a 'professionally recorded tape', and to play it perfectly, 'JUST LIKE THAT'...hence the phrase 'tape-perfect'.
But, there is only so much you can do with playing someone else's song. You may bend it, twist it, shake it and even rock it... but it still isn't yours. The obvious next step is to reach a 'state' where you start playing whatever you feel; An accurate description of this act would be :

"Transcription of thought into art".

Towards this state, i have been inching , for the past few years. Mastery over this state will be, according to me the ultimate achievement. For accurate transcription of thought into art, should imply the reverse from anybody's senses and not just the creator's.

The only problem with this, is that step one lingers, and rather stubbornly. We will always get back into a phase of 're-living' those moments through the thought-transcriptions of others. Step one is also a nasty and easy way out to instill a pseudo sense of skill. I stand by this belief.

It is this feeling that drives me towards solving a problem: something i cant see, hold or worse, explain. For music which has meant so much to me, it is the least i can do: solve the problem.

Follow my art to the end of my dreams, and then even more.

I cant even fathom what happens after step two, but i sure will pen it down, if i figure it out someday. But, by the looks of it, not someday soon.

Over the last one year, i wrote music, toiled, gigged and 'made merry' with a band. I believed that as a band, this would lead to a permanent detachment from step one...it nearly did. Unfortunately, this belief did not sustain. A band, no matter how 'skilled', may need to compromise, and go through reaping the myriad plastic fruits of step one in order to move on to step two; but as long as step two is in the cross-hair, the band will be. Even the focus doesnt matter...its just the direction...'for now', so to speak. Sadly no such thing figured in the cross-hairs. Fame is pseudo and subject to current trends in society, whereas true recognition comes only through original contribution...Recognition does not necessarily imply fame, and according to most people, a band can't survive on recognition alone. As defined by most people, fame for a band is not just a thrill, but a necessity.

I don't define a band that way.

Which is why i am in pain.
Mostly self-inflicted.
Refusal to accept.

Moving mountains is easy...

Journeys are interesting, whatever they maybe, however imposed, in retrospect always interesting. Largely, we choose where we go; doesnt matter if your Daddy's got a car, a scooter or a truck... man want to go, man will go... child dont want to go, gets two on its bum-bum, and will be forced to go. Tough.

Most journeys however, end up being ignored and earn an almost non-existential place in the pool of greys; that cesspit-styled, culturedly volatile, relentlessly ablutionary place... phew! In non-wiki-folks terms, easily forgotten. Mr.Mani says/quotes :

"Brevity is the soul of humour"

... I'm in short supply of all three.

Rapidly dwindling memory pools notwithstanding, some journeys migrate to mindly havens, replete with exaggeration and sometimes displaced in time... we are progressive. (disclaimer)

This is about one of those 'journeys'.

Take :
1 Swaraj Mazda
1 Rock Band
1 Rock Band Manager
7 Roadies/groupies/free-loaders
1 'Out-station' show
1 Long and winding road (bumpy too)

My first 'tour' with the band, also my first experience of being part of the headlining act! What thirrlls i say! Loaded with whiskey for the booze-partees, and Orbits... for me, we set forth... of course, not before Jungle Boy took a nice dump, while sadly, S.Yacoulb, the enormous homophobe, didnt. This partially set a 'drone' for most of the journey ...

S.Yacoulb : "I want to do kakka"

... nice.

While the booze-partees were getting drunk, I was getting queasy. Bus journeys are not for the weak of stomach. Enter orbit. Chewing gum helped prevent me from decorating the insides of the mazda with last night's dinner. So, i slumped in the back-most seat, menky-cap et al, ears protected from wind, while the baais made merry, and S.Yacoulb droned on; Annoyance Galore Inc.

Bad roads, pop songs, air laced with whiskey burps and nicotine, and the relentless drone of excretory yen. All summed-up to a soul filling experience of my first time.. . that is, travelling with the band. Made me wonder, is this what the "rock'n'roll", 'Band Scene' is about?

Smoke, booze and bad jokes..
Bumpy roads, queasiness and diesel fumes..
Long hair, tatoos and red-brassieres...

Most certainly NOT!... not red bras atleast... that was just S.Yacoulb at her prime.

Just when I felt my overbearing thoughts push me further into skepticism towards the whole 'Band' scene, amidst all that smoke, music and confusion, it happened... pragmatically magical, surreally lifelike...

...we all started singing. Just like that...

Time-out here, to refer a 'similar' scene from one of my all time favourites, "Almost Famous". That scene in the bus, where Russel Hammond, the lead guitarist, now wrapped in a towel, settles in after a night of flight. And Elton John's "Tiny dancer" sets in...



..as do the voices of everyone aboard, gradually.

Back to my story; we didnt sing Elton John. It was "Bed of Roses" by Bon Jovi, but what the hell...
It was pretty much like that... and yes, it was GOOD! It was a bonding of sorts, a 'come together'... right now, our own Lucy in the sky with diamonds, space truckin' across the universe.

With all our voices weaving complex overtones and harmonics of unrestrained cacophany, I felt like it was ALWAYS like this;

I was, am and will be here.

Thats what a 'Rock Band' is about... that feeling of allegiance, not in a jingoist sense, no. Its just good to be part of a tale; any part, even the tail.

Its good to belong.

Set me free...

There has never been another song that could ACTUALLY make me feel like this one does....OK,agreed, every song is exclusive in its own subtle way, and further, a song strikes a chord depending on the circumstances under which it is heard, but not this one....from the first time I heard it,to right now...slumped in front of the PC on a Sunday afternoon...at "work"....and through my window,watching a typical "Bangalore" rain...(partial sun...torrential rain...) Even the bloody RAW recording sounds beautiful.... Dunno WHAT those guys were on...when they wrote it.
Brilliant piece of work though. I really dont know the words, but sometimes...just sometimes, a song just by the quality of ABSOLUTE music can "speak" with you...just like the way this does with me..... i dont know if its because of the lovely Maj7ths or the Sus2 or the funny riffs in between (i'm just showing off my knowledge on chords...eh???) But No, seriously....this one song, has THE potential to hit it big... FUCKING BIG!!!...if we can only get our act together.

SO I disconnected my bike's horn... WOW...total "Zen" feeling while riding around... that is, if Zen means "just about to DIE". Bangalore has lost it. Dunno if its S.M Krishna's fault or Premji and Moorthy's. Well, bottomline, its crowded... And Mr.Lowda and Singh are'nt helping either....So,in the words of the Jengle Boy...
"Big Slimey Sweaty Hairy Balls" to them... Ha!
Long Live Jengle Boy!

But its nice not having a horn...No, I'm not mad, maybe a little, Ok, you win. But it sort-of calms you down.
In the beginning, all you feel like doing is RIPPING the MoFo's head off....then you shout stuff like..."Ninn ammanakayee..." of course, only if you're wearing a helmet... otherwise you just say it in your head...thats not so much fun...no. But then gradually, after a few days, you do something you've not done in a long time...you ride SLOW. Now thats more ZEN like.... Riding slow ROCKS! its amazing to watch people swish past... reminds me of Revolver...
"...Running everywhere in such a speed,
Till they find, theres no need, theres no need..."
Long live Georgie!
Now, when a mundane thing like riding in traffic can remind me of a song I love, then it does'nt stay mundane anymore!

I hope something,someday,while riding, will remind me of...
"She's jaas Layk a PEHNGWYN in BAAUHNDAYGE BOIEEN... Oh YEAH Oh Yeah Oie... "
Long Live Zappa!

Actually...thaas jaas SICK!


Well, Freedom jam happened... it kicked ass as usual, mostly ours.

Correction to an affore-mentioned Lamentation... there was no bomb threat, Its just that the organisers forgot to get police permission....hmmm. How sad is that? Not very, especially if you have only 2 people running around, arranging something for 20,000 other people... yep! there were 3 stages, and we got the 3rd stage, and we also got mighty PISSED! there were horses around, and it was stinky...Horse Dung....Kudre Laddhi...heheheh R-N-C.... in the words of Mr.BTR...
" Labo-Labohhhh.....!!! "
Long Live BTR!
The allotment was anounced 3 hours after we reported there, so thats 3 hours of horrible,scalding,BUM BELTING heat!!!!...palace grounds is like a bleddy desert!!!
Anyway, things turned out great! we got to sound check our entire list at 3, made fools of ourselves of course, and then got a prime 7 O'clock slot! Which was when we ROCKED the crowd!!!

Its amazing how a drunk audience can be controlled with a simple distortion pedal.

"Wakka-chikka-wakka-chikka-wah-wahn-wahn-wahkah-CHAYHNAYNNNNNN..."
Long Live OS-2 !!!

So,Life is good.
So good is life.
So,is life good?
Good,so is life.
Life is so good.
Life is good,so?

Good Night!

Freedumb Jam!

Am I the pun master or WHAT????? Its always great that somebody is doing something to benefit somebody else and in turn benefit that somebody itself...phew! Guruskool was this lil foundation that has grown to a gargantuan size in the last 3 years....More than providing a platform for young bands to perform, it has created a certain feeling of "woodstock"ishness among bangaloreans...Now how would that benefit? i dunno....I guess its the whole "play your own music" scene... But verrrry rarely does the crowd at freedom jam ask for own comps of local bands...its either METALLLIKKKAAAAA or SLAAAYYYYYER! or MAYDDDENNNNNNN!!!! tsk!tsk!I say...O blimey!

Anyhow...I have very fond memories about the Freedom Jam.... thats where I met the dudes of Mazarine....I remember waiting like mad for "The Galeej Gurus"... they had the 12 "midnight" slot....and they kicked ass!!! But not that night...something happened, they did'nt come on stage at 12...nor at 1...or 2, or 3.... waiting....patiently till 5....then shalimaar, psycholash and myself decided to split...and we went to M.G Road petrol bunk and had coffee...or Cup-O...or was it both? dont remember....I just remember...that my sales job STANK so much...I wanted that night to last forever...with the lovely music...and the whole 'feeling'... wonder if THAT was a "woodstockish" feeling....

3 years since...Freedom Jam is all major now....its soo huge that, its something that the Bastard terrorists consider worthwhile to bomb... hmmm... looks like when you start selling home-made cookies retail at "quick-E" marts and the like, word just spreads....and poof! before you know it..."home-made" cookies are'nt home made anymore!.....Eh??

Wellll,... whats the point if a "freedom jam" is postponed...because of a bomb threat? does it still get to be called a "freedom" jam? How free are we? How much will we take, and how much fear will we be subjected to? Mr.Michael Krishnan says... in his latest masterpiece..."State of fear" how essential it is to have a prevailing feeling of fear, inorder that a society may function normally.... well...thats the gist....

It takes all kinds...but I guess everything can be linked to my roach theory.... are these terrorists needed?? sure they are God's creation et al..... but wtf? Is it true that a society becomes ultra-malfunctional as soon as things settle down???
Do we really need Kashmir? well thats just wrong...today its Kashmir, tomorrow it will be Gujarat, then before long Kerala, then Tamil Nadu...(hmmm...Tamil Nadu....tempting...) finally all thats left for India will be will be Madhya Pradesh...the Crotch of India.... though it would be nice if we could build an underpass from Bihar to pakistan...and say "There! you wanted a state did'nt ya?" while we're at it...another one from Tamil Nadu to Bihar... wonder what would happen if Laloo and Jayalalitha had babies together...... *terribly cold shudder running up my spine....*

Am I Idi Amen or WHAT????