These are the bands that literally made us pick up our instruments. No plans, no strategies, just go and ram the gates open – that was the way we did things and in a lot of ways, still do. The music award fest in Montenegro and of course, every northeast tour is packed with a loyal following. “Opening for Hoobastank, Poets of the Fall, Destruction probably got us the big audience. But I can see that the independent scene is coming up slowly because of platforms like YouTube. We are thankful to all the venues and people who knowingly or unknowingly helped us out in our initial days. The band believes that the Indian music industry is largely film-bound and indie music is not even accepted as a pure music industry.”Like most of the other Indie bands out there, GATC has covered some of the best classical anthems of all time at the beginning. Looking back at the ‘crazy roller coaster ride’, Girish Pradhan, lead vocalist and founder member or the band, says, “Our journey so far would definitely make a best-selling biography for sure!”Laughing, he starts, “We were 10 years younger than today and although we faced a hell uva hurdles, we were always determined and knew that there was no turning back. We’ve learnt a lot over the years. Everyone involved had a part to play.”The band had been to some amazing concerts round the globe. We have immense respect towards China saw mills Suppliers the artists we have covered over the years. But I’ve always noticed that from the audience’s perspective, it’s always Angel, Endless Road and most recently, Rock the Highway are the defining songs for GATC.

Before signing off, Girish says, “We want to give the audience a taste of good old hard rock/glam/heavy metal songs. Apart from that, we toured Hong Kong back in 2012, Dubai, Thailand and Vietnam. “I guess it’s deeply embedded in us – the blues, classic rock and the ‘80s. “A lot of bands from our country deserve to tour the world and yes, earn more recognition.Girish and The Chronicles (GATC) have been a prominent name in the Hard Rock/Metal scene of the country since 2009 – their inception.”Currently busy with some shows, Girish shares that their primary goal is to release their new album by February and then go on a promotional tour.”Rock and metal are still limited to certain audiences in our part of the world, says Girish, adding that they are yet to get the recognition they deserve. We have our regrets and triumphs, but like they say, never too late to mend the mistakes. Perhaps it’s the movie industry that overpowers the independent scene and other fields like folk music. Quizzed about which of their songs would represent the band in its fullness, Girish says, “From the band’s perspective, I guess it would be Ride To Hell, Rock The Highway, Revolving Barrel. There are also plans to release a video, every one or two months in that direction. In this era where rock n roll is almost dead, we play some of their songs and watch people go crazy, proving that it’s always fresh, something people can have a real good time with. We really feel a lack of this genre in the country. On February 8 and 9, they will be performing in Bangkok as well. That means there are a lot of albums in the horizon. It’s because of them that we chose music as a profession.”The band predominantly started off from Gangtok and moved their base to Bengaluru, marking their place in the rock/ metal scene in the country.”. From Led Zepplin to Guns and Roses, they gave great renditions to classic songs. The songs will be made keeping in mind live concerts.

The FCC also voted Wednesday to establish procedures for forthcoming auctions of high-band spectrum, which it said would be the largest-ever US spectrum auction.5 GHz band their home since 1962..”The US Education Department in a June 7 letter told theFCC it should maintain an “educational use requirement” for that spectrum and suggested setting aside revenue from license sales to help students who lack internet access required to complete homework.The US Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday voted 3-2 to auction a key band of underused 2. At long last, we remove the burdensome restrictions on this band, allowing incumbents greater flexibility in their use of the spectrum and introduce a spectrum auction that will ensure that this public resource is finally devoted to its highest-valued use.FCC Chairman Ajit Pai China drying machine said the commission was taking “a major step toward freeing up critical mid-band spectrum for 5G. This means mid-band for 5G today.5 GHz spectrum to help advance next-generation 5G wireless networks and scrap requirements that it be used for education. and reverts to uninspired and stale commercial spectrum policy.The US Education Department in a June 7 letter told the FCC it should maintain an “educational use requirement” for that spectrum and suggested setting aside revenue from license sales to help students who lack the internet access required to do their homework..FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the order “frees the spectrum from the misguided choices of FCCs past” and relies on “market forces” to “quickly and fully rationalize the spectrum for 5G.”Sprint’s spectrum is a key part of Sprint and T-MobileUS Inc’s proposed USD 26 billion tie-up and 5G plan.”Pai said last year the FCC was seeking to ensure that existing users would retain spectrum, give some entities a chance to obtain new licenses “and then auctioning off the remaining white spaces.”She added the “order turns its back on the schools and educational institutions that have made the 2.The mid-band spectrum was reserved in the 1960s for what is now known as the Educational Broadband Service. Sprint Corp uses leased spectrum in the 2..5 GHz band in its existing 4G network and 5G network that it is being rolled out.”Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the Republican majority was collapsing “this spectrum into an overlay auction system that structurally advantages a single nationwide carrier. Bidding is set to start in December.

Excerpts from a chat with the band that’s all set to rock out at NH7 Weekender, Pune this year:With over 15 members, you guys are a rather huge band.You often mix genres, sometimes even during a song.The Malayalam indie music scene was brought into the limelight by Avial, and you guys have covered some of their tracks.How did you name yourselves Thaikkudam Bridge?This was because we were jamming in a buildiong close to a bridge that had a similar name in Kochi. Avial has proved that we can make music in any language, and taste success with the sheer class of music made.What does it feel to be part of NH7 Weekender this season?In one word, we’re ecstatic. We’ve completed close to 300 shows across the world together and we’re so glad our music is loved my all.How did Kappa TV happen to the band?We had seen some shows aired on Music Mojo, and wanted to make something new that people around us could relate too.Cochin-based Thaikkudam Bridge burst into prominence with their performances on Kappa TV’s Music Mojo. Luckily, we have the genius of nine vocalists, who we can use to experiment in any and all genres. Is there a particular genre (or a mix of them) you prefer sticking to?Absolutely not! Though many of our songs fall into the fusion rock genre, we do have folk and metal in the mix too. It also had to be something we would ourselves love while forming a band. We’re sure he meant it top be a tribute for the scores of fish fry he has enjoyed.

So, during the jam sessions, a friend of ours called Piyush, suggested we name ourselves Thaikkudam Bridge. We’re 16 band members, with sound engineers too being a part of the band, unlike how it works in common scenarios. Amith Bal, Rajan K. They’ve acted as an inspiration for many of our predecessors and successors in good spirit. And that’s what we prefer to do as well. Musicians we love and respect are all on the same stage, and to get one of the prime slots to perform on the dream stage of the Bacardi Arena is a dream come true for all musicians. The rest, as the adage goes, is history.What’s your song Fish Rock about? That’s quite a peculiar one…What else could it be about, than the love for fish! Govind, our founder, violinist, and China saw mills vocalist, loves fish, and that’s where Fish Rock came from. With fusion rock being the core of the band’s performances, the ensemble has covered tracks like Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters too, adding to their popularity. They then decided to bring in a few friends together, all to do an episode of the show. They make things much easier for us, leaving us to only create music and play them. How did you come together?We get asked this question so often!

The founder members, Govind Menon and Siddharth Menon, took a liking to the flagship programme of Kappa TV, which was called Music Mojo.. S. Do you think the band helped pave the path for you?Avial is our all-time favourite band, and it’s not only us. He, in turn, paved the way for us to perform our first episode of Music Mojo, and we haven’t looked back since. Truly a product of social media fame, the mammoth band consists of more than 15 members, with each one of them bringing a special musical talent to the fore.does it get difficult coordinating amongst yourselves?Firstly, we have to thank Aum I artistes, who manage us exclusively, as well as our managers, Sujith and Lakshmi, for being there to support us all through our journey. and Hemanth form the backbone of our band, indeed. We contacted Sumesh Lal, the creative head of Aum I artistes, who is also the content consultant for Kappa TV. Dhanya Suresh, who writes all our Malayalam numbers, has penned the lines to the song. It’s the biggest festival we have in India.

Thakara so far has only performed in Kochi, Bengaluru and Chennai, but now they are looking to spread their wings to the north as well. On their performance in Bengaluru he shares, “We have about one and a half hours this time, so we will be doing all of our originals songs. James shares, “We were a group of film makers who wanted to release music videos as a fun project. So there is no particular genre. They are all geared up to release four new songs in April. I feel that the best way to learn is do it China wood drying equipment ourselves. James shares that Thakara as a band does not focus on one particular genre. We really enjoyed the whole process of song making, and that is when we went ahead and decided to make a living out of it. James shares, “Paadila, Ammachi, Anaadha Parava and Kurumulagu are inspired by things happening around us. The theme for us is more important than genre.” Once they are done with Bengaluru, they are in talks to perform in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune. “We don’t try to imitate any band but the band tries to re-discover itself with every song we write,” he shares adding that each band member helps in composing the songs and adds their own elements to the songs.” 

They started playing professionally after doing Music Mojo in 2016. He explains, “We have done over 10 originals till now and each of them focuses on various themes. The way music found me is sort of symbolic to the band’s name.In the initial stages, Thakara which is made up of James Thakara (lead vocalist and founder), Ashish Borde(bass), Sujay Subash (guitars), John Joel (drums/acoustic guitar) and Abru Manoj (lyrics) was just a studio band that wanted to release music videos. Our first  two songs Podi Penne (2011) and Puttu Patu too went viral on YouTube.What started as a fun project for this Kochi-based band has now gained the status of being part of the big wigs in the music industry.”Sharing the story behind the band’s name he adds, “Thakara can either mean waste tin or small sapling. The visuals that will be played alongside will help you with that.” While the band follows other artists, James says that their role model are what heir previous songs embody..

Our award is when people listen and like our songs,” James concludes. Talking to the James, the front man and lead vocalist, we find out more about the upcoming songs and performances.Thakara is all geared for the release of four new songs that they have written.” On whether the band has won any awards, “As a band, we don’t believe in awards. As audiences, you don’t have to know Malayam to understand what we are trying to convey through these songs.” The band has planned to tour with these songs which will be released some where in April as well as release a music video. The songs that we write deal with society, breakups, the respect we give elders, celebrating the black colour etc. While one of the songs need aggression, we use rock. The band was started in 2012 by James Thakara, “Thakara” which means a small sapling is a band that comes out with original songs that focuson various things that happen around us.For example, Ammachi deals with the way we treat elders, Kurumulagu celebrated the colour black etc.

Such comments or being trolled doesn’t bother him though. "I couldn’t believe it got millions of views on Facebook and YouTube.It’s double jammy for Vir Das, as he debuts on and garners rave reviews for his Netflix outing Abroad Understanding and Conan to become the first Indian comedian on both platforms. It’s crazy!" he smiles." Vir, however, confesses that he only represents English Indian comedy and not ‘Indian’ Indian comedy. "I was taking such a big risk. If I crack a six-word joke, 200 people will write 3,000 words each about it. They understand that I can be good and bad both. "With haasya kavi sammelan, I think we have a very old comedy culture. Jetlagged and tired but still on his toes, Vir answers a volley of questions about his career and being a comedian in India.. I never revisit them.Being on Conan O’Brien’s show made Vir so nervous that he said ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ 19-odd times! "It’s Conan O’Brien, after all. Everyone’s opinion becomes too valuable and they consider themselves pundits."  The comedian doesn’t believe in self-censorship and boldly makes jibes at anything under the sun and says that he is too self-critical, too. But I mostly care about my relation with the audience. "I like comedy, music, and films equally and want to do all three to give me a balance and grounding," he signs off. I eased into the show China band sawmill about a minute later when I saw the audience was so receptive."

With more and more work flowing in every day, it becomes tougher for Vir to juggle between Weird Ass Comedy, his band Alien Chutney and films. This will be his second outing as a negative character, after the short film Raakh. "I don’t like watching my shows.He came to my green room and hung out for a bit. He’s my idol and the biggest host of late night shows.Before he takes off for the tour in the next fortnight, Vir will be busy with acting workshops for a Bollywood film that he will play an "evil funny man" in, he informs, reluctant to reveal more about the project.Right now, Vir is not just the talk of the town, but practically the whole world — although he seems to be underplaying it. "The audience in a comedy club will either laugh or not laugh at your jokes. "The true Indian comedy is represented by Johnny Lever, Raju Shrivastav, and Surendra Sharma who is one of the greatest comic artistes that ever lived. "We are becoming too entitled. That really baffles me," he says.

Vir has been a comedian for almost a decade now and in spite of being a pioneer of sorts in the stand-up comedy scene, he feels like a newbie compared to the Netflix stalwarts like Louis CK."While Vir has always had a similar effect on his audiences back home, he admits that performing in India can turn out to be a pain after the performance sometimes. "There’s so much content on Netflix that I thought it would take Abroad Understanding at least a couple of months to pick up." But almost overnight, for the first time in his 10-year-long career so far, Vir went viral." However, Vir was more worried that his jokes were far from flattering the Americans. That’s the only review I really need," he says." The same goes for Abraod Understanding. Some films do well while the others don’t. "It’s done and I’m not going to think about it now but work on my next show," says Vir, who is currently working on a new album for his band Alien Chutney and all set to take off on a 25-country tour includes Australia, countries in Europe, Africa, and East Asia, and ends with India in January next year. But, he is extremely proud of the Indian legacy in comedy.The stand-up comedian is aware that he’s had hits and misses in Bollywood. "I get it right sometimes and sometimes I don’t.

Thus the exquisite comb art, called among the tribals as "cupids craft", was born.Some combs crafted with figurines such as tortoise, elephants, birds and tigers, represents totems of the particular tribes. "Tribal boys no more perspire to craft intricately designed combs to woo their sweethearts as the girls appear to be attracted more towards colorful plastic combs, flooded in the market.The Raipur-based art connoisseur has collected over 1,600 combs from different tribal cultural zones in the country, including Bastar, in Chhattisgarh. The craft has virtually gone extinct as plastic combs in different vibrant hues have replaced wooden ones," said ethnologist and tribal art historian Niranjan Mahawar, 80, who authored over two dozen books including the widely acclaimed Bastar Bronze.Cupid strikes the couple instantly when the Muria boy, called in his tribes parlance as chelik, presents the intricately decorated comb, crafted with beautiful figurines such as a village belle lazily caressing her flowing hair, a bird in flight, China drying machine three dots tracing a triangle etc.".Praneeta Sharma, professor of anthropology department in a Raipur-based college, said, "The virtual extinction of comb craft has threatened to bury the rich heritage of tribe groups along with a treasure trove of information on a civilization. His magical touch, filled with intense feelings for his love, transforms the mundane piece of wood into testimony of his love for her.The comb becomes the pride possession of the girl for the rest of her life, even if their love does not end in their marriage.He burns  the midnight oil chiseling poetry of love on a comb to impress his sweetheart.Bastar: When a Muria youth falls in love with a girl of his tribe, he creates symphony on a tiny piece of wood."The tradition of crafting and wearing the exquisite comb among the tribe has now become a thing of the past. The combs are made of teak and rose woods.. The change in taste of the tribal girls, caused by advent of modernity, has sounded the death knell for the craft," he lamented. to her lady love, identified by his tribe as motiari..Besides Muria, other tribe groups such as Maria, both sub-groups of Gond tribe residing in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and Bhils of Rajasthan have the tradition of crafting and wearing combs.In keeping with a centuries-old tradition, unmarried Muria youths used to spend nights with single women of their choice at the local ghotul or dormitory, deemed as primary cultural institution of the tribe, to have fun.