Joint family
Formed: December 2004
Based in: Delhi
Genre: Nu-metal /metal
Age average: 22
USP: Explosive live sets teamed with original compositions that are a blend of heavy but catchy riffs. The energy at a JF show is, well, exhilarating
Big gigs: June Rock Out at Unwind Centre Chennai in 2005; IIT-Delhi Blitzkrieg 2005; Independence Rock XX in Mumbai and Great Indian Rock 2006 and 2007 chapters. JF — which is Akshay De (vocals), Clarence Gonsalves (bass), Rahul Sainani (guitar), Rohit Amwan (guitar) and Shardul Mehta (drums) — also won the Hornbill Music Festival in Kohima, Nagaland in 2006 (playing for a crowd of 75,000 people). The band recently launched its debut album HotBox, which showcases its popular live tracks Juggernaut and Change, along with the rip-roaring Drummer’s Advice
Find them at: www.myspace.com/jointfamily
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Junkyard Groove
Formed: 2005
Based in: Chennai
Genre: Alternative/funk/rock
Age average: Late 20s
USP: Bluesy funk-rock with a jammy sensibility — essentially JYG’s sound — calls for some slick musicianship. The band has that, along with a great songwriter in Ameeth Thomas (vocals, guitar), ably supported by Sid (guitar), Craig Maxworth (bass) and Jeremiah John (drums). Plus, there’s always Ameeth’s eccentric stage act and some slick rapping to draw a “different” audience. Check out Take The Fall and It’s Ok
Big gigs: The band was the opening act at Dubai’s Desert Rock Festival 2007, opening for artistes like Iron Maiden, Incubus and Robert Plant
Find them at: www.myspace.com/junkyardgroove
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The Supersonics
Formed: 2006
Based in: Calcutta
Genre: Rock with punk influences
Age average: 25
USP: The decision to go all-original in a city still hung up with its classic-rock cover drill. It worked. Two years down the line, The Supersonics — Ananda Sen (guitar/vocals), Rohan Ganguly (guitars/ backing vocals), Nitin Mani (bass/backing vocals) and Avinash Chordia (drums/backing vocals) — has a substantial fan following that keeps asking for more and more new material. Some of the songs to listen for are Yeah Whatever and Have A Drink.Its energetic live shows are also a hit and now pack in a few acoustic sets
Big gigs: The Calcutta Rock Festival; RSJ Pubrockfest 2007; Rocktoberfest in New Delhi
Find them at: www.thesupersonics.net
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The Superfuzz
Formed: 2005
Based in: Delhi
Genre: Garage/punk rock, though its MySpace genre category says “rock/pop/experimental”. Whatever it is, it works
Age average: 21
USP: A devil-may-care attitude, stompy grooves, a few power chords and a raucous time on stage. Their song on how they hate school called School is a popular track, along with What I Really Think , Maple and Four Times And Once
Big gigs: Superfuzz’s rise was meteoric. Within a year of settling on a steady trio line-up — Sanchal Malhar (vocals, guitar), Nikhil Rufus (bass, backing vocals) and Aditya Paharia (drums) — the band went on to win Campus Rock Idols 2005, thereby getting to open for Bryan Adams at his 2006 concerts in Mumbai and Bangalore and won Channel V Launch Pad in 2006. Its absence at the Eastwind Festival in February has given rise to break-up rumours,which the band continues to deny
Find them at:http://www.thesuperfuzz.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/thesuperfuzzmusic
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Scribe
Formed: 2005
Based in: Mumbai
Genre: Metalcore
Age average: 24
USP: Explosive live shows serving up raw metal madness. Plus, the band has some really cool videos, some of which are awaiting censorship nods
Big gigs: Regulars on the Mumbai college circuit scene, Scribe — formed by musicians from bands like Pin Drop Violence, Split, Chaos Theory, Exhumation and Skincold, all leaning towards the heavier side of things — went on to win the Independence Rock XXII in 2006, with ear-splitting originals like The Vaas, Analyse This Demo and Ninety Seconds Is One Minute. The band, which comprises Vishwesh (vocals), Prashant (guitar), Akshay (guitar), Srinivas (bass) and Niraj (drums), also played the Eastwind Festival in February 2008
Find them at: www.myspace.com/scribecore
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Them Clones
Formed: July 2000
Based in: Delhi
Genre: It’s MySpace page says ‘straight-up riff-rock’, but the Clones, as the band is often referred to, plays a blend of hooksy riffs with great grooves and big choruses (Follow The Prophet) and slow-burn singalongs (Zephyretta)
Age average: 25
USP: Memorable originals and thoroughly enjoyable live shows, with a great frontman in Prithwish
Big gigs: Quite a few: from GIR 2005 to Channel V Launch Pad, the Clones — Prithwish ‘PD’ Dev (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard), Joseph (guitar), Gucci (guitar, vocals) and Dev (drums, vocals) — have been winning every major competition that counts and are now one of the foremost live acts in India. The band also notched up the Best Indian Band tag at the Jack Daniels India Rock Awards 2007
Find them at:www.themclones.com
myspace.com/themclones
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