Hoobastank members with the children in Shillong on Friday. Picture by Evanjoplin Dkhar

Shillong, June 28: It took them 34 hours to arrive from California. But the perfect antidote for jetlag was a special meeting right here. Capturing the imagination of the members of Hoobastank, the American band of The Reason fame, was the sheer talent of a group of differently-abled students.

The students, some of them visually impaired, of Bethany Society here, could strum the guitar, play the keyboard, beat the drums, and sing loud and clear like any musician!

Yes, that is why Shillong is so famously known for its large pool of musicians who can strum the electric as well as the acoustic with precision.

That is why international bands that come here are left in awe with the ability of the thousands of music lovers, young and old, melodious and otherwise, perfect and imperfect, to sing along from the long list of who’s who of music. That is why The Reason is Shillong!

Although still tired after the unending journey to the capital of the abode of clouds, lead vocalist Doug Robb could not help but pat the differently-abled students whose music resonated on the compound of Bethany Society near the St Edmund’s College campus. The band comprises vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, bassist Jesse Charland and drummer Chris Hesse.

The four-member band, accompanied by a three-member technical team, landed in Guwahati yesterday morning before proceeding to Ri Kynjai resort near the Umiam lake, nearly 15km from here, where they stayed.

The differently-abled students performed Bob Marley’s Get Up, Stand Up, and John Lennon’s renowned song Imagine in front of the Hoobastank team, much to the awe of those who were witness to the talent and dedication these students have.

“You guys are really good, and there is so much talent in you. I am truly amazed,” Robb told the students in front of their peers and teachers.

Tomorrow’s gig at the fifth ground of the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex, Polo will be the first for Hoobastank in the sub-continent.

Aptly titled The Reason is Shillong, tomorrow’s concert is part of the sixth anniversary celebrations of The Northeast Today, and is powered by t2 of The Telegraph. The show, to be opened by various bands, is scheduled to start at 3pm. Tickets will be available at the venue.

A feature of the gig will be the sound system, which will be entirely managed by a group of sound engineers from the Northeast region itself. The band is expected to perform for at least 90 minutes tomorrow. “When the idea of a show in India came up, I immediately informed the others and a decision was arrived to in a second…Let’s do it!” guitarist Dan Estrin said. Over the years, the band has seen a few changes in the team, including bassist Markku Lappalainen leaving in 2005. Hoobastank has been vigorously touring to promote their last album Fight or Flight, playing shows organised by the United Service Organisation for American troops across the world, including in Iraq.

Most recently, the band has been busy with The Guitar Centre Sessions in Los Angeles.Hoobastank has many hits to its credit, namely The Reason, First of Me, Crawling in the Dark, The Letter, If Only and Magnolia (dedicated to Doug Robb’s daughter) and have ruled the charts in recent years.