Ranchi: They bonded over the mutual love of music and after few gigs and college fests they became the first-ever local band to get a big break on a national platform.
Meet Highway 69, the city-based rock band comprising four college pass-outs, who got selected at the prestigious Hornbill International Rock Contest 2017, which kicked off in Dimapur, Nagaland, on December 5.
Speaking to The Telegraph just before their performance on Thursday, band's lead vocalist Tarang Kerketta said they can't wait to perform in front of a huge audience.
"We are the only band from Jharkhand to have ever qualified for such a big event. We have already won," said Tarang, an engineering graduate from BIT-Sindri.
Tarang along with other band members - guitarist Alvin Rosario, bass guitarist Vineet Barla and drummer Johnraj Swami - regaled the Nagaland audience with four of their original compositions.
This year as many as 17 national bands and four international ones from USA, Japan, Bhutan and Singapore are taking part in the rock contest. Around 12 bands have already performed in the last two days, while six teams, including Highway 69, enthralled the audience on Thursday. The finals will be held on Friday.
"Organisers carry out a preliminary selection by tracking all rock bands across the country on the basis of their performances in last one year. Thereafter, they are called for auditions. Luckily we qualified in all rounds," said Tarang, a resident of Dhurwa.
Speaking about their style of singing, Tarang said, "We generally focus on new-age progressive metal and also create our own compositions."
So how did the band come into existence? "All four of us have been always passionate about music. In 2012, we connected with each other and decided to form our own band," added Tarang.
According to the band members, Highway 69 was the perfect name for their band. "Our music is like a never-ending highway and 69 is a unique number which gives the same result once you reverse it. We also consider ourselves flexible enough to suit different genres and music," Tarang signed off.
