A bigger hit the second time around

CHENNAI: When a person hits 40, its seldom that they plan things other than retirement. But the story of Second Coming is completely different. As the name of the band suggests, a bunch of 40-something men, after a hiatus from their music professions, are back in action. “We started off jamming at a friend's place in Yercaud early this year.  It was so much fun that we decided that we needed to play together more often,” explains Maynard Grant, the drummer, who is also a faculty in a music school. As they began to jam on a more regular basis, their friends began hanging out at their jamming pad, which is Reji Verghese's (singer) home more often than not, and before they knew it, Second Coming had performed 15 gigs in just three months! Even though they have been concentrating on their individual careers for a couple of years, having disappeared from the music scene, they do not consider their return as a comeback. “We just wanted to have fun playing stuff that we truly enjoy and we haven't compromised on that,” says Mark Wilcox, the keyboardist. He, with consent from the rest of the band members, especially Tenny Allwood, a five-star chef and the guitarist, believe that their USP is 'fun'. “Even now, we remind ourselves that the idea is not to show off our experience, repertoire or skills but to have fun and entertain the crowd,” explains the mechanical engineer. But when one does expect to see a bunch of not-so-young men perform, the band pops-up with their surprise element in the form of Tonia Kohlhoff, the lone female singer. When her father Philip Kohlhoff, also a singer with the band, suggested to Reji that his daughter was someone who could sing well, he shrugged it off. “I ignored it thinking it's what most fathers think of their daughters. When I actually heard her sing for the first time, she blew me away,” explains Reji, who is a business man by profession. But ask the svelte 22-year-old photographer what she thinks of hanging out with her father and his friends and her zero regret is evident when she says, “For me, it's an honour to play with such an experienced bunch of musicians. These guys have 30-odd years of performing experience and I learn so much from them everyday.” With all of them having full-time day jobs, performing late into the night at gigs and nursing hangovers the next morning must surely be a task. “It is getting difficult to juggle both work and music. We plan to slow down a bit and spend more time writing some original stuff after our gigs in December,” says Reji. And with the music industry being a rapidly growing scene, there are chances for them to feel out of touch. “We're actually pretty clued in to the current music scene and the music we play ranges from the 1930s Jazz to songs from current artistes,” Tonia is quick to explain. “The funny thing is that the age group of audience varies from kids in their late teens to people in their late 50s! Good music never goes out of fashion,” adds her father Philip. The band is sure of where they are heading. “We don't intend to continue being a 'covers' band. We've written a few songs for our new album, which we hope to release next year!” says Reji.