The band with no name

What most bands take months to master, this group deftly practises to perfection in minutes, just a day before they have to go on stage. One look at the lineup, and the reason for their confidence is apparent – between these seasoned and upcoming musicians, there probably lies almost a century of experience. Fresh off their first show at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, is ‘the band with no name.’From Keith Peters (bass) who has played with everyone from AR Rahman to Yuvan Shankar Raja, to Baiju Dharmajan (guitar) of Motherjane fame (often called the ‘God of small strings’) and even Indian classical music exponent, Asad Khan (sitar) —  this is a powerful mix. And then, there’s Sanjeev Thomas (vocals and guitar), who became widely recognised after his electrifying guitar solos on the Jai Ho tour (with AR Rahman), vocalist of Roobaroo fame Naresh Iyer, and finally, the junior members of the band, Uday Jose (keys), David Joseph (drums) and MT Aditya Srinivasan (tabla).So why don’t they have a name yet? “We just haven’t thought of one,” says Sanjeev, nonchalantly. To which Naresh adds, “It all came together quite suddenly, so maybe we’ll come up with one when we get together for the next show.”  And while plans for an album may be a little to early to talk about, the band reveals that music lovers can watch out for their performances at college shows and corporate gigs.“So far, we’ve had great response from the crowds that we’ve played for,” Sanjeev adds.”And it shows that kids really know their music, when they can enjoy a versatile set list of songs.”Well, the band with no name may not have a clear identity just yet, but the mix of genres they put into play – popular Bollywood melodies, English covers and a few of Sanjeev’s own compositions, hits all the right notes, and then some. Describing the experience, Mumbai-based Asad says, “This is a whole new experience for me, trying these different flavours of music.” He adds, “Recording in Chennai at least eight times a month, I’ve heard of all of these musicians, but I’ve never actually played with any of them until now.”And sitting in on a jam session at a Kodambakkam studio recently, it was evident that with years of experience, putting together music comes a whole lot faster. Normally, Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir could be quite a handful. But here’s how they did it. That signature chord progression starts off with a powerful jolt of energy --- bass (Keith), guitar (Sanjeev), drums (David) and keys (Uday) all at once. Sanjeev begins singing the opening lyrics, weaving into an unexpected classical twist on lead guitar (Bhaiju) moving forward into the sitar (Asad) – these were lightning speed strings, and then before you knew what hit you, a percussion solo (Aditya), and these musicians were only just getting started! It took a few re-runs to get it just right, but witnessing the magic of Led Zeppelin be recreated firsthand, well, it doesn’t get quite get better, does it?