James Jude Peter, Gilbert Xavier, Clement Samson Correya and Nijo Sebastian are brilliant musicians. Together they form the band White Sugar. At least three members of this city-based young band have other professions, joining together only when there are shows. Natural because, though White Sugar is one of the popular bands who have stuck together for more than five years now and with an average of 50 performances a year, there's still a feeling of insecurity.
White Sugar is just an example. There are tons of good bands out there with a whole lot of talented musicians and a looming career ahead but not yet established.
For young bands
This is where Avaroha steps in. This newly established company for band management and for DJs aims to ‘tap the growing seriousness related to different genres of music, which until sometime was not taken too seriously by the audience.'
“We are only trying to change the way people perceive music in our country. We intend to provide a platform for young bands, help them showcase their talent, manage their shows, provide chances for them to perform in various parts of the country,” says Nileena Babu, one of the four ‘founders' of this very innovative company.
Avaroha was a business plan hatched by four young management students, Nishant Gairola, Jasleen Sarna, Nivedha Priyadarshini and Nileena, of Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA).
Passion for music
“This was Nishant's idea and we joined him. All of us have a passion for music, any form, any genre, though none of us is a performer. We found so many bands fading out simply because they never got the exposure, while some of the big names took so much time to get themselves entrenched in the field. So, we thought of forming this company, sometime this March, with a belief that we would be able to help talented artistes get what they deserve,” adds Nileena, who hails from Chalakudy. In fact, the four have even waived campus placements for they firmly believe that Avaroha is their future.
To start with Avaroha panned possibilities in Chennai, where the company is now based. “Initially, the response was not very good. Chennai has so many young bands and there's a lot happening on the campuses. We spread our word to neighbouring cities like Bengaluru and Pondicherry. Nishant even went as far as Gangtok and Shillong where there are some amazing bands. We now have 35 bands lined up with us.”
What is it that they offer the bands who have signed contracts with them? “Avaroha understands the need of bands and its members. We investigate the potential and opportunities, scout for talent and also conduct a selection before signing them up. We deal with everything related to a band, like developing the band image, finding endorsements, helping them to record and produce albums, secure gigs, even promotions and ticketing for shows,” answers Lakshmi Vijayan, who has joined the company as Manager, Marketing and Sales.
Among the assurances Avaroha offers are three to four performances at different venues, a basic start of Rs. 10,000-15,000 for every performance, and regular shows at pubs, hotels and restaurants. “All this will vary depending on the popularity and status of the band,” says Nileena. Among the groups that have contracted with Avaroha are The Local Train, Colossal Figures, The Mangalz, (New Delhi), Tiffin Box, Forsaken, Amethysts, Drones from the Turbine, Allegro Fudge (Bengaluru), Blind Rituals, Panic Attack, Konnect, Pralay, Rang, Medusa (Mumbai), Summit Attempt, (Kolkata), Still Waters (Gangtok), Native Rules (Shillong).
Different services
Some bands, like White Sugar, are not tempted by the hotel and pub shows. “We don't want to be branded as a hotel band. We're not looking at such a contract. Of course, we are ready to play for special occasions but not as a regular job. What attracts us is assurance of shows at different cities in the country, helping us with recording and such,” opines Sreekanth, manager, White Sugar.
With sharp business acumen the four youngsters of Avaroha have drawn parallel plans to help draw bands and audience to their fold. “On July 30 this year we will be organising a live music fest, a six-hour event called ‘Buzzzard,' which will feature six bands from outside Chennai and a wild card entry from the city. There's a poll happening on Facebook from where the audience can get to choose the band they would like to hear. This will be held in Chennai. This is to create awareness about the work we do and also provide our bands a great platform,” informs Nileena.
Investors now have a stake in Avaroha to the tune of Rs. 7 lakhs. “Most of them are like-minded people who have shown confidence in us. We are going around talking to sponsors about our idea, especially Buzzzard.
The response has been very positive which is very encouraging. We have held discussions with pubs, hotels and restaurants in Chennai, Bengaluru and Pondicherry. Some of them have agreed to have bands from us play for them. We are hopeful that bands from Kochi and other cities in Kerala would join us. We're just talking to them. After all, this State has produced some great bands. And almost every band in the country has at least one Malayali artiste with them,” hopes Nileena.
