Filed under: Experiences, Music | Tags: chennai, drummer, jeoraj stanley george, mentor, montry
The heart of Swarathma’s feel-good vibe is powerhouse drummer Montry Manuel. In the second part of the series on his teachers, he writes about Jeoraj Stanley George, acclaimed jazz drummer from Chennai who has mentored Montry over the years. Read on to learn more about Jeoraj, his life and music and impact on Montry.
My mentor, JEORAJ “Jo” STANLEY GEORGE was my second teacher who helped me take my skill set one step ahead. I met him at the Unwind Centre, Bangalore where I had joined a class for Pro Sessions.
My Mentor Jo recording in studio
The most hardworking artist, he learnt his skills from the DRUMTECH Institute, UK and was awarded the best student, the year he graduated from there. He was also trained by Joe Boy for his advanced skill set before joining Drum Tech. He came back to India and settled in Chennai where he started his struggle as an artist. After all his achievements, he had to put in more hard work to get himself noticed in this industry and within a few years he made it big. He has toured with Keith Peters and Carl Peters, Madhav Chari Trio, Amit Heri and Group who specialize in Indian Fusion. He has also toured with AR Rehman. He is also a very well known Session Artist and has been called in as a Guest Artist on many occasions.
Jo's drum setup
He had helped us a lot during the recording of our first album. He was the one who helped me polish my sound, my drum beats and rhythm for songs like Patte Saare, Jaana Kahan Hai Mujhe, Bolo Kya Hai, Yeshu Allah aur Krishna and Barsenge. He taught me the grooves of rock and reggae and the basics of samba beats which have helped me develop better sound for the album.
Get a taste of his music here
On his various visits to Bangalore, we always get together to discuss music and get some tips to learn new tricks to develop a better and more refreshing sound.
Text and Illustrations: Montry Manuel, Edited by: Hafsah Parkar, Pics: Facebook profile
Filed under: Tour | Tags: delhi, food, hard rock cafe, kareems, live photoblog, Tour
The Forward March Tour began withVarun having a bad day. We forgot his gutiar at the time of load-out. Then the anal security officers at the airport thought his Orange guitar amp head was a weapon of mass destruction (which it is, if you look at it). But then we lived to tell the tale. In pictures.
Day 2 in Pictures:
Forward March Tour: Live Photoblog - Montry Manuel has issues. He heart is fragile. He is emotional baggage. Pic: Jishnu.
Forward March Tour - Live Photoblog: The Lunatics are on the Grass. Sanjeev and Varun decide to crash on the little green patch outside the arrival lounge at Mumbai airport. Pic: Jishnu
Day 1 in Pictures:
Rikshawalla Dixit: The picture of the hardest working member of the band. On the Cycle of Life. The Pedaller of Tunes. Carrier of good news. Pic: Sanjeev Nayak
After having successfully negotiated our way to Kareem's, House of Food from Paradise, Tour Manager Young Deb and Engineer d'Sounde Niranjan share a point between mouthfuls of magic. Pic: Varun
The Aftermath: Massive quantities of wholesome goodness were polsihed off. Mutton Seekh, Chicken Seekh, Dilpasand, Mutton Korma, Chicken Makhani, and Rotis that were more pillows than food. Dessert was Firni, Shahi Tukda and Kulfi. Whoof... Pic: Pavan
Filed under: Live Art, Tour | Tags: delhi, folk rock band, hard rock cafe, live, rock, saket, swarathma
Gig poster! Design: Montry Manuel. Click to enlarge
Filed under: Experiences | Tags: alwyn fernandes, band, bruce lee mani, jeff beck, live, slash, swarathma, taaq, varun
I am writing this blog article listening to one of my favourite artists – Amy Lee (Evanescence). I spend most of my time listening to a lot of music, playing guitar and taking guitar lessons. In the course of teaching I come across lots of people, kids who enjoy every bit of music, working people who come to unwind after a hard days work. And in one such class when I met a friend/student of mine, he asked me what does it take to be a full time musician. I was not quite sure what to tell him. All I could remember was me asking Bruce the same question.
“Guns n roses cannot be the same with just the name, it’s the members who made the difference” - Slash
If I scratch my head trying to think a bit, I can say it was not so long before i decided to pursue music as a career. It was around my 2nd year of pre-university that I got more inclined towards guitar playing. I’d see guitars as my best friend than just an instrument. After dealing with a lot of difficulties playing in a college band, I soon started looking for a good tutor. After a couple of years I met Bruce Lee Mani and I knew he was the right guy. I cant help mentioning his name in most interviews or blog articles cuz he really crafted my playing and introduced me to different genres of music. Although I must admit that a lot of other guitars players around me have helped crafting my skill.
“If you ever get professional jealousy, then you're losing it. Do not criticize anybode else until you know you can do better, and even then do not do it” - Ethel Beck, mother of Jeff Beck. Pic: Gibson Guitars
As far as my experience is concerned after choosing music as my career, it has been definitely hard but I love doing this . Right from those days doing free gigs just to get it all going, giving all your time for the band, rehearsing to sound better everyday and finally doing all the backstage work from carrying equipment to sleepless nights and being totally broke. Its all been good fun. The band eventually became a family and having said I prioritized it more than other things as a result of which some people thought I literally ignored the rest. But those who really knew me believed that I was doing everything for a reason.
“Playing guitar is like speaking, don’t always play fast and blabber something, then nobody will understand what you spoke” - Alwyn Fernandes
Everything in the band is just like any other family. Yes we fight too! We argue, we crib about things sometimes, we support each other and though we can’t say we are the best of friends with each other, there is still a love hate relationship that keeps you going. And the longer you stick, the better it only gets. I always treat the band with great care only cuz I know what a small mistake can lead into. There is a lot of learning from the big international bands I admired. I d still say, Slash’s autobiography says a lot, teaches a lot.
I don’t say I follow the quotes that inspired me 100%, but yes I am trying to. This is the way I keep the rock n roll going.
Text: Varun. Pics: Facebook profiles
Filed under: Experiences | Tags: CAC, cochin, drummer, inspiration, jerry peter, joeboy, montry manuel, teachers
Montry Manuel plays drums for Swarathma. A feel-driven drummer to the core, he’s the heart of Swarathma’s good vibe machine. You just need to look at his on-stage smile to be captivated. In the first of this series he speaks of the teachers who moulded him into the drummer, and person, he is today. This edition is about Cochin based drummer and Montry’s first teacher, Jerry Peter.
JERRY PETER, a drummer based in Kerala was my first teacher when it came to my skills as a drummer and a musician. I met him at the Cochin Arts and Communications (CAC) Institute where he taught me for a period of six months. He is trained in Indian Carnatic Vocals and the Mridangam. He was trained by DAVID in his initial years of drumming and later he learnt his pro skill set from JOE BOY.
My teacher Jerry interacting with his first love
A man of few words, he carries very strong beliefs. As a teacher he says ethics are very important above all. Technical knowledge about music is always good to know but more importantly you need to get the feel of the music first. He taught me that more than being a musician is it important to be a good human being. His classes were always different and as musicians we always shared our minds which made the change. Hence, I developed a personal attachment towards him as a teacher.
Jerry Peter's Drum Setup: Tama + Roland TD-7. Jerry uses Vic Firth 5A drumsticks. On a personal note his favourite drummer is Ian Paice.
One of the things I admire about him is his skills of drum tuning and the precision he maintains when it comes to sound. But most importantly, he was the one who encouraged me to buy my first drum kit- Gladnick (Made in Bombay).
He currently plays for a band- Exodus. You can hear some his music on reverbnation. He is touring Kerala and beyond trying to showcase his dedication to music. Recently he had organized an event called- Wooden Shield. It was a large scale event where in 25 people had got together to make a big drum circle. It was a tribute to the journey of legendary drum warriors.
Even today, I refer to him for tips on music and sound for our album and lyrics. Immensely hardworking, he manages his family and music which is very difficult while still being based in Kerala. He teaches in a few well known institutes in Kerala where he has over a hundred students. Many of his students have made it big while many more will do too, under his guidance. And all this is possible because of his dedication towards music and his instruments. A BIG THANKS TO HIM!
Coming up in Part II: Jeoraj Stanley George.
Compiled and edited by Hafsah Parkar. Pics: Shiv Ahuja, Jerry Peter’s Facebook.
Filed under: Experiences | Tags: demonic resurrection, music workshops, open house series, them clones, trdp, yp foundation
Let’s say you’ve just been blown away by a mind-bending concert by Delhi based alt-rockers Them Clones. And you’re in a band that looks up to them, and wants to know how they got so far. Did they worry about band members leaving like you’re doing? Did they have it tough before they played sold-out gigs? Do they like sausages? But you can’t go up and have this discussion at the end of a rock n roll concert. So how do you find out?
The Open House Series put together by the YP Foundation is an effort to bring people together for “an interactive, multi year workshop series for interested, upcoming and established young artistes that explore information, ideas and models that protect promote and publish Independent Music in India.” There is more meat in that statement than an average steak. And if you pardon the terrible pun, there is SO much at stake if you’ve chosen to be in the profession of indie-music. Which is why initiatives like these are laudable, and we really wanted to support this effort.
If you getsticulate while speaking you can distract people from the real point
I joined the third in the series of workshops earlier this month with Neysa Mendes (PR Angel for a bunch of Indie’s big names), Surojit Dev (drummer of Them Clones, who’ve been exploring some pretty radical new brand tie-ups), Gaurav Vaz (bassist/manager of The Raghu Dixit Project and General Dude when it comes to everything online) and Sahil Makhija (guitarist/vocalist of Demonic Resurrection and metal music entrepreneur). Dev Bhatia (manager of Jalebee Cartel) made a cameo appearance as well. August company, and that too in February. In the audience were a bunch of bands and artistes, and those who had an interest in the music business.
The Demonstealer shows so\m/e metchul support!
The experience brought us together in a wonderful way. Questions that we’ve asked and found answers to over the years came back at us, and it’s a good feeling that there are forums like these where you can get answers. There were other oddities, like The Demonstealer, purveyor of metal mayhem, posing with a Swarathma presskit, showing that when it came to artists and their relationships, genre played no role in the equation. I found Neysa and Sahil’s presentation on music PR quite helpful. To quote Sahil, “Don’t be an Asshole”. A lot of doors open up when you’re nice to people around.
The panelists with the panelling. And the panelers.
A lot of people ask me about how Swarathma carved a niche for itself in the online space, and while its true we do work hard to create content that is interesting, it stems from something more fundamental. We’ve figured out an IDENTITY. One that sets us apart from the rest. Once you have that, social or antisocial, media is only going to work for you.
Kudos to the team at YP Foundation for putting this together!
Text: Jishnu Dasgupta. Pics: Shiv Ahuja
Filed under: Tour Diary
The Pyar ke Rang tour was special. The promise of seeing the Taj Mahal, a first time experience for most of us, on the St Valentine’s celebrated day of love was something we went ‘oooh!’ over. Add a gig at Pune, our second home, to a crowd of Symbiosis Inst of Design students who are pretty awesome in every way, and you have a winning combo! For the full set of pics, click here
'Superman at Soundcheck' - Soundcheck at Pune albeit delayed was chilled out. Friends dropped by while issues got sorted out. In this pic Varun Superboy plugs in his Crafter acoustic guitar with a direct XLR out and jangles out a few riffy chords. Pic: Kaustuv Dasgupta
'Bolo Shri Yeshu Allah aur Krishna keee..' - Vasu and Jishnu raise arms to heaven to catalyse a chant that can change the world! SID Pune outdoes itself each time. This gig at Ishanya saw two trains of junta going clockwise and anticlockwise around the venue in an euphoric frenzy. We loved it. Pic: Rushi Dolas
Jhilmil Parathas! - After a bleary-red-eye flight to Delhi, we set off on the Agra road trip. Pictured here is the epic Jhilmil Dhaba where obscene quantities of Aloo, Pyaaz, Gobi and Paneer parathas (spiced wheat flatbreads) were wolfed down. Pic: Pavan Kumar
Pre-Taj Moment - A delayed setup at the (largely forgettable) Agra venue meant we could squeeze in a Taj visit! Here we stand at the red sandstone gates waiting to exhale. The 22 domes on top og the gate (11 visible here) were made to mark the number of years it took. Pic: Irfan the Guide.
'Aye tere dar par' - We pose for a pic at the behest of Irfan, redoubtable guide who refused to speak in English. 'Aapne Indian ka rate diya hai, Hindi mein bolunga!' A great experience, nonetheless. Pic: Irfan the Guide
Fireflies Festival Event Poster. Design: Vasu Dixit. Click to enlarge.
Back in the day when the band was just about finding its feet, before the current line-up, Fireflies Festival of Sacred Music (or Bhoomi Jathre, as it used to be called in earlier days) was a place where Swarathma always dreamed of playing. It was the crowd: a distillation of the most hard core music lovers in the city. Driven to desperation by a city administration bent upong shutting down nightlife (responsible or otherwise) by a distinctly godly hour Bangalore’s junta would throng to this all-night music festival. It featured all manners of folk artists, left-of-middle bands and absolute delights like qawwali groups. Vasu, Montry and Pavan would sit in the crowd, watching their heroes play, wondering if some day they would get the chance of playing under the famed peepal tree.
Vasu faces the Fireflies crowd for the first time, buttferflies in stomach.
A few months after I joined the band, in February 2008, the chance finally came. I didn’t know what to expect though. Our slot was at 5.30am, when I was sure most of the crowd would have left. But to my absolute shock, there almost was a full house! We played the only gig where we started in darkness and ended in light, for the sun rose mid-way through our set. The crowd uncoiled like a giant awakening and was on its feet and dancing in the end, a lovely feeling. We were a nervous band (we still are, sometimes) and it did wonders for our confidence to play a show like that.
We were invited to play again in Feb 2009, by which time our first album was out. There have been so many people that have seen us play that gig, and have come back to us with great words of encouragement. We consider that as one of our best performances, made memorable by Fire-Poi dancers who joined us mid-set, to an extended version of Bolo Kya Hai. Other gig commitments kept us away in 2010, but we return this year with a bunch of new tunes and the feeling that we’re coming home.
See you under the Peepal Tree, then!
Swarathma Live at Fireflies Festival of Music | Feb 19, 2011
Text: Jishnu Dasgupta, Pics: Mahesh Shantaram
Filed under: Live Art, Tour | Tags: bengaluru habba, biriyani, folk rock band, hard rock cafe, hyderabad, live, Tour
It is time to do justice to that plate of wholesome awesomeness.
The prospect of touring Hyderabad opens up delicious culinary corners of the mind. We’re heading for the land of Biriyani. So what’ll it be, Paradise or Bawarchi? Are the boys going to pick up some freshly baked Karachi Bakery biscuits, or are they going to partake of the awesomeness of Famous icecreams?: And what about Eat Street? And if they live to tell the tale, are they going to be able to play the 2 gig dates below?
Jan 27 | Hyderabad | Hard Rock Cafe | GVK One | 8.30pm
Jan 28 | Bangalore | Bengaluru Habba | RMZ Infinity | 7.00pm
Find out, later this week!
Pavan Kumar writes about one of his musical inspirations, the intrepid Mukhtiyar Ali. Coming from a family of Sufi singers, Mukhtiyar brings with him a rawness that is as awe-inspiring as it is uplifting. Swarathma’s percussionsist/vocalist Pavan had a chance meeting with him that developed into a deeper relationship. It is not often that you have the chance to being in the presence of true greatness, one that is not overshadowed by the clouds of flashing lights of fleeting fame. Read on to know more.
I am a great fan of sufi music. I remember getting hooked to it during my high school days. My list of favourite singers goes like this: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Wadali brothers, Sabri brothers and Abida Parween. I had not heard of Mir Mukhtiyar Ali until I saw ‘Had Unhad’, a documentary on Kabir by Shabnam Virmani, in which there is a segment on Mukhtiyar. I liked his singing instantly and immensely. At that point I had never imagined that I’d one day meet Mukhtiyar Ali.
My first meeting with Mukhtiyar in person was a short one. This was about five years back in my hometown Mysore, where Mukhtiyar was giving a concert. My brother Sachu was instrumental in organising Mukhtiyar’s concert titled Roohi Rang, in Mysore a couple of years later. And this is how I met Mukhtiyar for a second time, and again in my hometown. This time around, Sachu was very keen on organizing a recording of Mukhtiyar’s singing and managed to make it happen a couple of months later. Fortunately Swarathma didn’t have many shows around that time and I landed up in Mysore, happy to have a chance to listen to Mukhtiyar’s singing again.
A voice that soars: Mukhtiyar Ali
I had felt that this man was very humble and down to earth. I realized it practically after spending time with him. When I had spoken to him over phone a few months before I had casually asked him to get me a dholak from Rajasthan. I didn’t imagine that he would take this request from me seriously. But I went over to meet him as he arrived in Mysore and lo! He handed over an awesome dholak for me!
This time I had opportunity of spending 4 days with him. While in his company I used to closely observe him as a person and as a musician. The most important aspect I learnt from him is how to be humble and how to let go of one’s ego. Mukhtiyar shared a lot of things about himself and his musical journey. He was born on Aug. 1, 1972 in a small village called Pugal in Rajasthan. He is from the semi – nomadic Mirasi Community that hails from Thar Desert. He represents 26th generation of this community, which has successfully kept alive the oral tradition of Sufiana Qalam! His performances in festivals in Canada, Belgium and Sweden got overwhelming responses, as did his recital in New Delhi in 2008, as part of an international festival of arts. He has performed in most of the metros in India. He has to his credit many performances and has released three albums, two of which were brought out by Shristi School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore. He has also lent his voice to a few film songs. And he’s off to France for a series of concerts in February 2011.
Despite economic hardships and the onslaught of globalisation, which threatens to dilute much of folk traditions and music forms; Mukhtiyar has stood firm and kept alive the oral tradition of Sufism. When it comes to music, I must say that Mukhtiyar has a voice which can only be experienced and never expressed. In soulful Kabir he has preserved the ideology of Sufiana music. Mukhtiyar’s recital of poetry is so heartfelt that it begins to resemble music.
Mukhtiyar has been singing Rajasthani folk songs including poems of Amir Khusro, Shabahu and Kabir, whose lyrics have no religious barriers. When asked about the latest remix culture, Ali said that they were short-lived pieces of music, produced in bulk every day and forgotten even faster. “Sufi poets’ verses have been sung since the past 27 generations and are popular even to this day,” he pointed out.
Though I had read poems of Kabir like any other primary school kid, I started understanding the meaning within it, as I got older. After listening to Mukhtiyar, my understanding of Kabir became much more clear because Mukhtiyar intersperses his singing with explanations in Hindi for the audience’s benifit. Explaining about Kabir’s verse in which he compares the human life to a garment that passes through various phases of production from raw cotton to the tailor, Mukhtiyar says that Kabir himself was a weaver by profession and propagated philosophy through easily understandable verses.
A couple of popular Kabir’s dohas sung by Mukhtiyar which have inspired me
Bura jo khojan main chala
bura na mileya koye
anthar khoja apno so
mujhsa bura na koi
(I went out in search of the worst person
And later, on searching my own soul,
Realised that none could be worse than me,
For looking for the worst in others)
In another verse, Mukhtiyar, citing himself as an example, sings;
Gaoon bajaoon… sab ko rijhaoon…
albeli mastani… deen dharam se begaani…
(I sing and play, I entertain everyone;
I am unaware of caste or religious barriers).
When Swarathma composes songs on Kabir I perceive it with a deeper understanding today. Thanks to Mukhtiyar.
