A little bit of this, A little bit of that Indian Express Delhi-based pop band, Taan Trikz find order in the musical chaos Jaskiran Kaur
Chandigarh, February 14: This is one band that never plays for itself. ''Always for the people,'' pop band Taan Trikz's keys and vocalist, Ulrich SN Gomes vows at Kalagram for Airtel's Valentine Concert. ''We've missed our Valentines for this Valentine,'' he laughs, as he introduces the fifth member, a sessions musician, Adil Manuel. Sessions musician? ''A musician who works for a lot of mainstream artists,'' Adil, who's jammed with Shubha Mudgal, Indian Ocean, Shibani Kashyap, Silk Route et al, shoots a definition straight from the Thesaurus. ''You know, 99 per cent of the active Indian musicians are self taught? And yes, the Indian music scene is definitely improving. It's at an infant stage right now...give it five to ten years, and it will go global,'' Adil gives a lowdown on how Mumbai's buzzing with international rockers, Delhi, with the bands and how the industry needs a corporate boost to go world-wise. ''Why have a band when you have bollywood,'' Ulrich gets a li'l sarcastic. ''They're already making good music,'' he adds. Okay, then what are you guys doing? ''Rock, hip-hop, European, jazz, blues, classical, commercial...name your style and we'll play it,'' the jack of all tunes jives. Get into their website, and these Goan can gunganao to almost anything and everything. ''There is a band at every doorstep in Goa,'' Ulrich says proudly, telling us about their nine-year old band, and that they are in the process of releasing their first album. By the way, these guys were called Rome of the East first. ''But our managers found it too stade, and we changed it to Taan Trikz, with minor adjustments of course,'' Ulrich says. While Adil's totally hooked to blues and jazz, Ulrich, like all the other missing band members, is an animal lover and a serious toy car collector. ''Antique models. Just got a white convertible mercedes,'' Adil teases his pal. A little bit about the rest, and we are introduced to the phantom lot. Greg's unwell, so Adil's chipping in at the guitars. Tony's the drummer and he is a master's in analytical chemistry, a national level footballer, foodie and a teacher. Braulio's known for his gussa, and he's into the sixties. He's a teacher too. No wonder these guys rock 'n' roll! ~(^^)~ Avelino