Head to this music gig in the eastern suburbs of Kalyan

Most teenagers dream of being in a rock band It is one of the many traditions of the rebellious years that makes one yearn for torn jeans spiked bracelets and electric guitars While most of us grow out of the phase there are a few who continue to walk down this less trodden path Some of them will gather tomorrow for the Indie Flow Vol 5 gig at a venue in the middleclass neighbourhood of KalyanVinod B extreme right of the The Vinod B Project in performanceThe gig is a chance to allow independent artistes their own space says Nelson Kharat organiser from the Suburban Music Project Kharat a rocker himself began his journey through the workingclass town of Ambernath before being part of the travelling circuit of rock musicians around the city On a call from the United Kingdom he explains ldquoThis is our latest edition of the gig and we are hoping to offer a platform to independent bands to perform their original worksrdquoAlternative avenuesFor Nilesh Parab fellow organiser and cofounder of Suburban By Error 101 it is a muchneeded venture ldquoI am an ardent rock fan and have noticed a distinct shift in the way people approach music in this part of the cityrdquo says the 27yearold Having started out as a drummer Parab noticed that the nature of gigs in the city was skewed against the less prominent indie musiciansRomana DrsquoSouza of Red MistldquoEven before the pandemic gig spaces began to curate bands selectively As more spaces closed down the opportunities available to hard rock or metal bands narrowed further When available they would not get the opportunity unless they were wellknown among fansrdquo The rise of hiphop also made it difficult for such bands to get their foot in the door This is the reason Parab founded Suburban By Error 101 with his partners Rishikesh Patil Sameer Mahale and Tejas Taware mdash all metalheadsSanket Nirbhavane lead vocalist of Shroud Indigo agrees Nirbhavane moved to Andheri after spending his early years in Kalyan ldquoWe set up the band a year and half ago and now we already have three songs ready to release I plan to perform them on stage this weekend I do notice the community growing thoughrdquo he says Such gigs offer them a chance to test the material as well as build a word of mouth among fans ldquoEvery musician has to find their audience That is the key to what we dordquo he points outSiddharth Thomas second from left of Rotten Kitten at an earlier gigThe gig is not all metal though For Vinod B of the Vinod B Project it is a chance to just play music He founded the project in 2016 and has since been moonlighting with Bollywood music covers while pursuing the passion for indie music ldquoAs a band we are not genre or languagespecific Our music includes jazz rock and blues With such music finding an audience can be difficultrdquo he points outBoosting new talentParab shares the example of the Thanebased band Eternal Returns saying ldquoTheir music has taken off in Ukraine and parts of Europe Yet if you were to ask a hard rock fan in the city they might not recognise the name That is why we tried to pick and curate newer bands and some of them are surprises For instance Midnight Gravity is coming in from NashikrdquoBands rehearse at the venueSiddharth Thomas lead singer of Rotten Kitten looks at it differently ldquoAlthough it is in the suburbs I have noticed a growing awareness about the music here There is also a home advantage for many of these bands It is much like performing without the overt pressure of brands appearance or social media We prefer thatrdquo he says adding ldquoIt is a release from our daily life Our drummer is a studio professional and our bassist works with Amazon This is our escaperdquoUpashna of Rocketqueen Pic CourtesyInstagramWhile Parab admits that right now they are just about able to cover costs the demand is growing ldquoNew talent is emerging from these regions we need a space to perform Compared to the city the overheads are lower and with demand growing there is potential room for growthrdquo As Kharat concludes ldquoIt is all about playing the music we love Everything else followsrdquoON Tomorrow 4 pm onwardsAT Suburban By Error 101 Behind St Judersquos High School Kalyan EastLOG ON TO skillboxescomENTRY Rs 500