I am the Indian Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year - 2008!
Last week, I applied for the ‘International Young Music Entrepreneur of the Year - 2008‘ conducted by the British Council in India. This is an award that is given to people between 25 and 35 who are doing innovative stuff in the domain of music and entertainment in 10 countries that participate in this event.
I won the India leg of this event yesterday and the magnitude of this is still sinking in slowly! As winner, I get to travel to the UK in June and attend ‘London Calling‘ one of the biggest trade conferences for the global music industry. I also get to add one song from my country into the global IYME compilation. My choice for this is of course going to be ‘Gudugidya’, my favourite song from the Raghu Dixit Project album and one of the songs that I played for on the album.
Since I could not do a formal ‘Thank you’ acceptance speech yesterday while receiving the award, I’d like to take that liberty here!
Thank you Shreyas and Atul for RadioVeRVe! This is as much your award as it is mine … Working for RadioVeRVe has been one of the most wonderful things I have done in my life though I haven’t given it the time it deserves recently!
Thanks Shilpa for not letting me give up and for believing and eventually joining in the initiative! I love the fact that we can stay strong together doing all that we love!
Thanks Vijay and Bobby from OML firstly for letting me know about this award and for the beautiful relationship we are working towards (okay that does sound slightly wrong!). Also, Neysa and the entire gang at OML for blindly helping us out with all that we asked for!
Thanks Raghu! playing with you has done more for RadioVeRVe than anything else in the recent past! If every band we featured promoted us like you do .. things would be very different!
A big thanks to my family and my extended family! Mom, Dad, Geeth, Sheila - At times, I’m sure you never understood, but supported whole heartedly nevertheless!
A HUGE thanks to everyone who makes original music in India! you guys deserve much more than you guys are getting and its time we did that!
To all my friends from college and colleagues at work for helping us in their own little way and for bearing with the unlimited gyan that I keep spewing!
I could go on .. but I guess I make my point … I just went up there and made the presentation, the work was done by many with me and this is for all of us!
Lets hope we go on to win the International award! that will be the longer speech! 
Posted on Mar 29th 2008 by Gaurav. 29 Comments ».
The bass legend!
At the show in Chennai last weekend, I got to finally meet and talk with one of India’s best bass guitarists, Mr. Keith Peters. I had only heard so many stories about him and his bass playing and he is easily a legend in the Indian music scene!
For someone of his stature and calibre, he is an extremely chilled out guy with a complete passion and dedication for what he does! He gets along extremely well with people less than half his age and is just brilliant to talk with.
His choice of notes astounded me and though it was a jam band, he impressed with his playing! I’m sure by now, I sound like a total fan! and I am … and to think that both of us have played on the same album for The Raghu Dixit Project is just awesome!
Posted on Mar 24th 2008 by Gaurav. No Comments ».
Is it worth it in the end?
Long time ago I wrote about how kids in colleges were not taking part in co-curriculars and how the entire trend was shifting towards glamour and fashion and the like!
Today, its been about 10 years since I started with all these events and trying to do as much as I can and participate in as many different activities and events as I can and I would like to say .. ‘Its totally worth it!’
I was *far from ideal* as a student! I got good enough grades to stop people from questioning my other interests, but I certainly din’t fit into most teachers’ picture of a good student. Infact, a few of them clearly disliked me as a student and made sure everyone knew that!
But it was passion for these events that kept me and a few of us dedicated to various co-curriculars in our student lives. At that time, I’m sure none of us knew if that would ever help us in the long run or would even be of use to us, but that was not why we did it!
Today, when I look at the number of different things I am doing and how not even *ONE* thing I am doing is what I was trained for in college professionally, I am glad I did all the other things I did and with the passion that I followed it up!
True, its been a huge dollop of good fortune and being in the right place at the right time and knowing the right people etc that has helped along the way, but like Paulo Coelho says .. ‘If you want something really bad … the universe will conspire with you to help you get it!’
Quite a few people ask and admire that I manage to do a variety of things or rather in their words ‘find time’ to do all the things I do .. Its not that, I make time to do things I want to .. there is a difference!
Reminds me of my favourite quote as a kid ..”Don’t let school interfere with your education!”
Posted on Mar 21st 2008 by Gaurav. 4 Comments ».
Have we hit mainstream yet?
There has been so much action on the band front and in so many
directions, I get dizzy when I try to take stock!! But the latest
development made me want to get back and make a post here!
Raghu
got a chance to meet the Bacchans and sing to them and they loved the
music a lot and have promised to help with promotions and suggestions!
Now that is surely mainstream!!
Read more - http://theraghudixitproject.wordpress.c
Posted on Mar 19th 2008 by Gaurav. 4 Comments ».
Why does a beautiful girl with a camera dance near the bassist?
This was quite the funniest incident that has happened to me recently while playing on stage. After my gig at the SulaFest, we were just hanging out and chatting with the band and some people who watched the show and there was a sweet couple that came up to me and complimented us on the show and then asked me this question .. and this in a sweet hushed voice!
“Did you notice the beautiful girl with the camera who was dancing by your side and taking photos? … I think she is interested in you!! … you should go talk to her”
Well … I did notice the beautiful girl and I knew she was more than just interested in me!!
That day .. *She* was the beauty on duty!
Posted on Mar 18th 2008 by Gaurav. 2 Comments ».
Life on the Road
With the album out, we‘ve become busier than ever before and that means a LOT of travelling. The travelling for me started about a year and a half back and managing it with a full time day job and a very serious passion becomes extremely hectic.
I have been putting together some form of a survival kit for me on the road so I can make the switch with minimal ease! my kit as of now is all about keeping myself occupied while travelling because that can be the most taxing part, atleast for me! it is very difficult to just sit still while you wait to reach the next destination.
I always carry my Macbook, which has been a lifesaver for me and though its battery lasts for slightly lesser than before, I just can’t do without it! my next computer (if I ever need one) will be a Mac for sure! Once you take some time and set up your Mac, its just so easy to get on with life!
The software I use on my Mac for each of the things I do will be a separate blog post that I will write sometime soon.
Then I have my Archos 605 Wifi which has at any point of time a couple of movies I haven’t watched and some new music to listen to. It also works quite well as a storage device and for transferring stuff between computers.
I have always been looking for a good phone that could be carried around which I can use and until the next version of the iPhone is released, I use my Nokia E65 on which I have GPRS enabled and it has become the standard way of checking e-mail, twitter, facebook etc while travelling.
I also carry with me, my trusted camera, a Nikon D70s fitted with a 50mm prime lens which has taken some amazing shots (by my standards atleast) and though it requires some care while handling and some extra lugging around with all the other stuff I have to take, the ends totally justify the means! I am looking for a good zoom / wide angle lens for my camera and if any of you have suggestions, please let me know which one I should go for.
A recent companion on my travels has been the Zoom H4 handy recorder that we bought for RadioVeRVe and its just the right thing for taking short interviews, for recording song ideas and creating shows for RadioVeRVe and otherwise, atleast getting the sound clips which can be used later to produce proper shows.
Until sometime back, I used to carry a pair of Seinheiser headphones that were perfect, a bit bulky for the road but very comfortable and excellent sound quality. But they went bust sometime back and I am making do with some cheap neckphones and a nice set of in-ear noise cancelling earphones for the flights.
To this I add stuff specific to the trip I am on. If I am travelling for a show which has been the de-facto reason in a majority of the cases, I have my beautiful Warwick Streamer and everything that is needed for stage including my own DI box and cables!
And then you add clothes and everything else to the mix and I am all set for moving into a new place and staying there for a while at a moment’s notice!
Now I wonder if it is a good thing though 
Posted on Mar 17th 2008 by Gaurav. 3 Comments ».
4 years and counting!
I know this sounds cliche’d but its been four long years and it feels like yesterday .. and through all the ups and downs and the fights we’ve had and the wonderful moments together, she is the most beautiful thing in my life!
Today is four years since we started counting … who would’ve ever thought!
Posted on Mar 14th 2008 by Gaurav. 3 Comments ».
This is it!
One of the best bands in India right now, Thermal and a Quarter have finally released the follow up to Plan B. Their 4th album, ‘This is it’ is finally ready for release and it has the one TAAQ song that will never leave my head! among other brilliant songs.
The song ‘How can I get your groove?’ is a song that Bruce wrote for his lovely wife Bindu and it is probably the catchiest and funnest song they have written yet! Also songs like Holy Jose, Take me to your Dealer and the title track ‘This is it’ make it an album I cannot wait to get my hands on ..
Continuing from my last post about bands in India that have created a sound for themselves, the first band that comes to mind when you say that in India is TAAQ. One can recognize a TAAQ song from a mile and even ‘Thermalized’ versions of popular songs have become something fans look forward to at every gig!
They are yet to explain the lovely cover that they have on their new album and though each of us can think of a million connotations for the cover, we are dying to hear their story! but all said and done, it will make waves!
So now as I hunt frantically for my copy of the album, please do take a look at TAAQ and the lovely music they make and I’m sure if you have never heard TAAQ before, this album will change your mind! and then you should proceed to buy their other 3 albums.
My favourite TAAQ albums in order
1. This is it - just because I can finally get to listen to ‘How can I get your groove’.
2. Jupiter Cafe - Path breaking in the Indian music scene. The entire album is filled with songs that I absolutely will love!
3. Thermal and a Quarter - After all these years, the opening riff to Sunset Man and the song itself remain an all time favourite among quite a few of my friends! Infact, during the days we got our first computers and we were running around trading mp3s among friends, this was the only Indian album we would share!!
4. Plan B - This has the widest variety of TAAQ songs in one album. I believe ‘The Steal’ is one of the best songs an Indian band has ever written.
Posted on Mar 12th 2008 by Gaurav. 2 Comments ».
Music in India is evolving!
Indian music used to be very cliche for a long long time and when I say Indian music, I am talking about Indian Indie Music and not Bollywood. Bollywood follows strict patterns and that is a whole new topic!
I am encouraged by the new music that is coming up in India and it is very very heartening to see so many people experimenting and trying new stuff. So what if things derive from western cultures, there are quite a few bands and musicians in India who are carving out niches for themselves. There is finally a ‘Sound’ that can be associated with bands from India.
I would like to start with the band that I play for … ‘The Raghu Dixit Project‘. The music that we make and play is a complete refreshing change from most other music made here and we have a ’sound’ which is a blend of the acoustic guitars, the bluesy riffs, the world music beats, the funk bass, some classical violins and Raghu’s overwhelming voice!
This sound is not classifiable directly under any single genre and we prefer it that way! its not even okay for us to just put it in ‘World’ or ‘Alternative’ because that is too vague. We prefer our own little connotation of ‘Indo World Folk Rock’! Check it out and let us know what you think!
Another new band that I currently love is ‘Avial‘. Its not a new band I know but then they have come into the limelight recently with their debut album which is a MUST BUY! They have managed to fuse rock music with a regional Indian language (Malayalam) like no one else has been able to before! I have been singing their songs and listening to them and totally loving it!
The list of these bands that are re-defining the Indian scene is growing longer and longer and I will split it into multiple posts. Watch out for more soon!
Posted on Mar 10th 2008 by Gaurav. No Comments ».
The merry men?!
Its not our fault that this happens! Its just that we are made this way and its certainly not meant to be offensive, our attention is immediately drawn towards certain things!
I am in no way justifying people leching or the eve-teasing that happens and I certainly think that such things are repulsive and the guys who indulge in eve-teasing should be condemned and drastic action taken against them …
But if a pretty girl walks by or is anywhere in the area, we can’t help but steal a glance!
And from the forward I received today, looks like, neither can a few of our ‘Men in Blue’
Posted on Mar 10th 2008 by Gaurav. No Comments ».