Pepsi MTV Indies Live and The Stormbringer present The Stormfest Anniversary, this weekend in Pune! Here's an interview I've done with the organizer that's bringing to us one of the most kickass gigs in proximity on the 28th of September 2014. Man, this Pune scene is killing it. Mumbai, it's time we travelled to Pune for gigs. I'm going for sure!
Name of organizer (come on come on tell us, don't hide!)
We’re collectively called The Stormbringer – Tushar Joshi, Utkarsh Golatkar, Kaushik Joshi & Aakanksha Rao
Favourite food
Tushar - Cinnabons
Utkarsh – Anything non veg. (including the jokes)
Kaushik Joshi - Dabeli (seriously)
Aakanksha Rao – Wada Pav
Which was the first gig you did in Pune?
Our first gig was 'The Stormfest' on 21st September 2013. We had Virion, Cruoris, Adamantium , Bleeding Edge, Cosmic Infusion and Gutslit. It was at this crappy banquet hall in Wakad but it was one mental gig! All the Pune bands gave a stellar performance and Gutslit & Cosmic Infusion killed the crowd.
What's special about this anniversary edition of Stormfest?
We've grown a lot over the last year and come a long way from an underground venue, low budget etc. to commercial, ambient venues and high-profile bands. We decided we need to get the best band in the current scene and couldn’t think of anyone else other than The Down Troddence who’ve recently won 8 awards at the Rolling Stone Metal Awards (2014). We’re also getting Providence who have gathered a lot of fans in Pune since the last time they were seen by Pune fans, so we’re really keen on having them both!
What was the initial idea behind organizing gigs?
I’ve (Tushar) been part of the Pune music scene since 2004 performing in a few bands, the likes of Campus Rock Idols and some Mixtape events, Yamaha Roxx etc., doing gigs on a regular basis. We had a lot of gigs until I left the country in 2008. I returned in 2013 hoping to perform again but only to find that there are only competitions and mall gigs where bands could perform with an exception of very few independent gigs. That was pathetic! Bands should not have to compete with each other and malls are no place for a band to perform. Moreover, the bands end up paying up to Rs. 1000 as registration fee just to get 15 minutes of crappy sound from a sound engineer whose forte is Indian festivals, playing to a crowd of Honey Singh & EDM lovers and at the end of it, bands get disappointed because they lose to a band that has been playing for years. They also get into a state of bitching about the other bands, which was really unhealthy for the scene as we’re all in this together and suffering equally. So I realized that something needs to be done about this and decided to get into organizing gigs.
Also, the idea behind doing gigs in Pune was that other organizers were bringing in bands from outside and the local bands were barely getting a stage to perform. I was also told by a very prominent independent event organizer that Pune bands aren’t good. I refused to accept that as we’ve always had some really great bands come out of the city in the past. Currently, in my opinion, we definitely have some amazing talent in the city that just needs to be nurtured and encouraged. However, if I’m being biased and if its true that they are in fact not worth giving a stage to perform, then unless they are given a chance with a fair setup where they can perform, they can’t be expected to improve. It was that simple. So I formed The Stormbringer as an initiative to promote the local bands/artists.
What genres have you been doing gigs in?
We’re involved with bands/artists right from Classical to Extreme Metal. We’re in it to promote independent music so we don’t segregate genres.
Besides this, what is it that you do for a living, or is this your only job?
I (Tushar) do this full time. Utkarsh is a vocalist. Kaushik works in Kirloskar's accounts department and Aakanksha works for AIESEC.
Do you play music?
I play bass, rhythm guitars (I’m really bad). Utkarsh is a vocalist for Chaoskampf and the only talented musician in the team. Kaushik and Aakanksha, both are professional bathroom singers.
What lies ahead for the Stormbringer!?
We’re planning a lot of things. Next step will be to move into other cities apart from Pune and improve the independent music scene there. So watch out people, THERE’S A STORM COMING OUT OF PUNE!! \m/
RSVP for The STORMFEST ANNIVERSARY EDITION HERE!
Here's the Facebook page for the Stormbringer.. CLICK CLICK!
See you this weekend, Pune!
\m/
For you lazy fuckers who don't want to read the poster, here is the lineup:
Orcus (Mumbai)
Providence (Mumbai)
THE DOWN TRODDENCE (Kannur/Bangalore)
We’re collectively called The Stormbringer – Tushar Joshi, Utkarsh Golatkar, Kaushik Joshi & Aakanksha Rao
Favourite food
Tushar - Cinnabons
Utkarsh – Anything non veg. (including the jokes)
Kaushik Joshi - Dabeli (seriously)
Aakanksha Rao – Wada Pav
Which was the first gig you did in Pune?
Our first gig was 'The Stormfest' on 21st September 2013. We had Virion, Cruoris, Adamantium , Bleeding Edge, Cosmic Infusion and Gutslit. It was at this crappy banquet hall in Wakad but it was one mental gig! All the Pune bands gave a stellar performance and Gutslit & Cosmic Infusion killed the crowd.
What's special about this anniversary edition of Stormfest?
We've grown a lot over the last year and come a long way from an underground venue, low budget etc. to commercial, ambient venues and high-profile bands. We decided we need to get the best band in the current scene and couldn’t think of anyone else other than The Down Troddence who’ve recently won 8 awards at the Rolling Stone Metal Awards (2014). We’re also getting Providence who have gathered a lot of fans in Pune since the last time they were seen by Pune fans, so we’re really keen on having them both!
What was the initial idea behind organizing gigs?
I’ve (Tushar) been part of the Pune music scene since 2004 performing in a few bands, the likes of Campus Rock Idols and some Mixtape events, Yamaha Roxx etc., doing gigs on a regular basis. We had a lot of gigs until I left the country in 2008. I returned in 2013 hoping to perform again but only to find that there are only competitions and mall gigs where bands could perform with an exception of very few independent gigs. That was pathetic! Bands should not have to compete with each other and malls are no place for a band to perform. Moreover, the bands end up paying up to Rs. 1000 as registration fee just to get 15 minutes of crappy sound from a sound engineer whose forte is Indian festivals, playing to a crowd of Honey Singh & EDM lovers and at the end of it, bands get disappointed because they lose to a band that has been playing for years. They also get into a state of bitching about the other bands, which was really unhealthy for the scene as we’re all in this together and suffering equally. So I realized that something needs to be done about this and decided to get into organizing gigs.
Also, the idea behind doing gigs in Pune was that other organizers were bringing in bands from outside and the local bands were barely getting a stage to perform. I was also told by a very prominent independent event organizer that Pune bands aren’t good. I refused to accept that as we’ve always had some really great bands come out of the city in the past. Currently, in my opinion, we definitely have some amazing talent in the city that just needs to be nurtured and encouraged. However, if I’m being biased and if its true that they are in fact not worth giving a stage to perform, then unless they are given a chance with a fair setup where they can perform, they can’t be expected to improve. It was that simple. So I formed The Stormbringer as an initiative to promote the local bands/artists.
What genres have you been doing gigs in?
We’re involved with bands/artists right from Classical to Extreme Metal. We’re in it to promote independent music so we don’t segregate genres.
Besides this, what is it that you do for a living, or is this your only job?
I (Tushar) do this full time. Utkarsh is a vocalist. Kaushik works in Kirloskar's accounts department and Aakanksha works for AIESEC.
Do you play music?
I play bass, rhythm guitars (I’m really bad). Utkarsh is a vocalist for Chaoskampf and the only talented musician in the team. Kaushik and Aakanksha, both are professional bathroom singers.
What lies ahead for the Stormbringer!?
We’re planning a lot of things. Next step will be to move into other cities apart from Pune and improve the independent music scene there. So watch out people, THERE’S A STORM COMING OUT OF PUNE!! \m/
RSVP for The STORMFEST ANNIVERSARY EDITION HERE!
Here's the Facebook page for the Stormbringer.. CLICK CLICK!
See you this weekend, Pune!
\m/
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