DRUMMER WEEK: NISHANT HAGJER (UNDYING INC, RECTIFIED SPIRIT)

Welcome to drummer week!
There's no one better to inaugurate these two insane weeks with. Monster behind the drums, Nishant Hagjer has to be one of the most pounding and tight drummers most of us have seen live. Check this interview I did with the man himself. Stay tuned for many more of your favourites, this week onwards. :)

Photo: Danish R. D

Full name and age.
Nishant Hagjer, 20

What is your favourite dish/cuisine?
ALL KINDS OF HEALTHY FOOD!!

Kindly tell us about all your precious gear! (Sticks, cymbals, kit, skins, gear/bags)
Vic Firth Nova 2B Drum sticks. Paiste Cymbals (I break a lot of cymbals, so I get whichever model is available then and there. It takes a long time for overseas delivery!) Tama Imperial Star Drum kit, Roland TD 11K Electronic Drum kit. Tama Speed Cobra drum pedals, Pearl Demon Drive drum pedals, Joey Jordison Slipknot Snare Drum, Remo Powerstroke 3 drum heads, Remo Ambassador Snare drum head!

How long have you been playing the drums?
I've been playing for 8 years!

What got you into playing drums?
I used to play the keyboard and playing the drums on the keyboard had me hooked on to it. That’s how I got to know the basics haha! Then one fine day, I saw Tre Cool of Greenday drumming on VH1. That was it for me. His drumming, expression and showmanship made me get a drum kit!

Have you learned to read music as well, or do you just play by ear?
I play by the ear. I am currently learning how to read.

Loud and pounding| soft and accurate| the normal drummer. What do you prefer?
A mixture of the first two would sound great, but if I were choose one for a lifetime then its got to be LOUD and POUNDING.

Rectified Spirit

What thought goes into the composing process?
It’s a lengthy process. Nothing is fixed. If it’s a metal tune that I’m working on, then I generally start with the drumbeat. At times the beats are riff-oriented! I start with the keyboard and guitar for my pop project and that’s when I add beats and vocals, which turns into a full song.

What other music projects are you currently a part of?
I play drums for Undying Inc and Rectified Spirit. I have a pop/EDM/dance music bedroom project going on as well!

Do you have a day job? What is it that you do?
I’m a full-time drum teacher.

Your favorite musicians (Indian)
Guitar: Prasanna
Bass: Joshringdao Phonglo
Drums: Mithun Puthanveetil
Vocals: Yet to see many vocalists of other genres other than metal!

Your favourite musicians (international)
Guitar: Misha Mansoor
Bass: Henrik Linder
Drums: Matt Garstka
Vocals: Adam Lambert

Undying Inc

Can we expect a release from your band(s) any time soon?
Yes! We (Undying Inc) just released our EP and we have a few tracks ready already!

Whom do you look up to, as a musician and a band?
Multi-talented artists who have broken the barrier and come out of the vicious self-sponsored circle and are now comfortably doing their own thing, full time. I respect Periphery, they motivate me everyday, I've seen them grow over the past decade and its crazy where they are at now!

A message to all your fans (hello ladies!)
Hey all! Keep supporting my work, as that’s what motivates me the most! I do this every single day and I work super hard so if it puts a smile on your face, then I’m more than happy :)

Undying Inc on Facebook
Rectified Spirit on Facebook

Here's the official video of Undying Inc's song IRONCLAD.

SHASHANK SUNDAY: AN INTERVIEW WITH UNDYING INC VOCALIST

This man is a powerhouse of some badass vocals. He is vocalist of 'Undying Inc', a band that makes me fucking angry and makes me fucking happy at the same time! FUCK! So yeah man, I had a talk with Mr. Shashank Bhatnagar, who has given some of the most brilliant answers.

This guy is interesting and a great person to know! Check out what he had to say on a lot of things here.

I: Favourite food?
SHASHANK: Primarily anything baked, sauteed, boiled, or grilled.
I'm allergic to sea food & the likes though..

What do you do for a living?
I am a Cafe/Restaurant owner, Vocalist for "Undying Inc", Freelance Jingle Singer/Composer, & a Property Manager.

You had a drop in the middle, when you were no longer part of the band, and now you're back. 
What happened back then?
Musically, I started working on 3 projects simultaneously.
Dropped 2 by the time I joined UI back. Still working on that one project. Details will be out soon.

Your most brutal fight/moment of RAGE!?
All I can remember of it is, my body/clothes being red with blood, blue/black with several bruises, one big 12 stitch scar on my head because of a sealed soda bottle, & a hurt lower back due to which I was bed ridden for 2 months.
Pretty much the same, or worse for those 5 boys, yeah.

What do you have to say about getting 23948765934 good pictures after every gig you play?
Thank you to those awesome photographers. Without you guys, we are just ear candies. :P

Women love you. Do you love them?
A Big Fuckin Yes!

All time favorite quotes and words to live by.
"Live life stronger than hate & death" - Zakk Wylde
"I will fuck you up before I break your face" - Me to a random batch-mate in college :P

Idols/people you look up to.
I'll name 5 : Philip Anselmo, Tom Araya, Devin Townsend, Zakk Wylde, & Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Favouritestest bands?
5 Again;
International: Slayer, Pantera, Meshuggah, Iron Maiden, Behemoth
Indian: Bhayanak Maut, Scribe, Zygnema, The Circus, Fuzz Culture

Favourite Indian musicians, or people you've loved jamming with
Guitar: Biswarup Gupta, Keshav Dhar, Adil Manuel, Arsh Sharma, Prashant Shah, Akshay Raj Purohit, Venkat Raman, Amidstya, Sidharth Kadadi, Takar Nabam.
Bass: Reuben Bhattacharya, Ravi Satpute, Lt. Clarence Gonsalves, Shakti Singh, Krishna Jhaveri.
Drums: Yuvraj Sengupta, Nishant Hagjer, Mayank Sharma, Reuben Pachuau, Varun Sood, Rahul Hariharan, Virender Kaith, Shardul Mehta, Srijan Mahajan
Keyboard: Akshat Taneja, Anubhav Misra
Vocals: Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, Girish Pradhan, Jimmy Bhore, Sunneith Revankar, Noble Luke, Ryngkat Jyrwa

How was the gig the day before?
It was awesome. I could see a lot of dust, hands & horns up in the air, breaking barricades, kids stomping grounds, kids flying & beating the shit out of each other.
Ah! A sweet sight indeed.

Do you think our country/ the metal 'scene' lacks anything in particular? (for example: unity, supporting bands and attending gigs)
I'll just want to give more positive inputs, rather than telling you what is wrong.
Things are getting better with time, staying positive & focused is a promise "being a musician" comes with. The day this industry will have fans who would like to support their favorite bands on a monetary front, things will be different.
The best that can happen as of now for the scene, which might happen eventually;
1) Buy your favorite band's CD/merchandise, cause if you won't, nobody else will. This is the only way they can keep working on their music & stick around.
2) GIVE INDIAN BANDS AN EAR BEFORE JUDGING THEM BY GENRE : This happens so often, people actually judge bands based on their genres rather than actually listening to them. They would listen to, & LOVE/RESPECT international bands from across genres, but when they hear about Indian bands from different genres, it gets more dramatic than stupid soap operas on TV.
An ear lost is a potential fan lost. You never know what music hits you when, be a little more open-minded when it comes to Indian bands.
3) Go to your favorite band's LIVE shows. Gate fee adds vital value to your favorite band's presence. Every time a person isn't willing to pay gate fee to enter venues to see their "favorite" bands, the band suffers. Even though that band has enormous number of fans online/offline, but this is where they fail and venues don't want to bring them back (one of the reasons) cause they have no monetary value.
4) Push your favorite bands for festivals you deem fit. Get in touch with your local organizers & educate them about bands, if required.

Your most amazing moment on stage:
Being onstage is the single most amazing thing in my life.

What should we expect from Undying Inc this year? 
An "Ironclad" EP with 3 songs, & 1 massive surprise.

Listen to single 'I R O N C L A D' released last year.



Undying Inc on FACEBOOK and SOUNDCLOUD

\m/ MAAAANIMAAAAAAAALLLLL \m/

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