Generation WHY – Why??

The heavy sub-y sounds on Native Indian and his rendition of Live electronica was absolutely fresh and held well together. So did the boys from the grunge rock band Hook. Kimochi Youkai, (Japanese for –  Damn I did not catch that!) sounded clean and very R&B/Pop/Soul-ish (I love that kind of sounds). And finally Gari-B. What madness did those boys induce in that basement called Anti-Social. They had Sketches, Poetry Slams, Desi Rap and a wicked stage presence going for them. Did I mention 3 encores? Yep 3!

Ambika Nayak – Kimochi Youkai

Before You start wondering why am I dropping random never heard of Band names and why You should give a damn, here’s why –

The bands/acts I mentioned above were a part of what Aftab Khan likes to call the GenerationWHY Series of Gigs.

“GenWHY is an interrogation. A fist in the air. A question raised against the hierarchy and the divides placed within the independent music scene of this country.
Live music in India is bound and dictated by genre. There are showcases for metal, rock, hip hop, electronica and the like. No one gig has ever broken down these barriers and pulled in bands from completely different genres to showcase them together on one night. Gen WHY changes that.
Every single act featured on Gen WHY is handpicked as the best new talent to come out of their respective spheres. These are acts that deserve as much attention as they can get. These are the young ones who are forever bubbling under, ready to break through. This is their chance.” – Aftab Khan

Aftab Khan – GenerationWHY

Basically, New Music by New Acts. The key word here being New, also, Young! If You have been around long enough in our “Scene/Grid/Circuit”, You’d definitely know the struggles of an upcoming act, the struggles of acquiring a gig and then promoting it. There have been a bunch of DIY and crowdfunded gigs, which are great ways to “Build” a culture but I’ve always found a dearth of new, NEW acts. I’d love to discuss the logistics behind a gig here but that’s for another post and I know some smart ass troll will catch on to this post and start a discussion under this Facebook post anyway. So … Moving On …!

Let me back track a little (Rolls eyes) – Aftab called me a few weeks ago, making me an offer to step in as the house engineer for GenerationWHY, I for one knew that I’d get that call someday and I wasn’t going to say no.  Because let’s face it – at this point I’m assuming You know our “Scene” and You do not know of many Gigs/Fests that solely promote new artists. We’ve grown and evolved (for a lack of a better word) into a culture of curating friends, not music. GenWHY manages to bridge that gap between putting together a show and featuring new music because they need to be heard and not because, “Friends” AND I’ve had the opportunity of engineering a gig by Aftab which wasn’t a GenWHY but one that featured NEW acts and then the 2^nd edition of this series with, another set of New Acts. I definitely wanted in on the 3^rd one.

Chinmay A’gharkar – HOOK

It’s nice to see a venue like Anti-Social come out and support new music and then Furtados stepping in with the backline. That’s enough motivation for me to step in and do my bit for the Indie Music Eco-system. I’d not call Aftab the flag bearer of promoting new talent but he is heading in that direction and is gathering an audience of 200+ for his shows at this point. Two hundred people, for never before heard new acts is a good number. I forgot to mention paid, 200 Paying audience!

GenerationWHY over its 3 editions has garnered a lot of attention and is being loved for the simplicity and honesty the stage exudes. If there is one sight that’s worth all the effort in the entertainment business, it’s the reaction of a happy audience, front-centre at a live Gig.

GenWHY does just that –

It gives a new act a stage, the act brings along their friends and they get to watch 3 more acts. They go home with a new experience, share the music they heard, talk about it, and eventually, these new bands find a spot.

What I just said may sound absolutely rudimentary, and a very vague story of just another gig that happened a week ago. But this is what it comes down to, in my opinion. We have lost honest art in all this chaos of wanting to be “louder” or a part of it. I’m not saying that isn’t a space. I’m just trying to convey that GenerationWHY is also a space that is absolutely necessary for the next lot of hardworking, ingenious musicians who have material to put out for us.

Siva Baskaran – Native Indian

That’s why GenerationWHY.

Be sure to hit them up on Facebook – GenWHYLive and stay close as a new gig is around the corner and will feature a whole bunch of new acts. Don’t forget, I cannot stress on this enough – NEW acts.

This also happens to be my first ever post as a Blogger, so be nice and excuse me if I lost track or literary structures. I don’t know how to. I shall learn. Or maybe I won’t, deal with it.

See You on the next one!

• Sigmund Q

Credits –

All Pictures Courtesy : Noel Mathew and Pooja Barge from JZP

Generation WHY Introduction – Aftab Khan