Some good press - The Tapes

In an unexpected turn of events, our rather seemingly small gig at Hard Rock Cafe actually attracted a bit of press. This is the interview I gave to The Indian Express magazine on the local scene, the Tollywood project and the future of The Tapes.

That time we were in a movie. - The Tapes

Back in Feb, the day right after our gig at Lost society, we had the good fortune of being  part of a major Tollywood movie. When Swapna first told me, I was a little confused. Our music in a Tollywood movie would be extremely unorthodox. I had my doubts about the entire project. Besides, at the time I didn’t even know and hadn't even bothered to find out the name of the leading cast, thinking that it must be a really low key movie with a sad budget.

Only later did I find out that it was a new Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal flick directed by Krishna Vamsi and named “Govindudu Andarivadele.On shoot day, we showed up Rama Naidu studios and we were nothing less than awestruck. The sheer detail and grandness of the entire set completely surprised me. I didn’t know which was cooler. The stage with state of the art sound they had set up for us? Or the hundreds of lights and strobes. Not to mention the flaming barrels, the huge bar, the crowd with the most beautiful people and of course the twenty or so luxury cars they lined up and comprised of Mercs, Beamers, Audis and Porches. I don’t think mere words can do justice to it, hence the video.

The most surreal part of the entire project was that feeling you get when Kajal Aggarwal sings and dances to your song. Unfortunately, we don't have that particular part on video.This is what we told both Channel 6 and the Indian Express when they asked us which moment stuck through the most. However, not being part of the main film audio, we aren't too sure how much of our footage will finally end up on the main roll. We could be on for an entire 5 minutes. Either that or the editor might do what he does best.

11 brutally tiring hours and 40-something takes of our song “Intro” later, we had finally left at 4 in the morning. We will never think of that song the same way again. The number of times we played it that night could be something of a small record. God Bless Red Bull. 

Who has the best job in the world?

Rock stars have their share of glory in life. So much so, that it can push its way through the next 3 lifetimes. What about the actors? They have dozens of lives, living each one in every 200 million dollar movie they make. The politicians? Well, who can call that a good life?

Aren’t these vocations and the people who embody them supposed to be the most sought after in the world? The one we all dream of being since we have any conception of thought? But I think there is someone else who deserves to be at the top of that list. He is someone who no one ever thinks of because he is dwarfed by the scheme of things occurring around him.

What about the guy who no one thought of even though it was his job to countdown the seconds before mankind put its first human being in outer-space? The guy who knows that the minute he utters the words “lift off”, mankind’s perception of itself will change forever and the first spaceship is off. Or the guy who counts down the last remaining seconds of a football game and on whose shoulders millions of emotions ride?

Because isn’t it those sparse moments and the beauty of their anticipation, that constitute all that is good about us? Isn’t the journey indeed more important than the destination? As a friend of mine once wrote, it’s the run before the leap and the breath before the verse that make life worth living.