Bengaluru’s Rock Scene at a Cultural Crossroads | India News
The sudden news of the closure of Hard Rock Cafe in India left many disappointed and confused, wondering what kind of blow it would be to the rock music culture, especially in Bangalore, once the heavy metal capital of India.“Hard rock brings a whole legacy — the history of rock and the merchandise of the greatest rock stars. It creates an ecosystem, and it’s sad that we have to lose it here,” said Sanjeev Thomas, a musician and founder of the Rainbow Bridge School of Music. “A dedicated space for a specific genre is rare and we need spaces like this to thrive in independent music.”Employees of the Hard Rock franchise on St. Marks Road told TOI that while they are continuing operations and their legal team is handling the finalization of the deal, the locations of all the cafes in India appear to have been taken down from Hard Rock International’s official website. Elvis and the Stone TempleIn 2023, ‘Return to Sender’ band leader Shashank Abraham, 35, debuted as an Elvis Presley tribute artist at the Hard Rock Cafe on St Mark’s Road. Calling it heaven for all music lovers, he said, the cafe is always crowded with bands. “When you want a quality band, especially for a tribute show, everyone thinks of hard rock. No other venue does a tribute show as hard rock as and consistently.”Rock ‘n’ roll bands perform there on the anniversaries of Elvis’ birth and death. “There’s a framed Elvis shirt with a missing button. He gave the shirt to someone to mend but never took it back; it’s now here at the Hard Rock Cafe. Just putting my hands on that case gives me some inspiration and courage. Then I look at other artists – the Beatles, an Eric Clapton guitar, Jack John Michael, Z Michael guitar, Z Michael, Elvis. “I think we’ll lose a huge piece of music history if Hard Rock Cafe closes down in India.”‘will lead the way’“Earlier, Bengaluru was almost exclusively known for rock music. If you wanted to hear it, you had to go to MG Road or Brigade Road. Now, people have their own local venues in Indiranagar or Kammanahalli and don’t feel the need to travel across the city. This diversity is a good thing,” says Arpan Peter, 39, founder of Jazz, India Project.Arpan began his career as a heavy metal promoter, bringing legendary acts like Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Opeth, Meshugah and Gojira to India. He says while an iconic venue may be closing, Bengaluru is getting a 22,000 sq ft Piano Man jazz club. “Much of hard rock’s programming in recent years has been heavily covers-based. But if that were to stop, it wouldn’t cause a seismic shift in the music scene.”Keep the lights on Bangalore was once considered the heavy metal capital of India. “The city is home to a deep-rooted classic rock culture, once enlivened by bars like Purple Hedge and Styx, and continued by Pecos. We also saw a huge rise in nu-metal and alternative rock in the early 2000s… The fact that 45,000 people came to Linkin Park proves that this part of the country’s staples are still in demand”. Bhatt, the founder of the Zero Gravity Festival and who goes by the artist name Sai Diz. He noted that local rock music is also thriving. “Gigs in Thaikkudam Setu, Raghu Dixit Project, Avial, Agam or Pineapple Express sell out very quickly.”Pecos Pub has been playing classic rock music recorded for over three decades. Liam Timms, director of Pecos Hotels & Pubs Limited, says rock music has always existed in Bengaluru and until now their playlists are completely driven by the customers. “People write their requests on napkins or sheets of paper and give them,” he says. “Classic rock is evergreen and is appreciated by people of all generations.”The challenge of navigating the rockMany artists are aware of the fact that rock music is not as mainstream as it was in the 90s or early 2000s and are changing their preferences. Abhijeet says everything has now moved to electronic music or techno. “There weren’t a lot of new rock bands after the ’90s. I’ve been on both sides of the table. I was an active part of the rock music scene a decade ago and currently have electronic music projects.”Siddharth Baja, founder of Freedom Jam, a 30-year-old initiative that provides free platforms for musicians to perform live, says the commercial response to rock is lower than it was a few years ago. “Even when greats like Deep Purple came back to town, the turnout was lower than ever. Comparatively, young bands like Linkin Park have done much better, but in absolute numbers the audience is much smaller than a singer in the film industry.“Siddharth says budget is likely to be a big factor in narrowing down venues for live or rock music — because most venues don’t think of music as the main attraction and, therefore, don’t spend much on setups and artists. Also, managing a band is harder than a solo artist. “A band will have at least 10 to 12 members. Managing a big group is always a challenge, and people are not able to hold a band together for long. That’s why they are moving to an easier way of making music – having a computer instead of a big band,” says Abhijeet.Shashank said, the new generation is more interested in EDM. “Even the idea of a guitar solo in modern music has gradually disappeared,” he laments. “But there are still die-hard fans who have an appreciation for rock. That will never go away. Hard rock has always been fulfilling. The need to keep these rock shows and venues alive is more important than ever because new generations need to discover what rock music is all about.”
