Two bands to collaborate in unique ‘DIY concert’

Two bands, each different in their own right, are collaborating in a ‘DIY gig,’ which happens to be the first of its kind in the city. The members are putting together the entire show on their own, sans sponsors, event organisers or outside equipment. Thermal And A Quarter and Chennai-based Grey Shack will be uniting for this show to use music as a tool to communicate with the people, say the artists. What sparked the idea for this DIY concert is, “The fact that not every show needs to be in a bar or pub,” begins Grey Shack’s guitarist, Vikram Vivekanand. 

“Both bands are particular about the way we sound on stage so playing in a resto-bar isn’t ideal since the acoustics aren’t great. So we found this venue called Slate (Lady Andals’s mini auditorium) and it seemed better,” he adds. The place can hold up to 200 people standing and it didn’t end up being very expensive either, so the boys decided to take things into their own hands — paying for the venue was the first step. 

“We’re charging an entry so we’ll earn back from that,” clarifies Vikram. The next step was not to rely on sound rental companies so they decided to use their own instruments and mics. About the kind of music they’ll be playing, Vikram says, “We’ll be performing tracks from our latest album Alchemy and Thermal And A Quarter 

will be playing songs from their upcoming album, World Gone Mad .” 

He elucidates, “Our music stands for only one thing — what we say needs to be heard because both albums have strong opinions on the chaos our world is drowning in. This is what rock n roll stands for, which is talking about everything that’s going wrong around us. It’s not art for art’s sake, but for the sake of communicating something to people.” 

He admits the bands were scared about a low turn-out but in the end, the faith in their talent made them put this show together. 

“The thought of, ‘What if no one turns up?’ occurred initially because the gig was supposed to be this weekend. However, we learnt Covelong Fest is happening so we pushed it. We are still taking a risk but we’re confident of our music,” he smiles. 

Grey Shack is getting back on stage in Chennai after six months; Thermal And A Quarter is performing here after three years. “They were one of the bands we looked up to when we were in college so they’ve always been an inspiration. Today, we’re all friends and share a history of having played together before; this concert is one among many more to come,” concludes Vikram.