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MUSIC
By Banani
25 October, 2016
As Ann Wilson truly said “Heart has always been a rock band. It’s always been hard rock.” Believing on the same lines, “The Other People (T.O.P)” is coming again to swing the heart of Bangaloreans. The walls of Hard Rock is going to echo the voices this 27th October. Covering the musical journey of almost 12 years and achieving stardom, “The Other People” needs no special introduction.
Back 2010, this college band formed on a serious note comprising of six members age ranging from 24 years to 65 years. A power pack group of leads namely Sam on rhythm guitar; Garth on keyboards; Gavin on lead guitar; Loy on bass guitar; Atish on drums & percussion & Zarir on vocals. Once the band formed, the question was to name it, before they were about to play their gig and they got stuck with the current one which fortunately worked for them.
T.O.P have ruled most of the venues and concerts across and outside the country. The Blue Frog, The Hard Rock Café, Opus, Amadeus, Shiro are one of them to name a few. They have played for the most prestigious events namely Lakme Fashion Week, 2008, the launch of Fox History and Traveler channel, The India Bike Festival in Goa and The Great India Oktoberfest in Bengaluru. Adding to their proud moment, The Other People have chosen WINNERS in the 2012 Global You Tube Fall Cover Carnival Competition held by an NGO in America called The Pixel Project.
In the year 2015, the band launched and released their debut studio album titled #Dreamers #Believers #Lovers.
Know the band personally by having a look at the excerpts:
Me: Why did you decide to play the genre or genres you do?
T.O.P: We play a lot of covers-primarily pop and soft rock. As we learned over the years regarding people’s choices and we always try to relate to them so that they can, again and again, listen to us. I would classify our original sound as modern Pop/Soft Rock.
Me: Do you write out your lyrics?
T.O.P: Yes, we write our own lyrics. We don’t change lyrics for covers that we do except for some basic arrangements and structures to give them our own twist.
Me: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
T.O.P: The inspiration can be anything from a terror attack to falling in love to heartbreak. The usual suspects! If I come up with a melody I would try to give my best to put it down and record a demo of it, on the other hand, Garth helps in putting down a structure and basic demo of music and instrumentation and we kick start from there.
Me: Do you think that online presence is important for fans to find you and critics to find your music to write about?
T.O.P: Online presence is important as that's what has taken over the world today in any field, not just music. People look for new music and discover new talent so if you cross their path then for sure it could be great! Critics are going to write about you whether they see you online or not as a lot of them tend to go to live performances as well!
Me: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
T.O.P: It depends on the scenario. We do share our music as prizes for contests. And sometimes when we just feel that we want our music to be heard, we do give it away for free.
Me: Since everyone was a startup once, can you give any smaller or local bands looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
T.O.P: The road is very challenging as the industry is pretty difficult to crack especially in the case of English/non-film music. It’s not impossible if you really believe in yourself. You get to learn much more during the journey and once you are in you should be ready to burn the midnight oil to make it work.
Me: Anything you would like share, from new merch to upcoming shows/tours or songs/albums?
T.O.P: We're going to play at Hard Rock Café, Bangalore on 27th October after a very long time! “We are very much excited about the gig. The show will be a mix of some originals and covers. It is going to be a great show for sure!”, Atish concluded.
