An exclusive interview with the band that is going to dedicate their debut E.P to Motherjane: Gravity

"Motherjane's album Maktub changed our perception about rock music totally. Playing rock music with Indian/Folk ethnicity has become our passion. As such, our sound is greatly influenced by Motherjane. So we have decided to dedicate our EP- Indiana (which is on process) to this great band."

Predominantly the souls are from different corners of the region but it is by the divination of music that they are 'Gravity' today. The band hails from Golaghat and was formed this year. Gravity tries to give the Indian ethnic taste in rock music. They have given astonishing performances and won titles in rock competitions like Pyrotechnix (AEC), Abeyantrix (JIST), Sastricas (NITS Mirza), etc. The main vision of this band is to hit the stage with their entire endeavour. They are currently working on their debut EP which will be reaching the ears of the fans by the next year. Triumphantly they ave mesmerised innumerable crowds in a very short span of time.

TNT. Hello guys, when and how did Gravity happen? What was the story behind the creation of your band?

Gravity: Well, it all started when Pallav shifted from Guwahati to Dergaon. One day he met Hitesh at a show who was also desperately looking for a band to join. Bhargav, who was Pallav's family friend, joined the project as a vocalist. What a remarkable moment it was when we sat for a jam for the first time and then we found that all of us were die-hard fans of the Carnatic Band Motherjane. Then Pallav decided to pick Kunal and Amar, his favorite students on the rhythms and bass. Thus Gravity emerged out of a town which has no signs of rock music for ages. (Giggle) When we felt the necessity of a second vocalist plus backings for some particular style of songs, we called in Tridip who is also a fine percussionist and a person with vast knowledge in folk music.

TNT. How about instigating the band and the members to our readers?

Gravity: The band consists of  Bhargav Borborah on Vocals, Tridip Tukaria on Vocals and Percussions, Hitesh Das on Drums, Pallav Jyoti Mahanta on Lead Guitars (ex Virgin Creep, Invigorate Seed), Henjoy Saikia(ex Axis) who replaced Amar Thapa on the bass and Partha Pratim Phukan (ex Violet Violence) who replaced Kunal Thapa on Rhythms. These replacements however have been made recently due to academic reasons of Amar and Kunal.

TNT. How would you evoke your sound? And what's the reason behind choosing this genre?

Gravity: Basically we are rock and roll, classic and alternative lovers. Motherjane's album Maktub totally changed our perception about rock music. Playing rock music with Indian/Folk ethnicity has become our passion. As such our sound is greatly influenced by Motherjane. So we have decided to dedicate our EP- Indiana (which is on process) to this great band.

Besides the band, what do you guys do as individuals?

Pallav is an Engineer of ASEB, Hitesh is a School Inspector, Bhargav is a B.Com graduate in Marketing. Henjoy is currently pursuing his B.A. with English honours, Tridip is in his final year of B.E., and Partha is pursuing B.Sc. in Zoology.

TNT. How important do you think is being 'commercial' for a band in todays rock/metal scene? Is commercialism bad for a band? What's your take on that?

Gravity: We totally believe in what Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) has said regarding music. Music should not be played or composed to make money. A person does not become a musician by giving random auditions where the judges may not be able to judge their talents! True music is created when a few people come together and start jamming in their garages and jam rooms for years and finally come out with a masterpiece making them matured musicians.

But again at least to buy good quality gears a band needs money and now a days in the days of piracy it only comes through live shows. So after all it's a game of struggle and strategy. There is a lot of competition now. So the only solution lies in two steps

1. Don't forget to practice.

2. Never forget step 1.

TNT. What's your take on the current rock music scene in the northeast?

Gravity: North-East has always taken a lead role in promoting western music in our country. It takes pride in producing several superb quality bands and prominent musicians.

We have seen bands like GATC, ANTB, etc. winning the hearts of people worldwide, and that inspires us and our contemporaries to take up rock music as both passion and career.

It is unfortunate that most of our people don't believe in this kind of music and do not respect musicians. We can see some of our brothers working day and night to organise some quality shows but the audience refuse to buy tickets. We still hope that one day this kind of discrimination will be eradicated and our people start loving all forms of music. Lastly we would like to repeat: Stop piracy, buy original CDs, and help musicians create true music.

TNT. So how profoundly do you guys follow your jam session?

Gravity: We jam whenever it's feasible for all of us to sit together, besides regular jams on weekends.

TNT. Do you guys have any specific ideologies as a band? If yes, how do you manage to make it a part of the music?

Gravity: Our ideology is simple. Learn to rock without forgetting the folk, without forgetting that we are Indians.

THANKS AND STAY ETHNICALLY TRANCED!!