Bangalore rock music at cultural crossroads

The news of the sudden closure of Hard Rock Cafe in India left many people disappointed and confused, wondering what kind of blow this would have to rock music culture, especially Bangalore, the former heavy metal capital of India.“Hard rock has a whole legacy – the history of rock and roll and the merchandise of the greatest rock stars. That creates an ecosystem that sadly we may have to lose,” said Sanjeev Thomas, a musician and founder of the Rainbow Bridge Music Academy. “Dedicated venues for a certain genre are rare and we need venues like this to allow independent music to thrive.”While staff at the Hard Rock franchise on St. Mark’s Road told TOI that they are continuing operations and their legal team is handling the contract termination, all cafe locations in India appear to have been pulled from Hard Rock International’s official website. Elvis and the Rock TempleIn 2023, Return to Sender frontman Shashaank Abraham, 35, debuted as an Elvis tribute act at the Hard Rock Cafe on St. Mark’s Road. He calls it a paradise for all music lovers, and the cafe is always packed with bands. “When you want a quality band, especially a tribute show, everyone thinks of Hard Rock. There is no other venue that offers such great and consistent tribute shows as Hard Rock.”The rock band performed there on the anniversaries of Elvis’s birthday and death. “There was a framed Elvis Presley shirt with the buttons missing. He gave that shirt away to be mended and never got it back; now it’s here at the Hard Rock Cafe. Whenever I lay my hands on that box, it gives me some inspiration and courage. And then I look at other artists — the Beatles, Eric Clapton’s guitar, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Michael Jackson,” he said. “I think if the Hard Rock Café ceased to exist in India, we would lose a huge amount of musical history.”“New avenues will emerge”“Before, Bengaluru was known almost exclusively for rock music. If you wanted to hear rock music, you had to go to MG Road or Brigade Road. Now, people in Indiranagar or Kammanahalli have their own venues locally and don’t need to travel across town. This diversity is a good thing,” said Arpan Peter, 39, founder of the Indian Jazz Project.Arpan started his career as a heavy metal music promoter, bringing legendary bands like Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Opeth, Meshuggah and Gojira to India. While an iconic venue may be closing, a 22,000-square-foot Piano Man jazz club is being built in Bengaluru, he said. “In recent years, much of hard rock’s programming has been dominated by covers. But if it closed, it wouldn’t cause a huge shift in the music industry.”keep the light on Bangalore was once considered the heavy metal capital of India. “The city is also home to a deep-rooted classic rock culture that was once kept alive by bars like Purple Haze and Styx and continued by Pecos. We also saw a huge growth in nu metal and alternative rock in the early 2000s… The fact that Lincoln Park had 45,000 people in attendance is proof that the demand in this part of the country is still huge,” said Zero Gravity Festival founder Abhijith A Bhat, who goes by the name of the artist. Sai Dickey. Local rock music is also booming, he noted. “Shows at Thaikkudam Bridge, Raghu Dixit Project, Avial, Agam or Pineapple Express sell out quickly.”The Pecos Pub has been playing recorded classic rock music for over thirty years. Liam Timms, director of Pecos Hotels and Pubs Limited, said rock music has always been there in Bengaluru and till date, their playlists were entirely managed by customers. “People were writing on napkins or paper and making their requests,” he said. “Classic rock is evergreen and can be enjoyed by all generations.”Challenges facing rock musicMany artists are realizing that rock music is no longer as mainstream as it was in the ’90s or early 2000s and are changing their choices. Abhijit says that now everything has shifted towards electronic music or electronic music. “There weren’t a lot of new rock bands that came out after the ’90s. I’ve always been on both sides of the table. Ten years ago I was active in the rock scene and currently I have electronic music projects. “Siddhartha Baja, founder of Freedom Jam, a more than 30-year-old project that provides musicians with a free live performance platform, said the commercial response to rock music is not what it was a few years ago. “Even with greats like Deep Purple coming back to town, the turnout was lower than before. In comparison, younger bands like Linkin Park did better, but in absolute numbers, the audience was much smaller than that of singers from the film industry.“Siddhartha says budget can be an important factor in downsizing a live or rock music venue – since most venues don’t see music as the main attraction and therefore don’t spend as much on sets and artists. Additionally, managing a band is more difficult than being a solo artist. “A band has at least 10 to 12 members. Managing a big band is always a challenge and people can’t keep the band together for long. That’s why they are moving towards simpler ways of making music – having a computer instead of a big band,” says Abhijit.Shashaank said the new generation is more interested in EDM. “Even the concept of a guitar solo is slowly disappearing in modern music,” he regrets. “But there are still die-hard fans out there who have an appreciation for rock. That appreciation never goes away. Hard rock is always packed. It’s more important than ever to keep these rock shows and venues alive because a new generation needs to discover what rock music is all about.”