A one night stand

It was a one-night stand in the city and they left people asking for more. The Bengaluru-based band One Nite Stand was here to perform at the second anniversary of a popular restaurant and we caught up with the jovial bunch as they talked about their rather interesting start and name, their love for Hyderabad crowd and more.

The band members — Jonathan Wesley, Behram Siganporia, E.K. Abhilash and Hemanth Diwakaran — were all part of different bands and it was for a friend’s wedding that they decided to get together for a ‘one-night stand’. “That’s how the name came about and that’s the story of how we started. Jonathan, Abhilash and Hemanth were already full time musicians while I was a pilot. Our chemistry on-stage was great so we decided to stay together as a band,” says Behram.

And all four agree that the name helps them get a lot more attention than usual. “But unfortunately, we are going to change our name soon. We are still taking online polls and haven’t picked a name. However, our first album which will be out soon, will be named One Nite Stand,” says Behram. The band has been signed by Universal Music for their first debut album.

While they are famous for their Coldplay covers, the band had a few different things in store for their Hyderabad gig. “We always perform numbers that people can dance to. This time we are also performing a few songs from our debut album,” says Jonathan. And true enough, their originals were appreciated as much as their covers of Taylor Swift and Coldplay.

For the band, Hyderabad has become a regular stop. In fact, for the next six months they have at least one gig every month in the city. “The crowd in Hyderabad is great. They are a very informed crowd, they aren’t a random bunch of people but they actually know their music. So that’s why it’s always nice performing here,” says Jonathan.

Talking about the Hyderabad music scene, Jonathan says, “I know a few bands here and they are nice. The music scene here is growing.” The group is always travelling and now with their album, their schedule has become all the more hectic. “We travel all across India for our shows and now, we have recording sessions and interviews lined up,” says Behram.

Even though the Indie music scene is not commercially well off in India yet, they have a different story to tell. “It really depends from band to band,” says Jonathan while Behram adds with a smile, “For us, we can say it’s pretty good.”