A jarring note
While local artistes and bands are getting more opportunities to play their music, the shabby treatment meted out to them is saddening.
After a lot of talk about how independent musicians and bands in Hyderabad need to be given more opportunities to perform and showcase their skills, now, many musicians are performing at plush restaurants, coffee shops and pubs across the city on all days of the week. However, though they are getting opportunities, it appears some venues have no respect for these artistes.
A band from the city called The Three Of Us & Her, who have been playing at a venue in Gachibowli for more than a month, say while artistes from Goa, Bengaluru and Mumbai are treated very well, the local artistes get no respect.
“The very first day, we were treated indifferently. Normally, there is someone at the venue who is responsible for sound and the equipment, but there was nobody there. We were expected to do our entire sound check and also start on time. Our requests for water were completely ignored until we went to the bar and asked for it,” says Nitin Dominic D’souza, lead guitarist of the band. He adds, “We were spoken to rudely by the managers, as if we are entirely dependent on their venue for a little money.”
Telugu musicians are particularly disrespected. Says singer Sravya Kothalanka, who was recently rudely requested not to utter anything in Telugu by a manager at a popular venue, “It makes me sad that the live scene for Hyderabad’s regional music doesn’t even exist. There are people abroad who don’t get the language, having orchestras performing Baahubali songs, but in a Telugu state, nobody does it. The venue owners and managers actually suppress Telugu music. All of them just want Bollywood and popular English music. They might be Telugus too, but still rudely request you to not speak or sing in Telugu as it may affect their “reputation”. The genre itself is laughed at.”
Agreeing with Sravya is Teja, a percussionist from the popular band Capricio, who also play Telugu music. “At some places in Hyderabad, there is zero respect for Telugu music and musicians. They think that playing Telugu music at plush places would affect the crowd, so they opt for Bollywood music.”
People love dance thrills
Harish Kumar of Harish & Martin, says, “It’s a general problem in the music scene. When I sing in English, the audience is sometimes rude and I am asked to switch to peppy Bollywood numbers. It’s definitely problematic when we are asked to perform on dance numbers.”
Music should invite everyone
Louis Chinnam of the metal band, Primal Abuse, says, “Many places prefer English and Bollywood music, so I understand why Telugu musicians face problems. The encouragement, when it comes to music, should improve in Hyderabad. A lot of these venues also prefer cover songs than original music. They should start promoting bands that make their own music. At the end of the day, it’s not about just promoting music but growing together as a community.”
Hyderabad's musical bias
Rajeev Raj of the popular band Take 5 says, “I have experienced such treatment quite often. We are often told how amazingly we perform, but what we actually need is creative freedom. These venues should let us play what we want to and explore more. As soon as we play English music, we are asked to perform Bollywood songs. On the other hand, it’s also sad to say that no venue encourages regional music. While Bengaluru and Chennai are open to regional music, why is Hyderabad behind?”
“Most of the organisers behave like “we pay you so toe the line”. We want to change this culture,” says Teja. Karen Renita Mario, lead vocalist from The Three Of Us & Her, says that local musicians need to be respected more. “Musicians like us will go to the extent of playing a free gig if needed, but the venue ought to treat the artiste with the respect they deserve. The audience only wants the band to play upbeat songs so they can dance. Nobody comes to actually listen to the music,” says Karen.
Musicians also point out that sometimes the audience too is not receptive. “It used to happen to us when we rapped initially at some venues, but after making a mark on the music scene, we are being treated well now,” says Harish MC Uneek, who co-produced the popular Telugu rap songs Hey Pilla and Jimpak Chipak, which have millions of hits on YouTube.
No due respect
Ashok Varghese of the Hyderabad-based Marcus Find A Gun band is of the opinion that the biggest problem they face as performers is that on many occasions, the audience doesn’t seem to respect their work. “There have been instances when people threw money at us asking us to play what they wanted to hear. Isn’t that insulting?
Many guests think they are entitled to tell us what we should play just because they are paying money to sit at a bar. As artistes, we should have the freedom to express ourselves the way we like. The fact that we refuse to play Bollywood music seems to be a bone of contention. We’ve had people question our credibility just because we say no to a certain Honey Singh number. What needs to be understood is that it is the privilege of the audience to hear an artiste play the music of their choice. Not the other way round.”