When a group of five describe themselves as having failed comedy school, all-round eye candy, occasional (and awkward) belly dancer, serial roller and a baby/mascot, you can only imagine how they really are.
Perhaps, the title of their latest album, We’re All Mad Here is a good teaser. As varied as their personalities may be, when they come together on stage as one, they are fun, live wires that dish out songs so relateable, you’ll wonder, ‘Do they know me?’ We caught up with Akhilesh Kumar, Kevin Vineeth Kumar, Sudhakar Prabhu, Megha Shankar, Varshita Ramesh of One Girl Shy on their new album and how they keep it together.
What sees the band’s following only increase is the ability of their tunes to relate with the young and the restless. Always partial to the blues and rock artistes from the 60s to the 80s and aspiring to reach the bench mark of Brit rock band Queen, Akhilesh fills in for the post of songwriter, of course with a generous dollop of what he calls ‘awesome sauce’ from his eclectic band mates.
“The themes I write about are quite random, but they range from letting go of social norms that are detrimental to oneself to a story about a one night stand that went really wrong, or right depending on how you feel about one night stands,” he quips.
Their debut album took close to 18 months to put out. Akhilesh confesses that he’s always nurtured a dream of becoming a rockstar and this album comes a little closer to realising that dream.
“Called We Are All Mad Here, the eight-track album urges people to be themselves and stop and appreciate the world around them. Our world is changing, so, this is meant to inspire people to be a part of the positive change in and for the world!” says Akhilesh.
Fellow vocalist Megha notes that it comes with a message in tow – to seek one’s own identity and passion, and a sense of rebellion against set norms and expectations.
“Our audience can expect a mix of electric and acoustic songs, songs that will tug at your heartstrings, and those that will make you want to let loose and dance like no one’s watching. There is something for everyone, and lyrics that are very relatable,” dishes the lass who doubles as a school counsellor and is wrapping up a Master’s in Psychology degree.
Like her, her band mates wear different hats too – Akhilesh is a mixed martial arts instructor, Kevin is a social entrepreneur, married and with a kid Sudhakar works as a 3D visualiser at an interior design firm and Varshita doubles from her intense communications course at Mount Carmel College for band practice every day.
And that’s the thing. Since they put in so much effort into belting out tunes and make it look effortless, Akhilesh has some advice: “Please learn to charge for shows and make money from them - you and your music are worth something. Also, don’t quit. The world really needs more music,” he says.
Otherwise, 2017 is looking up for the gang. After a great album launch, they are off to Kerala to shoot videos for their songs which will soon be aired on Kappa TV! They are all inching closer to touring the country and collaborations.
“We finished a video shoot for our song Hopscotch Man. We were very fortunate to have artistes like Suraj Mani, Naveen Thomas, Santhos Nataraja, Anirudh Ravi, Ajay George Joseph and Rohann George Mathew collaborate and work with us on that video which will be coming out soon!” says Akhilesh.
