Triomphant Blue'mers kick start Indigo and Blues Jazz Festival
Recognised for being true to blues as an artform Ananth, Vasudev and Joe of By2Blues weave a sound that is surprisingly intense and soulful! The trio recently took to the stage to open for the Fourth edition of the Jazz and Blues Festival with their unique blend of vocals and rock solid rhythms, which left the crowd mesmerised! Initially a two member band founded by Ananth and Vasudev, the trio open up about how the band came to be, and what their journey has been like, from the time they started, five years ago…
The band initially started out as an acoustic blues duo, which is how By2Blues got its name! "I heard Ananth sing and play at an open-mic back in 2010 and loved what I heard. A year later I facebooked him, asking if he was open to jam. He said yes, but wanted it to be a 'no-strings-attached-jam'" says Vasudev Prabhu, who plays the harmonica.
"We started playing together as an experiment. This duo was perfect. It allowed me to sing and him to play. It was a no brainer, really," pitches in Ananth Menon, who plays the guitar. "Then in 2015, we inducted Joe. As a Canjon player, he has completely transformed the band dynamics and we have never sounded better," says Vasudev warmly. "Joe is the heartbeat," quips in Ananth.
Interestingly, all the members are trained percussionists! Ananth, is a trained Mridangam player, Joe is a trained Ghatam player and Vasudev, a trained Tabla player. "We spend four to five hours a week together and have never gotten tired of each other. Maybe, its because we realise that there are not too many who do this the way we do," says Joe.
"We share a mutual understanding, as well as mutual love and respect for each other which is how we keep things refreshing for ourselves as well as our listeners," adds Vasudev, about the chemistry that the trio share which is even recognised by their fans!
"Before each gig, we just kind of look at each other and grin and sometimes we might do a quick huddle. But most often, we create the set list just before the gig, after the soundcheck," says Vasudev about what they do just before they hit the stage.
Not only does the band create emotional content that resonates well with audiences, they also make the most of every single venue they perform at! "Each show is memorable in a different way, but we always play from our hearts. If we don't do that, it's a bad gig, and we haven't had one of those yet - touch wood," laughs Anant while also crossing his fingers! Blues - a genre known for its clichés, either visually or musically or lyrically, how do they keep it interesting?
"Blues is an improvisational art form, so we are constantly questioning and trying our new stuff. The idea is to contribute in any way that we can, to make our music better with as much honesty as possible," Vasudev adds in conclusion about the band that was thanked by American tourists, for the slice of authentic American Blues all the way in Bengaluru.
