They are one of Chennai’s original rock n’ roll bands, having delighted audiences with their unadulterated bluesy sounds for the better part of the last five years or so. A lot has happened since college friends Rohan Sen and Vikram Vivekanand first founded Grey Shack in 2007 for a city-wide competition that they won — line-up changes, a two-year sabbatical of sorts, their debut album Step Outside, and of course, being a part of the evolving music scene here.
But Grey Shack truly hit their high last year winning the Harley Davidson Rock Riders concert in Mumbai, which gives them the license to flaunt their stuff at the European Bike Week in Austria next year, where they’ll represent the country! “It’s extremely exciting to prepare for our first overseas concert. It was after playing at the Harley Davidson and Rolling Stone event in Kochi, when we got through to the finals in Mumbai, by virtue of an online jury vote. The win will see us perform at the Indian Bike week in Goa, the Auto Expo in Delhi, and finish off with the gig in Austria — we are also looking to set up a tour in Germany, since we are going all the way to perform!” says Vikram.
With Rohan on vocals, Vikram on guitar, Conrad on bass and Ramkumar on drums, the band have a variety of talented individuals who come together to improvise their music — that has constantly evolved and adapted with time, says Rohan. “Also the scene has changed dramatically. There are more concerts, festivals, better infrastructure to perform, radio channels and so on that encourage independent music and offer opportunities to jam and record in studios. It is still the college-going public that are the primary audience, but it is improving everyday,” he adds.
Where do they find the inspiration for their music? “Our earlier album had more of blues, happy rock n roll, while now the songs are raw, energetic and powerful. Our lyrics stem from the fact that we are city-bred boys caught in mind-numbing day jobs and all the issues we face. There are songs about everything from spacing out on a bike ride to one night stands and women!” Vikram adds.
With their next offerings set to release in 2014 as singles or as part of an album, Grey Shack look set to continue their success streak – and Vikram signs off saying that the evolution is definitely attributed to the band members being friends, “Of course, the fact that we all know each other for so long counts. All the memories off-stage, hanging out, understanding each other... our music speaks of that friendship.”
