Thanks to the excellent people at BITS — fabulous festival, great hospitality and a fantastic venue. You guys are the real rock stars!

Watch!

The post Video: Bits from BITS – Oct 16 appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

With the usual avalanche of skeletons tumbling out of the cupboards of CWG honchos, and whispers of a new betting scam among the boys next door, it was just another day in the Commonwealth. Or so we thought. Until Mr. A. R. Rahman, one of our most felicitated artists, unveiled the official anthem of the Games.

Hear, hear!

And what’s the official sport? Taekwondo? Har har har! Or Sepak Takraw! Hyuk hyuk hyuk!

No offence intended, really. Please take that sportingly… hehehe!

Here, in the slick, smoky kitchens of Kickbackistan, another kettle of fish has been simmering quietly — and powerfully. The scent trail leads to YouTube, where Thermal And A Quarter has proudly announced the release of the official anthem of Uncommon Wealth: Kickbackistan.

Yours to listen to, yours to sing along to, but not yet yours to download. That we’ve saved for later. Start salting away your funny money to pay up on the big day. Under the table, of course!

And one more thing, this isn’t the OFFICIAL music video. Patience, patience!

Let the games begin! Let the shame begin! Kickbackistan!

Learn up your lines and sing along (swalpa khara okay?). There’s a lot of action to come.

The post Kickbackistan, official anthem of Uncommon Wealth! appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Blues from the road, for your viewing pleasure. This one, for those who’ve missed a show (or a beat) is called Grab Me.

The post New video – Grab Me (blues from the road) appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

“But we’ll save that for tomorrow,” he says on his 33rd.

Every day should be a happy birthday for love. As artists, that should be the mission fuelling our activism — to spread the message of love and peace in the world to everyone, to bring estranged people together, to shape the change that lies trapped inside our hearts. And not lose ourselves in cynicism.

If need be, we must cross one line to draw another.

Last year, Bruce wrote the lyrics of ‘One Small Love’ and put it to music with his band, Thermal And A Quarter. Join him and Thermal And A Quarter with other artists, speakers and thinkers on the song’s first anniversary.

‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, an assertion of liberty, love and happiness, celebrates the birthday of love.

Feb 14, Opus in the Creek, Whitefield Road, Bangalore.

Be there to draw the line. And spread the love.

The post One Small Love – Bruce Lee Mani draws the line appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Ravi’s flute has taken him around the world — New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Passionskirche in Berlin, Mumbai’s NCPA Auditorium, etc. He has shared the stage with Dr M. Balamuralikrishna, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar, Steve Smith and Vital Information, Charlie Mariano, Hariharan, S P Balasubramaniam, Kumaresh and Ganesh, Tarun Bhattacharya, Hans Hartmann, Karsh Kale, Amit Heri and Tanmoy Bose.

Join Ravi as he performs with Thermal And A Quarter and other musicians at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, a convention of peace-loving citizens, at Opus in the Creek in Bangalore on February 14. Entry is free.

Draw the line. Spread the love.

The post One Small Love – Ravichandra Kulur draws the line appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Writer and cartoonist Bijoy Venugopal believes that anger makes protests look ugly and diverts attention from their core cause. People often feel that to protest, they must shout slogans, burn effigies or blacken the faces of suspected villains. As artists and writers, we must find unique expression for our protest. We must stretch our imagination to channel righteous anger into thought-provoking and enduring art that adds meaning and lends perspective to protest.

Join Bijoy and other Bangaloreans at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, a celebration of creative freedom and artistic independence with musicians and opinion leaders. Be there at Opus in the Creek, Whitefield Road, Bangalore on February 14, 2010.

Draw the line. Spread the love.

The post One Small Love – Bijoy Venugopal draws the line appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

“People smile for the camera, but I wish they would just smile otherwise,” says Zubair, a Bangalore-based photographer.

Join him and other concerned Bangaloreans at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’, a celebration of diversity and freedom with performances by Thermal And A Quarter, Swarathma, Gerard Machado, Konarak Reddy, Alwyn Fernandes, Karan Joseph, Ravi Kulur and other artists and opinion leaders on February 14 at Opus in the Creek, Whitefield Road, Bangalore.

Draw the line. Spread the love.

The post One Small Love – Syed Zubair draws the line appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

His mantra: Live and let live. Be free. Let music help you share and give.

Join him and other musicians, artists and concerned citizens at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’ on Feb 14 at Opus in the Creek, Bangalore to respect and celebrate the differences that make us unique and interesting to each other.

Draw the line. Spread the love.

The post One Small Love – Alwyn Fernandes draws the line appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Vasu Dixit and Varun Murali invoke Sant Kabir in one of their songs to explain that nothing has changed in the last five hundred years when it comes to womens empowerment. On the one hand we tout the power of freedom and yet, on the other, the same people misuse freedom for their own interests.

Join them and other artists, musicians and concerned citizens at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore’ on Feb 14 in Bangalore to celebrate the spirit of freedom. If you are not in Bangalore, join us on Facebook.

Draw the line. Spread the love.

The post One Small Love – Vasu Dixit and Varun Murali draw the line appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

“I’m not a Mangalorean but I love their food, and I’m not a Bangalorean but I live here,” he says. What is this about cities, anyway? Whose fault was it that India was organized into states on the basis of language? And why do we get so parochial over who is allowed to inhabit and work in our cities?

Questions that point to one simple answer: One Small Line. That’s all you need to draw to live in harmony in a tired world.

Join Rajeev and others like him at ‘One Small Love – Bangalore for Mangalore‘, a concert that stresses the notion of one love, one world.

Draw the line. Spread the love.

The post One Small Love – Rajeev Ravindranathan draws the line appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).