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).

I’m drunk
Sated, filled up, right up to here
And oh, all right, it feels so good…

Some more
Lap it up, I have no fear
Do you really think I should?

Taste the music magic
Deep, sweet, head spin
It would be tragic if I didn’t let you in

Too much of a good thing
Too much of a good thing
Can’t get enough
Got to watch myself, watch myself
Walk the line…
Can’t fly too high
Can’t fly too high

Sometimes I’m just a monkey

It’s a really swinging time

I don’t care, don’t care if you mind

Sometimes I get lucky

And I don’t even lose my mind

It’s better, better this way

Taste the music magic

Deep, sweet, head spin

It would be tragic if I didn’t let you in

Too much of a good thing
Too much of a good thing
Can’t get enough
Got to watch myself, watch myself
Walk the line…
Can’t fly too high
Can’t fly too high

Burn my wings like Icarus

I’m so drunk, so drunk

I’m drunk

I’m stoned

I’m high

I’m done.

The post Lyrics: Drunk appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Kyra is what Bangalore has always wanted

And suddenly… unexpectedly…  just like that…  Bangalore gets a world-class performance venue.

Despite being the IT/BT capital of the world for over a decade, all that progress hardly made a whisper of a difference when it came to sound and lights available at any of the performance venues in our city. Progress, if any, was reflected in the pricing of the food and drinks.  The only place that has great, world-class sound is apparently the Infy boardroom where Murthy and Nandan jam on their Midas XL8 digital console (known to be the world’s best board). No kidding, they’ve got the works in there, I hear. While we mega rockstar guys have to shut up and play with whatever comes our way. Not to forget the standard pre-gig scenario of haggling with the organizers for that extra sub-woofer or a slightly bigger mixing board or removing a few tables at that pub to make that stage just a tad bigger so that I don’t have a guitar neck going through my ears or have my boom stand up the frontman’s rear.

Finally, here’s a venue where all of that bad stuff is history.

Kyra, with its 30/40 stage + JBL VRX compact line array system with multiple dual 18″ subs powered by QSC amplifiers, processed and managed by a DBX Driverack +  VRX delay speakers designed with ‘EASE’ to ensure even quality of sound across the venue. Not to mention the Soundcraft GB 2-24 24 channel mixer + Truss with 36 lighting points handled by a LSC Maxim M dmx lighting console with 48 faders.

Phew…I’ll stop for now, but there’s plenty more. For all the yada yada yada visit the one and only www.acousticcontrol.com, who have done a fantastic job at Kyra.

And the best part is Kyra promises that this is just the beginning… they are just starting off. Some standard teething troubles, etc. happening but lots more stuff is gonna be put in there.

And if you are wondering why yours truly is being so nice to this place, hear this: Finally, man, finally… finally… finally somebody decided to respect the work of the humble drummer and invest in a high end professional acoustic drum set. My eyes flood up as I thank the person whose decision it was to put in a good high-end kit in there. Contrary to what everybody (including my wife) thinks, we drummers do put in a lot of work into our sound, and for time immemorial we have been disregarded when it comes to spending that lil extra on making sure there’s a good kit at the live gig.

Thank you Kyra. Bangalore desperately needs you.

All the very best, and whatever happens the show must go on.

Gig review by Bruce coming soon.

Thank yous:

Team TAAQ: Vinay Kewalramani (Sound + Gig Mgmt), OB-Wan and Guzuru (Guitar/Bass/Drum Techs)
Kyra: Navneet, Chris, Shimrei, Anand, Ajit and all the staff

More later,
Cheers

Rajeev

The post A drumroll for Kyra appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

In our small, tired world, there’s too little space for anything. And then we cram in terrorism, recession, traffic jams, politicians, elections, pink slips, pink chaddis, climate change, crop failure…

Where do we draw the line?

Stop, for one small moment…
Think one small thought…
Do one small deed…
Say one small word…

Draw the line. And put the smile back on the face of your day.

Change your Facebook profile to the smiley for today. And then download the song off www.bangalorerock.com. Let’s see how far you can spread the love.

One Small Love was performed and recorded by Thermal And A Quarter. Thanks to Happy (www.thinkhappy.biz) for the creative on the video and director Ashvin Naidu of Avakkai Films. Great work, guys!

The post One Small Love – the video appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Draw the line, spread the love

It started some time this afternoon. A little yellow smiley face started making an appearance on Facebook. Along with that, a status message: ‘One small love is all it takes… in a tired world’.

The last time we checked, the love virus had spread like a happy yellow rash.

If you know anybody on Facebook who has changed his/ her profile picture to the One Small Love smiley face, get the the image from them and change your profile pic, too. And don’t forget to change your status message to: ‘One Small Love is all it takes… in a tired world’.

Spread the love. Draw the line. Watch this space.

The post On Facebook, One Small Love Epidemic appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Of course, we couldn’t let anyone know about the gig (really let ’em know) because we might’ve been busted. Bangalore denizens are of course aware of our wonderfully evolved government – stuck firmly, ostrich-style, in the dark ages… you know, those times with random acts of senseless violence against women, curfew, feudal overlords, and guys wearing metal underpants (jetties!) caroming off to slay non-believers. Hmmm, now why does that sound so familiar?? Gawrsh. But to think – they actually had live music and dancing in places that served hooch back then! Now that’s evolved.

Anyway – back to the gig. Hush-hush as it was, quite a few TAAQies did show up – thanks, people! For braving the traffic, thumbing your nose to the MP (moral police), and for singing along.

The Hard Rock Café here is at a great address – 1, MG Road (hotly contested by the Police Station across the street, which also calls itself 1, MG Road – glad our TAAQies found the right one!). Stage-wise, it’s the same as Mumbai, with the musicians playing on a high platform above the bar. Local hitch – no lights! Seriously, these guys didn’t have lights for the band. Talk about the dark ages. Our super-roadies actually had to scram off to get some small halogens from somewhere for the second half of the gig.

Played a bunch of new material – Rajeev’s Sold and Ordinary Affair (lyrics here), the fresh-off-the-hotplate One Small Love, Surrender, our little blues Grab Me (lyrics – see footnote) and more. All this seems to be going down rather well with our regulars – and the newbies – so I guess we’re doing something right.

Wrapped up punctually at 2300 hours. Ate a bunch of American Hard Rock cuisine (read tasty cholesterol bombs), drank some Hard Rock beer and gawked at Eric Clapton’s Strat, Elton John’s, er, Jammies, Paul McCartney’s picks and Madonna’s pointy underthings.

Back to the hard place now…

Footnote (as promised above):

New Songs

Here’s some brand-new TAAQ stuff. Live testing in progress… Welcome all ye lab rats! Leave yer footprints behind, please.

One Small Love

One small breath
One small word
One small man
One small space
Can be everything
In a tired world

One small glimpse
One small truth
One small cry
One small change
The leaves they turn
And slowly I learn

It’s such a big deal
Oh a pretty balloon
Blow it up make the steal
We’re all in
We’re all in
And there’s no getting out

I’m such a big man
Take a look at my shadow
I’ll make my last stand
It’s all right
It’s all right

Cause suddenly I know
How

One small time
One small kindness
One small light
One small darkness
Can be everything
In a tired world

We made a big splash
But the well ran dry
We smoked the big cash
Light it up
Light it up
At least we didn’t lie

And it’s

One small breath
One small word
One small step
One small love
That’s everything
In this tired world

Grab Me

It’s one thirty o clock in the morning
Woke up late last night
If that isn’t right
To start the blues bar
Then the sorry girls are winning the fight

Feeling mighty high and low
Just like I did some crooked lines
Funny because I’m clean and dry
Never needed any joy juice to get high

I play in a cool smart rock n roll band
It’s like the only thing that makes it go round
Been everywhere but the big time lover
Somewhere this ruby yacht ran aground

Grab me by my fingertips and take me off this page
Dance me to the ground it’s lover-ly
How lots of chocolates can mystify the mage
I’m not about to shake my cage
Losing my mind with the daily wage

I get home early, shut off my head
And fire all my synapse slaves
It’s pleasant and even mildly euphoric
Oh these after-burner polychrome waves

Rise up with the sorry sunlight
That bleeds all over the floor
The shadows shrink as I pour my first drink
It’s a Boost in the mug with no happy encore

Grab me by my fingertips and take me off this ride
Dance me to the ceiling it’s lover-ly
How honest work can crucify my pride
I’m just about to set aside
A modicum of love and a paisa-worth of bromide

Surrender

Stepping over, stepping light
I’ll discover, I don’t need to fight
The mantras chanted, the rite complete
There’re only ashes at my feet
It’s out of my hands now

I’ll hand over, I’ll let go
What’s forever, I’ll never know
Give it all up, give it away
Don’t take it back, that’s what they say
And it’s out of my hands now

Worry, it’s scary
Too much care
Losing my hair
Trying to prepare
For something I can’t see or hear or smell or even know…
There’s only now
Only this note
Only this moment, take a bow
Or should I surrender

Is there chaos, is there a plan
Random patterns for every man
Invisible wires and a safety net
Or only freefall space cadets, freefall
And gravity always wins

I know the G word, I know it well
They say it’ll keep me for going to hell
Whatever works, makes you content
Lets you deal with how insignificant, you are, we are, we all are
And suddenly we’re gone

Worry, it’s scary
Too much care
Losing my hair
Trying to prepare
For something I can’t see or hear or smell or even know
There’s only now
Only this note
Only this moment, take a bow
Should I surrender

The post Between the Rock and the Hard Place… appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).