Last night Rzhude sang, perhaps for the last time with us, a selection of songs that took us down the cobbled street of memory, stopping under streetlights to reflect on the times gone by. Our songs were inflected with a new fondness. We hung onto every word, clung to every note, clasped the choruses tighter to our chests. Brigade Street — twice over. State of Mine — unplayed in nearly five years. Between the Lines. And Holy Jose — sung with more mischief than ever before.

Farewells are not easy if you have spent eleven years on the road, playing, grooving, hoping, making, celebrating, ruing… Our shared history puts a price on the nostalgia of the past, the weight of the present and the promise of the future.

But farewells are inevitable. And they are a reminder of the present that we must acknowledge and the future in which we must be present.

The Rzhude Decade — all eleven years of it — was the most important one in the history of Thermal And A Quarter. Four albums, hundreds of live appearances, three overseas tours and hours of jamming and toil. It was a decade of the discovery of infinite possibilities.

Here’s to the next!

The post Rzhude's farewell gig – words and pictures appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

- ‘Then and Now’, from the album ‘This Is It’

More than ten years ago, Rudolph Antonio David (aka Rzhude) walked into his first jam with TAAQ, carrying a headless Washburn Bantam 4-string bass, a 40W Stranger amp, and a sense of groove that would change the way this band made music.

A true troubadour, Rzhude is the balladeer, the quiet but strong voice in the shadows of the campfire, telling stories simply and powerfully. He brought to TAAQ music a new sense of accessibility; to TAAQ work a new sense of fulfillment.

We’re calling this gig a ‘farewell concert for Rzhude’, but in truth it’s the celebration of an era. The Rzhude Decade — from 1999 to 2010 (something like the leap year, a Rzhude Decade has 11 years instead of ten — there’s another TAAQologism for you!). And during this era, we have had musicians of various stripes playing with us — a closer peek at the poster will give you their names*.

Seems like just yesterday that Rzhude walked in, plugged up and jammed with us like a true fellow traveller. Now, it’s time for him to hop off and change horses on the carousel.

Share the nostalgia as we recollect the glory years between then and now. Join us on the unending ride.

*The fine print: (L-R) Nate Linkon, Manoj Ganessan, Jason Zachariah, Tony Das, Ajit Abraham, Sunil Chandy, David Pascall, Sriram Iyengar, Jayesh Nair, Preetam Koilpillai, Bryan Richard, Vishak Gopinath, Bruce Lee Mani, Rzhude David, Rajesh Mehar, Rajeev Rajagopal

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Rzhude (or Rudy, or Rudolph David as you may know him) has announced that he wishes to move on and pursue an independent career outside of Thermal And A Quarter. Best known among the music community for the last ten years as TAAQ’s bass player and singer, he has been a vital part of our on-stage and off-stage presence since 1999 and has contributed to the four studio albums that we have released during our career.

We acknowledge that Rzhude is currently at a stage of his career where he must make tough choices and we respect his decision to devote more time to his independent pursuits and his family. In all sincerity, we wish him well for the future.

Do look forward to a farewell concert for Rzhude, the date of which we shall announce shortly. Of course, in true TAAQ tradition, farewells don’t mean the end of the road. Rajeev and Bruce shall continue to drive Thermal And A Quarter forward and honor the promise that we have made to ourselves: to be present in the future. We have finalized discussions with a talented and experienced bass player and we shall in due course unveil our exciting new lineup.

Here’s a message that Rzhude wants to share with you:

KARMANYEVADHIKARASTE MAA PHALESHU KADACHANA

Quick translation for those of us out of touch with mother of all tongues: Just do your thing baby, don’t count on the reward…You only get what you deserve!

On April 5, I had the great pleasure of hearing Grandmaster Wooten articulate it so finely to answer (yet) another ex-Taaqer (one Rajesh Mehar) on the question of plateau-ing out musically. According to Victor, for those who missed his ‘workshop’ in Bangalore, such a plateau is a good place to be: a time to take a breather, recharge and take a moment to look back at the distance covered.

Looking back at my professional music career I can sigh quite contentedly at the long strange trip its been: Getting paid a princely Rs.200 back in ‘82 to play drums for my brother’s “pro” band (come to think of it, even then I didn’t actually get to see the money!). Gigging my way through the rest of school, college and through various day jobs that brought me to 1999, Bangalore and that fateful night at the farewell party of a common musician friend (Arnie of the then newly defunct Gangamma’s Pleasure) where I met Rajeev, and Bruce Lee Mani thereafter. How I subsequently took on the offer to stand in as sessions bass player, little knowing how that choice was going to affect the next ten long years of my life. It’s been fun and completely self-indulgent, being in charge of the low-end at TAAQ and a good part of the business-end as well, I should add.

Some 28 years later, it looks like it’s time to move on again. While I remain an undeletable part of the band’s history, it is with a blend of sad relief and gladness that I respond to the call to hang up my bass and give the little limelight I shared this far with this band a rest. Announcing my retirement as bass player, singer and co-producer of the 80-odd songs we’ve written together and performed in such far-flung locales as Scotland, Jakarta and Itanagar, has been a long and not-easy decision. But I do believe it is in the best interest of the band and myself as well – as always, a choice that made me and not the other way round.

Going forward, I will continue to be involved in creating and producing music out of the space I’ve set up here in Bangalore called Acoustic Garden (where TAAQ’s ‘One Small Love’ and ‘Shut Up And Vote’ and the ‘Parachute XVI’ debut album was produced). I look forward to several side projects long shelved and patiently awaiting revival from under the dust covers – my own acoustic project in particular. I will session with TAAQ as and when the right time and place collide in the hectic separate futures I foresee ahead.

Meanwhile, for any one who wishes to get in touch: sound@acousticgarden.net is where I’ll be. Adieu. Over and Out.

Yours truly,
Rzhude

From Bruce:

Rudolph Antonio David.

They call him ‘JT’ in balmy Madras, Rzhude everywhere else. Zen-powered, far-seeing and quiet on the inside, Rzu has stood up and blown into the TAAQ sail for over ten years now, pushing our little ruby yacht up the salmon river of Indian rock n’roll. “Let the music play you” was something we learned from him.

He moves on to better and greater things away from TAAQ… and we continue moving the only way we know how.

It’s been a great decade with you, Rzu.

Bring on the next!

- Bruce

From Rajeev:

There is this funny musical term called “FEEL” that’s really difficult to teach or learn, but if there’s one guy… just one guy… who knows all about it… its probably Mr Rzoo.

“Take your time…but don’t break the chain” — lines from Rudy’s song ‘Closer to Heaven’ written many, many decades ago.

May the FEEL be with you, cat Rudy.

- Rajeev

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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.

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Wednesday, 11/11/09 – 9 PM:

Thermal And A Quarter joins guitar players Amit Heri, Amyt Dutta, Tony Das and others at Blue Frog, Mumbai on the occasion of Eleven Guitar Day.

In the afternoon, Guitar Doctor Bruce Lee Mani will test-drive the new Digidesign Eleven Rack. Free workshop on guitar technique and technology from 3 PM – 5 PM at Blue Frog, Mumbai.

Read Guitar Doctor’s review of the Digidesign Eleven Rack.

Limited seats. Attendance open to pre-registered participants only. Last-minute aspirants can try their luck by emailing elevenrack@ansata.net.

Presented by: Digidesign – www.digidesign.com
Event Support: Groove Temple and Blue Frog

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Never has a Hard Rock Cafe gig sounded so delicious (loud, yes, but good) and not in a long time has TAAQ played its four-chambered heart out like it did on Thursday night at Bangalore. And I say this as a very disgruntled photographer who found the lighting, the cross-beams and the fat railings thwarting the remotest photographic possibility. The one thing that made my night was the way these guys played, and the way the gig sounded.

There was talk of a “new PA” and the boys sounded very excited about it. But I know at least three HRCs in India to be notorious for their acoustics — for the most part, they are hollow, sepulchral places and the stages (except in Pune) are placed where most people wouldn’t care to notice the band. Which means the band usually must make most of the effort to get itself noticed.

Rajeev finds something amusing about the set list

I didn’t pay much heed to Shut Up, but right from Respectable, the quality of the sound was very impressive. Actually, that nice lush sound was a pleasant surprise and I had to keep pinching the next guy (a very unlucky Umesh) to convince myself that it wasn’t my uncharacteristic sobriety that was making me hear things.

Tripping over a very drunk couple who first tripped on the music, then on each other and then sprayed the floor with fragrant bile, I craned my neck for a decent angle and finding none, resolved to wait it out and listen to the gig for a change. A very smart decision, in the end.

There were heartbeats of an old TAAQ magic — some impromptu, loosening-up jams and evidence of visible on-stage chemistry especially from the freshly recuperated Rudolph David. Won’t Stop and Mighty Strange were followed up by a slightly muscular version of Hey Jude. Ordinary Affair was tight and Holy Jose had an extra smack of la-di-da from Jason. My favourites from the evening were Drunk and Grab Me.

More photos on our Flickr page

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It’s official. Barring such events as the much-anticipated delivery of a package from Stork Celestial Logistics to the Manis, the gig at Hard Rock Cafe, Bangalore stands scheduled for Thursday, July 23.

Thermal And A Quarter decrees that you spend a windy Thursday night with our brand new originals – Simply Be, Mighty Strange, De-Arranged, Grab Me, Surrender… and sing-along favourites from This Is It and the albums hitherto. Served hot.

For those who want only covers, come play the guessing game. Let’s see how many you get.

Bruce, Rajeev and Rzhude will be joined by special guests Tony Das (guitars), Jason Zachariah (keyboards), Divya Joseph (vox) and Shalini Subramanian (vox).

Trash all your other appointments and make a date with TAAQ for Thursday night. Check with the Hard Rock Cafe management about timings and entry tickets (+91 80 41242222 / +91 80 41699210).

The post Gig Alert – Hard Rock Cafe, July 23 appeared first on Thermal and a Quarter (TAAQ).

Five cities. One band. One message: Shut Up and Vote.

Through Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, we spread the word. We played the music. We sang the songs. Shut Up and Vote, Humpty Dumpty, Chameleon, Look at Me, Jupiter Café, Simply Be… wry anthems and strident protest songs from thirteen years of TAAQ.

Thank you for being there. For singing along. For cheering us on. We hope you will make a difference by rocking. The vote, that is.

Big thank-yous to the team that that put together this amazing tour – Vinay, Milan, Umesh, Niranjan, Arif, Prashanth, Rishi, Sharat, Vijay, Suman, Vandana, Abhinand, Velu, Rani and all the Janaagraha/ Jaago Re volunteers in Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore.

Thank you also Anushya Badrinath, Gaurav Vaz, Shrenik Sadalgi, Srinath Shankaran, Gurudarshan Somayaji, Vinay Kewalramani and Rani Jeyaraj for your amazing photo-finishes of the tour.

You are the *real* rock stars!

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