Insignia, the talented Alt Rock band from the northern suburb will give Khar a taste of their fresh sound at a gig tonight
“We have wanted to move to Sion. I think eventually we will have to. All our gigs are happening in the city. We will have to manage the rent, somehow,” reveals Harikesh Shekhar, guitarist and vocalist of the Alternative Rock group, Insignia. Based in Thane, the band is deprived of venues and rehearsal spaces but it doesn't stop them from producing singles and playing live. They keep coming to Mumbai to showcase their talent; tonight, they will be performing at a gig in Khar.
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SoBo versus Thane
Geography can play a role in public perception, as Insignia found out recently. At a show in SoBo, the audience reactions surprised them. “When I announced that we are from Thane, people looked at each other blankly and muttered, 'Thane produces bands too?''' says 27-year-old Shekhar, who grew up in Matunga.
Due to lack of jam rooms in Thane, Insignia travels to Kanjurmarg to rehearse. “Earlier, Thane had a few rehearsal spaces like Musicians Crib and One Stop Music but most of them have shut shop,” he says. The band also yearns for a permanent live music venue in Thane. “Earlier, United 21 had live gigs. You could go there and chill with a beer. Even Goa Portuguesa was an option, which closed too. All this happened between 2011 and 2013,” reveals Shekhar.
Harikesh Shekhar, Nihar Pansare and Shashank Shetty
Songs for the night
The story behind the band's origins is straight out of a movie. Till 17, Shekhar didn't know how he would make a living. Gaming consoles and virtual characters were his friends. “All of us were heavily into Counter Strike and LAN games. But at the same time, we were listening to a lot of Western music,” he says.
The members of Insignia picked up their instruments at the age of 18. “People usually start from their childhood. We practised for a year or two to recover those lost years,” he adds.
The band will perform originals and a few covers at tonight's gig. They also have a break-up song, Fall Out, which is popular at their gigs. “We have another song which is about friends fighting over differences of opinion and how things ultimately work out. The song is called Peace in the End. Among covers, we will play Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix), In Bloom by Nirvana, and a few others,” says Shekhar.
The band recently released a video of their single Paranoid City.
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