The first band, which played last week, was Out Of Order, the members of which are all bank employees
Out of Order, a corporate band of bank employees, aged 20 to 43
The aim of The Hope Circuit is dual-faceted. It's to firstly give corporate bands the limelight they deserve," says musician Howard Pereira, the man behind the initiative, "and also, the audience gets a makeover. The people who work with the band, might not be the usual club-going lot, and they are coming out to watch the band." The deal: A corporate band opens for a well-established one at Hard Rock Cafe every month. The end product is, as Pereira states, a win-win situation for both bands on stage.
And so, The Hope Circuit takes the corporate band out of the corporate space. "I had tried to do this a few years ago as well. And I realised there were so many bands — the numbers were staggering. So, it didn't work out then in terms of logistics. But, this time around, we have made it work. If a band thinks they are experienced enough, and can entertain a Hard Rock crowd, they can get in touch with me. Right now, it's only happening in Bombay, but since Hard Rock is on board, we will take it pan India," The bands that play are from all corporate sectors, banking being the most popular one. Most have learnt music growing up and gave it for many reasons, monetary being the primary.
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Howard Perriera (second from left, with his band), is the man behind The Hope Circuit
The first band, which played last week, was Out Of Order, the members of which are all bank employees. The youngest member is 20 and the oldest 43. "Since we all belong to varied age groups, our musical interests are also quite different, and hence, we play a lot of varied stuff, be it classic rock and 90s pop or recent hits as well," says Spencer Pereira, 37, the guitarist of the band. "The common factor was that we all had the musical dream, and no one just wants to sit at a desk all day, and so, this is a great outlet for us. In the end, we don't do music full time, as it's about the money. But if the job sorts out the money, then we can indulge in music," he says.
The next show is already lined up as well. Another banking band, A Work-in-Progress, is as they say, are a "network of like-minded people in a corporate world". They are aged between 22-45 and play country, pop, rock and even Hindi classics. On stage, they will be followed by the Hindi rock hip hop collective called Chabuk. Merrill Mascarenhas, 40, who used to play bass in a band called the
Naked Earth before, puts it all into perspective, "It's all about breaking away from a corporate set up, and channelling that energy into an alternate passion."
When: September 28, 9 pm onwards
Where: The Hard Rock Cafe, Wadia International Center Pandhurang Budhkar Marg, Worli
Entry: Rs 750 cover
Call: 7506055127
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