Who killed the organiser?

Music has the power to bind people from all walks of life in a strange inexplicable way It is then both unfortunate and ironic that the exponents of a performing art form that is so farreaching are often grappling with the dire lack of opportunities to performOn June 16 a posthardcore band called Pacifist launched their EP at a Khar venue to a crammed audience It got rave reviews but what was littleknown is that it had been organised entirely by the bands members We wanted it to be our own event even if it meant spending some extra dough The idea was to make it memorable Pacifists bassist Utkarsh Jaiswal sharesFrom left Utkarsh Jaiswal Ashish Niraj Dharkar Sidharth Raveendran Apurv Agrawal Aryaman Chatterji on drums of PacifistThe musical ethos that we belong to has a strong DIY culture and the benefits of organising your own show are huge For example it allows you to pick the kind of lineup you want as opposed to an organiser doing it who would have multiple considerations Apurv Agrawal the bands guitarist adds Having studied music production and recording technology in Minneapolis USA he says that the primary difference between the scene here and in the West is that venues there are proactively involved in programming and curation of their shows This involves roping in similar bands so that the lineup retains the same flavour or keeping track of touring artistes so that they can be clubbed with the local ones This culture is absent in Mumbai currently making it even more important for musicians to take over the reins But how does one do that Luckily for this band every member had skills that were predisposed to organising a show Our vocalist Sidharth Raveendran is good with social media and promotions so he anchored that And as an engineer I handled the production aspect Agrawal elaboratesSimilarly in the past year acclaimed metal band Gutslit who are currently on a monthlong European tour organised two shows at the same venue Ive been organising gigs myself for the last ten years In fact metal shows have always been organised by metal heads Unlike Bollywood which is homegrown and therefore for the masses metal is passiondriven And that results into fewer venues and lesser funds and facilities Its a simple demandtosupply ratio To sustain in such an environment one has to work harder and take things in their own hands Gurdip Singh Narang the bands bassist suggestsBalraj GhaiNikhil UdupaIllesha KhandelwalBalraj Ghai owner of The Habitat possibly the ideal goto venue for DIY gigs in the city reveals another facet of this phenomenon In the first year of opening the space we were putting in all the money from the expenditures of the band to the backline to travel But even when we flew in bands from other cities the turnout was very little So then we took a call and decided to simply letout the space and leave the rest to the band because we werent sure if all of them were hustling outside to invite more people to attend these shows We realised that they might be relying more on the venues capability to attract people but no venue can do that he points out adding that crowds mdash the lack of which abstains venue owners from giving their space for gigs mdash will come in only when the band plays an active role to that endAnd while organising their own gigs comes naturally to niche genre bands like Gutslit and Pacifist earlier in January this year Mumbaiborn Rounak Maiti mdash who had flown back from LA where he lives now to perform a few indie shows in the lead up to his album launch which happened earlier this month mdash put together an intimate show with the help of his bassist Siddhant Vetekar at Ikattha In case of regular venues an artiste does not get the choice to set the mood of the place pick the other artistes they are clubbed with or the date for their performance Organising gigs independently allows them to have control over every aspect of the show Vetekar shares About why musicians have taken so long to eliminate third parties like managers and organisers he argues I think it mostly has to do with the fact that in the past artistes didnt want to deal with the stress that comes with equipment rental marketing or accounting for losses when people dont show up for the gig Theyd rather just take their cash and go homeSiddhant Vetekar and Rounak MaitiNikhil Udupa coowner of 4x4 Experiences which organises Control Alt Delete one of the most popular music festivals in Mumbai echoes this when he says The true sentiment of DIY lies in not waiting for others You dont hang on to organisers promoters or festivals to give you a platform because when you do that it also leads to a lot of bitterness and illwill where you end up feeling like no one is giving you an opportunity So if people are beginning to organise their own shows its a great step aheadBut perhaps Illesha Khandelwal founder of Ikattha sums it up most aptly The issue is not about the physical space is it In a musical and artistic world when we address space as the problem it is not the square footage we are speaking of Rather the dream is to create environments and this seems more possible in collective spaces where artistes work together to support each other and take back the power to show the work the way it was meant to be shownCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates