Return of the Men in Black

Never one to spurn good music, Delhiites took in yet another musical extravaganza with familiar gusto. At the RSJ Rocktober fest, which kicked off at the Turquoise Cottage recently, three groups wowed the audience with their mix of strains and soul. While Shaai’r and Func spun magic with soul, funk and alternative, and Delhi’s Hft wooed with instrumental renditions, it was the Mumbai group, Bombay Black, that had everyone on their feet.

Despite being around for 16 years, music lovers crave for their blink-and-you-miss-it shows. So it was natural that three of the nine-members who were in the city were feted well—after all, they had returned to Delhi after four years. “Fourteen is a big number (five others were part of the group’s first CD), but we have all played for different bands and still do. Bombay Black was formed after several permutations and combinations,” says Paresh, one of the guitarists. So while brothers Paresh Kamath (guitar) and Naresh Kamath (vox/bass) have carved a niche as the boys behind Kailasa, with Kailash Kher on vocals, drummer Kurt Peters freelances for the likes of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Shaan and Adnan Sami.

The members are between 26 and 34 years, but have been musicians ever since they can remember. They came together in 2000 and have come a long way since then. They’ve opened for Aerosmith in 2004 at Los Angeles and have performed at the same platform as international bands like Incubus, Offspring, Social Distortion. “Opening for Aerosmith was a surreal experience. We had gone there for Inland Invasion, a fest organised by Levi’s. At the end of our show, one of the judges asked us if we wanted to fill one of the slots for the Aerosmith show,” recalls Paresh.

They may have performed to a crowd of 30,000 in the US, but find a gig at a small pub equally enjoyable. Although the group has released only one CD, they plan a new album soon. “The originals that were played tonight will be on the next CD set,” say the Bombay boys, who perform two to three times a year. If the music was any indication, the album should be worth waiting for.