Blakc, a hard alternative/ grunge band started off as a small time band from Mumbai. Their 6 year journey from that day on has matured them in every musical sense possible - their performance on stage is always diverse with a USP in every gig, be it an acoustic song, a crazy bass solo or a the small but important things such as crowd interaction. No one wants to be somewhere else when Blakc hits the stage. Was it easy to achieve this commendable respect? The answer is simple; Blakc is Blakc after 6 years of sheer hard work, patience, a whole lot of performances all over the country and the risky business of producing an album and facing criticism head on. You should read our first interview with them (mostly Reinhardt Dias in that one) to know about their 'origins', if you don’t already.

For a Mumbai rock enthusiast, Blakc is probably the band he has seen and heard the most. I wouldn’t exactly be wrong if I say Blakc is somewhat the face of Indian Alternative Metal/Rock. Of course they’ve have had their share of hard days and bad luck; not only did they come out of it shoulder to shoulder, but they also made their presence felt in all 4 corners of the country. Their musical brilliance has led to a lot of great opportunities including a chance to open for Metallica at F1 Rocks in New Delhi; an honour despite the show’s eventual cancellation. Blakc has quite frankly revolutionalised the metal scene and showed the fans a new side of the music that they were reluctant to go to before, and this wouldn’t have been possible but for Shawn’s excellent stage skills and outstanding vocals, Roop’s immaculate and groovy basslines, Anish and Rein’s crazy guitar duo and of course the aggressive yet majestic drumming by Tao.

Shawn and Roop Thomas agreed to share a few words (and Anish Menon even fewer) exclusively with Whackk’s Anand Kamath, minutes before they went up on stage for their set at NH7.

Anand: How has 6 years together as a band been?

Blakc (Shawn & Roop): It’s been absolutely wonderful, these 6 years. They have passed by in the blink of an eye; we have faced so much together, experienced a whole lot of things but at the end of the day we have stuck by each other and been there for the band when most needed. We did shows, launched an album and many other marvellous moments have passed.

Anand: Has your music changed in the span of 6 years?

Blakc (Roop): Well, the music hasn’t really changed, but I would say that it has improved. To put it simply, now when we make music it’s not a one man job; all of us chip in, whether it’s making the structures or writing lyrics or providing constructive criticism. We try to be part of the music that we make as much as possible. Over the years, we many have tweaked the final product a little in terms of the drum patterns or guitar patches to make it a little more suitable to the fans or the venue, but genre wise or musically we are the same.

Anand: Do you think that there has been an improvement in the music scene? Is it easy to get shows today compared to earlier?

Blakc (Shawn): When we started playing, the whole face of rock in India was already on a path-breaking change. People were more open about it; gigs started happening more frequently; places like Razzberry Rhino existed, which gave a boost to new acts in the city; Blue Frog and the Hard Rock Cafe chain were also seen as the best place to play in the city. If we existed in early 2000, yes I would say that the scene has changed a lot since then, but there isn’t much difference since 2005 and 2010.

Getting gigs is always the toughest part for any band. You need to talk to the right people at the right time and be in the loop with other musicians; if you fail to do that, it is going to be hard to find gigs in the city or India as a matter of fact. Once you get those 6-7 shows and the people like your music, you’re not really going to have much difficulty in finding places to play.

Events like Independence Rock, Mood-Indigo, Livewire Night and Deccan Rock have brought rock into the mainstream and the organizers have realized the following such music has so more and more venues, shows and festivals are going to be popping up, making it easy for good bands to play and connect with the audiences.

Anand: In short tell us about your life on the road and your experience as a band

Blakc (Roop):Usually we all have our separate lives, we have work, we have families, etc but music is what bonds us together, All of us, we even work in similar professions, it has helped us be at par mentally. In the last 3 years we have done a lot of shows from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Assam and a few other places and that is the time when we actually get to chill with one another and spend time as friends. And do stuff that friends do. The giging life has helped us come closer as a band. At the same time its been really great playing at venues like Indore and Assam where in we have got a really good response, it has boosted our morale and encouraged to play at even more smaller towns and cities apart from the metropolitans.

Anand: How successful was your album “Choking on a dream”?

Blakc (Roop): The album, it was a success we are sold out of all 1000 copies that we had made. It might not have sold in 10 days but we are all out as of now. We were actually happy with the sales and we are planning to come up with another album in the first half of 2012.

We’ll be playing a few songs from the new album in our set today. I hope you guys will like it.

Anand: Give us your views on the NH7 Weekender festival.

Blakc (Roop): NH7 is truly a great venture. It is providing a platform for bands from all over the country of varying genres to play their music and enchant the fans. It’s not every day that such festivals happen. However, the organizers should keep a close eye on the line between selling out and catering to the audience; they shouldn’t commercialize it to the extent they are, rather, they must publicize it so that more people come in to watch the spectacular event. This could be India’s very own blimp on the international gig circuit i.e. if managed properly.

Anand: Can a show like NH7 revolutionize the music scene in the country?

Blakc (Roop&Shawn): Oh, of course it can! Like I said earlier, so many artists, so many stages, and add to the massive audience coming to connect, it can actually change the situation of independent artists much more than one would think. Not just that, people get to meet other like minded individuals who like similar music; this helps to further strengthen the fan base. I heard that NH7 would be mostly telecast on Star World; if that’s true, it is definitely going to help independent artists like us in ways that I cannot comprehend. I mean, one can actually listen to this music on the TV, which was until now enjoyed by a niche audience.

Anand: What is the best part for you (Roop Thomas) about being in a band?

Blakc (Roop) : Let me keep it as simple and clichéd as possible. The ability to connect to the fans and a chance to transfer your thoughts through the music you play. Need I say anything more?

Anand: What is your personal favourite Blakc song?

Blakc (Anish): Hah, I love all of them since we made them! We can’t really not like them, but if you made me choose a song at a gunpoint I would go with ‘Rift’ and ‘Paperdoll’ or maybe even ‘Field of Thought’. Spare me and don’t ask such questions!

Blakc played their 30-minute set and managed to move the surface. They played around 4 new songs apart from their regular list and Shawn even did a stage dive in the mini moshpit and surprised everyone around. Theirs was one of the best performances at the Bacardi Black Rock Arena for that day.  

You can download their 1st album, Choking On a Dream, from here (for free!) and also download their unplugged live thingie at blueFROG from this very maroon link (again, FOR FREE!).