Eastern Brew- Rendering Contemporary Music From the Indian Subcontinent

Submitted by Antara on Wed, 08/17/2011 - 23:24

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Music

In conversation with Eastern Brew, a fusion band from Sanfrancisco. The band comprises of eight talented and passionate musicians from different musical backgrounds . Zee Tv SAREGAMAPA(USA) participant, the gorgeous Ishmeet Narula is one of the lead vocalists and the only female member bringing in the "Glam Factor" to the band. In this interview Eastern Brew talks about their inspiration, journey and their future goals with B'Khush.

Why the name Eastern Brew

This name symbolizes our style of music and the creative process involved in our renditions. Our music is a blend of western styles with music from the subcontinent.

- What makes Eastern Brew unique?

Eastern Brew is in a very interesting niche. We don’t just cover songs, we bring our own style to the music we play. Eastern Brew’s music has a lot of rock, sufi, jazz and fusion influence. Members of our band have different musical backgrounds and most of us have been part of other bands in the past. So we bring a great deal of variety to our music. We almost never play a song as on the record. Everyone in the band provides creative input to change songs in a unique way, sometimes even from one show to another.

Who are the band members in Eastern Brew and how does each one contribute to the band?

The rhythm section comprises of Gopal on the drums, Shashi on percussion and Ricky on the bass guitar. These are the guys who are the backbone of any song, creating the all important groove on which the rest of the band rides. Aalap on the keys along with Vinod on guitar create the harmony and chordal structure which lays the foundation for the vocalists. Our versatile vocalists, Ishmeet, Raj and Abhishek each bring in their own unique style of singing to the table.

- There is a lot of competition when it comes to "Music Bands"how does "Eastern Brew" plan to live up to the expectations of the audience?

When we are not thinking about work or family, we are thinking about music. We are always on the lookout to make our music more enjoyable, both for us as performers and for our audience. We work hard in bringing our music to the state we like it to be in, adding and subtracting elements as necessary. And not only will you hear great songs that are widely known, but will also get to hear lesser known songs that have won critical acclaim. We have received encouraging feedback from our audience in the last few shows. We are a fairly young band, but we do carry promise.

- Do you have plans to go global?

We’ll take it as it comes. We’ve done quite a few shows and we’ve gotten stronger as a band in each successive show. We are always open to the right opportunities that will help us move to the next level.

- What's your take on Fusion music?

We love fusion music in all its various forms! The great thing about fusion music is that by definition it is a mix of different genres. As musicians it broadens our horizons. A few types of fusion we are currently interested in is "Indian classical with rock" or "jazz with sufi" or "blues with folk" or "desi pop with metal".... the possibilities are endless. Some of the bands that inspire us in this space include Indian ocean, Agnee, Fuzon, Junoon, Motherjane, Raghu Dixit etc.

- Where do you get your inspiration from?

Music is such a universal language – people all over the planet enjoy it. That is one of the factors that motivates us. The audience we’ve played to has been diverse, yet they’ve all appreciated our music. We love great music – not necessarily just the chart busters, but music that is great regardless of whether or not it has a famous singer’s name attached to it. Each one of us also enjoys the creative process in dissecting a tune, coming up with variations and hearing it all come together with the whole band. We are also in the process of creating our own compositions. Till date we have been adding small segments of our compositions to various cover songs, but we also have plans to present fully original material.

- What can we expect from "Eastern Brew" in the next 5 years?

Original compositions, a lot of cover songs done the Eastern Brew style, tons of shows, a repertoire of songs that gives us immense satisfaction to perform and above all, an audience that loves our music.

- How can the readers get in touch with Eastern Brew?

We are very easy to get a hold of. You can check our webpage at (www.easternbrew.com) or our facebook page (www.facebook.com/easternbrew) and message us from there. You will also find phone numbers and our email contact there.

- A Message for the Readers

Please do check out our webpage and "like" our facebook page to stay updated on our future gigs. Know a great song that you would like to see us perform live at our next gig? Do let us know on our facebook page.

If you want us to perform at your event or know of an event with live music, you can email us at contact@easternbrew.com. We are also open to collaborating with other bands and acts in the bay area.

Upcoming Event : Eastern Brew would like to invite you to “A Thousand Desires”, a uniquely themed Indian fusion music concert on Aug 26th 2011 at 7:30 pm, at the Cubberly Theater in Palo Alto.

For More Info Go To : http://easternbrew.com/events/event/eastern-brew-live-in-concert-with-mausaki

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