A visiting musical act from Chennai promises to bring the roof down at a gig celebrating its 15th anniversary
(From left) Skrat members Tapass Naresh, Jhanu Chanthar and Sriram TT
Back in the early 2000s, Skrat was a fledgling band trying to find footing in Chennai, their hometown. They would share a jam room with a couple of other acts, whom they looked up to as mentors. It was a member of one of these bands who taught the youngsters one of their earliest lessons. “He told us how important it was to have fun on stage, and he’d carry this stick around that he’d hit the bassist’s leg with if he wasn’t jumping,” shares drummer Tapass Naresh, adding, “In retrospect, we realised that he was teaching us how to put on a show. He was telling us, ‘A gig is not for yourselves. You are a showman and if you have to jump on stage like a lunatic, so be it. It is what it is.’”
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The band at a live gig
Well, if you’ve seen Skrat perform live, you’d know that the band has evidently carried that piece of advice forward all these years. The act is so electric on stage that you can almost feel their energy pulsating through your veins (and yes, the bassist, Jhanu Chanthar, does jump around on stage like a lunatic). That same energy will course through a Lower Parel venue when Skrat takes the stage there as part of their 15th anniversary tour. The band’s origins go back to the time when Naresh and Sriram TT — two school friends who epitomise the Hinglish phrase ‘chaddi buddies’ — decided to join forces musically. And after starting off as a five-piece act that was reduced to four members about a decade ago, they finally crystallised as a three-man unit whose music is likely to wake the neighbours up if you were to play their songs at home. Our advice, though, is that you don’t do that tonight and head to the central Mumbai venue instead to catch them live, since it will guaranteed be a fun gig, thanks to the band’s mentoring.
On Today, 8 pm
At AntiSocial, Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel.
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Cost Rs 699
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