Evenoddz- A Musical Mélange

Evenoddz band is a group of vivacious and young musicians from Pune for whom music is a sheer passion. Right from playing Beatles to Dream Theatre, Punk, Alternative, Classic Rock and Progressive metal the band has been versatile and promises a rocking performance, each time they play. Their music is an amalgamation of every member’s individual tastes and influences, infused together to create a whole new sound.

Previously known as Spellbound, this six member band comprises Jonathan Yardi on vocals and acoustic guitar, Conrad Bhengra on vocals and guitar, Uday Parande on Keyboards, Luke Macedo on lead guitar, Ajit John on Bass and Krishnakant Chikatkar (KK) on Drums.

How was the idea of starting a music band born?

In college, when we realized that we all loved and played music and had the perfect ingredients to form a band.

Was the band started with the intention of some serious music or was it only for fun at first?

We had fun jamming together and soon realized that we were onto something when people started appreciating what little we could do of the nothing we had then.

Have you guys taken any formal training or are you all self taught people?

We have never had any formal training however there have been various people who have inspired and guided us.

What are the challenges you guys faced in bringing the band together?

We are all from humble families hence, right from buying our own instruments, music, meeting up for practice and the need to stand on our own feet is what kept us going.

So how did you guys get your first chance to play live and how tough was it to get noticed?

Through a mutual friend who wanted us to play at a private party. Getting noticed was tough till our first performance but the first break really gave us good response.

From Spellbound to EvenOddz how has the journey been?

From being friends with common music interests and fooling around with our instruments, to our need to create our own identity in music and getting recognition in the end- the journey has been fabulous. There are odd days but when the efforts get paid off, it is all worth it.

Do EvenOddz play songs only from popular albums or you also have your own compositions?

We are thoroughly enjoying what we are playing right now be it covers or otherwise. We are not the types to force music just for the sake of creating something that should pass off as an original composition. We want it to come to us naturally, and that we are prepared to take our own time to let it happen.

What is the strength of your band? As a band what are you guys best at (specific genre, style)?

As a band we don’t want to be labeled in a specific genre. Moreover, no two members of our band have been influenced by the same genre of music. So however clichéd it might sound, we understand the importance of being versatile and that is our strength.

How important is it to maintain versatility in your performances?

We have never restricted ourselves to enjoying only a certain form of music, be it Bollywood, rock or pop.

Can you list out the places the band has performed so far?

So far we have performed at Cyclone, Toons, Thousand Oaks, Curve, 11 East Street Café and Tamarind in Goa.

Which has been the most memorable performance so far?

All, every performance is an adventure of its own.

When you guys go on stage, does it still gives you chills or the confidence level rises with each performance?

We do not expect what would be coming our way and each evening gives us something new to offer.

Any words of advice for youngsters who inspire to start music bands.

Stop deciding and start playing…

So all you people do make sure you catch these guys the next time they are playing live. Trust us, it will be definitely worth it!

Also see:

• February 25, 2009 -- Jai Ho A.R. Rahman (3)
• April 12, 2013 -- Events in Pune 12th April (0)
• January 28, 2013 -- The Stereotype (0)
• January 15, 2013 -- Indo-German Urban Mela (1)
• December 18, 2012 -- Music and Pune: Forever young (1)