Rock?s new idols are ready to roll

Throbbing guitars, thumping drums, groovy baselines and high decibel screeches. The stage is set and rock is about to roll.

Throbbing guitars, thumping drums, groovy baselines and high decibel screeches. The stage is set and rock is about to roll. This afternoon, at the IIT Delhi open-air theatre, over 20 bands in the Capital will compete for the National Campus Rock Idol title.

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Put together by DNA Networks, with HT Next as the media partner, the musical extravaganza will see the city-based band Them Clones perform at the regional semifinal that begins at 3 pm today. Twenty of Delhi’s aspiring rockers will take the stage. Similar regional rounds have been held in Indore, Chadigarh, Kochi, Bangalore and Chennai.

“This is not a talent hunt. We are just trying to give existing talent a bigger platform. Although people say that Delhi — and India in general — is swayed by Indipop and Bollywood hits, I beg to differ. Most of urban India speaks English today, as statistics show. I’ve being organising shows for 15 years and I can say it for a fact that we sell tickets in thousands for good western music. Rock is not a new phenomenon, the demand for it already exists among the urban Indians,” says Venkat Vardhan, Managing Director, DNA Networks.

City bands like Alter Ego, Brain Dead Schizo, Endzville, along with Metal Roses and Impetus will compete for the Delhi final. The winners will get a chance to perform with an international band.

Vardhan says that international artists who have performed here have been very receptive to the idea of playing with Indian bands. “They say they would love to interact with Indian rockers and even give them a chance to play with them. There are about 200 Indian bands and each one of them would be thrilled to meet international legends and learn a few things from them,” he adds.

The Delhi regional final will also feature the two winning bands from the Indore and Chandigarh legs of the contest. One of India’s most popular bands, Parikrama, will perform at tomorrow’s regional final.

The good news for the rock buffs is that the Campus Rock Idols will be an annual event for the next three years. Who knows, with some encouragement from the crowd it could be a rock bonanza that could become a permanent event in the country’s musical calendar. So, rockers, keep rocking!