You have to be original at some point, we just chose to be original from the very beginning. As Kurt Kobain once said, “Trying to be someone else is a waste of who you are”?. In the 50’s there was nothing called Rock, but later it took the world by storm,. Who knows, maybe we’ll end up being the the pioneers of “Hindi rock”?.

“Quite a few bands think of an EP or a short recorded album as a way to make money. True you will make money, but it is not substantial. If a band sees a self-produced, self-distributed album as something that is going to pay them for all the years of hard work, they either have their expectations low or are under some big illusion.”

And how does it get to your head, dude? I don’t understand that. Coming from the streets, and tasting a bite of the castle in the air don’t take you off the streets. You will still be from the streets. It’s very important to know that, otherwise you will have your head in the clouds, but no ground under your feet.

They said no Indian band could compose and record “real”, “quality” heavy music. They said that even if a band did manage to do that (against all odds), it wouldn’t sell in India, and surely, no international label wants to sign an Indian band, now, does it?

It’s not like this is a science, people.

We don’t need to find the meaning of life in dark, artistically shot films with cryptic dialogue and (brilliant!!) directors with unpronounceable names. We live reality and we’re not very keen on it. So do us all a favour — don’t be all condescending, patronising, etc. We need the unreality.

“You’ve got to change with the times,” they say. In my reply, I say that I haven’t come this far to leave my heroes behind. For me, the juxtaposition of the words — DEEP and PURPLE — will always set off an explosion inside my head. And, I will remain true to this band. Always!

Being angry is fashionable. Hapless rage is in vogue. Being ‘miserable’ is trendy. Kids these days, in their search to be ‘different’ from everyone else joyfully lap this up, much to the glee of record labels. What these kids don’t realise is that if everyone tries to be different; all it creates is a different sameness.

If you were a child of the early ‘80s, then chances are that you either loved Guns N’ Roses with an obsession that is reserved only for a few degenerative pastimes, or you hated them so much that you currently dig New Age Metal. Of course, if “November Rain” was all you knew of the band, then you wouldn’t have even come this far.

Yeah. Heavy music has finally arrived in India. And it’s definitely here to stay. Perspective really does play the strangest tricks, doesn’t it…

Here’s to Rush, the band that defined a sound 30 years ago that still mesmerises people. A band that’s lasted 35 years on the road and in the studio and is still going strong.

Here’s to beauty in complexity; to Rush, the Gods of Rock!