Let the music play

They came, we heard, they conquered. Thaikkudam Bridge’s success story is as simple as that. But the phenomenon that it has become in the music circuit is no small feat. The 14–member band has a jam-packed itinerary and is going places with its eclectic mix of songs, spread across different genres.

As it completes one year of going live, MetroPlus catches up with the six instrumentalists of the band – Govind Menon (violin and vocals), Mithun Raju (lead guitars), Ashok Nelson (rhythm guitars), Vian Fernandes (bass guitars, vocals), Anish T. N. (drums) and Ruthin Thej (keyboard).

All of them share the same feeling of extreme joy and disbelief. “This is incredible, everything happened out of the blue. We were apprehensive about the whole concept. As many people say, it is presenting old wine in a new bottle. But it seems Malayalis have liked this new bottle a lot,” says Govind, with a hearty laugh.

Govind, the brain behind the band, was instrumental in bringing the group together. Ashok and Govind were classmates in Chennai while Ruthin used to hang around with them. Govind came across Mithun in the music circles who later introduced him to Anish. Vian came into the band through Sidharth Menon, vocalist of the band, who is also Govind’s cousin.

Since the band’s premiere in Music Mojo on Kappa TV, there has been no looking back. A medley of melodious numbers, rearranged version of evergreen songs and rocking original compositions ensured that the band had a long run.

Once the videos went viral on YouTube, the band got its first live show at Model Engineering College, Thrikkakara. “We talk about overnight success, but I was actually experiencing it once our videos were out. The excitement and frenzy of the crowd at our first show was unbelievable. We were not prepared for it and are now happy that many senior musicians have appreciated the band,” says a beaming Mithun. The ace guitarist was part of the band Motherjane and has worked in over 80 films till date. He is also part of a three-member band Pseutopia, which jams via Skype since the members can’t come together for live shows.

The best thing about Thaikkudam Bridge is that each musician has his own approach to music, which brings in variety in the music they create, says Ashok, a law graduate, who has worked with Stephen Devassy and M. Jayachandran in Chennai. “The band is a huge melting pot of cultures and of different music styles. There is Carnatic, rock, reggae, Hindustani, Bollywood… and therefore there is something for all those who love music. Also, we members appreciate all genres of music. There have been many bands that fizzle out after a few shows, but we present music of different genres, thus appealing to a wide cross section of people,” Ashok adds.

Ruthin and Anish too are enjoying the jolly good ride with the band. Ruthin, son of music composer Thej Mervin, was a programmer in Chennai when he got to work with Govind. And his school-going brother Abin played the drums when the band had its premiere on Kappa TV. “The band’s music is never a one-man show. All of us have our say in the arrangements we do,” says Ruthin, who is happy that his father appreciates his music.

When Abin had to concentrate on studies, Anish stepped in as the drummer. Anish, who has been teaching the instrument at Kalabhavan and at various schools in Kochi, was part of the band Evergreen. “It has been a very happy journey with Thaikkudam,” he says.

However, nobody can beat the joy of Vian, the livewire of the band. Vian and Sidharth were part of the band Nirmithee which reached the finals of the music reality show X Factor on Sony TV. “He is very quiet off stage, but once the show begins, he does all the talking, pumping up the crowd, with his head banging and the crazy moves. His long hair is a huge hit with the crowd,” Govind says.

Vian, who was on a few days’ break with his family in Mumbai, seems to be savouring every moment of his journey with the band. “I love to be on the stage everyday. I like to be wild and unless I sweat it out with my music on stage, I don’t feel happy. And my long hair helps me in that. As for Kerala, I have fallen in love with it, the beaches, the music…,” he says with excitement.

Voices of Thaikkudam

Vipin Lal, Christin Jose, Peethambaran, Siddharth Menon, Piyush Kapoor, Krishna Bongane, Anish Krishnan, Nila Madhav Mohapatra.

Thaikkudam in the city

Thaikkudam has back-to-back performances in the capital city. On October 19, there is a private performance for invited audience at Vivanta by Taj, followed by performances at Technopark (October 20), Trivandrum Club (October 22) and Sooryakanthi (October 23).

Published - October 16, 2014 06:49 pm IST