MUMBAI: Live Banned, a Bangalore based five-piece band, is more than that; it is a concept. The larger-than-life band does not restrict its music to any genre boundaries and is known for writing ridiculous lyrics and melodies. The group comprises Amrit Rao (Vocals), Sridhar Varadarajan (Guitars), Siddhart Kamath (Keyboard), Dheerendra Doss (Drums) and Raveesh Tirkey (Bass).

They released their album a month ago which is available on digital platforms like iTunes and OKListen. They are currently touring cities in the country for a 'live' album launch, just the way they like it. The band performed at blueFROG in Mumbai for the second edition of 'Ribbit', a live music initiative by blueFROG and MTV Indies on 17 September. With their gig in Mumbai, they have begun the second leg of their tour and will be most probably headed to Delhi and Hyderabad next.

From successfully getting the audience to cheer, hoot, jump and dance to looking absolutely outrageous and colourful on stage, it was a gig that was pure entertainment. They performed a medley of random Bollywood songs like 'Tu Cheez Badi Hai', 'Soldier Soldier', 'Dhoom Machale' and others, along with English pop songs mixed with Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada tracks. The most unique aspect of the band covering these tracks was that the songs were nothing like the originals. They somehow managed to make those songs sound more metal, grunge and rock than pop. The members interacted with the crowd throughout the show and after performing for more than an hour and a half on stage, there was an encore at the audience's request.

Their album 'If You Park Here Your Tyre Will Be Air Out' is a seven track album bursting with satire. The vocalist of the group, Amrit, explains, "Our album is like a social commentary about things that happen around us and affect us in our daily lives."

He added, "We picked the title of the album randomly when we came across a sign that very bluntly told people to not park at that particular spot. People do not follow rules in our country, which is why there are such odd ways of trying to get through to them."

Live Banned's most popular track so far is 'The Auto Tune', which also helped them gain recognition in the scene. The song is a take on the plight of common people in Bangalore where they have to haggle with the rickshaw drivers to take them to their destination. Its music video is hilarious, loud and filled with sarcasm. The same applies to their other music video 'Death Dance' which has rock, metal and pop influences, a deadly blend of genres resulting into one high energy track. The music video also has a cameo act by independent folk musician Raghu Dixit.

Amrit also talked about the other tracks in the album like 'Roads Bloody Roads', 'Fake You', 'Hey Mama', 'Fast Fast' and 'Art is Dead. Artist is Dead.' While 'Roads Bloody Roads' is obviously a jibe on the terrible conditions of the roads in the country, 'Hey Mama' is about cops in Bangalore, 'Fast Fast' is about the 'hunger strike trend' in India, 'Fake You' is about pretentious people and 'Art is Dead. Artist is Dead.' talks about how artistes are not respected enough.

Amrit says, "When artistes are on stage and they achieve something big, people admire and exalt them. But, when the time comes and they are in need, they usually do not get enough appreciation. All artistes/musicians are taken for granted and they usually get a step-motherly treatment from everyone."

He explained the other tracks, saying, "The way cops are called 'Pandu' in Mumbai, here (in Bangalore), they are called 'Mama'. All our songs are parodies and comedies. In 'Roads Bloody Roads' as well, we have not directly criticised the roads. Instead, we are glorifying the roads in our song in a very satirical way."

The group is working on two more music videos since they focus a lot on visual content which tends to gel well with their music. The next music video will be of 'Fake You' followed by 'Roads Bloody Roads' which will be an animated video. Both the videos will be released in a few months after they complete their tour.

He also revealed that they are planning to work on a Live Banned feature film and have been working on the ideas and the script. They are also trying to arrange gigs in the Middle East in a few months and Europe next year. For now, they will be playing at The New Wave Musicfest 2014 in Goa which will take place on 15 and 16 November.

While trying to define the kind of music they create, Amrit ended by saying, "We have spent a lot of time thinking about that and we thought the simplest definition would be 'parody'. We also thought it is comedy but, there is a lot more to it. So, we just say that the music we create is all about entertainment."