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News |  12 Jun 2013 15:48 |  By RnMTeam

Stage set for rock 'n' roll in Shillong

MUMBAI: California rock outfit Hoobastank is set to play in the country’s rock n’ roll capital- Shillong- on 29 June. The band which has sold 10 million records since they formed in 1994 is best known for their 2004 US no 2 hit ‘The Reason’.

The concert has been organized by city-based magazine 'The North East Today' (TNT) which has organized a number of shows by overseas band like Sebastian Bach (ex Skid Row), Firehouse and White Lion to Mr Big. The group’s event management arm has also organized a number of social and sports related events like the North East Games (2010).

Speaking with Radioandmusic.com TNT editor-in-chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Burman (PBK Manikya) said, “TNT will be completing its sixth anniversary and our magazine has always been strong in the field of rock n’ roll, hence this made perfect sense. Also my birthday happens to be sometime close. Last year we had Sebastian Bach, this year we thought let’s celebrate the whole thing in a bigger way.”

TNT – The Northeast Today is one of the most popular magazine in the Northeast headed by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma who is also the head of the Royal house of Tripura and has been instrumental in promoting a lot of activities including environmental issues ,social causes, Sports and of course Music.

“Another reason for inviting the band was that the publication wanted to prove that Shillong could attract contemporary acts and not faded stars to perform for fans,” Burman added.

The band now has Doug Robb as lead vocalist, Dan Estrin as lead guitarist, Chris Hesse at drums and Markku Lappalainen as the bassist. According to the publication’s site, the four- member band is also excited and has heard about Shillong and would like to see the city more than make a stopover. “We would like to soak in the culture which we believe is quite different from the rest of India and that is quite exciting for us.”

Burman acknowledges that holding a concert, especially a big one, offers a lot of challenges- from logistics to financial. Sponsors would rather fund
a Sonu Nigam than a Megadeth since most of them are based out of the
region and hardly know the pulse of the people.

“Technically, we have a lot of guys who know their stuff and gone are the days when we needed to get everything from the rest of the country. A better airport with
connections would definitely help,” he highlighted.

The show will be promoted via local cable, radio, hoardings and social media campaign- besides TNT (magazine) itself that has a brand value and has done shows which have generally left a lot of fans satisfied. The tickets are priced at flat Rs 500 for hard core music addicts.

Interestingly, Shillong is considered the ‘Rock’ capital of India now. “(Overseas bands) are aware of Northeast. I met tons of musicians in America and they know our region quite well. In fact, Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) is extremely keen on our cultural aspect. The best way to promote our people and region is to do our shows with sincerity rather than use words like 'leverage', 'property' and 'assets' as many corporations do. Shillong like Dimapur, Aizawl, Imphal, Diphu, Guwahati or Agartala, has a huge music loving population,” he revealed.

“A lot of time people tell me that NE (Northeast) is unsafe. When they see 25,000 people assemble and have a great time that’s the best answer you can give to all our detractors. We grew up in the times when it was easy for us to become a Scatman John fan or some Backstreet Boys wannabe. MTV or Channel [V] never played our music, yet we believed in what we liked. Today, that’s the reason I maintain that Northeast and Shillong are one of the last bastions of Rock and all forms of music which originates from that,” Burman said.

The organizers are extremely passionate about promoting the Rock music culture in India. “TNT is more than just a magazine we are a team of people who believe in ourselves and of course our genre of music. I expect at least two international acts a year,” he concluded.

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