With Lokesh Bakshi at the Lead Guitar, Nitesh Vasandani at the drums, Rahul - the bassist and vocalist Vasav Vashisht - Delhi-based band Prestorika made their mark as a cover oriented band and very soon became known for their heavy metal coverage of Metallica, Megadeth and Maiden. They won the MTV Campus Rock Idols in 2005 and from then on, there was no looking back. Their debut original composition titled Emergence added to their fan following. Currently, the band is looking forward to its next album and a tour to Australia.

Radioandmusic.com's Aaishwari Chouhan gets the band spilling some beans over a few issues related to music and them.

Excerpts:

Prestorika - the name sounds classy and so are your performances. How did the name come about?

Lokesh: It was the dedication of the members that always drove their hearts for playing music, and naming the band was easy, as we could very easily relate ourselves (as a band) to the music we played. We combined our music (heaviness, thrashing, anger, speed etc.) with ourselves (Rika - 'We' self defined meaning) and we came up with 'Prestorika'.

How competitive is the music scene for the Indian bands presently?

Vasav: The music scene in the country has changed remarkably for the better and it's only getting better.

Lokesh: There are hundreds of bands here in Delhi itself, and the number goes on increasing and so does the competition, but it's not completely a healthy competition, and the element of bad rifts (mainly between the young bands) is commonly seen.

In the future, do you see the situation changing for the better with the Indian rock scene?

Rahul: The situation is getting better already, and it will definitely change for the best.

Isn't it discouraging to face the reality that Indian music lovers aren't as knowledgeable about music as music lovers elsewhere are?

Lokesh: That's not true. Indian musicians as well as audiences are well educated about music these days. They know exactly what they listen to, which at times includes background/ biography of musicians / producers etc. This is probably one of the great side effects of the 'WWW'...!

Some special 'Prestorika moments' that you would like to share....

Rahul: Special moments are definitely there, but we are too reluctant to share them. Our special moments are limited to our close friends only.

Good music has to be clubbed with energetic performance to become rocking. Agree or disagree?

Nitesh: Good question. We can agree and disagree at the same time. It's not just the music/aggression /energy that makes a 'Rockstar,' it's also the job done by a band's management, publicist, record label etc. that helps create the rock star image. It also has its own bad side effects eg. People call Himesh a rock star. It's easier to get the message through by being violent (musically) on stage. Moreover it's the performance by which people really judge the 'Rockstar status'.

What are your day job scenes like?

Lokesh: Day Job Scenes... Simple... We are our own boss. Thanks to 'Metal Productions'.

What is the next big thing for Prestorika?

Nitesh: Next big thing - Release of the new album followed by a small tour in Australia.

How about tie-ups with other bands to enhance your music or to combat piracy?

Lokesh: No tie-ups as such, but we do hang out with other bands for a drink or so. About Piracy - What's got to happen has got to happen.

Time, money or gigs - what is the biggest problem for Prestorika today?

None.

How about a girl member in your band?

Lokesh: A girl member would be nice!!! (Smiles broadly, and further adds with a wink) May be even better as a groupie.

Your general take on girl bands?

Vasav: Not many girl bands around. I have seen only one or two so far. So, can't really comment.

On the Indian scene, which bands are ruling the roost presently?

Rahul: (Quite diplomatically) it's not a good thing to point fingers at some one for any reason good or bad.

What's with 'Every band has a shelf-life?'

Nitesh: I would say every band has a self-life and not a shelf-life, cause being in a band itself is another life, a different picture altogether. You have to be in a band to feel it.

Music of Indian bands (who come up with original compositions) is more or less a replica of the Western music already heard. Why so?

Lokesh: It's a simple thing, but people always use it as an excuse and throw comments at a band for copying the work of an international artiste.

Vasav: It so happens that music that most of the bands play is western, in the sense they have influences from western music, they listen to their idols, and then create their own things. Thing is, they worship their idols like crazy and plan to create something similar or some of them unknowingly compose something that has already been done in some part of the world by some one. The world is a big place to hang out, with over several trillion thousand musicians. All the musicians start with the basic, that's the same throughout the world. Now if any two musicians compose something similar unknowingly, would you really say it's copied??? The form of western music for eg. Metal, is somewhat same around the world (which obviously has its own different forms) only the way these songs are composed differs. It's like Microsoft XP Pro same throughout the world, only the distribution differs.