BAND STAND ACRONYM / CLASSIC ROCK

BAND STAND

ACRONYM / CLASSIC ROCK

— Lisa Antao

    They are a newly-formed band, barely four months old but with a twist. Five out of this six-piece band are seasoned musicians who came together for their affinity for rock music. For starters, lets begin with vocalist and guitarist Clyde Crasto, who as a college lad began playing in a classic rock band Overdrive, which later reinvented itself into Force, way back from 1988 till 1994. However, playing in a rock band then wasn't a financially rewarding career option and Clyde studied to become an interior designer but didn't lost touch with is music roots. He also travelled dabbling as a light engineer with Indus Creed from 1989 to 1997 and earlier when they were known as Rock Machine. This year in January, after a gap of 18 years Clyde got together with his other musician friends who dabble as sessions artists like keyboard player Oscar Fernandes, bassist Jason Fernandes, percussionist Clint D'souza, guitarist Silman Marak for a wedding gig for their youngest member of the band, drummer Kushal Shah's brother wedding. The gig was a hit and Oscar and Jason prompted Clyde to form a band for good. And so, ACRONYM was formed.
On their A-Ha Moment: Just four months old, ACRONYM haven't released a debut or an EP yet. This Mumbai-based band landed their first gig in mid July at a SoBo restaurant, where they belted out classic rock numbers like Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple, Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd, Roadhouse Blues by Doors and some by Whitesnake. This, according to Clyde, is their A-ha moment.
On their brand of music: Besides playing covers, the guys are currently concentrating on churning out originals. So far they have two songs, composed by Clyde and written by him with inputs from the others. Time Confusing, a pun on the term 'time-consuming' dedicated to the unsteady dating life of the bachelor members of the band characterised by a funky groove to it; Insane, as a teetotaller Clyde wrote this song about a guy feeling utterly miserable being denied the opportunity to booze. The reason being, band manager Noel Mascarenhas brought a rule that the members abstain from getting drunk a day prior to their gigs. Illusion Of Freedom, is a song very recently written by Clyde about a guy losing his freedom as he's about to tie the knot.
On their influence: All band members are into the old school classic and hard rock, with the exception of Kushal who into bands like Coldplay. Pink Floyd's cult classic album The Dark Side of The Moon drew Clyde towards music when he was a kid. He learnt the guitar for about six months but there onwards he became a selftaught musician. The reason for Clyde rekindling his passion for being a part of rock band is his little son Vivaan, to make his son proud of the musician daddy is.
On their way forward: Besides the two numbers, Time confusing and Insane, ACRONYM is working on fresh music. They meet twice a week and practice at Kushal's house despite most of them having day jobs with the exception of Silman who's a full-time musician. They look forward to doing more live performances and release at least an EP if not a full-fledged album by this year end. ACRONYM will be performing next week in the city.
ON CLYDE’S iPOD New Kid In Town — Eagles Comfortably Numb — Pink Floyd Fireflies — Indus Creed For The Love Of God — Steve Vai Faithfully — Journey