Susan Waten Naga
1. Some (Boring but Necessary) Details about the Arrangements: It’s supposed to be a “national” rock competition but this year only two mainland bands came – one of them (Hobos from Kolkata) bagged 1st prize and the other (Radius from Delhi) did not even make it as 1 of the 9 finalists. Altogether 14 bands from Nagaland auditioned and 8 of them cleared it for the competition, as compared to 16 bands that performed last year. 30 northeastern bands (from Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, Arunachal) sent in their demos and 14 of them cleared and appeared for the competition. Altogether 15 bands from the mainland (Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata etc.) were cleared for the competition but 13 of them didn’t show up. As Gugs Chishi, the Project Director of Music Task Force clarified, “Last year everything was sponsored by the government, right from travel, hotel, local hospitality and sightseeing. It was like a paid holiday for 7 days. The main reason for this year’s poor turnover from the mainland is due to economic reasons and also failure to procure travel tickets on time.” Vikeduo, Media Officer of XL Team maintained, “Hornbill may now be a brand name and a national festival, but we are still at the level of buying people and not exactly selling to them the package.” (The Arirang team from Korea, invited by the department of Tourism, was paid airfare.)
The government of Nagaland shelled out Rs 47 lakhs with extra additions for the media (Rock Street Journal, Rave etc.) from outside the state last year. The video coverage of last year’s show, done by a team from Mumbai, is yet to be reformatted and released. This year the government shelled out Rs 30 lakhs only, as the show was backed by private sponsorships (Aircel, NSACS, NEC Energy Pvt Ltd, Axis Bank, Music Task Force, Roland, Peavey, Ibanez, Casio, Unitex, Crescendo, Galaxy Digital Pvt Ltd). Last year RSJ and Rave magazine gave full coverage of the show and this year, though invited, did not come. Rolling Stones magazine too was invited, but did not show up. Last year publicity for the 1st national rock competition began two months ahead – though many feel a national event of this magnitude (highest prize money ever, Rs 4 lakhs) should launch aggressive publicity campaigns at least 6 months ahead of time. This year, publicity began barely 2 or 3 weeks ahead of the real event; hence making the show appear more or less like a “regional” competition.
Last year, the sound system (used by Smokie) traveled all the way from Mizoram. It was therefore not in peak condition to give cent per cent satisfaction to all the performing bands. This year, the sound system (used by Parikrama in Mokokchung and Dimapur) was provided by Crescendo, Dimapur. The proprietor was informed about the hire only 10 days before the show. Many hectic additional arrangements and last minute purchases had to be made. Last year the venue (Kohima local ground) was a flat surface and the place was more compact and activities more controllable. Other than the donors, the tickets were Rs 30/- only and close to 30,000 people thronged the site. This year the venue (Kisama) was an amphitheatre, with sound having to travel uphill where many spectators sat in restaurants and listened to the music. For sound to travel up hill, there was not only a fraction of a second delay but also jarred at certain arenas, thus altering the overall quality of audible sound from a distance. It was a free show but not even an estimated number of 5000 people showed up. Yet by last year’s standards, the competition was considered tougher and the contesting bands more sophisticated.
Last year, the guest rock band, Zero from Delhi, took home a package deal of Rs 1.5 lakhs, besides the free treats they received in Kohima. Few established bands from the mainland that have already won laurels for themselves, and hence not keen on competition, wanted to appear as guest bands. However, two bands with senior members, and also known personally to Gugs Chishi, namely Collegium, a fusion band, and HFT, a jazz band, both from Delhi were invited. Besides paying all expenses to get them to Kohima, including their free stay, they were paid an additional Rs 50,000/- per band for their services.
The rock fest enlarged its scope this year in the sense that it catered to different categories and genres of music – local achievers were featured on the 1st night; blues & country on the 2nd night; fusion, jazz and rap on the 3rd night; and the rock competition took over thereafter.
2. Complaints and Justification: A rock competition of this caliber can hardly escape a few hiccups. Radius from Delhi was not satisfied with the “sound.” Besides the fact that one of their members was absent (he did not get air ticket), Radius sounded rather flat on stage. Rishi, the vocalist, and Sid, the bassist, maintained that had there been a “digital mixture,” their sound wouldn’t have been “screwed.” Word aside, like Medusa from Mumbai last year, Radius also casually spilled out the very fashionable (but banned in the competition) word, the “F” word on stage. Among others, Reynold Sangma, vocalist of North Wind from Tura, Meghalaya, expressed slight disillusionment with the way the monitor functioned. Akha, proprietor and main sound engineer for Crescendo expressed thus, “We’ve done our best, and sound can never be perfect. We cannot satisfy every one. Many times when amateur bands are not confident, the blame comes to the sound guys. Musicians must know the quality of their instruments well. Sound engineers cannot do miracles for them.” Two sound stations, using 25,000 watts were used – one on the stage (FOX Mix, main, GL 3800 Allen & Heath, 40 ch) and the other was facing the stage (MOH Mix, monitor, GL 2800 M Allen & Heath 40 ch).
Daily 8 bands, each with different guitars and different effects, different tonal characters and pick ups performed. Their settings were manually noted in a chart and the sound engineers diligently programmed them into the analog mixture when the band’s turn came. Atsung, a sound engineer, trained in School of Audio Engineering, Chennai (the other being Akiele, trained at Studio Music Byte, Pune) maintained, “Analog mixtures are good enough for bands that have plenty of time to rehearse and set their sound. However, a digital mixture is far superior in a sense that it can instantly recall settings for bands performing one after the other in a big show like this one.” Neingulie Nakhro, the Events Director opined, “The government should invest not in a functional, but rather in a state of the art sound system for the national rock competition.” However, Akum, entrepreneur and proprietor of Crescendo, and also bassist of XTC said, “The government has better business to mind such as investing in roads and bridges, and not come in the way of public employment opportunities.” Even then, a digital mixture could cost Rs 26 lakhs at entry level and climb right up to 1 crore 50 lakhs. Any takers?
3. Few Suggestions for the Future: Time and again we hear of mainland musicians who assert with full conviction that the “best rock bands of the country” (as said by Arko, guitarist of Hobos from Kolkata) and the “best rock audience of the country “(Souvik, vocalist of Hobos) are in the north east! Yet when it comes to competition, north eastern bands rarely win 1st prize. Why is that so? Vikeduo, Media Officer of XL Team asserted, “We are stuck in the 70’s and 80’s rock genre. We need to experiment with new age metal and also produce original numbers instead of singing cover songs in competitions.”
Bassist Akum of XTC suggested, “Nagas need exposure at the national level in order to build that confidence to win! The government should sponsor the best 3 bands to represent our state in rock competitions in the country. Many local bands, though talented, cannot afford to go on their own initiatives. The government should not send local musicians for exposure to trade fairs, but rather to music fairs where the real audiences are. If we stay home, we are isolated and do not have the cutting edge experience to mature as musicians along with the rest of the country.”
December 1st week is a hectic week in Kohima, with simultaneous activities (Rock show, cultural extravaganza at Kisama, Hornbill Rally, Beauty Contest, Night Bazaar etc.) which bombard people for choice. Many people opined that the rock show should commence in November end and the other activities spread evenly over the festive season. Transport and hotel bookings pose immense problems for tourists who flock at the same time. Tourism should ideally be encouraged throughout the year and not concentrated only during the festival week.
Use and abuse of alcohol (both local and IMFL) should be checked. If the idea of “frisking” at entry points of the rock fest/ festival sites does not sound practical, then underage drunks should be detained in overnight lock ups until their parents or guardians come to collect them personally. Some tourists from France and Korea expressed concern over the unchecked drinking of minors and their resultant misbehavior at unconcealed proportions (children’s park becoming adult’s park at sun set and hornbill turning into hell bill!) These tourists, some of them from the academia, wanted so much to interact instead with Naga intellectuals who would enlighten them about the beautiful cultural heritage. Sadly, they went back unfulfilled.
As it’s said, you don’t get a 2nd chance to make a 1st good impression. Mental impressions are very powerful in upholding positive attitudes towards peoples and cultures. Domestic and foreign tourists are symbolic ambassadors for Nagaland. After all, “word of mouth” is more high-ranking and influential than TV or print advertisements. Hence we should all do our part to represent our people, state and culture in the best possible light for visitors who would continue to come to our land in the future. Kuknalim!
