Chennai's Madras Rock Collective to revive 1980s rock anthems at upcoming concert
The Madras Rock Collective (MRC), a band of seasoned musicians, is set to bring the energetic sounds of 1980s rock to Chennai. The group, which held its first performance only in April this year, will play classic anthems from bands such as The Scorpions, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Deep Purple, Toto, Journey, Mr Big, Extreme, and a few songs from Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi.
The band was formed out of a shared passion for classic English rock, a genre that members say lends raw energy to the stage. Bass guitarist Mario Nambiar, who has been part of the city's music circuit for over two decades, said the idea for the collective emerged in 2018. “All of us play with other bands too and we’ve been around for at least two decades. The idea to form this band came up in 2018, when we thought we should form one instead of getting together just to play tribute pieces. But it took its time coming,” he said.
Drummer Rahul Gopal, a BITS Pilani graduate who found his calling in rock music during his college days, added that the band's repertoire focuses on ballads and hard rock from the 1980s to the 2000s. “We’ve done tribute gigs together and there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on WhatsApp but it was only last year that we thought of a name for the band,” he said.
The band's sound is anchored by heavy guitar riffs and guttural vocals, a style that recalls the rebellious spirit of rock music. Vocalist Aakash Jacob, a banker and frontman for the band Rusty Moe, said the group came together organically through shared connections in the city's music circle. “Mario and I were at a concert together once and thought we should speak to Rahul, Vivin and Josh and explore if this was what we wanted to do together,” he said.
The keyboardist, Vivin Kuruvilla, is a founding member of the metal band Blood and Iron and works in sales and marketing. He completed his Trinity College of Music exams for the keyboard while still in school. Guitarist Josh Mark Raj, an award-winning full-time musician and teacher who has worked with composers such as A.R. Rahman, Harris Jayaraj, and Yuvan Shankar Raja, said the band offers a rare chance to play music he is passionate about.
The members bring diverse professional backgrounds to the band, ranging from banking to nutrition coaching. Mario, who balances corporate work with music, said he was inspired to take up the guitar after hearing it at Loyola College's culturals festival. He went on to learn the instrument from scratch and later became part of the band Nerve Wreck.
The MRC has four gigs lined up over the next few months, including a performance in Bengaluru on August 22 and one at the Hard Rock Cafe in Chennai. The Chennai concert will feature rock anthems from the 1980s, a decade that continues to captivate audiences despite being nearly half a century ago.
As the band members discussed their favourite songs, votes were split between Extreme's 'Cupid's Dead' and Van Halen's 'Right Now'. For those attending the Chennai show, the evening promises a journey back to the golden era of rock, performed by musicians who have lived and breathed the genre for decades.
