For him, Indian culture has been an influence. Back in Mumbai, Ian Anderson and his band, Jethro Tull, are ready to join hands with Alms For Shanti.
For him, Indian culture - be it classical music or Bollywood, has been an influence. “I would like to teach Aishwarya Rai to play the flute,” laughs Ian Anderson, singer, flautist of the band Jethro Tull which is performing at Shanmukhananda Hall on January 31 and February 1.
Last time around we saw them collaborating with Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia; this time Indian rock band Alms For Shanti will have a jam session with Jethro Tull. “It’s more of collaboration. I’m looking forward to it. We will have a rehearsal and it will be fun,” says Anderson.
Alms For Shanti’s Uday Benegal and Jayesh Gandhi have been part of India’s eminent rock band Indus Creed. This is their first performance in India after a gap of seven years. “We will be playing a few Jethro Tull songs with them and Ian Anderson will play a few of our songs with us. It’s something we are excited about,” says Jayesh Gandhi, guitarist from Alms For Shanti.
The bands are being brought together by Tower of Power, an event management company which has organised two Jethro Tull concerts in Dubai, the last one being in 2005 with Remo Fernandes. “In 2004 we had to arrange it at Homi Bhabha because Rang Bhavan was shut. We got a great response which prompted us to put together another concert,” says Farhad Wadia, who heads Tower Of Power.
The co-organiser is a Mumbai-based event and artiste management company called Only Much Louder which has organised more than 200 rock shows in the city. “This is our so-called break. It’s the first time we are involved in bringing down an international act. We always wanted to break away from only organising rock gigs and focus more on live musical events. We also got a good venue and great sponsorship,” explains Girish Bobby Talwar from Only Much Louder.
Anderson has faced a lot of flak for his quirky musical sense as well as appearance, and though Jethro Tull was labeled one of the oldest bands, they still draw the crowds. “The critics said we should retire, like they said Coldplay is coming to an end,” quips Anderson.
k_shridevi@dnaindia.net
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