Rockin’ the metal boat

When Amit Saigal sat in front of a rickety computer and started making notes on a genre of music that had little representation in the market 20 years ago, scarcely did he know that it would — one day — cater to the interests of thousands of rock aficionados across the country.

As Saigal, the founder-editor of Rock Street Journal (RSJ), who was in the city recently as chief guest at the Toto Funds the Arts (TFA) awards function, puts it: “That day, I was just doodling on my comp and making pages, basically doing my stuff, when I realised that an entity was being created with each tap of my fingertips. Well, it’s a very, very old story…”

Old it may be, but today, RSJ is one of the best emissaries of the phenomenon called rock in the country. Though many similar magazines have hit the country’s stores since then, it will be a long time before our friendly neighbourhood metal-heads stop swearing by it.

In the beginning, RSJ was just something that Saigal used to publish at his family printing press in Allahabad and then distribute for free at college campuses across Delhi. Today, barely two decades later, one can be rest assured that even the folks at Koothattukulam, Kerala, know about the magazine.

However, it was not like the RSJ story did not have its twists and turns. In the early 2000s, the most ardent of its fans were shocked, and a tad disappointed, to find the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera featured in the magazine’s pages.

“I don’t remember why we actually did it. Maybe it was because we wanted to talk about other things too. But then, it didn’t take long for us to realise that rock is what we do best. That phase lasted only for a year and a half, I think,” says Saigal.

Besides giving out information on the latest happenings in the world of rock, RSJ also believes in bringing local talents to the fore and providing them with international platforms to perform. Each year, it takes a different Indian rock band to foreign shores, some of the beneficiaries being Orange Street and No Idea.

Saigal also believes that original compositions are what make a band and not cover songs of better-known artistes on the Western side of the globe. “One shouldn’t use covers to judge a band’s capability. It is only by playing own-compositions that it can project its genius,” he says.

But doesn’t the concert-going public prefer to hear music that they already know? Saigal disagrees vehemently: “If somebody wants to listen to covers, he might as well stay at home with his record player. Or, maybe, he can buy an overseas ticket to hear the actual band in concert. I would not like to be associated with any gig that insists that the performers play cover songs!”

And when it comes to incorporating Indian instruments in rock music, Saigal is quite non-committal. “It depends on the band, really. If they want to have the original rock/ metal sound, they may keep their tablas aside. But if they want to make something new, with an Indian flavour, they may bring them in,” he says, quipping that nobody’s ever going to pass a Parliamentary Bill advocating the kind of music one should play.

So, which Indian bands does he find the most promising? “Well, there are quite a few, including Teddy Boy Kill and Indigo Children. And you can be rest assured that there are many more coming up,” he says.

True, and with RSJ around, the show will certainly go on for ages to come.