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Presenting to you, the two amazing dancers, Ullas and Bhoomi, who collaborated with us on our video Namaste. Ullas Mohan is a self taught dancer and choreographer based in Trivandrum who has been in the field for the last twenty years. He had choreographed in around 14 films. Bhoomi JN is currently doing MPhil in Kerala university. This  real life couple has been dancing and creating art for more than 8 years. Also our heartfelt gratitude to our friends, Suraj Khan and Shabeeth Baker who took these amazing shots.

[motherjane-blog1]

Motherjane's NAMASTE out now on YouTube! We're hoping this song resonates with you and if it does, share the love... #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #newsingle #somethingscoming #staytuned #bandlife

[motherjane-blog1]

Motherjane's NAMASTE out now on YouTube! We're hoping this song resonates with you and if it does, share the love... #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #newsingle #somethingscoming #staytuned #bandlife

[motherjane-blog1]

It's almost here! Can't wait to share our love with you... #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #newsingle #namaste #pearldrums #casio #gibson #harmanproindia #furtados

[motherjane-blog1]

The Ancient Mariner – Bouquets, Brickbats and Bridges

Left to right - Suraj, Clyde, Rex, Baiju, Mithun and John 

Circa 1999 AD

Our practice pad, thanks to DJ Johnson, was a space below an ice cream parlor called Ricky's. We were given permission to be loud so we were… and it soon came to a point where the host couldn’t take it anymore. With no place else to go, enter my good friend, DJ Savio with an idea to move to a place owned by his friend, Niaz, called the 'Ancient Mariner'. It was a café, a floating restaurant in the backwater off of the Marine drive in Kochi and connected by a bridge. So we met Niaz and he was really pumped with the idea of having us there, so we moved.

In spite of being known as the floating restaurant, it didn’t exactly float. It was perched on top of coconut trunks piled into the river bed. We loved the place. It was a great feeling jamming there with water surrounding us and the sea breeze… a welcome relief from the cellar we used to be in. Besides the location, also advantageous was the fact that they already had a drum kit set up there. This was because they had another band, Evergreen (one of the best bands out of Kochi then, who ventured onto the national scene), playing there. These guys played classic rock at the time and were the in house band. So we were slotted in from 2 to 6 pm after which Evergreen would take over and finish the night with their regular set.

The Ancient Mariner is where Suraj became part of Motherjane. He was passing by and heard us - Baiju, Rex, Clyde and me – playing and decided to check us out. I knew Suraj from my college days. Talentime, was one of the biggest college festivals at that point and Suraj would always come and win hands down by singing Careless Whisper. We were all fans of his craft. I thought he was a North Indian, you know the light eyes and all, but then I met him at a festival and realized that he too was a Malayali. Anyway, so Suraj started to sit in with us and eventually, he joined the band.

We did a couple of Metallica covers at that point and our regulars, college kids who would come and hang there after college, had a favorite, Master of puppets, to which, they’d be head banging. I remember this one guy who was right across the floor, intensely enjoying the song. He was desperately trying to engage and sing with the band. We finished the song with a trash can ending and I was super pumped waiting to hear the words of praise that this guy was going to shower on us. Loudly he shouted out to us, the band, ‘You guys are damn good except for the drummer.’ Not exactly the words I was expecting to hear. Those of you who know, know that Master of Puppets is in 15/8. He didn’t get it and thought that I was constantly breaking the rhythm. Even though a few of our regulars came to my rescue, the damage was done and the guy triumphantly walked away on to the bridge, leaving me to mend my completely shattered ego.

I remember this one time when we were jamming late into the night. We went on and on and somebody brought in a bottle which we partook in and we played on again for a while. Around midnight we decided to unplug and head back to the mainland. We were decently high at that point as we made our way towards the bridge. When we go there, lo and behold, there was no bridge. All we saw were the hand rails rising above the water.  On full moon days, when we had high tides, the bridge would be submerged under water and we literally had to walk through the water to reach the mainland knowing that the risk of any missing planks would eventually take us to the mud ridden river bed. So we had the option to either stay put and wait it out or do the walk. With faith in our high minds, we walked on the water and made it to the other side. Hallelujah! It was one of those surreal nights most of us will remember for the rest of our lives.

The Ancient Mariner had a great impact on our career and our lives. This is the place we made a lot of lasting friendships too. And as I write this, I wanted to reminisce some more so I called up a close buddy, Dan (now a leading sound engineer in the South Indian movie industry, who had previously mixed 3 Motherjane tracks as well) and we took a trip down memory lane while recounting some of the numerous incidents that happened onboard the Ancient Mariner.

Sadly, the place didn’t last long. Even after consistent efforts to revive the bounty, it went down as the sanctions were taken off on the grounds of maritime security. Despite all our attempts, The Ancient Mariner just vanished one day, only to remain in our memories.  Niaz, the owner, is still a good friend and ardent supporter of the band. Grateful to you, brother, for all the great experiences and the memories.

[motherjane-blog1]

How Motherjane happened to us…

From left to right - John,Mithun,Laji,Clyde.

Circa 1996 AD

The big day.  The St. Albert's College Arts Day is here and one of the hottest bands in town, 2B3C, is all set to play. All the metal heads in college were keenly waiting to unleash hell, for they'll be playing One - Metallica and Cemetery gates - Pantera on that day. We were working on shoe string budgets with a sanction secured from the college authorities after much struggle.

 8 days and counting - and the bomb drops - Due to some unfortunate circumstances, the band backs out with only a week to go.  I am devastated and answerable to the college union and the political party, KSU, I’m part of.

8 pm, Youth Congress house, Cochin: They asked ‘why did you want to get into this complicated situation? We could have gotten away with a Ganamela (movie songs done by an orchestra which is still the most preferred mode of entertainment in Kerala). This is going to affect the whole college union and the image of the faction. It may also have an effect on the next year's election.’  

Suddenly, I have a ‘eureka’ moment. I propose a not too impossible idea to form a band and play the gig. One of the party leaders (he's a big Congress party leader - grateful for his support) latches on to the idea and even suggests a name 3B2C for the band, so that we can take on the crowd and the opposition leftist party and get away with it. Avoiding an embarrassment of replacing a major band with a transformed version of the college band... well, it's a plan and now it’s recruitment time.  .

Swinging back to the past, a month and a half ago I woke up to the clanking of the front gate opener, go over to the window to see Mithun  (now guitarist with Thaikudam Bridge and Pseutopia) walking in with a boy. He comes straight upstairs and talks to me about this gig at Calicut they are hooked  up to play for Rs. 1500. I told them I was already booked for another gig but I could definitely put them up with another drummer friend. So I did hook him up with my friend, Cecil, and they were set.

Surprised and shocked to death, I walked into this makeshift jam room at Cecil's place listening to the sweet sound of Pearl Jam's Even flow from the 'Givson' (yes I spelled it right - it’s a brand out of Calcutta - good sounding ones) 12 string guitars emanating from within. Mithun was playing like a beast, and I was struck by his sheer talent and good taste. Till that moment, I had never come across any musician who had heard of Pearl Jam, let alone play it.  I knew then that this was it.  These guys were out to stir some action and little did I realize then, that I too was destined to be a part of this in a few weeks. I left that jam room with the same adrenalin rush I experienced when I saw Pearl Jam on MTV Unplugged for the very first time.

Back to the current state of affairs, we were still running low on funds.  Juniors were hunting high and low for sponsors, but in vain. Contributions came in but not enough to run the show. And just when this whole idea seemed like a distant dream, out of the blue a proposal came our way from a good friend, Paulson, owner of a footwear retail store in Kochi. He offered to bring in this footwear brand, M'escos, as a sponsor. We jumped for joy as it streamlined the whole process. So grateful to this man am I for what he did at that point to power our dreams.

And on we went with recruitment and preps. Mithun brought with him, Nirmal and Laji on vocals and guitars respectively, and Shyam who would play bass for some songs. Clyde was our main bassie and played most of our songs. Clyde was the shy guy with long hair in class. He was a key player in the college band. Much needs to be explained about him in the coming chapters for this is the one guy who was responsible for keeping this band alive.  It was decided that Cecil would also play some songs so we could squeeze in as many songs as possible.  We jammed at Mithun’s place day and night. We still remember that spirited evening when we played ‘Once’. It was insane energy and it was like stepping into some alien territory when we started playing the song and that energy was going to carry us ahead. The covers we did were mostly Pearl Jam, Live, Nirvana and Metallica (I had to really push to convince the alternative rockers).

We were still without a name: To save ourselves from the merciless fate of going with a name like 3B2C, we had to come up with a captivating name for the band. And that’s when the son of god came in the guise of Jubin Jacob, one of our trusted friends. He suggested this strange name – Motherjane. I was reluctant but eventually succumbed to Jubin's assertiveness and we decided to walk onstage as Motherjane. This, not know to us then, was a decisive moment in Indian Rock History. Jubin we owe you one for this name. Thank you.

The day before D-day: Time was short and at that point a reliable drum kit was a little hard to source. My good friend, Manoj Mathew, offered me his kit. Which I’m still grateful for. Sound was sourced at a discount from GR acoustics and Robert being the engineer (Gopi and Robert would eventually be our touring engineers at different points of time), we started our sound check around 10 pm on the previous day and finished by around 4 the next morning.   5am, we go home and 8 am we’re back at the venue to start preparations, when we get news that a professor who was on leave, was back and hell bent against rock concerts inside the campus. We already had the sanctions from the college manager and the Principal and we had even stationed goons near the stage to ward off warring groups from the leftist faction.  Even though the dissident professor resisted, he eventually gave in, to our benefit.

We started off the gig around 11am with the Pearl Jam song, 'Alive' and this marked the birth of the band which changed the rock scene in India forever.  

[motherjane-blog1]

It's been a while but it's finally here! India's premier ethnic progressive rock band, MOTHERJANE, is back with their new single...

Angel design - Paul Thomas ..chk his site -  http://paulthomas.in/  

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John @Jam studios #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #drumtracking #pearldrums #sabiancymbals #jammusicconservatory #staytuned #somethingscoming

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John with @jspx500 Jeet Paul,Engineer/Producer at Jam Conservatory and Engineroom Audio, NY...acheived good drum tones with Jeet's expertise and the fine gear. Jeet is a longtime Motherjane fan and an ardent supporter of the Indie scene in India.Thanks so much for coming back to India for promoting the scene... #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #pearldrums #sabiancymbals #casiomusic #furtadosmusic #drumlife #tracking #engineroomaudio #jammusicconservatory #drumrecording (at Ernakulam)

[motherjane-blog1]

We had a great drum tracking session at @jammusicconservatory with engineer/producer @jspx500...completely floored by his work style and the great tones he acheived. Thanks so much Jeet. He was a drum student at JAM when i used to teach there. Apart from the amazing work he does at the JAM, he's currently a Mastering engineer at Engine Room Audio in NY. Also Thank you to David Sir, my guru, for helping me with the tuning... #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #somethingscoming #staytuned #drumlife #drumtracking #pearldrums #sabiancymbals #remoheads #jammusicconservatory (at Palarivattam, India)

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Attention Guitarists... #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #guitarist #auditions #gibson #harmanproindia #furtadosmusic #casiomusic (at Kochi, India)

[motherjane-blog1]

Motherjane featured on Loofre.com...Thanks so much guys.. https://www.loofre.com/irock/band-mother-jane #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #loofre #pearldrums #sabiancymbals #furtadosmusic #casio

[motherjane-blog1]

Our Angel's back..It's a new day, it's a new life and a new look... Angel Design - @artofpaulthomas #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #angel #icon #motherjaneangel #somethingscoming #staytuned #pearldrums #sabiancymbals #casio (at Ernakulam)

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Remember the Angel icon during the 'Insane Biography' days ? #somethingscoming #staytuned #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #angel #icon #motherjaneangel #newwave (at Ernakulam)

[motherjane-blog1]

Unveiling our new logo.. . something's coming up... stay tuned! #motherjane #motherjaneofficial #somethingscoming #staytuned #newlogo #bandart #pearldrums #sabiancymbals #gibson #casio (at Ernakulam)

[motherjane-blog1]

Go for it guys...The festival weekend is on...All the best @aumiartistes and the bands.. #mojorising #festival #indie #kerala #music #kochiscenes

[motherjane-blog1]

One of our favourite bands - COG is back in action ..chk out their upcoming record - 'The Middle'...So happy to know that you guys are touring again.All the best ahead.Looking forward to have you guys in India soon.. #cogband #rock #favouriteband #rockbrotherhood #motherjaneofficial #live (at Palarivattam, India)