Stage Matters

Ep.7 Vikram Vivekanand - In the zone of tone

• aravind murali

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On this episode of Stage Matters, we're sitting down with the incredible rock guitarist Vikram Vivekanand. He's pulling back the curtain on the real world of live music, from the sometimes chaotic but always revealing soundchecks where anything can happen. Vikram shares how his laid-back personality translates directly to his stage presence, proving you don't always need a wild persona to be a rockstar.

We also dive into the nitty-gritty of working with gig organizers, what a musician truly expects, and why the technical rider is basically gospel. Plus, Vikram gets real about the often-tough financial realities for full-time musicians, offering some smart, practical advice on saving money and planning ahead – including a surprising tip about home cooking!

Finally, we explore the enduring magic of live performance in today's digital age. Vikram explains why those raw, unedited moments on stage create an unparalleled connection with an audience, something you just can't get from a perfectly curated 30-second video. It's a candid look at the passion, challenges, and unique joy of playing live.

So, how did you first get into performing? I didn't know it was going to be such a big deal. Yeah. Yeah, I mean guitar happened when I was in school. 

Okay, and You know before you know it I was on stage on the 12th standard farewell party and we were playing Mom, I'm coming home. We were you know, we were in boarding school. So we really wanted to go home And I remember how that felt my knees were shaking I was sweaty palms are sweaty But you came off stage feeling like you just did something really cool Okay, and then you know that continued into college and grey shack happened and started feeling like the stage felt like home Okay. 

Yeah Do you have like a pivotal performance experience that you saw in in your format of years that you can describe? Which you said aha. This is what I want to do. Mr. Big 2009. 

Okay, they were on their reunion tour So we actually managed to catch their original lineup with Pat Torpey on drums. Okay, right and that was incredible That is my first major concert experience. Okay, so that is international concert quite influential. 

Oh, absolutely Yeah, but it but even before that I watched Moksha and Junoon at the June rock out in 2004. Hmm. That was crazy. 

Awesome Yeah, again, you know the first experience of being in an open ground with massive speakers and big stage Yeah, and that was around the time. I'd started learning to play the guitar. So that was even more influential to me actually Because by the time I watched mr. Big I was already performing as such like I would just end of college Yeah, so I already had some stage experience. 

So, you know, this was that was a moment to be even more inspired. Okay, but then Watching Junoon and Moksha in 2004 when I was just about learning that was special. Okay. 

Yeah How was your understanding of performing performance evolved through your career it gets easier Okay, it gets easier and the bigger the stage the easier it gets. Oh, yeah interesting. Yeah, why so Because I feel like stage is I feel like the stage is a is is is an extension of home, right because I'm so comfortable with the fact that I've only got my people on stage with me It's the people that you have spent countless hours in the jam room with. 

Yeah, you've toured with them. You've travelled with them, you know Been in questionable situations with your band members and They're still there with you on stage. So it feels like that space for those couple of hours. 

It becomes home You know, but on a smaller stage like for example, like I'd be flat. Yeah when it was still around Tiny place and I remember we had a few performances where the where the 

bar was packed Yeah, in fact, they had to send people away because you know, they had there was no space But you know when you have 400 pairs of eyes trained on you Yeah, looking at every little move that you make or you know, every note that you miss because that happens too Right, but that happens in a bar. Oh, yeah, it happens in a bar more often than you think. 

Okay, right and That's kind of I won't say it's scary but it's It makes you have to really focus and you know get down to That moment you had to really be in that moment. It's a lot easier being on a bigger stage. Okay that way This is an interesting answer. 

It's an intimate space kind of situation, right? It's like, oh man, you're in my space You're like you're like four feet away from me like, you know, like, okay. Yes You'll have a gig tomorrow. Do you have like a preparation process? Well prep for like in case I have a gig the next day prep for it became becomes I mean begins the previous day. 

This is after the rehearsals are done, right? After the rehearsals are done I'll probably just Listen to the songs again just to kind of get used to the fact that I'm going to be playing these songs the next day or the same day and I'll there'll be a set list Right, and I'll get on my computer and I will programme my set list into my pedal board so that I don't have to waste time tapping in tempos or effects on stage so every song is literally a separate bank of presets on my on my MIDI controller on my pedal board and I just have to hit next next next once the song is over go to the next song and my presets are there Hmm, I don't want to think on stage Huh, I don't want to spend any more mental resource on whether my rig is gonna be okay Oh, whether my guitars are gonna be tuned. Hmm. Oh, yeah So so set list is one next is the guitar itself. 

Make sure that you have Strings that are not going to break. Hmm, you know Hmm Make sure that you know, everything is clean No rust. I mean if there's rust on strings, it's probably a sign that it's going to break anytime soon Hmm, so I'll change my strings if that's the case Keep it clean. 

Make sure that all the friction points are lubricated so that again It's all just things that I do so that I don't have tuning stability issues on stage because you don't want to be that guy You know, he was like man, let me just tune up let me tune up like if that happens every two songs Yeah, it's not a cool. It's not nice even for yourself. Yeah, right. 

So that's one I'd sleep early the next the previous day. Okay. Yeah If I can if there's time I live and get a workout in the morning off the show Okay, so that you're just like charged up for the entire day. 

Hmm eat eat some healthy food eat Don't you know, don't like load up on junk food. Hmm. Don't get drunk the night before if that's something I mean It's not like I do that very often. 

Anyways, I'm not someone who who really has a drink at home You know, I just don't do that. Okay But yeah, like getting in a good six to seven hours of sleep minimum is is important for me Yeah, and that just kind of sets you up for success like a lot of tiny little things, okay, right So 

it's like that. Make sure that all your patch cables are working. 

Make sure that your power cables are working It's it's a lot of tiny little things that you just do so that you know, it's sorted So you like have a checklist and stuff? Not a physical checklist. It's a mental checklist because I I do this so often that it's kind of second nature to me Okay, so yeah, it's a mental checklist and then you know, go and load up your gear in the car Well before you have to leave because in the moment of Like if you're if you're rushing to get to soundcheck, there's a very likely Chance that you will miss something at home. Like I've forgotten my in-ears at home I have even forgotten my pedal board at home. 

Huh? Don't ask me how that happened. It happened twice And you know, my pedal board is not that easy to miss yeah, I know yeah, so I have forgotten it So, you know, of course everything is a learning experience. Yeah You spoke about gear and guitars and all that. 

Yeah, I know that you're quite the gearhead Can you like talk me through your relationship with Equipment they're all just tools. They are ultimately Just tools that get the job done the fastest way possible for me. Huh? okay, and Those last two words for me is what's most important here because everyone has different different choices with regards to gear. 

Yeah It's just that I've come to this point where I am today gear wise after a lot of Not learning hmm, you know a lot of trial and error a lot of learning Where it's come to a point where I know what I Know what kind of sound I'm gravitating towards in my head and I have got that down in you know In on my hands. I have been able to achieve that That whatever mythical sound in your head, you know, I have been able to get there. Okay, because I've used so much gear in the past, you know over the years of performing so many years That I've kind of understood that there are certain things that I gravitate towards more than others Like for example, I tend to gravitate towards a Marshall type sound instead of a Fender type sound Not that I don't enjoy the Fender type sound but that's a specific use case for me Huh? I tend to gravitate towards the more British Orientated sounds okay, and that too Marshall's and not the Vox's. 

Okay. I tried Vox I actually did endorse Vox amps for a while and you know good good amp didn't work for my sound. Yeah, so You know, they're all really just tools. 

That's my relationship with gear. Okay, right and So you're not obsessed with it? For myself for my own use not for not for the reason of being a tone snob or a gear snob or something like that like man, if you want to use a Mooer or a Hotone or whatever or a Fractal, please go ahead use it if it works for you use it Yeah, right. It doesn't matter what you use as long as you're achieving what you want to use Is there a gap between what you practise and what you play on stage? tonnes Tonnes of practise. 

How does one narrow it? Why should you? I don't know some people want to play perfectly You can play perfectly, but you you end up missing out on the fun of being on stage Yeah, I mean for some people playing perfectly is part of the fun. Yeah, right, but If you tie in that kind of emotion to your performance on stage then You're missing out on a lot of other things that are 

happening around you as well because if you're so obsessed or Self-aware of you and of what you're playing and the mistakes that you're making It can affect the the fun aspect of being on stage Because there's a lot of things that are happening on stage. Right and if you're not if you're paying so much attention to just yourself, then you're kind of missing the point of being on stage because Part of the fun of being on stage is listening to what everyone else is doing Right, and if you have been on stage with a certain group of musicians for an extended period of time like say a few years you start to listen Much more intently and you get to this point where you can kind of predict what each other's minds Yeah, so there's a synergy that happens on stage there But when it comes to when you have spent enough time with a group of musicians, that's fun, too That's a lot of fun. 

Yeah, right So Practising is practising at home is when I'm hardest on myself like I performed a tribute to GNR the other day and there was one lick in the November rain solo that I Knew I had it. Okay, but it I kind of like internalise it A different way and then I saw the actual notes played. I'm like, oh, wait a second. 

I'm doing this because my fingers are I'm moving a certain way because that's how they used to moving. Huh, right? So I took a while to get that solo right and it was just a couple of seconds Okay, right, but that's where I'm hardest on myself. Wait, you know get to the point where You don't practise it until you get it, right but practise it until you can't get it wrong Because once you're done with that process at home and in the rehearsal studio, you don't need to think about it on stage Stage is not the place to think it's the place to do Right, so I don't want to think on stage even if it's improv So be it fall flat on your face. 

It's okay. It's part of the fun, right? Because how else will you know whether something is gonna work or not? Yeah, right You have have that kind of faith in your own ability to you know, even if you make a mistake, you know, you can recover right Everybody does this even John Mayer does it John Petrucci does it Steve Moss does it Vikram Vivekanand can do it too, you know Do you have like a Process during soundcheck. Yeah, can you take me through it? What do you what do you look for and Go set up your gear first. 

Yep, right make sure that all your cables are neat make sure that If something goes wrong you can easily fix it because and that's part of the reason why I Tend to do my own setup. I don't have a tech. Hmm. 

Yeah, and After that you just do your line check go through all your sounds Even if it's just effects if you're running certain Big reverbs or something. You've got to make sure that it works in that acoustic space in the room or in the arena Sometimes you've got to dial it back. Sometimes, you know, push your lead tone You know these little things that you kind of need to do for the gig that you're playing Or for the room that you're in or for the space that you're in most of the time. 

It's fine because Again experience teaches you certain things like your lead tone has to be about two or three DB above your rhythm tone It's not just volume. It's also like, you know, 

push the mix a bit EQ it a bit so that it stands out And if you do EQ it right, you don't need to push the level that much actually, yeah It's all a little balancing act that you're playing between you and the band members on stage, right? And When somebody else is checking don't do anything Go get a cup of coffee. Like yeah, don't don't be there just to noodling. 

Don't don't noodle Or else if you have the option if you really want to noodle you want to warm up, you know, tell the engineer Hey, man, just give me give my guitar on my in-ears Don't give it to anybody else because I need to practise something do it. Yeah, as long as you're not disturbing anybody else. You're fine right and Because you if you end up doing that sound check goes on and on forever Yeah, right and we've come to a point where we've we have a process for ourselves on stage It's not something that we follow from somebody else. 

Yeah, it's just something that we've Figured out on our own something that works for us do it one by one Yeah, do everyone's line check one by one when someone's line checking don't do anything. Just shut up Stay off the stage, right? Because then it just becomes easier for the engineer One assumption one one thing that a lot of musicians don't seem to understand is that sound check is for the engineer It's not for the band really. Hmm, right? Yeah the monitors are where you practise exactly Monitoring is where you it come It's all about listening to what you want for your of yourself and how much of each other element you want. 

Hmm, right? so As when that process can take you as less time as possible. Then your sound check is a success. Hmm, right? because Just because it's it's the it's the hardest part of the gig sound check. 

Yeah, if it goes on in Leslie Oh, come on now you ought to play a gig now, okay I mean, of course, we're gonna play the gig and we're gonna be amazing Yeah, right, but it just like pisses you off a little bit saying okay. Why did sound check take that long? You know if you're not done with sound check within 90 minutes, that means you really need to reconsider I mean like take a look good hard. Look at what's going on. 

Okay. Yeah 90 minutes set up to tear down. I mean not tear down but set up to you know Where you're off the stage you mean 90 minutes after everything is set up on stage No, I'm saying. 

Oh, okay, like as you know from at least for my guitars It doesn't take me long to set up but I can set up while the drummer is line checking. Yeah, right so in From the time that you start checking your line check starts from then 90 minutes is all you really need Yeah, and there's enough rest for each band member But you know in that 90 minutes as well because when you're when somebody else is line checking you just shut up Yeah, you chill. Yeah, you know and By that and then by the time everyone's done with the line check, they can only hear themselves quite well Huh, right because that's the lug That's what you that's what you achieve by having a dedicated line check for each instrumentalist Huh, like dedicated time So engineer gives you your levels and then the next job is to just make sure you hear Each enough of everybody else in the band and that's it. 

Don't rehearse on stage. Just check your levels get out Is there something such as over rehearsing? No, no, no No, you can never be too prepared I Guess for some shows, you don't need to rehearse if it's something that you do day in and day out Anyway, like, you know, we hardly rehearse for Wedding gigs because we play so many wedding gigs anyway, hmm, so You don't really need to hmm, you know, hmm because getting musicians in for rehearsal is also A bit of a logistic nightmare because everyone's a session artist And most of the bands that I play in at least so everyone's like being pulled in different directions. Yeah And there are personal commitments to to be taken into consideration as well so if you don't need to don't you don't need to rehearse if you have to you must and You must spend as much time as is necessary for a show Yeah Is there like for lack of a better word a spiritual aspect to performance or is it just like purely a means of communication? I Guess that will mean different things for different people, right? I'm only asking for you Um Look There is an there is There is a certain Unspoken or on How do I put this? There is an intangible Aspect to performing live especially a great performance. 

Yeah, like I like we spoke about The audience singing back your lyrics in about in a span of 20 minutes half an hour, right? They've become your fans. You've connected with them by just playing your instruments. So Clearly you've done something, right? Hmm, you know to a point where Complete strangers are singing back your songs and they're having a great time. 

They are dancing They are singing along. They're jumping and for those two hours Nothing outside that space really matters. Yeah, right and if you can give if you can distract people from Their troubles and their worries for just a couple of hours. 

I think you've done something Very useful Right useful. You've done something amazing for people who have just had a hard day, you know, for example I'm just saying that and if you have it if you've been having a great time come celebrate. Yeah, come jump, you know Be with us Because that's what we're here for. 

Yeah, you know, we're in the business of distraction. I suppose, you know To put it in one way, I guess What's the role of improvisation in your work like and how how much of a balance is there between improvisation and perfectly rehearsed stuff Um Improv happens all the time, right in Whether you whether you aim to Improvise on a solo or whether you're covering up for a mistake or if you've forgotten a solo that you played and that happens too right sometimes Sometimes you might just have sticky fingers at the gig Because the air is salty and you have to cool all the ACs to cold, you know, your hands are you know getting numb so You have to play according to how you're feeling at the time as well. And if you're trying to improvise something that's Challenging even on the best of days Then you're certainly not going to get it on that day. 

So you kind of have to be aware of How much you can do on a certain day If you're feeling great if you've slept well If you've eaten well, if you're if you've prepared for your setlist like, you know, the songs like the back of your hand Go ahead improvise all you want Right. And of course this is I mean you can only improvise on certain gigs as well. Yeah If I'm playing a 

wedding or a corporate gig, it's free reign like do whatever you want. 

If I'm playing with Grayshack. I Enjoy playing my solos the way I wrote them because those are I mean I wrote those solos So I enjoy I enjoyed the writing process as much as being able to perform it live. Okay, but There are songs where I don't mind playing a few few phrases from Outside of that framework as long as I'm landing on something that's familiar to the band and to the audience Right, I can like play around within the phrases within the framework, okay, and If it's a tribute gig, I tend to stick to the original solos as much as possible where The solos may be iconic For example, you don't change the solo to November rain at least the first two solos in between Yeah, right, but at the end if you're playing the third solo you can kind of like You know muck around your way through the runs because no one's really going to register those runs perfectly anyway But if you can land on that that that iconic line, you know that If you can play that perfectly you're golden, yeah, right you start there and end in the on the right places It's fine. 

You can you can kind of meander your way through Those phrases in between and then land and start on the right phrases. It's that's fine, too. Yeah So do you like taking risks on stage both musically and physically? Like hanging on a harness and I've well I can only take risks as far as my cable will allow What are musically like we were talking about improv, yeah, would you do something totally even your bandmates don't expect oh, yeah I'd love to do that. 

But again that depends on the song and the setting and all that. I Love doing things like that Yeah, and it can even it can even be improv in the in the chords as well Hmm, right you can improvise on the harmony because you do at any given point of time you have at least three or four different choices of Chords that you can play. Yeah, or three or four different inversions of chords that you can play, right? I you know when I when I'm playing rhythm I Can play, you know, let's say I'm playing a G major in the first three frets You know the first G major chord that you that you learn Right, I can start there or then there is or you can go through the entire cage system you can go through all the five different positions, you know, and that you need to know how to do that because If you're playing with other musicians on stage, there is a bass player who's holding on holding down a low You know root note or he's playing a different he or she is playing a different Inversion of the same chord, you know, because like the chord is never complete unless until the bassist says so but that gives me Options and okay, you're holding down the root note or you're holding down the third Why do I have to play the your notes? I can play whatever I want Yeah, right And now based on where I am on the fretboard like if I'm on the third fret or the fifth fret or the eighth fret There are different inversions available to me in that position Yeah, I don't have to go if I don't have to move all over the fretboard just to play a few chords Yeah, they're all there. 

Yeah, so know your fretboard well enough to be able to improvise even the harmony aspects of it. Yeah How do you deal with the unexpected during a show mistakes? fuck-ups and the Mistakes happen all the time. That's something that I don't really going That's never happened so far. 

Thank God Yeah But we have had people fall on, you know while dancing like falling dangerously close to my gear Most recently I had a I had a mishap on stage where my guitars just Completely went off my in-ears. I was flying blind Right, and I couldn't do anything. But the funny thing is everyone else in the band said that they could hear me I couldn't hear myself. 

So I'm like, you know what? This is something that I can't you know, really It's it's very difficult to do that in the middle of the song where you can kind of wing it Because when you're on in- ears, you can't hear yourself like yeah, you're just like playing on it's like playing an unplugged electric guitar yeah, you can't hear anything and we had to kind of Stop I had to stop playing And we picked up the song much later on and when we even told the audience Hey, you know what? Just give us a couple of minutes. Let's sort this out. And once it's sorted out show must go on, right and You continue we continue playing the entire show But there are other mishaps on stage where sometimes your string can snap, you know And if I have the luxury of having a backup guitar That's always there where you can just unplug and replug your I mean take your other guitar and start playing But if you don't have a spare guitar have a set of strings inside and the band almost always can Hold fort for a couple of minutes while you re-string that guitar. 

Yeah, you come back, right? And this happens to every band member at some point. So you need to be able to Hold the fort for somebody else as well. Yeah, right Yeah, because a lot of things can go wrong on stage your click track can stop Yeah, your tracks if you're running tracks those can Be triggered wrong Your cues can not be heard may not be heard at some point. 

You may know you might just You you might even have dropouts with your wireless in-ears where you'll have situation We'll have you know points where you can't hear anything. Hmm, you know Sometimes it happens only to you. Sometimes it happens to the entire band You kind of have to roll with the punches and just like get through the gig, you know rock and roll You get flustered when something happens if it's something that I Cannot recover from I get a little annoyed Yeah, because it really does break your flow and your momentum. 

Of course, you'll get it back. But if it's a mistake It used to affect me a lot more than it does now. Okay Because mistakes are part of the game and you know, I've resulted the fact that you cannot have Great nights every time you go on stage, you know, some nights are Just good. 

Yeah, some nights. You just have to give the bare minimum. Yeah, and Being a professional your bare minimum itself is actually great Yeah, it's just that we often hold ourselves to much higher standards for ourselves But if you can kind of keep that aside and not let it affect you for the show, hmm, it's fine It's it's a good thing. 

I mean that comes from experience Which is why I said it used to affect me a lot more before like a few years before Not so much now because it's all part of the fun of playing on stage as well What is the most challenging aspect of the performance process? sound check Okay Uh, I mean what else is there like like That's why I said no on when you're at when you're at the gig don't think just do Right all the thinking happens during sound check And that's when you 

figure out the most number of all the issues if there are any um that is the most challenging aspect and Sometimes it's just the weather man you know if you don't have uh If it's a really hot day, you got to be prepared to sweat it out you know Maybe you can there are certain things that you can do. Maybe you can you know, check after the drama is done Maybe wait for the sun to go down a little bit or If it's a room where there's no ventilation, set up your gear, go out, you know, just grab a glass of tea or coffee and come back, you know, just try and make it as relaxed as possible for yourself. You know, but I feel like soundcheck is the most challenging part of any gig. Yeah, because everything that can go wrong will go wrong only during soundcheck. 

Okay, okay, like, I can't tell you the number of times strings are snapped during soundcheck. Like I would have taken my guitar out that day and I would have looked at my guitar and I'm like, I think you'll handle one more gig but I think you'll also snap during soundcheck and sure enough it'll snap during soundcheck. Okay. 

And I actually prefer it that way because then I have time to re-string my guitar before the gig is even like starting. Okay. And I'll be free for the gig, like mentally free. 

I'm like, okay, I've just seen this thing. It cannot, well, it shouldn't snap. I just hope some other string doesn't snap. 

Yeah. Do persona and stage appearance matter to you? Like, are you a different person on stage from then what you are in? I don't think so. I don't think I'm a different person on stage. 

Um, like as, as opposed to if you meet me outside. In fact, my girlfriend tells me, I sometimes I look at you and I can't believe that you're a rock guitar player. Like you don't look like one. 

Okay. But I, you know, on stage, I, I enjoy running around and, you know, jumping and playing. It's, it's, it's great fun. 

It's, it's very liberating. Right. Um, so I guess the stage allows me to do certain things that I, that I normally wouldn't do in regular life, but that said not much of a difference between who I am on stage and off. 

Yeah. Like I said, I like to play quite relaxed. I am a little laid back in life in general, you know, laid back in the sense, like, it's not like I'm, I'm not a slacker, but I tend to chill. 

Yeah. Yeah. What about like, do you like to dress up on stage? Uh, differently from if I'm, if I'm supposed to wear a certain outfit? Yeah. 

I guess I'll have to do that. Okay. Um, but, uh, my latest, uh, um, I wouldn't say style quotient or anything like that, but I like to wear, I like to wear T-shirts like what I'm wearing right now, you know, like a little tongue in cheek humour. 

I think you and Vinay share that. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
 He's the sexy boy guy. Yeah. You know, I'm talking about, you know, well, um, Trump and his 

newest ex as a result of his, uh, his, his, his tariff plans. 

What is your expectation of an organiser or a show promoter? Expectations of an organiser or a show promoter, um, comfort, I guess. And it's not like we want five star luxury. Right. 

Uh, but just please read the tech credo because we've spent a lot of time and effort in putting these, putting this document together so that you can, you don't have to think as long as you provide what is required by the band, that is step one for me, right? Like to go on to, to reach the venue and see that your gear, that your backline is sorted. That itself gives me the, the, the confidence that, okay. You know what? Someone has read through our tech rider. 

They've taken care to do that, right. To provide one amp, one drum kit, mic'd up with the things with the mics that we like, you know, adequate monitoring stage space and all of that. If you can provide that, that's half the battle. 

Okay. And then refreshments, like when it comes to just water cans, uh, a space to change, if you don't have a, if you don't have a room available, it's just a clean space to change, uh, where we can, you know, just relax before the show starts. Uh, a nice, maybe a makeshift green room of sorts, you know, if the venue doesn't already have it, you know, a makeshift green room. 

Hell, I'll even go and change in the restroom if it's clean, you know, but make sure the restroom is clean, you know, I mean, we know how restrooms can get quite, um, shady and not, yeah, exactly. Yeah. Um, it's not much really. 

Okay. Just, just show that you care and get paid on time. Of course. 

I mean, we wouldn't be working with organisers, other kinds of organisers at least, you know, and we've all been through that, that situation where you haven't been paid on time. And then you kind of have to sever ties with that organiser anyway, because who would want to work with someone like that, right? Like I don't need your business really, please don't call me. Right. 

So there have been instances like that as well. But for the most part, you know, when you come to a certain point in a, in your professional career where you don't need to deal with that anymore. And I'm very thankful to be in that space right now where I know I'm going to get paid either before the show or the day of the show or max within a week of the show. 

And I don't even need to ask anymore. So I'm glad to be on this side of things. Um, but yeah, I would like it when organisers just take a little care. 

So a performer's life has always like had like financial challenges. Yes. We all know that. 

Yeah. So how, how has your relationship been with money and do you have any kind of advice for future aspiring performers as to how to deal with? Yeah. Don't spend, don't spend money. 

You don't have, you know, that's one thing. Um, don't blow it up and, you know, try not to, you know, put your, you know, send your money up in smoke. Try not to do that really. 

I mean, I guess where, because we know that things can get a little slim every now and then, um, minimise your losses, cut your losses first. Right. Uh, because you really don't want to have a mountain of credit card debt at all. 

Um, that's why I said, don't spend, don't spend money. You don't have, right. Because it will come and bite you back in the ass very soon. 

Right. Uh, that's one thing, um, getting into a habit of saving, you know, I, you know, start like an SIP, start small, but start, it doesn't matter. Even if you spend, even if you save 5,000 bucks a month, it's still a start. 

That's how I began. Now I'm saving a little bit more. Right.
 And, um, yeah, it is tough to be a full-time musician. Yeah. It's not for everybody. 

Yeah. But then once you've done this a while, you'll know that there are certain patterns that emerge year after year after year. Right. 

Like, I think, I think it's almost a universally accepted truth, at least in Chennai, that may as a dry month, uh, both, um, weather wise and, you know, gig wise, I had one show in me, which was, but it's expected. I know that may is a fuck all month, but it's okay. You know, you, you make up for it. 

You plan ahead for it. You know, it is going to be hard. You know that now you have to plan for it. 

Exactly. Yeah. I know that in Jan, I know that I don't have shows in May. 

So I start planning for it ahead. Right. Usually, um, I get dates about two or three months in advance. 

So by March, you should, you should have been able to plan for me and been like, and set aside some money or at least not planned any major expenses at the time, because they will always be unplanned expenses. And you have to have money for that. Like, for example, if your car breaks down, you need to be able to fix it. 

Right. Because otherwise you don't get, you can't go to the next gig because you had to carry so much gear. You that's, it's just an example. 

Right. Yeah. So always have an X amount of money in your account, regardless of what happens, if you can help it. 

Right. And plan ahead. You know that there are certain patterns every year.
 Follow it. Don't be oblivious to it. Don't spend money you don't have.
 Don't keep spending money on gear. I mean, I know it's rich coming from a guy like me, but but 

then again, see, it's not like I bought all my gear at once. It's years and years of, of knowing what I want to buy. 

Yeah. And doing a lot of research and also following a rule of Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix. Right. 

If I have an overdrive pedal that, you know, even if I just want something different, either I'll end up selling what I don't want to have or don't want to use, or I'll figure out a way to use it. Right. In a way that it fits a certain usage. 

In a way, it fits a certain context. Right. For example, there's this one overdrive pedal that I used in a very bright sounding venue. 

I use the overdrive pedal to darken my sound first. And then I rolled off the volume knob, so that I can achieve a sort of semi clean sound for that gig. Right. 

And sometimes you just need to know how to use your gear. If you have limitations, you will know how exactly to use it in different contexts. Right. 

Sometimes having fewer pedals will and any well, if you have limitations, creativity takes over. Right. And you end up realising that, hey, I didn't need to buy those things. 

I didn't need it. You know, I and then that will affect your future financial decisions when it comes to gear at leasing. I don't need it. 

Okay, I don't need it right now. That's it. It's, that's something that I will look at at another time. 

Right. And of course, there are those bigger expenses, like investments, like buying a new guitar. Almost. 

I mean, I know, I don't need another guitar. I have three very good electric guitars. I don't I don't need another one. 

But it'd be nice to have another one for a different kind of sound. And that is not an expense. That's something that you plan and you research and do over a lot of time, you set aside money for it. 

And then when you actually buy it, it doesn't affect you because you've already set aside the money for it. Yeah. Right. 

It doesn't affect your pocket at all. Yeah. That said, once you save money for something, and suddenly you have an unplanned expense. 

Yeah. Where, you know, a major expense, let's say you got into a car accident, then you have to fix them, you know, do bodywork for your car. It takes precedence. 

Yeah. And sometimes you just need to roll with that. It's okay. 

You know, it's okay. You have guitars to play with. Might need to go to the hospital for something. 

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean, I was in hospital for a few months in a couple of years ago. 

And I had to spend money on that. Yeah, obviously, my health is the most important thing. Right? Because as musicians, we don't get sick leave. 

We don't get benefits. We have to buy our own medical insurance, obviously. Right? We don't get, you know, casual leave or whatever it is that people in corporate setups have. 

We don't get those benefits. We don't have provident funds. You got to do it all by yourself. 

Right? So you got to be smart about planning your finances. Don't you know what the biggest thing is, learn how to cook your food. Right? Do not swiggy or zomato things very often. 

You know, that's Yeah, because you sound advice. It is it really is because, you know, okay, I'll give you a small example. Okay. 

A loaf of bread can, I mean, from the place where I normally buy is 100 bucks for a loaf. Right? And this is good bread, you know, and because I've also gotten on this process of eating as healthy as possible. You get the good stuff. 

Right? So a loaf of bread costs 100 rupees or 105 rupees at the outlet. It costs 137 rupees to swiggy. And that's without delivery, without delivery cost. 

Look, I can take a walk and buy bread, right? Like, why can't I just do that? Yeah, like, don't swiggy everything unless it's an emergency, really. And you can't avoid that also, right? But if you have the choice, cook your own food, it's far healthier. It's an I think, I mean, I enjoy cooking. 

So I know that my food is better than what most restaurants have to offer, which is full of grease. And, and the next day, you just like wake up feeling like, Oh, God, why did I do that? You know, it's, it's like, it's like getting a hangover. But, you know, you feel it in your gut. 

And you're like, Oh, God, it's not going to go unless I take a nice dump. Right? And it takes a while to kind of get that out of your system as well start feeling good again. So invest in yourself, invest in your own health, because that is something that you cannot get you that's something that is so essential for musicians, because you don't have anything else. 

All you have is your health. If you're not able to show up for your gig, how how? I mean, how useful is it? You know, that you can play circles around the other guitar player, or the other musician, if you're not able to, you know, get to your gig? Yeah, what's the point? Or you have to play three hours not able to stand? Yeah, exactly. And of course, I went through a surgery a couple of years ago, and I had to take two and a half months off of performing. 

But that is something that it wasn't a lifestyle based disease, at least, right? It was not my fault. Yeah, I had to have it done. I had to get it done. 

You know, but the good thing is, while I was recovering, the only question that people asked me was, hey, when are you coming back on stage when you're getting back to performing? Which also talks about how good you are as a musician that you know, that people are waiting for you to get back, you know, just waiting for you to recover and get back. Obviously, you've played well enough to be a certain degree of indispensable. Right? Make yourself indispensable to the people that you're playing with. 

Yeah, like really deliver the goods. Right? And have the health to be able to be able to show up every single day and do it day in and day out, because it is a demanding line of work. Yeah. 

People think it's fun, because they only see what's on stage. But there's so much more that happens. And you need to be able to be present for that. 

Right? And financial I mean, I know this question was about planning for your finances, but then you got to plan for your health as well. So you have like a physical regimen and stuff. I train I do weight training. 

In fact, today I went and tore some of the skin from my from my palm, thanks to some really heavy kettlebells that I was using. But it's so useful. Strength training, especially because a you got to be able to deliver a two hour performance or a three hour performance without a problem. 

Right? Yeah. There are days when I've played two gigs in a day. Right? One in the morning, one in the evening, you should be able to do both of you should be able to deliver that you should be able to sing as well. 

If you can, if you can. Yeah. And that's why I said, part of my prep process is to eat well and sleep adequately, and get enough sleep and so that you're not, you know, zonked on stage. 

And there are going to be instances when that also happens. But you should have had you should have had enough, you know, strength left in you to even push yourself to 11 and still be okay. And you know, kind of like, you know, those are the gigs where you give your bare minimum. 

Right? Yeah, don't expect too much from yourself because you're already physically strained, you know, strained already. So you don't need to give it your your hundred and 50% on that day, your bare minimum, your bare minimum is already 100%. You are going to give it. 

And that's enough on that day. Just don't fuck up the gig. Right? Just play within your limitations. 

You know, you're not feeling great. Just get through the gig. Okay, because even if you play just 

what is required of you is enough. 

Right? And but then please don't neglect your health. Really? Yeah. Eat cook. 

I mean, cook your own food if you can help it. Okay, or hire a cook, still cheaper than ordering in every day. Right? And I'm not saying don't order because sometimes you just don't have the time or the inclination to get into the kitchen. 

But sometimes it's fun. Also, you should have exactly you should be able to order in a pizza if you want. Yeah, right. 

And sometimes that's what you need. Right? Yeah, you you need to be able to have some fun, you know, with your food as well, right? If you can make fun food, which is also healthy, great. Sometimes you just want that dominoes chunk. 

Okay, you just want that. That that highly processed assembly line crap. And it because it makes you feel good. 

Yeah, yeah. You know, at least for that moment. Yeah. 

Have two slices and stop don't have the pizza. What is your relationship with external stimulants, alcohol, drugs, before a gig? How has it been? I thought, have you been totally sober? Or has there been a phase when you used to? Oh, I've never, I've never had a phase like that. But alcohol consumption, I guess it's okay to have a beer before the gig. 

You know, it doesn't, I don't need it. Really? I don't think anybody really needs it. Unless you're Amit Thomas. 

But yeah, like I've never felt the need to drink before a show. Or I've never felt the need to be inebriated or, you know, in a different in an altered state of mind before the show, because I don't enjoy it first. You know? I mean, not to say that it hasn't happened. 

It has happened multiple times, but I don't need to do it. Because being on stage is part of the high as well. I enjoy being in that moment, like fully present in that moment. 

I don't want anything to cloud that. Right. Although when you're writing music, it's a different matter. 

Because, you know, because there's no agenda. Yeah. Yeah. 

Right. And sometimes, you know, I don't, I don't subscribe to this, to this school of thought where people think that, you know, taking something will make you play better. Yeah. 

I do think that there is a shred of truth to that, though. Okay, although people might be wording it differently, I feel like it doesn't make you play better. Yeah, maybe it just gives you the noise. 

Yeah, maybe just tunes out the noise. You know, so you are because the creativity is there in you already. It is there because you have spent so many years performing and you know, practising that creativity is already there in you. 

And sometimes we just need a little less noise in our head. Because you don't want to be thinking about paying rent or you know, oh, did I feed the cat? You know, you don't want to be thinking about all those things when you're when you're writing something. Yeah. 

Right. And for those situations, it's okay to do that, I guess. If you know your limits, you know, you don't want it to, to negatively affect your, your, your time in the rehearsal space or the jam on the jam room. 

Um, but you need to be aware of that, that you really that you don't need it. Yeah. That's, that's been me, like ever since I started performing, because playing guitar has always been more important than doing anything else. 

Okay. So I never subscribed to that school of thought. Okay. 

I, and even otherwise, I'm not so much of a drinker per se. I had a phase of drinking of doing of drinking more than I get more than I do, at least now. Never been the kind to drink alone at home. 

So when it's not part of your when it's not part of something, it's not part of your daily life in general. You tend to not think about it. And when you don't think about it, it's like, oh, you know, out of sight out of mind, you don't need it. 

So it just comes down to your relationship with your instrument and your music and yourself at that point. Yeah. What's so unique about a live performance that you cannot ever find in a recording medium? There's only one chance to get things right. 

And if you make a mistake, it's okay. Yeah, it's okay. You doesn't, it doesn't matter because by the time you play the next three notes, the audience has already forgotten what you just did. 

It's fine. Yeah. You know, unless of course, you know, there's, there's always that one idiot who's recording the entire show and you post it up on the internet. 

And that mistake lives forever. Yeah. You know, but I'm like, really, you want to use your phone for that? Like, why can't you? Why can't you just have a good time? Yeah. 

What is the importance of live performance in our increasingly digital world, where people are post thinking that 30 second Instagram? Yeah, I mean, I guess even more. You heard about the guitar player? Yeah. Yeah. 

I guess everyone's talking about, you know, and the fallout from that. Yeah. And, you know, it's a much bigger conversation, actually. 

I don't know about the importance of playing live like that. You know, because I mean, we will circle that, that topic with what I want to say about it, at least. Right. 

You can spend hours and hours taking like hundreds of takes before you post it on Instagram. So that you know, you get that one perfect take where everything is, you know, spot on. Yeah. 

Right. Just to give people 30 seconds or 60 seconds of your musicality, which, I mean, at that point, how musical are you if you've taken like 100 takes to do something? Right. Or even slowed it down. 

Or even slowed it down to perform. I'm not even getting there at this point. You know, I'm saying even if you even if you practised it so much to get it right for a 30 second Instagram reel, your audience is basically people who have zero attention span. 

Right. And I'm not dissing people who do that. But because there's obviously a content creator market right now where you can earn money through that. 

So maybe it's all really worthwhile. Because maybe you're maybe you're earning some money out of it. You know, and kudos to you for being able to do that. 

Because ultimately, you're playing music to earn money. And that's what we're all doing. Right. 

But performing live, being able to perform live and in the studio, takes a lot of discipline to be able to do that, and kind of play with a little reckless abandon. You know, to be to be courageous enough to fall on your face when you're improvising something, and then pick yourself back up and then, you know, just have the show go on. Yeah, you know, it's okay. 

And I guess it's in those moments that you show the audience that you truly are human and saying, Hey, you know what, I'm also like you. Okay, you are, you can make a mistake, I can also make a mistake. But you're telling the audience that you can get up and dust yourself off. 

And, you know, go on with the rest of your show or the rest of your life. I mean, that's only when a mistake happens. Right? Yeah. 

But being able to perform live being able to listen to everybody on stage, you know, taking cognisance of reading, reading the room, you know, sometimes you have a tough crowd. Yeah, you got to learn and all those are highly interpersonal skills that you have to develop. Yeah. 

Right. Because you are connecting with people who are there, who have paid money to watch you perform. Right. 

And, oh, this is something cool that I've also realised, you know, that's important to keep in mind when you're performing live is that you actually don't need to win over an audience. Right? The fact that a certain number of people have bought tickets to come and you know, they've taken the time to travel to your gig already means that you have won the audience. All you need to do is your job. 

Right? You don't need to spend extra effort to, you know, try and you know, win your audience over because if you're trying to do that, then clearly your music lacks something. Right? You're trying to overcompensate at that point. But all you need to do is do your thing. 

You know, because the audience is already rooting for you. They want their minds to be blown. Yeah, they want a good show. 

And you can do it. Yeah, that's why they're there at your gig. Yeah. 

Right. Just do your thing. Okay. 

You know, and I guess those are certain things that you know, that you'll only learn while performing live. You have certain realisations that you that you get. I mean, growing older is also a way of, you know, figuring these things out by yourself. 

Because when you're younger, you don't think about these things. You're like, Oh, shit, I just got to play my I got to play well, I got to do this right, you know, you get caught up in your own head. I've been I've done that I've been that person to, you know, where I've been more focused on getting my notes right. 

Then, you know, looking at the audience, you know, the number of times like people have come up to me after a gig. And I've just like been busy coiling my cables. And this is a joke that me and my girlfriend also joke about. 

She's like, don't tell me like, how have you been single all through your, you know, days of performing live and all that? Because I keep telling her I said, it's because I was too busy calling my cables instead of getting, you know, their numbers. Because there have been instances where people have come up to me and talked and spoken with me. I haven't even gotten their names. 

I'll just be like, you know, and this was, you know, it's not a good thing to write because you need to be able to connect with people after the show's done and all that, you know, like get out of your head, you know, but for me, the gig is not done until I've packed up all my stuff. Yeah, okay. Yeah. 

I mean, it's it. These are little fun things. Like, it's funny when you think back about it. 

Yeah, right. But these are so many, so many little things that happen at a gig before the gig, during the gig, after the gig, you know, after the show's done is, you know, you always stay back in class, because that's when the fun happens. You know, you stay back after class is done. 

And that's when that's when things really happen. Right? Yeah. Either. 

I mean, who knows, if you stay back after class, either the teacher will give you some additional tips for your exam, or you stay back after class, you know, and you know, you suddenly get close to this really cute girl in your class, you know, try and like, hang back a little bit, you know, 

like, take your time to just connect with the people around you after the gig is done. And I'm saying this, as the person who made the mistake of not doing that. Right. 

So all of this comes from a place of experience. Yeah. And people have told me that, you know, you seem really unapproachable, but I'm not unapproachable at all. 

Right. I mean, some people have even accused me of having a resting bitch face, but I'm like, you know, I'm sorry, I'm just putting my stuff back into my bag. You know, I don't want you know, beer. 

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