Gaurav Dagaonkar
Though academics run high in his family, 25-year-old Gaurav Dagaonkar decided on music as a career choice, despite undergoing the rigors of an engineering career. The tall and handsome long-haired lad who can easily pass for a thoroughbred rock star; who can command an audience of over 8,000 at a live performance recently released his dream Hindi pop-rock debut album 'College Days'. By the sound of it, he feels he has made the right choice. VERUS FERREIRA met up with Gaurav to know more about his album and what makes him rock. Excerpts from an exclusive…
How did you start your career in music?
I was always interested in music though I come from an academic background. My dad has done engineering, my mum has a Ph.D. and my sister is a doctor. I performed at various college festivals and events across Mumbai while studying at T. S Engineering College in Ahmedabad, where I started composing music. I set up a mini home studio and jammed with a band called Zaahir. I was the vocalist and also doubled as rhythm guitarist. Between my 1st and 2nd year summer internship, I took up a job with Times Music. Since music was what I always wanted to do, this was the right time to take that step to learn more about it and how record companies function. This stint helped me understand the industry better. While my peers took the normal stream of jobs in banks and IT companies, I veered off and decided to search deeper into my music and see where I could go. I completed engineering in 2004, my MBA in April 2006 and after passing out, started formal training in Hindustani classical music and began to compose music, write songs, met a lot of producers. I was looking for a good set-up for live sound. My search ended when I met drummer Ranjit Barot.
How did you decide on your album?
After I met up with Ranjit, I decided to do an album. We brought in session players like Amit Dutta (Skinny Alley), Sanjay Joseph of Pune whose contribution to the album was good, Chandresh (Dream Out Loud), a Belgium national Nicola Fizman and of course Ranjit. Besides vocals, I also played bass on a few of the tracks.
 Tell us something about College Days.
My album has seven original tracks and two repeats of the title track College Days. I wrote the title song sometime ago, performed it live and got a very good response. Since the song has something that anyone in college can relate to, I decided to name my album College Days with this as the lead single. It speaks about your college days: bunking lectures, the canteen, the fun you have in college, the professors, the students. I've written and composed all the tracks on this album. There is also an English track called Fighting All Alone about a street kid who's living alone and does not have a support system, while we are fortunate to have one. The song motivates the listener to help him. You also have Om Namah Shivaya about my dreams. Despite most of the tracks being westernized more due to my influences, it was on Zinda Zinda that I decided to add a slight Indian touch where I have used the duff, an Indian instrument. The rest of the songs are more of a rock set with electric guitars and a lot of distortion.
Any music videos for the album?
Yes I have shot a video for College Days on the IIM Ahmedabad campus. It was a great experience. We shot a second video Om Namah Shivaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was a beautiful video shot by Shruti Vohra of Corner Pocket Films. It was aired on various music channels during June-July this year.
 Who are your musical influences?
I grew up listening to Lucky Ali, KK, Junoon, Strings. But I've moved on to heavier stuff from Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams to Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Pink Floyd. I also love listening to John Lennon, Led Zep and John Mayer.
What else is happening on the music front?
Since the release of College Days, I've been doing a lot of live performances along with my band. We've played at college fests and corporate events in different parts of the country – Assam, Agra (at the Taj Mahotsav), Patiala, Delhi, Gujarat, etc., apart from Mumbai. It is a lot of fun to travel to new places and perform to new audiences. We also had a show at The Hard Rock Café last month. Apart from that, I've been composing and writing new songs. I've also been doing corporate songs and jingles both as a composer and a singer.
What has been the response to the album?
The response has been very good. I have growing fan communities on the internet and have people writing in to me daily from various parts of the country. My first video College Days has had over 2.5 lakh views on You Tube. In fact, there are videos made by students from over 100 different colleges across the country on my song which shows that the song has reached its audience very well. However, the private album market in India is very small and hence sometimes even a good album may not reach the masses at large. For that you have to make music in films which I'm now doing.
 So you are taking a shot at Bollywood?
Yeah, I'm currently having sittings with several producers and directors to play music for films. The response has been very good and hopefully, I'll be working on my first Bollywood project before the year ends. The music scene in India has changed over the last few years and the focus is back on melodious songs arranged in such a modern way which youngsters can relate to. The success of the music from films like Jaane Tu….Ya Jaane Na, Rock On, etc., has also given soft rock some footing in Bollywood. That's the kind of music I like to do as well.
Are you touring right now?
At the moment I am still promoting the album with my band. Ashish, who plays guitar, has left as he has moved to Nainital. So on guitars we either play with Sarosh Izedyar who is a wonderful guitarist or John Ferns. Then there's Dev Jyoti on drums, Deejay on bass and a keyboardist.
As a newcomer to the industry what is your message to wannabe singers?
Being an artist and releasing an album is not an easy task with the sales of music albums just not big enough. Most artists earn through live performances. So if you want to enter the music industry and record an album, you should know the music business, appreciate the business side of music and plan how you can take your music career ahead.
What does 2009 hold for you?
Hopefully a lot of film music assignments, because that's what I'm really into right now and that's what I want to do. I want to continue doing shows since I enjoy performing live. We did about 10 shows in the western part of India last month and I'm hoping to play live a lot more in Delhi, Kolkata and maybe even abroad. I'm also in the process of rebuilding my music room and studio which would be complete by the end of the year. I've been writing a lot of new songs and I hope to release another album next year.
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