Interview with 'Grief Card'
Club Muzik's ARTISIA - voice of the stars

Club Muzik *

Grief Card

Grief Card is a three piece alternative rock band based in Bangaluru. Pramesh and Ravi are from Manipur whereas Jeet is from Assam.

Q 01. Tell us the journey of "Because of You" to the OST of Amamba Sayon: Resurrection?
Pramesh: The song is the product of an idea that I made about two years ago. We thought the song was a bit too 'pop-ish' to make it as a band song then, so kept the idea on hold. Then we got this opportunity, we thought, 'why not make this idea into a song for this movie'. And that's how 'Because of You' came into being. We were very skeptic about how people would react to the song as it is very different from our previous endeavors. But, people loved it, we are happy the song did well. It's the most 'popular' song of Grief Card till date.

Q 02. One from Assam and two from Manipur, tell us the story of how you all got up for the band?
Pramesh: I and Jeet are college mates and Ravi is my childhood friend. The band is not a new band, per se. Back in 2007, in Dayananda Sagar College, we formed a band called Beautiful Disaster which was later named 'Screaming Rose' amid line-up changes and which finally evolved into "Grief Card", in 2011.

Q 03. Music tells us all. What is that it matters in your lyrics, music, theme, etc. that lets you make that music?
Pramesh: We think what matters is that, our sound remains creative and original. We always try to make our next song different from our old songs whilst keeping the identifiable 'Grief Card' sound. About the themes/lyrics, we mostly write about heartbreak, disappointment as the band name suggests.

Q 04. A band stays as long as its members stays. How far do you wish to take the band to?
Pramesh: We have big plans for future; we want to connect to a lot of people, as many as we can through our songs. We are currently writing a lot of new material and we can't wait to release it to the world.

Q 05. How or where do you get inspirations for your music? Or make your music inspired?
Pramesh: We get inspirations from our everyday life, the bands we listen to, our favorite movies, our favorite books, etc.

Q 06. We all exist supporting, sharing and helping each other. Tell us who all helped you in the beginning as a musician, as a band?
Pramesh: Personally, I'd like to give a big thanks to my cousin, Sanjoy who introduced me the 'Guitar', he taught me how to play it. Also, he introduced me to a lot of amazing bands by which I was able to grow my musical taste. I am what I am musically because of him.

As a band, we are very thankful to the Dayananda Sagar college jam room, various bands who trusted us and lent us their gears in our initial years and all the beautiful people who love our song and have encouraged us to do what we do.

Q 07. A clean, pleasant and melodic tunes is what we could see from Can't You See to Because of You. What is the band's stand on the genre?
Pramesh: Well, first of all, thank you. J We are an alternative rock band. That being said, we try not to restrict ourselves to a particular genre. We love experimenting with various other genres; we are influenced by a variety of genres ranging from pop to metal. Right from 60's artists like The Beatles to contemporaries like Incubus.

Q 08. What do you like best in all your compositions?
Pramesh: The best thing we like in our compositions is that we've always manage to keep our identifiable 'Grief Card sound' in all our songs.

Q 09. The band is all assembled and created in Bengaluru. Tell us some of the best things you like about the city as a rock musicians?
Pramesh: As musicians, the 1st good thing about Bangalore is that we can play/watch music almost every day. There are always 10-20 gigs happening every day in this city. The 2nd thing will be the musician's network, most of the musicians in this city are very friendly and respectful, we always help each other out keeping the scene alive. And lastly and most importantly, the audience, they have been very receptive to new genres lately. Also, the new young audiences prefer original compositions over covers, which I think is very important for any band or scene to grow.

Q 10. What is the difference between Beautiful Disaster, Screaming Rose and Grief Card? Is Grief Card part of the previous two?
Pramesh: Yes, Grief Card is a part of the previous two. Jeet and I have been the constant in all the three bands. Back in 2007, in Dayananda Sagar College, we formed a band called Beautiful Disaster which was later named 'Screaming Rose' amid line-up changes and which finally evolved into "Grief Card", in 2011.

Q 11. What do you guys do apart from music?
Pramesh: Jeet and I have full-time day jobs and Ravi is pursuing his master's in tourism.

Q 12. How do you want the story of Grief Card be told by generations to come? :)
Pramesh: We highly doubt we will be remembered by generations. Haha. Anyhow, if we are by some divine miracle. J We'd like to be remembered as the band who stayed true to their music and created awesome songs.

Q 13. Favorite Kannada song?
Pramesh: We don't really listen to kannada songs. But, if we had to choose, it'd be one of Raghu Dixit's songs

Grief Card

Questions Written & Revised by: Lukhendro Keisham
Co-ordinator: Ithoiba Potshangbam
Produced by: Club Muzik