Grooving to the funky metal-rock-folk sound of ‘Folk You’, a select crowd of Hyderabadis gathered at the Hard Rock cafe on Sunday night as part of the cafe’s Formula One concert fever. While the song isn’t largely popular on the Hyderabad radio waves, it has its own loyal following within the city amongst those who know of its existence. Though any song is only as popular as its band, this particular band does ring more than a few bells in quite a few Hyderabadi heads. Meet Junkyard Groove.Based in Chennai, Junkyard Groove (JYG) is a household name among the music circles. Popular through the circuit, for quite a few years they were the ‘in-thing’. Six years down the lane however, the band broke up and remained defunct for almost a year. Ameeth Thomas, considered the front man of the band, who also happened to hold copyrights to the songs that made them popular, including ‘Folk You’, regrouped and came back strong with his new line-up. Performing as the nouveau band for the first time in the city, the response was more than luke-warm.“We’ve been playing as the new JYG for a few months now with a few changes now and again. In fact, today was the first time we played with Shashank as our drummer and it was a really good show. Despite the scarce crowd, the energy was good, and for us it was pretty much like a formal rehearsal with a stage and some audience,” he says.The four piece band comprises Ameeth on the vocals, Naveen Thomas on lead guitar, Sajith Satya on the bass and Shashank on the drums. What makes them quite a band is the mix of musicians. While Ameeth and Naveen look the seasoned artists, Sajith and Shashank are college kids. Ameeth immediately corrects the notion - “Sajith’s dropped out of college. So not really a college-goer. But kid, yes.”But it’s hard to argue these two aren’t accomplished in their own right. Playing since their school days, both have been a part of their fair share of bands. So ask them what it feels like to come into a b(r)and that’s established for its sound and persona.“There isn’t any hard and fast sound that we’re expected to go by. Since its a regrouped band, Ameeth’s been trying to give the whole thing a new sound and feel. Plus, we’ve grown up with JYG, so the sound is not unfamiliar,” says the bespectacled Sajith. Ameeth chips in, “These kids are really good. This guy (indicating Shashank) is the first drummer I’ve played with and who actually worked on the song. He puts his headphones on and starts drumming away. Nobody I know has ever done that.”With intermittent practice sessions done in ‘high’ gear over the past few days, the band pulled off the gig. Even more engaging was the impromptu jam interlude the instrumentalists broke into when Ameeth has gone on a vocal break.“We’re all familiar with JYG sound. Yet at the same time we have our own sounds. We’ve been able to come together without any clash of musicality. For us now, it is really about music. We get along really well, no personal hang ups or issues in the way. Even though I’m from Bengaluru, I shuttle back and forth. Yes, it's quite a challenge. But, hey, if you love what you do, why would you stop?” explains Naveen ‘Cutie’ Thomas, a nickname the band make sure sticks. So from being JYG to JYG, how do the guys feel about it? “I think by pulling down the age, Ameeth has also pulled down the IQ,” quips Naveen. Ameeth just laughs saying, “It couldn’t be better.” Shashank has only one word to say, “Awesome.”Awesome or not, we’ll have to wait and see as the band promises either a bunch of singles or an entire album by early next year. JYG fans can only hope Ameeth works his magic again.
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