LIVE IS DEAD

the eternal opus mantra : we will, we will, rock u

the new cops mantra : we will, we will, #$%* u

for the past year opus, bangalore, has supported live acts ... from music to dance to theatre ... from classical to opera to jazz to rock to country to hiphop and rnb to heavy mental (grammy nominee jana stanfield), with performers both desi and firang gushing about the space, the hospitality and the vibe.

It's really baffling how a place like this could be clubbed in the same bracket as places that provide 'live entertainment' / dance bars ... and would require the same license. I am not even going to get into how ridiculous the 11.30 lights-out rule is. But equating all live entertainment is simply bizarre .

oh ... and thats not all ... getting up and shaking a leg too, is a criminal offence ... or one that needs another additional set of permissions. I'm sure they have overseen the need to procure licenses to have matresses and candlelight.. cos surely that abets immoral conduct ... or ban chocolates, for being an aphrodisiac

why can't people live and let 'live' ?? The colour in the green garden city certainly must mean envy, cos there is really no other explanation.

really sorry to all those who wondered why Dee didnt perform last week... we asked her and the band not to ... we couldnt risk rocking, white skinned, scantily clad foreigner, in front of 200 drooling men (and women) sing 'private dancer', now, could we??

we hope sense and sanity will be restored soon and the monsoon winds blow this over to Gulbarga (even they dont deserve this) in the next couple of days/weeks. till then (and till they can find laws to curb these other simple pleasures) we will make do with the food, booze, music (yes, yes, recorded... for the record), play some games (though stuff like 'taboo' is really asking for trouble)

one more big thank you for the music and supporting the live music movement in bangalore!!

cheers

carlton

RE: LIVE IS DEAD

That's just too bad, Carlton. Gina and you have done such a great job of building a fun place for young people that was clean and respectable. What's happening in Bangalore is nothing short of a disgrace. Wish they'd spend their time and energies on what really matters. That, they're letting go to the dogs, the feckless bastards.
I share your frustration over this mess called Bangalore. I never hesitate to say that those who think this is the centre of all the Happening places on earth (or India, anyway), specially the Page 3 media who describe everything in this village as world-class, are either ignorant or frauds - probably both.
We've just returned from several weeks away - hence the delayed response to your Notice. Of course we'll drop in one of these days.
Best -
Stanley Pinto
(stanley pinto is an advertising guru and musical genius)

Well said Carlton !!
We need to talk to the CM and the Governor about this, but then its been done before and the noose just gets tighter.
The problem is the interpretation of the term --- "live band " Throughout the world, a group of musicians playing LIVE, is termed as a live band, but this is sadly become a bad word to describe us musicians (Note that live and Band are four letter words, by the way !!).
Back in the bad old days, Bangalore had oodles of Cabaret joints where strippers gyrated to music played live by bands. They had quite a clientele, !! Brigade Road, Residency Road and South Parade (M.G.Road) resounded to the music of the senses applauding the deadliest of combinations -. Wine , Women and Song !!!!!
Drunken brawls, even murder were the order of the day,, so our lawmen swung into action and closed all such Cabaret joints. Justifiable .........YES, but as in all legal cases, the loop holes showed and the same joints boasted of live bands sans the strippers !! The strippers were now lady "singers ". Who cared if they didnt know their arse from their elbows as far as singing was concerned ? The good old clientele yodelled for more and the "Wah Wahs" rented the air.The brawls and the murders made the print again.
Our lawmen tightened the clamp......they said NO LIVE BANDS !!! To them, pimping,solicitation, debauchery, prostitution meant a live band and it was described as such too, by the brothel managers !!! We even have live band owners now !!
Albert Einstein once said "If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music."
It is indeed sad that our lawmen live their wet dreams in music .
What we need to do is to coin a new name to describe our vocation and we need to put our heads together to adopt such an adjective that cannot be misinterpreted to denote anything else, ever. It would be interesting to get some thoughts from all our friends. We can then form an association or forum and legalise the entity by registration. With such a back bone, we can then talk to the Ivory Towers, get their rubber stamps and play our music till the milk man comes home.
Cheers to the Opus !! You guys breathe music.
Lots of love to all of you
Shyam of the West Wind
(legendary bangalore voice)

Hi Gina & Carlton,

Its a pity that we live in a screwball society with the law that doesn't make any sense to a common man/woman. Opus has been an inspiration to many who can sing and some who can't!!!Still i must say that people do come just for the service and for people like you two.We will be there nevertheless, from time to time to be apart of the opus clan. For a better future and a bloody good time.
Cheers.
Love
Nathaniel Philip & Karen.




dude,
You'll still see my black behind in there whenever i have the time. Music can't be choked down, its way beyond that.and plus "GOD GAVE ROCKN'ROLL TO YA....PUT IT IN THE SOUL OF EVERYONE"

This moronic rule and time will pass

Cheers,

Mark Swaroop

(music lover and graphic designer)



Brilliant letter & poster - I strongly suggest you get it printed in both the Deccan & TOI. The new laws are ridiculous -

thank god I grew up in the 80's before the moral police were enlightened!

Lisa Pinto




Dear Gina & Carlton,
Bangalore is dead, it is very true. Our own govt is killing it and they want to call it a metro. Are you kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!I think we got to beat the system, the common man, should stand up for his rights, its a democracy for crying out loud, if i want to dance, i wanna dance and how can any brown uniformed furball stop me. People need to start writting to the media, tell them this is not acceptable. The problem is that we dont do anything about it and expect things to blow over. the more we sit by and watch this the more the cops are gonna send bend over please!!!!!!!! Also carlton, think about what we discussed, a new day begins at 12.00 AM. there is no law when a place can open during the day. they only shay it should shut at 11.30PM on a day. so half an hour is OK ;)
Cheers, i really hope things settle fast, I may not come to opus that often these days, but its always good to know there is place that feels just like home still open in the wee hrs of the morning.

Viren Goyal




nice mail. sorry to hear about this ban...it is truly ridiculous.
i'm sure you guys will find other innovative ways to make it happen till this blows over.
take care
nikki
(Neeraj Halalka)



SHIT!!!!! I truly bleed for you guys.
We guys complain about this shit only because it craps of night live and ruins or ‘chill-out’ plans but the stupidity takes on humongous propositions for you because it affects you so directly.
I wish there was something I can do…….and in fact, there just might be. I’m doing a little bit on this on Radio City later next month and I promise to bring this up with the Comm when I meet him.
Till then…….YUMMY ;))))

Darius Sunawalla
(Darius is a radio jockey)



I hope everything gets sorted out soon.
Marianne de Nazareth

(Marianne writes for the Deccan Herald)




Why do we just sit on our &$^% asses and grumble about the way this country is going to the dogs. Why cant we as people, unite and fight this together. I am sure if we all want we can do something and bring back the term DEMOCRACY to this country.Think about it. This fight is ours together.

Godrej.



Abs,agree,Carlton,these guys in the name of law and order are not even aware of what constitues decent clean live entertainment.hope better sense prevails or we need to start a movement/signature campaign and with the help of media ,invite public support.

rgds
sarat sidhan
(sarat is a bass player for classic rock band mid-range)

hey carlos,
I can imagine how frustrating it must be for you guys - all the people who are actually doing corrupt business are going scot free and here we are - a place that is trying to involve people in creative thinking is being victimised.
Well my advise to you is to lay low and ride out the storm - as we always do at sea - time to anchor and wait for a good tide !
best Regards
Eshwar

Malcolm Shipp said...
As an outsider looking in I find all this a little hard to get to grips with and fail to understand the logic behind this or much of what the authorities seem to term as normal practice in Bangalore.

Having stumbled on Opus after 5 months of a 6 month stay last year, that last month was my most enjoyable and this is due to the overall atmosphere of what remains one of my favourite clubs in the world. It is a place I can go to relax, a place to romance, a place to feel safe and comfortable away from trouble makers and boozed up nutcases.

During a long 6 months back at home in UK with nowhere to go I yearned to come back to Bangalore and blast my harmonica along with a great bunch of musicians and folk not afraid to express themselves in a fun and enthusiastic way.

Opus just does that, it brings the life and soul out of the most quiet and reserved people and has to be applauded for that.

When I read the daily papers here and just generally go about the city I wonder at the frustrating mentality of all the city's services and laws. For a city that is so say up and coming and trying to win much needed respect and finance from western nations, it falls way short and it is only getting worse.

The roads are disastrous here, traffic rules are non existent, people are electrocuted each time it rains, people are being robbed and killed seemingly on an hourly basis. These should be issues that swallow up the limited resources of the police and government, it is purely common sense.

It appears to me that if in the miraculous event something does actually work here in Bangalore and works well, then the authorities have to put a stop to it.

Do they thrive on disaster and severely pissing off normal law abiding human beings and depriving people of their few hours of fun in what is becoming a very unfun place to be.The newspapers talk about millions of rupees worth of corruption and bribes like it is a normal and accepted thing, how can this be possible? I just don't get it.

I accept there has to be rules to control clubs, licences and alcohol but when something ain't broke, why try to fix it, there are bigger more important issues surely.

I applaud Carlton & Gina or should that be Gina and Carlton (we all know who does the hard work really don't we?) for creating such an entertaining and exciting venue such as Opus a place where strangers become friends and I pray that common sense will prevail, although I'll believe it when I see it!

Much love and respect

Malcolm

A seriously frustrated harmonica afficionado!!

Carlton,
I can't agree with you more. Your efforts to promote music as whole in Bangalore have been remarkable and commendable. The most difficult part about getting legislation changed will begetting people to come together and show the government that old definitions cannot apply to today's culture. It's not just Opus, but all venues that are affected. If all pub/club/coffee-house/lounge owners got together, we can change legislation. If all publications and periodicals as well as event managers got together, we can change the absurd rules. It may sound like a big dream, but with so many people in Karnataka, I think we can get a few hundred thousand to express their discontent at these inconsistent and unfair policies by the police and government.
As an NRI, I have come to appreciate the incredible musical talent and artistic viewpoints of today's Bangaloreans. Having traveled quite a bit, I am starting to realize that apathy is the biggest disease in Indian Society (I am not just talking about India). Many venues, as well as corporate executives neglect the fact that although they may be making profit by "paying-off" the police to keep their places open, everyone will be making profit if all venues were ridden of such backward-thinking bribery.
We at RAVE came up with Support The Music after three years of seeing how unfair, under-exposed, not to mention how exploited the music and art "industries" are treated. Of course, we aren't taking a communist stance at promoting music; rather we are pushing for a collective effort to support music and art. At this point, I see too much futile individualistic promotion. People pay a great deal of money for the luxury of listening to music, whether it be at a pub, concert, or at home with a CD; however, it is rare that these well-paying consumers get much for their money. This equation also plays a major role in the good-evil battle of Intellectual Property Piracy. On a whole, consumers just don’t feel they are being treated with importance or respect.
With Opus and other venues closing at 11.30pm, this cuts a major chunk out of our music listening options. It makes it difficult for new artists to express and promote themselves.
Much of what I hope STM accomplishes would be to push for legislation to re-define the licensing process. This is absolutely possible, if we work together as a single entity to fight these inequities. I feel that Support The Music is the perfect platform to voice all our concerns about the entertainment industry.
I propose we have a meeting to discuss our thoughts and strategies.
In support,
Alok Tandon
COO, RAVE Magazine
Support The Music

Surreal. That was my first reaction when Gina told me the story. ‘Ulta’, I believe, is the Hindi word I am looking for; we seem to get everything backwards.
My last fume was on the way the Mayor blithely, unilaterally, cancelled paid-parking in this town. Every major Metropolis in the world uses paid-parking to accommodate and regulate traffic. We know better. The ostentatious reason given by Hizzoner was a claim that the city was saving money for the car-owners. He couldn’t have come-up with a more asinine reason if he had put the entire BMP staff to work on it for a year. The one segment of the community that does NOT need the Mayors help in saving five rupees are [definitionally] affluent car-owners. So, Honourable Mayor, thank you for saving me a ton of money by not being able to park and shop and waste money on the needy retailers of Brigade Road.
Now that that is off my chest, I move on to this new violation, more comical and insidious at the same time. Really. How inane can you get? On second thoughts, I take that back. I have vowed never to underestimate the authorities here.
There is nothing like the heartache of reading a smug NRI vent his wrath on the poor delicate sensibilities of the natives. I, a newly native NRI, will therefore proceed with abject insensitivity.
On my first few months of return, the newspapers had one story. It used to run something like this: ‘Veerappan Escapes: AGAIN!!!’ I’d read the story about how the entire border police forces of two [or was it three?] states had been set on this poor devil for years on end. And in spite of this thundering Brahmasana leveled at him this irreverent crook kept getting away. @#%%!&#@. Didn’t he know the fearsome reputation of the surrounding forces? A minimal attitude change on his part was called-for….
The second thing of interest I noticed on my return, in stark contrast to the above humiliation, was the extraordinary efficiency of the Bangalore Hoysala. Crackerjack cops, everyone of them. Strolling innocently by a park near Opus on a warm summer evening after sunset, enjoying the cool, my reverie was forcefully interrupted by a set of high-beams glaring down at a car parked near me. Hallelujah!! The cops had done it again! They had nabbed, red-handed…er, lipped, a young couple kissing in the privacy of their car. The couple was shocked, incinerated in the attention of four burly cops staring down at them. But I couldn’t care less. I was hugely relieved. The city had been made safe once more from such perverted kinks. As for Veerappan, we’ll get him as soon as he surrenders.
So now I am on to my third challenge. How does one respond with a minimal decorum to a fearlessly stupid decision to ban Live Music and Dancing in the city. How does one secretly, rhythmically move one’s feet at the risk of being nabbed and arrested by an alert and nimble cop? How does one play Footsie and simultaneously avoid jail?
Gina and Carlton can be trusted to show the necessary resourcefulness demanded by the abject inanity of this order. I will wait for their lead before wiggling my toe. Until then, I will limit my evening entertainment to necking in parked cars since the Hoysala are fully occupied listening for the sound of dancing feet.

Ravi Aiyer

I am gutted. Your venue is the best in Bangalore to have fun, make friends, eat good food and have good clean fun (okay, maybe 'Under the Sea' was a little close to the mark, but you didn't write the lyrics!). Considering the good stuff that comes from Opus, i.e. the GBP. 1000.00 you helped raise from my gig for underpriviledged children, and the harmless entertainment that
goes on, someone somewhere must have to rethink policies.
When I'm in India, it's really hard to go out somewhere that stays open when I leave the office. Call centre staff (desi or not) need to chill out too, and spend Rupees. If places close so early, there is nowhere but the 5 star hotels to do it. Shouldn't others get the benefit of our spending too?
I'm a guest in India - and I absolutely love it! I'd never put the place down - ask any of my friends, I'm an ardant fan. Some policies just don't make sense though.. this is one.
Please pass my very best regards to everyone at Opus - if anyone's still there!! I miss you guys. Hope to be over for a few days around 17 August.
Hey, maybe they'll see a little sense by then.
Take care sugar and give Gina a big kiss for me.
Love,

Dee

(dee kahn trains people at a call centre in bangalore, in addition to being a kick-ass musician)