Monday, July 30, 2012

TRAVELPRENEUR(5)



MUSIC FOR THE ROAD
‘The Great Gig in the Sky’ is not just a phenomenally popular song by Pink Floyd, it’s also what a new and exciting travel company calls its freshest idea. Jumpstart India, started by three ex-students from Wilson College, Mumbai, has made quite a name for itself in Mumbai music circles for taking music and music fans outdoors.
    For its own version of the great gig in the sky, Jumpstart fixes a date with a musician and invites fans and weekend tourists to travel with him/her to a picturesque locale. In the past, singers and musicians such as Swanand Kirkire, Caraleisa Monteiro, Nikhil D’Souza and Sidd Coutto have been a part of the Great Gig idea. Jumpstart favours acoustic and melodybased artists, and avoids anyone who’s “too loud” so as not to disturb the natural silences of their chosen outdoors venue.
    “It’s a relaxed atmosphere for the musician as well as the listeners. The performers are under no pressure to sing wellknown or crowd-pleasing songs,” says Ryan Thomas, one of the founders of Jumpstart along with Akul Tripathi and Dhiren Talpade.
    Thomas is a musician himself with contacts in the music industry and most of the gigs that have taken place till now have been with musicians he knows well or who are friends of friends. Coming up is a gig with playback singer and vocal arranger Clinton Cerejo, who has worked with the likes of A R Rahman.
    It may be fewer than 10 performances old, but The Great Gig has managed to get its own eponymously named TV show on the channel Big CBS Spark.The first episode was aired on March 30 this year, and the year-long show will be divided into three seasons of four episodes each, airing on a prime-time slot on Fridays.

SHRABONTI BAGCHI TCR120623

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