Public Issue – Contest Winners of IndiEarth’s “Free Recording Day at Clementine Studios”
Public Issue, one of the three winners of the “Free Recording Day at Clementine Studios” Contest talks with IndiEarth:
For our readers, tell us when Public Issue originated.
Tibu: PI started in late November 2005. The original line up consisted of a few guys jamming together in college. We were scouting for a drummer a year later and chose Vinay by which time Kristo (vocalist) had joined. Kristo used to be a metal vocalist and PI hadn’t decided on the kind of music it would focus on back then either. It was all a crazy mix from Aeroplane, Highway Star and Fade to Black in the same set list! We were a proper college band, each with their own influence.
What about your music, did you compose your own?
Kristo: Yes we tried to for a good year and a half since the band formed and our songs had no set lyrics to them, even though the music was composed. We’ve done it for a show as well. I remember I took a magazine and read out words as lyrics for a song. Eventually we started to take it seriously and began writing lyrics to songs which till date remain popular.
Vinay: We’re unique because we have a comic element going for us. Kristo is a great front man plus he’s funny. Unknowingly, this element got entwined into our music as well.
Your memorable shows/competitions and events?
Tibu: The first competition we participated in was Campus Rock Idols. We registered in CRI in 2007 for the regionals which we won. We now needed to figure out how to get to the finals and didn’t realize that would be taken care of by the organizers! Lack of funds is an issue faced by most indie bands.
Vinay: This was the boost that we were looking for, and with exposure to similar competitions and shows, we gained momentum. We transitioned from college band to semi-professional when we participated in Rock Illusion and won the regionals but not the finals, causing reality to come crashing down.
Tibu: This was NOT going to be as easy as we’d expected. We realized we needed to work to be more professional to be received as professionals. A series of mishaps led to the most disastrous show ever which really opened our eyes to up to performing and on-stage presence.
Nipun: We took a break in final semester for internships. Unfortunately for PI, after completing university, work took over and we started to do less shows and drifted apart. After a lull period, eventually we started to do more gigs and performing helped us gain momentum and get seasoned.
When did you hear about IndiEarth?
Nipun: I received an invite to check out IndiEarth way back around September 2011 (I think it was launched as MuziKonnect back then) and so I checked it out.
Vinay: As a band we always keep an eye out for various forums and platforms to increase our reach. So we immediately uploaded our track Break the Silence and created a profile.
Nipun: I also uploaded some of my individual tracks and I’ve been really happy with the media response since then for my track Free Spirit.
What about the contest?
Nipun: Well we received an email from IndiEarth when the contest was advertised. The “Win a Free Recording Day at Clementine Studios Contest” could not have come at a better time for us because right now we’re working on putting together an album and have some fantastic ideas for songs.
Vinay: We pretty much immediately entered the contest with hopes to win. All that was left to do was wait which was impossibly difficult since the deadline dates were extended. We though with the overwhelming response we might have lucked out. Until I got a call from IndiEarth saying we were amongst the winners!
Tell us about your experience at the studio.
Kristo: We dedicated the entire session towards recording drums. We had to cover 3 songs so it was a hectic yet invigorating session. The studio was great and TJ our sound designer was extremely helpful. We managed to finish drums in one day with no issues so it was a highly satisfying and motivation experience.
What are Public Issue’s plans for the rest of 2012?
Nipun: We’re working on an album which we hope to complete by the end of 2012. We’ve released quite a few singles over the years which people identify PI as a band with. With this album we plan on pin pointing the issues that are faced in all walks of life. We realize it sounds heavy but we try to twist it to our benefit. We’ll definitely keep all IndiEarth followers and listeners posted. This is one album you will want to OWN.
Kristo: Yea, we’re really taking our time working with it to produce the right sound and energy. We’ve come a long way from being the college kids who didn’t know what sort of music we wanted to focus on since we were an incredibly diverse line up of artists. This album should combine all our musical abilities and we’re quite excited about it.
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