CHENNAI: If you are a party animal, you are sure to have heard of YOLO Entertainment. Founded by two friends, G Vigneshwaran aka Vishal and Ram Teja, the two-year-old event management company focuses on bringing popular DJs and musicians to the city. “We do only concerts, and not host parties for pubs and hotels in Chennai. The idea is to bring different kinds of parties, like in other countries, to Chennai,” says Vishal. Fresh from the success of the two-day event they conducted with Third Party welcoming 2018, Vishal sits down for a chat. Excerpts follow:
When did organising concerts become a passion for you?
I was managing Candy Club, run by my fried Adithyan Vijayakumar. Two years back, Ram had attended a concert and was keen on bringing in something on the same lines to Chennai. I just went along with it and we started YOLO...it means ‘You Only Live Once’. We organised our first event in March 2017, it was Above and Beyond. This March we want to take our concerts to Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
Are you a music person? Have you taken any music training?
No, I am not trained in music. But yes I love music, as anyone else. I love visiting concerts too. The first major concert I visited was the Sunburn Festival in Goa in 2011. When we got into this field, we started associating with many musicians and artistes. In fact, Nikhil Chinnappa is quite close to us and we share a good bond with him.
How has the music/party scene improved in Chennai?
Party-wise, it is the same set of people you will see and we don’t have a great turnout like in Bengaluru or Mumbai. But the taste of the people has improved tremendously. Initially, most of them just preferred Bollywood concerts or a party that played Bollywood songs. But now there’s house, EDM, techno, progressive house and so many other genres that they want to experience them all.
How is a day like in Vishal’s life?
I am an engineering graduate with MBA and MCA degrees. Plus, I also run a software company in Velachery. Usually, my day is just about software through the day and then the event management company in the night. It’s just so every single day.
Wow, that’s hectic. How do you unwind?
I don’t do anything specific to unwind. The event management business is more like a leisurely activity for me (laughs). We sit in a cafe...mostly Cafe Coffee Day, and discuss what concert to bring in next. But if I am really stressed, then I like to go on long drives...just me and my car. I drive up to ECR sometimes and then drive back.
Do you travel a lot?
I travel for business to different cities...and that’s about it. But if you ask me about travelling otherwise, I used to travel a lot two years back. But now I just don’t feel like doing so. My life just revolves around work. When I used to travel, I would often go to Bengaluru, because that’s where I studied and also because that’s one place where you can go by road from Chennai. I am kind of attached to that city. And abroad, I love Colombo. Though I have my brother in Poland and sister in Canada, I have never gone there and don’t intend to do so anytime soon. I don’t like places that have temperatures below 20 degrees. (laughs).
Are you health conscious?
(Laughs) If I were health conscious, then the first thing I would do is sleep on time and get up on time. But I am trying to get on that track. Earlier, I was into badminton, but now I cannot even imagine going to the ground.
What is that one quality about the city that makes artistes want to come here?
Interestingly, all the artistes we have met with know about Chennai and also about Mahabalipuram. They come with a plan for sightseeing (laughs). But the best quality about Chennai, with respect to party scenes, is that it is safe at any time of the night. That’s probably one of the reasons why most of pubs are open 24X7 and those in Bengaluru close by midnight.
What’s the future for YOLO?
We are planning to bring in Martin Garrix and Mashmallow to Chennai. We want to bring in bigger international artistes here and take them on an all-India tour, just like the well known VH1 Supersonic does.