CHENNAI: It’s not often you catch Ameeth Thomas sober at a rock show. Perhaps that’s what made his booking agency jokingly suggest that they title his band Junkyard Groove’s next tour: The Ameeth Thomas Sober Show. And given the ‘ohmigod’ reaction they received from friends and fans, which always followed a dumbfounded ‘dude are you serious?’ — the management decided to roll with it. City Express caught up with the frontman and only original member of the band that put Chennai on map way back in 2005. Here we go:
What do you think…is the show going to live up to it’s name?
(Laughs) Yes, I think I kind of have to now! But there will definitely be plenty of drinking after the show. You know I usually have a couple of drinks before a show because I’m always nervous. Also, my bandmates have a hard time handling me when I’m sober – I get too serious!
You, the guy who’s been known to drop his pants at show…serious. Seriously?
Oh yeah, I like things to go the way I like them at a concert. I’m what they call a perfectionist.
Didn’t see that coming! Where are you guys headed on this tour?
We’re playing at Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru…in that order. Our first show is actually tonight.
It’s so weird that you guys are from Chennai, but you never play here.
Where’s the panam? LOL
Thankfully the people of Chennai will get a taste of some of your new tunes very soon, right?
We have a new EP coming out this year, it’s still pretty raw because I’ve only got the music down so far, not the lyrics. But I can tell you this, unlike our usual happy ‘JYG’ sound, there is one track that I’m working on that is a capella.