CHENNAI: Most music crews thrive on the individuality of each member of the band. This is no different in the case of the upcoming band Lavita and Friends, who are ready to bring together a motley group of talented performers from across the country for a performance at Phoenix Market City today.
Though based in Chennai, the group boasts of members from across south India and even from the northeast.
“All of us were students at the KM Music Conservatory, and we met and discovered that each of us had something different to bring to the table,” says Lavita Lobo, lead vocalist. “Each of us had different tastes and a unique sound, as well as different interpretations of music. Though we met five years ago, we’ve been performing together for the past three years now!”
The current line-up of the band consists of Lavita on lead vocals, Kraven Stratfile on the lead guitar, Manuj Natraj on bass and Goutham Healer on the drums. Also joining them for today’s performance will be Arka Dasgupta on guitar. So what genre of music do they conform to? “We are more into pop-rock, though it was a bit of a change for me since I am completely a pop person myself,” adds Lavita. “But it was nice to experiment and come up with a new sound, which was out of our comfort zone.”
The band has performed at several gigs across south India over the past few years. They state that they draw inspiration from classical rock icons Led Zeppelin. “But we are going to perform more of pop-rock versions of famous songs/artists, including Major Lazer’s Lean On, and songs by Kelly Clarkson and Guns N’ Roses,” she says. Besides that, the group will also bring in original stuff that has been in the pipeline for a while now. Though their performance at Dayananda College, Bengaluru, is their favourite, “There are so many among the rest of us, that it’s hard to decide!” they laugh.
Catch Lavita and Friends performing at Phoenix Market City today from 7 pm onwards.