Stylistically, the five members routinely dodge labels, although critics have described their music as Progressive Rock, Funk, and Blues-Rock. The ‘Gurus’ formed in 2000, having made significant changes to their line-up since. Vocalist/lyricist Nathan Harris along with bass-guitarist Matthew Harris and guitarist Ananth Menon founded the group with the later additions of guitarist Naveen Thomas and drummer Kishan Balaji.
Despite having played over 500 shows as a group in India and beyond, the musicianship of each ‘Guru’ varies greatly. Nathan Harris, who was the group’s original drummer, switched gears to singing and proves to be a charismatic frontman with each successful show. Bassist and twin Mathew Harris boasts over 10 years of technical skill and composes the bulk of the band’s riffs. Ananth Menon, who has also dabbled in commercial Tamil and Telugu music, draws most of his inspiration from blues guitar, appropriately bringing that element to the group’s sound. Guitarist Naveen Thomas is often credited as being the most technically savvy of the lot and regularly works with Chennai-based band Molotov Cocktail. Drummer Kishan Balaji relies heavily on jazz influences and also plays with local bands Caesar’s Palace, Bhoomi and Extinct Reflections. When asked about their diverse palettes, Thomas quipped, “If I had to listen to my bandmates’ Ipods, I’d probably kill myself and the same goes for them!”
All five are self-taught and according to Thomas, “We learned how to make ourselves sound decent after a long time of playing.”
Evidently, the hard work paid off with their winning Shamal in 2008, Dubai’s International Battle of the Bands Competition at the Desert Rock Festival, widely known as Asia’s largest music festival. The group played alongside Velvet Revolver, Muse, Korn, Machinehead, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying and Slapshock.
The Galeej Gurus have amassed a fairly wide following after over seven years of touring. Of the five, two pursue unrelated professional careers while the rest work as full-time musicians with other acts. Still, when asked what information they would like to share with fans and future fans, their response was surprisingly simple. “Ask them to come to our shows and go on Facebook and ‘like’ us.”
The band will perform today at the Hard Rock Cafe at 9 pm.
