Evergreen, one of Keralam’s oldest rock bands, is back with a headbang.
The band, known for its hard rock music, powerful guitar riffs and vibrant stage presence, took off in 1998. With original songs, they lit up stages. Almost a decade later, they released their first album, ‘Between and Beyond’.
“2007. That was the year,” smiles Arun Sasidharan, the band’s bass guitarist. “Our first album, stage shows, tours… we even sold CDs of our album at the venues.”
But the dream days were over. Soon, the band members had to reckon with reality. “Age, responsibilities, families, jobs... Life caught up with us,” recalls Arun.
Now, the band is making a comeback in a new avatar: ‘Evrgr:n’.
Throughout the drought years, Arun kept the dream alive. “Meanwhile, I also started On Stage, Keralam’s first venue dedicated to indie artists,” he says.
A couple of years ago, founding member Sunil Silvester (guitarist) returned to base. Some other roving members such as Charles Nazareth (vocals), Syam Balakrishnan (guitarist), Jeffin Joe Jacob (keyboard) and Arun Roop (drummer) also got back for a reunion of sorts.
“It happened organically,” says Arun. Thus, the new Evrgr:n was formed. “We had just one goal: another album.”
With age came maturity too, laughs Arun. “We don’t have the misplaced egos of the youth. We know, first and foremost, we are here to make music,” he says.
The sound of the band has also transformed. From classic rock, Evrgr:n’s soundscape now involves elements of jazz, synth, electro, and progressive music. “It’s a new us. That’s why we tweaked our name too,” Arun says.
Band members recall a moment during its first comeback “test performance” at a So Far Sounds event in Kochi last year. “We had a finalised line-up of songs. But before the performance, we thought one more song would help us complete the set,” says Charles.
“Right then and there, just hours before, we played around with our instruments. And as we found our groove, music flowed, and words were formed — ‘Silence’ was born.”
The track is part of their latest album, ‘Unchained’. Beyond music, too, the band wanted to go ‘unchained’.
“Streaming platforms cannot sustain independent artists. There is little to no money even if a thousand people loyally listen to you. That is the reality,” rues Charles.
As a small solution, Charles, Jeffin and some friends in the tech field got together to create an exclusive app for indie musicians to release their songs.
On Thursday, Evrgr:n soft-launched ‘Unchained’ and the ‘Myyou’ app at On Stage.
With the app, Charles and Jeffin hope indie musicians across the country can reach an audience, create a niche and earn a bit from their own creations.
“A song can be downloaded at Rs 30, just a bit more than an egg puff. A full album will cost about Rs 200. That way, the creators get to earn something directly from the listeners,” Charles smiles.
The musicians and the tech team are gung-ho as Evrgr:n is setting out on an India tour starting this weekend. Rock on, guys!