Rocker girls on a roll

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They came together in 2010 to be a part of the emerging music scene in Delhi. Hailing from Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, an all-girl band The Vinyl Records a.k.a TVR will be performing in the city tomorrow at LEMP Kitchen, Gurgaon.

Initially, TVR was a three-member band, with Banu Jini, the guitarist of the band, along with Minam Tekseng and Mithy Tatak, who used to play together in high school. Cherriyan Bank, the keytarist and vocalist from Assam, joined in 2011, and that was when the band started performing actively.
“After coming to Delhi in 2007 from Arunachal Pradesh, (Cherriyan is from Assam), we played at a gig. The response was good. So we continued at different places. That’s how The Vinyl Records was born.” shared Mithy.
The band never looked back since. Describing their sound as indie rock and post punk with a dash of glam rock, the band’s major influences are bands like C.S.S., The B52s, Blondie, The Clash, The Ramones, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys among others. “Also, all-girl band Afflatus from Shillong inspired us. An all-girl band comes with a lot of ups and downs. There are both praise and criticism and that is what boosts us to keep going. Though we never want a male member, we don’t mind featuring with one in future.” says Mithy, who also shares that the band has a dream of performing with band C.S.S from Brazil in future.
Till now, they have performed in all popular places in Delhi and Mumbai. “In Mumbai, people are familiar with our kind of music, whereas in Delhi, metal, blues, Punjabi and Bollywood music are popular. But with increasing venues for gigs, music festivals, the music scene in Delhi is improving,” says Minam, bassist of the band.
These 22-year-old rocker girls are self-sponsors of their gigs. Whatever little they save from their pocket money, they spend on their practice, travelling charges etc. “Wherever we performed, 85 per cent of them were free gigs. It gets a little tough, but after a power-packed performance when you go back home, the satisfaction is priceless.” TVR is also planning to come out with an album by the end of this year.