Music appears to have a connect with Frogs. For one, Crazy Frog, originally known as “The Annoying Thing”, was a computer-animated character created in 2003 by Swedish actor-cum-playwright Erik Wernquist to accompany a sound effect imitating the sound of a two-stroke engine, but it was only in May 2005 that a remix of Harold Faltermeyer’s ’80s hit, “Axel F”, made Crazy Frog a virtual global household name as the song went on to become a no.1 smash across most of Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K.
Two years later, in Mumbai, music venue Blue Frog opened itself to public in a converted mill compound across 6,500 square feet. However, some nine years after its debut, both the Frogs are, at the moment, history.
Downing shutters on August 28, much like another music outlet – Rhythm House – that took the lead earlier this year although, in all fairness, it was merely for selling content, Blue Frog really made a reputation for itself in November 2009, as music aficionado Narendra Kusnur reminisces: “That was when the annual Jazz Utsav was to be held at Priyadarshini Park on [Mumbai’s] Napean Sea Road. For some bureaucratic reasons, it was cancelled at the last minute and hundreds left in disappointment. Within an hour, many got calls or text messages saying that the festival has been shifted to Blue Frog that same evening.”
For three days, Blue Frog – as the surrogate home for Jazz Utsav — was packed, featuring musicians across the globe, including guitarist Wayne Krantz, bassist Anthony Jackson, trumpeter Eric Vloeiman, and a group called BeatleJazz.
But that was not all. Blue Frog promoted itself not only as a venue for quality live music, but also as a record label, and as a studio. With such a thought process, Blue Frog single-handedly appeared to be the messiah behind breaking the film music stronghold by endorsing independent music into mainstream. All this at a time when the bulk of music still being performed was Bollywood or, on the international front, “covers” of popular songs, which still remains the focus for the international branded Hard Rock Café.
By then, of course, the heart of Mumbai’s live rock and jazz music, Rang Bhavan, had been relegated to history by the state government interference, in spite of a valiant effort by passionate music promoter Farhad Wadia attempting to battle the unequal odds, and other venues — such as Juhu Hotel’s Razzberry Rhinoceros having lost its horn and the one-time “Talk Of The Town” giving way to changing music avatars “Jazz By The Bay” and “Not Just Jazz By The Bay” to the current non-music “Pizza By The Bay” — but Blue Frog provided a regular platform for both upcoming and little-known artistes.
Not only that, but Blue Frog also opened itself to live performances of various genres of music as well as to album launches; essentially, some 200 performances in a year. But that all was not well in the recent past became a reasonable guess as Blue Frog’s record label and studio were placed on hiatus, and music started sharing space with comedy nights, theatre shows, book readings, and brunch events, and a brand extension to New Delhi became short-lived.
Eventually, it was the every increasing rentals that finally cut Blue Frog’s tale as, on August 28, management closed shop, looking at potential venues for reopening its success in alternative locations in North and South Mumbai.
Of course, I hope that it becomes a reality as I saw some of my better gigs occurring at the venue through the years — including, this year, L.A.-based indie artistes Dream Alive featuring the amazingly talented guitarist Karan Parikh, and the album launch of Sanjay Divecha in August itself — as the mid-sized venue provided the music performed a different feel from smaller venues, which are mushrooming across the city, establishing that independent music survives. Two of the obvious ones to refer to here – both located in Mumbai’s Khar locality — are AntiSocial, which has five days in the week dedicated to music, and there is Tuning Fork, which provides space for performances and studio facilities.
Then, there is an mobile app released in early September by Hungama Entertainment vertical ArtistAloud that allows you to upload original content and, if you happen to be a listener, then you have an opportunity of downloading curated independent music as the intent here is, as head Soumini Sridhara Paul says, “Helping us in building the most necessary ecosystem for independent content.”
Bollywood, you have been warned yet again!
The writer has been part of the media and entertainment business for over 23 years. He still continues to pursue his hobby, and earns an income out of it.
