One can only imagine how it must have been for a classic rock band inspired by the music of Guns N’ Roses, to open for the legendary guitarist Slash. Hear it from the horse’s mouth:
An inner rebel always wakes up when listening to an 80’s classic rock. Those leather jacket clad long-haired men with headbands and music that goes deep down into the gut and pulls at it. When a band inspired from the 80’s classic rock begins to perform on stage nowadays, it almost feels as if the genre hasn’t faded into oblivion yet. Earlier this month, one of the greatest musicians of our time visited India. One might have to work really hard to not recognise the name ‘Slash’. The Guns n’ Roses lead guitarist, was in the country to perform as part of the MTV Indies Extreme along with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. This was part of their world tour to promote their album World on Fire. For three boys from a band based in Kochi, Kerala, life simply changed overnight. The members of the Kochi-based classic metal and hard rock band ‘Rocazaurus’ were the lucky ones chosen to open the show before the legendary ‘Slash’ began his performance.
Band members Fredy John, Leslie Rodrigues and Alfred Noel were in for a performance they can never forget. Speaking about how they got the opportunity, Vocalist Fredy says “ The band happened to take part in the ‘Strawberry Fields’ competition last year in Bangalore. We bagged the first prize there and that is when MTV Indies noticed us, and since we follow the same genre, I guess they found us apt to open the show for Slash.”
For those who missed it, the sheer massiveness and madness of the concert can be understood from some of the photos the band has uploaded on their Facebook page. The band members literally grew up listening to Motley Crue and Guns N’ Roses. Starting a band inspired from this music was only natural for these boys. “We were all inspired by the 80’s classic rock. With each changing generation the taste in music might have changed, but we always loved this genre and we were sure of what kind of music we wanted to make,” says Fredy.
The band has a slightly quirky name that is not easy to forget — Rocazaurus. Speaking of the nomenclature, Fredy says, “What happened to the classic rock is exactly what happened to dinosaurs. Punk rock or hard rock is dying. That is how we zeroed in on this name.” The current line-up of the band has been performing over the past three years. On their new album, bass guitarist Leslie Rodrigues says “We just completed recording and will be launching it soon, we are just waiting for the artwork to finish. The album is called Rise and has seven of our own compositions.”
Alfred Noel, the band’s drummer says, “It was a very different experience to open for an international band. The gig was great and the crowd was amazing.” He adds, “We grew up listening to his music, we were inspired by it and to be able to open a show for him was simply an out-of-the-world experience.”
The band will be the headlining act at this year’s ‘Strawberry Field’ and their first singles video ‘Punk’ directed with the concept by Pepsi MTV Indies will release next month.
