Sreesanth may not have been able to make it to the World Cup squad this year, but that isn’t stopping the cricketer from being on a song, quite literally! The right-handed bowler has composed, sung and written a song that, he says, is “to wish luck and show them that the country believes that they
can win the Cup.”
The speedster performed the song, Sher Banke Tu Jung Lad Le (fight the battle like a lion), with his newly formed band, S-36, in Cochin on Sunday. S-36? “S stands for Sreesanth and 36 is my lucky jersey number,” he explains.
The cricketer, who sang to a live audience of close to 500 people, says he was “petrified” since it was his first such experience.
What inspired him? “I wrote the song 2-3 months ago just out of my love for the game. The lyrics are also inspired from our dressing conversations,” he says.
But no, he isn’t thinking of a career in singing or Bollywood. “I have a good 10 years to play, as I am 27. Singing can happen in between. Why go to a nightclub when you can make music and earn money!” he says, adding, “we’re planning to pen down a number of songs that can be used by IPL teams as their anthems. A video will also happen soon. And, we’re planning to hold a performance during the World Cup this month.”
For once on Sunday, speedster S. Sreesanth chucked the cricket ball for the mike. He belted out a few numbers, made his favourite dance moves and played host when his own fusion band, ‘S36-The Band' held its first curtain raiser show at Tripunithura, near here.
The show opened with a 20-minute-long fusion jamming by the band. Soon, the cricketer emerged from the crowd and addressed them in his inimitable style.
High voltage show
In what turned out to be a high-voltage performance, the band played two original numbers, a ‘Hinglish' song penned by the cricketer wishing success to the Indian cricket team in the forthcoming World Cup and a romantic Tamil number, Anpulla Azhage, which Sree crooned along with Deepak Das.
The band also dished out their own versions of a series of hit Tamil, Hindi and English songs besides a ‘ragamalika'—songs strung together—with keyboard and flute accompaniment. The finale was equally exhilarating with the band conjuring up an electric atmosphere with their fusion play.
More shows
Madhu Balakrishnan's improvised rendering of the 1990s hit number ‘Pramadavanam' stood out in the show and gave it a local colour.
While Harish and Lata Krishnan, besides Sree's brother-in-law Madhu Balakrishnan and Deepak Das, were the crooners, Anoop and Narayan Unni provided accompaniment on the keyboard.
Sandip was the lead guitarist while Chippu accompanied on the bass guitar. Arun Roop raised the pulse of the show on the drums.
Dennis Jose and (flute and saxophone) and Shomi Davis (percussion) performed as guest musicians.
Event management firm India Elements, which manages several international musical bands, are the promoters of ‘S36 –The Band'. While its official launch is slated to take place in Dubai mid-2011, three more curtain raiser shows are planned in Indian cities before that.
When we were invited to the curtain raiser show of S36, a band conceptualized and brought together by Kochi’s own Sreesanth, I secretly hoped he was not going to take this music thing fulltime, coz I for one have not had enough of him on the cricket field.
Last night, I went to JT Pac not knowing what to expect, and by the end of the show I had some concrete opinions about what I had seen. So here is my review :
I have to confess I missed a couple of songs, Mostly coz of traffic on a Sunday evening ;), but as I got in to the theatre, the first song I heard was a rendition by Madhu Balakrishnan, that man is super polished on stage, what stands out most is his presence on stage and I’m convinced that comes from years of performing. But that is expected from one of Kerala’s foremost singers. I was here to listen to the singers I have never heard before. The next song was a tamil song by Deepak Das, one of the young singing talents in the band. He did not seem scared of the stage, he did not seem shaken up by the celebrities sitting in the first row, he belted out a clean number with the help of Latha Krishna. Harib another vocalist with the band sang a very well co-ordinated hindi number. Their rendition on ‘Allah Ke Bandhe’ got the crowd going and was a musical treat.
The highlight of the evening was an unplugged performance by the band, it truly showcased the amazing range the vocalists in the band have, I was particularly impressed by the two youngsters Deepak and Harib, the ease at which Harib reached those high notes were incredible. Madhu Balakrishnan was his amazing self. Another highlight of the evening was a song written and composed by Sreesanth himself. The tamil song was called ‘ Anubulla Azakai’ and was dedicated to his mum, I believe there was an ulterior motive. There was also a world cup song called Hello.
It was an entertaining evening of music, but the shining star was the exuberance of youth and the never say never attitude. There were people on that stage who had put in a lot of heart and soul into their performance and it was all in the open for people to see and enjoy. We should also commend Sreesanth for having put together a set of young artists to make this band, its his passion that made the evening happening, the same passion and heart with which he runs in and bowls on the cricket field.
Was it a error free evening, no, but it was the curtain raiser show, and they have a super mentor in Madhu Balakrishnan, and we know they will not lack support or passion. They will learn to use the equipment and sound to benefit their voice as they go along. Will I pay to watch them perform , Hell Ya…
The Band
Vocals :
Madhu Balakrishnan
Deepak Das
Harib
Latha Krishna
Sreesanth
Keyboard : Anoop
Lead Guitar : Sandeep
Bass Guitar : Chippu
Percussion : Shomi
Flute and Sax : Jose
Drums : Arunroop
Original Compositions : Deepak Warrier
Anubulla Azakai : written and composed by Sreesanth
Hello : The World Cup song
Composition : Deepak Warrier
Lyrics : Sreesanth.
Photographs of the S 36 - The Band' is the fruition of Indian cricketer S. Sreesanth's love for music. The band that features the temperamental fast bowler, his brother-in-law and popular singer Madhu Balakrishnan, other family members and friends will perform a curtain raiser at JT pac, Tripunithura, on January 30 at 6.30 p.m. The official launch is slated to be held in Dubai at the end of May.
Curtain raiser
This will be the first of the series of curtain raiser shows planned by the band in some of the major cities of the country.
On stage, along with Sreesanth, who is expected to perform a couple of his now famous dance numbers, will be Madhu Balakrishnan, Punjabi singer Preeti Bhalla and a group of young musicians. The members of the band were picked after nation-wide auditions. Anoop (keyboard), Narayan Unni (keyboard), Sandip (lead guitar), Arun Roop (Drums), Chippu (Bass Guitar) are the regular S36 members, while Manoj George (violin), Dennis Jose (flute and saxofone) and Shomi Davis (percussion) will be the guest musicians.
The band will play original and contemporary Hindi and English hits in a self-created version. Madhu Balakrishnan revealed that he will sing a medley of his selected songs.
The band gets its name from the ‘S' in Sreesanth and 36, which the cricketer believes is his luckiest jersey number. Dipusanth and Deepak Warrier, Sreesanth's brother and friend respectively are the men behind this concept and in the management of the band.
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