Feature

Nazia Ahmed

“Johnny wanna be a big star, get on stage and play the guitar, make a little money, buy a fancy car, big old house and an alligator...” That's what every rock star dreams of, and the D rock bands got a little taste of it over the last five days at Motel Atlantis at Water Kingdom, as the established names in the business were on their toes grooming up the hopefuls for their ultimate challenge: D'Rockstar2.

Luminaries from acting, fashion and other fields put in sessions with the bands in these 5 days polishing them up them on performance, confidence, etiquette etc.

Fashion session:
On May 31, Tanzeem from Ecstasy and Munni from Q Bella had sessions with the participants on fashion statement. On June 3 Kaneez Almas Khan from Persona, Actress Sweety and Fashion Designer Shahrukh Amin also briefed the contestants. The purpose of all this preaching and primping was to prepare them for the glitz and glamour that comes as a package with stardom. Eminent journalist Abed Khan also talked to the rockstars about attitude and stage presence and how to handle stardom in front of press.

Grooming sessions:
The grooming sessions were very enlightening for the participants as each BAMBA member specialized in their respective lineups briefed them. The line ups were divided into different segments as follows-

For Day 1 the focus was on Lead guitar conducted by Labu Rahman (Feedback), Jewel (Miles) and Faisal (Pentagon). They gave important tips on chord progressions, song composition, tune-ups and so on. So before they ended the session they declared with sarcastic grins- “The lead Guitarists are the soul of the band; the entire band is dependent on these glorified characters as 'they' Lead the band.”

Day 2 emphasized on Drums, and was conducted by Tipu (Warfaze), Turjo (Miles) and Tony (Black) while the Bass Guitar session had Shumon (Aurthohin), Shezan (Artcell) and Roger (Warfaze). Their amazing talents and mindblowing jamming sessions mesmerized the participants and had them get involved in a question answer round subsequently.

The drums session also ended with a similar quote "Drummers are the Kings of the band they sit at the back to look after their kingdom, and without them the band has no body”. However the bass conductors stated, “We are pretty much the dormant character of the band"; yet ended with the same sarcasm, "but it is true without bass, something will always be missing in the sound.”

Day 3 focused on Vocals. Maqsood (Dhaka), Balam (Warfaze), Shuman (Pentagon), and John (Black) provided various tips and techniques on how to throw one's voice, and maintain a plausible standard throughout a lifetime. “Some of us gargle audibly when we get a sore throat, which is very harmful for the vocal chords; it is best done without making any sound so that we get the maximum help out of it.” Said Maqsood. “ And for those of you who get sore throat from smoking the best way to get rid of that is to NOT SMOKE.” In between sessions, the trainers jammed to provide practical tips to the participants. Toorjo From Red Dot behind the scene joined them on drums, setting the stage on fire. And as it turned out, the session ended proving their quotes “ Vocalists are all rounders and it is them who interact with the audience and make a bridge between the stage and the audience.”

Day 4 was mainly about Keyboard session and song composition training conducted by Manam Ahmed (Miles), Fuad Naser Babu (Feedback) and Shams (Warfaze) Partho (Souls), Manam Ahmed, Fuad Naser Babu and Balam (Warfaze).

Even though each session ended with the mentors advertising sarcastically the importance of their respective roles in the band, it only illustrated that a band's success ultimately lies in teamwork and each and every person in a band bears equal importance.

Hamin Ahmed (Miles), Shafin Ahmed (Miles), Piaru Khan (Feedback) and others from BAMBA were also present during various sessions, helping the top 20 to deepen their understanding of music. The 20 Bands had the time of their lives with the rockstars in Water Kingdom, bumping cars, water splashing and jamming all night long. “Whether we go on to the next round or not; these 5 days will be more than just memories to us for the rest of our lives.” Mitul (Radioactive)

The grooming episode will be aired on Channel I on June 14, Thursday.

Audition rounds of Barisal, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Chittagong have already been aired on Channel I. Dhaka auditions will be telecast in 2 episodes on June 7, and June 12.