MUMBAI: Chennai based alt/funk rock band Junkyard Groove is a four piece band that sounds like a five-piece because of the brilliance of the musicians that form the band. The band comprises lead vocalist/guitarist and founder of the band Ameeth Thomas, Joshua Mark Raj (guitarist), prodigy Sajith Satya (bassist) and Shashank Vijay (drummer).
The group recently performed at blueFrog, Mumbai, as a part of their three city tour. Speaking about the gig Thomas said, “Mumbai was fun but the crowd is tough there in contrast to the show we had in Pune which was crazy.”
Thomas is known to be a pure entertainer and performer, someone who goes ballistic on stage after two shots of alcohol. He believes in having the most fun he can and loses himself on stage. He explains, “I do not go drunk on stage but, I get so high when I am performing because I enjoy it so much. People assume that I am wasted but it is the feeling after I go on stage. A performance is of utmost importance to me and entertaining the crowd is what I aim for.”
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Junkyard Groove is in the process of compiling an EP, which will be ready for release by September. After the drastic line-up change in 2011, the band released an album called ‘Accidental Hero’ with its new members in early 2013.
The fun-loving artiste says, “There is a song in this EP that talks about the current political system and political wars between countries, which is so hypocritical and messed up.” He adds that there will be a love song and a track called ‘Slow Down’ which is like a soliloquy. He confesses that he has a bad temper and writing this song is a way to express his anger in a better and mellow way. There is also a blues track in the EP.
The artiste is also working on a happy/easy listening song that he is considering calling ‘Alive’. Thomas believes that he cannot make a concept album and it does not matter as long as the sound remains consistent. He says, “I cannot write about something I have not experienced or felt. It has to be real to me or else I cannot perform it on stage. Every track I put out there has to mean something to me.”
The group has not decided the title of the EP yet, to which Thomas says, “We are still breaking our heads over it. I am trying to come up with something intense but, I know it will be something dumb and silly.”
The band has in the past opened for famed and prestigious acts like Prodigy, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Mastodon, Mr. Big and a few more.
Thomas states that he has been influenced by musicians of various genres but mostly acoustic guitarists like Dave Matthews and Ben Howard. He only had praises for Switchfoot for its lyrical depth, Dhruv Visvanath for his vocal strength and loves heavy rock/metal bands like Meshuggah, Periphery, Scribe and Pentagram.
Junkyard Groove will be doing a few shows in multiple cities during the post production phase of the EP, as well as after the release. He said, “We will be playing in Chennai right after my birthday on 16 August, then in Delhi in August and Bangalore in September. We also received an e-mail inquiring if we would like to play a gig at Dhaka in Bangladesh. We are definitely considering it and hopefully the dates will not clash with our other gigs in September.”
