The sudden news of Hard Rock Cafe shutting in India has left many disappointed and confused, wondering what kind of a blow it would be for the rock music culture, especially in Bengaluru, once the heavy metal capital of India.“Hard Rock comes with a whole legacy — the history of rock and the merchandise of the greatest rock stars. That creates an ecosystem, and it’s sad that we might have to lose that here,” says Sanjeev Thomas, a musician and the founder of Rainbow Bridge School of Music. “A dedicated venue for a certain genre is rare and we need such venues for independent music to thrive.”While staff at the Hard Rock franchise on St Mark’s Road have told the TOI that they are continuing the operations and their legal team is handling the termination of contract, locations for all cafes in India seem to have been pulled down from the official website of Hard Rock International. Elvis & the temple of rockIn 2023, Shashaank Abraham, 35, lead of the band ‘Return to Sender’, made his debut as an Elvis Presley tribute artiste at Hard Rock Cafe on St Mark’s Road. Calling it a paradise for all music lovers, he says, the band has always had a great crowd at the cafe. “When you want a good quality band, especially for tribute shows, everyone thinks of Hard Rock. No other venue does tribute shows as well and consistently as Hard Rock.”The rock ‘n’ roll band has been performing there on Elvis’ birth and death anniversaries. “There’s a framed Elvis shirt with a missing button. He gave that shirt to someone to mend but never took it back; that has now come to the Hard Rock Cafe here. Just putting my hand on that case gives me some inspiration and courage. Then I look at the other artistes — the Beatles, an Eric Clapton’s guitar, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Michael Jackson,” he says. “I think we’ll be losing a huge chunk of music history if the Hard Rock Cafe in India ceases to exist.”‘New avenues will emerge’“Back in the day, Bengaluru was known almost exclusively for rock music. If you wanted to hear it, you had to go to MG Road or Brigade Road. Now, people in Indiranagar or Kammanahalli have their own local venues and don’t feel the need to travel across town. This variety is a good thing,” says Arpan Peter, 39, founder of the India Jazz Project.Arpan began his career as a heavy metal promoter, bringing legendary acts such as Lamb of God, Children of Bodom, Opeth, Meshuggah and Gojira to India. He says while one iconic venue may be closing, Bengaluru is gaining a 22,000-square-foot Piano Man Jazz Club. “A majority of Hard Rock’s programming in recent years was heavily cover-based. But if it shuts down, it won’t cause a seismic shift in the music scene.”Keeping the lights on Bengaluru was once regarded as the heavy metal capital of India. “The city is also home to a deep-rooted classic rock culture, once kept alive by bars like Purple Haze and Styx, and continued by Pecos. We also saw a massive surge in nu-metal and alternative rock in the early 2000s… the fact that 45,000 people turned up for Linkin Park proves that the demand in this part of the country is still immense,” says Abhijith A Bhat, founder of Zero Gravity Festival and who goes by the artiste name Psy Didge. He points out that local rock music is also thriving. “Gigs of Thaikkudam Bridge, Raghu Dixit Project, Avial, Agam or Pineapple Express sell out very fast.”Pecos Pub has been playing recorded classic rock music for over three decades. Liam Timms, director, Pecos Hotels and Pubs Limited, says rock music always existed in Bengaluru and to date, their playlist is entirely managed by the customers. “People write and give their requests on napkins or sheets of paper,” he says. “Classic rock is evergreen and people of all generations appreciate it.”Rock’s navigating challengesMany artistes are aware of the reality that rock music is not mainstream anymore like it was in the 90s or early 2000s, and are shifting their choices. Abhijith says everything has shifted to electronic music or techno now. “There are not many new rock bands that have come up after the ’90s. I have been on both sides of the table. I was an active part of the rock music scene a decade ago and at present, I have electronic music projects.”Siddhartha Baja, founder of Freedom Jam, an over 30-year-old initiative that provides free platforms for musicians to perform live, says the response for rock commercially is less than what it was a couple of years ago. “Even when greats like Deep Purple had returned to the town, the turnout was lesser than earlier. Comparatively, younger bands like Linkin Park have done much better, but in absolute numbers the audience is a lot smaller than for a singer from the film industry.“Siddhartha says budget could possibly a big factor for shrinking venues for live or rock music — as most venues don’t think of music as the main attraction and hence, don’t spend much on the setup and artistes. Also, managing a band is tough compared to a solo artist. “A band will have at least 10 to 12 members. Managing a big group is always a challenge, and people are also not able to hold a band together for a long time. That is why they are shifting to an easier way of producing music — having a computer rather than a big band,” says Abhijit.Shashaank says the new generation is more interested in EDM. “Even the concept of a guitar solo has slowly disappeared in modern music,” he rues. “But there are still die-hard fans who have an appreciation for rock. That will never go away. Hard Rock is always packed. The need to keep these rock shows and venues alive is more important than ever because the new generation needs to discover what rock music is all about.”
