Guitarist John Anthony strums new chords in his musical journey

John Anthony loves to call himself a freelance guitarist. This Kochi-bred musician who has jammed with some of the biggest names in the industry has completed what he calls a `dream project': A classical contemporary band called `Karnatrix' and a new album named `Namaste'. John started off his career with big names, way back in 1985.

Sivamani, A. R. Rahman the Kenyan Jo Joo, who is no more, and John had formed the band, `Roots,' which rocked Chennai and other Indian cities for about four years.

"That was fun. We gelled as a group. We did our own music, new compositions. We jammed with numerous artistes like T. V. Gopalakrishnan and Kadri Gopalnath. Then Dileep (Rahman) got his first film. He told us that he would give it a try, earn some good money and be back. But after the first film there was no coming back for him. By then Sivamani and his drums had become very popular and the group had to be wound up. We still keep in touch and sometimes even think of regrouping," reminisces John.

Settling down in Chennaithrew up a slew of opportunities for John. But before all this happened he had to virtually slug it out. "I gave up studies after my pre-degree at St. Albert's College, Kochi. Along with this went hockey, even after being selected to play for the State. I began learning the guitar from Emil Issacs at Kalabhavan. In those early days I played for many bands, like `The Hijackers,' before we formed `Resistance.' This group performed live across the country for about six years. My decision to choose music as a career naturally stunned my family. I realised I had to fend for myself. I went to join Taranga Nisari School of Music at Thiruvananthapuram but ended up teaching there. That was a turning point."

The then principal of this music school was Roger D. Jhanke a reputed US-based pianist. "It was he who trained me in Western classical music. He was there for nearly three years and when he left I did too." For a year John worked as an instructor at Sainik School, before deciding to seek his destiny in Chennai.

It was during those few years in Thiruvananthapuram that John met Supreetha, his student and later life-partner. He has a 22-year-old son Siddharth who is studying animation.

He came into contact with the film industry while at Thiruvananthapuram. "That happened through M. G. Radhakrishnan. He taught me the basics of Carnatic music. We used to have heated arguments on the different genres of music. I could never agree that Indian classical music was more comprehensive than any other. It was a view that I had to alter later. The first film that I worked in was Priyadarshan's `Poochakku Oru Mukoothi.'"

But his Chennai sojourn opened up new vistas. `Roots' was the certainly the launch pad. Through this band John was soon finding himself in the company of illustrious musicians. "One show that still remains etched in memory is the one at the IIT campus in Chennai with the `Epidemics.' I had the fortune to share the stage with violin maestro L. Shankar, the redoubtable Zakir Hussian and the brilliant Vikoo Vinayakram. It was a mind-boggling show. We went on to do a benefit concert and even recorded a album with the `Epidemics' that somehow was not released."

That disappointment was forgotten when John had two albums released. "The first one was with the Chennai-based rock band `Sign of IV.' The other one, in which I was the co-producer, was titled `Four/Four.' I still maintain that the former remains one of the best rock albums to have been produced here." He recorded with L. Subramaniam, co-founded the Carnatic fusion band `Brahmma' along with Ganesh and Kumaresh, recording albums and performing live concerts; performed with the mridangam master Karaikudi Mani in Hyderabad and Chennai and joined Kanjira exponent Selvaganesh and German saxophonist Rainer Putsch at a unique show at the Music Academy. "Another memorable show was again at the hallowed Music Academy where we had a fusion concert with Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Vikkoo Vinayakaram, Rainer Putsch, T. H. Subash Chandran, Joel Almeida."

In 2000 John, nspired by the struggle of the survivors of the Bhopal disaster, founded a rock group `The Banned.' They organised a live show that we called `No More Bhopal' for an audience of over 5,000 students at IIT, Chennai.The show was featured on Channel V and we also went on to release the album titled `No More Bhopal.'

By this time John was also evolving as a musician. From the hard rock guitarist who believed that his music was the best, he was gradually realising the immense possibilities of Indian classical music. Now, after all these years, he began to understand how true M. G. Radhakrishnan was in those long debates.

John co-founded `Yakshas,' a fusion band strongly influenced by the Indian classical streams. Along with the Indian fusion band `Pranavam' John played for eight concerts at various cities in South Africa. This included a Tyagaraja Music Festival in Durban. "For this special occasion I played `Endoru Mahanubhavulu... ' and `Dandamu pettenura.' What the people abroad want from an Indian is not their music, however well we may play them. They prefer to listen to Indian music, something of our own, ethnic."

`Namaste' is a 45-minute album with four tracks that has Sultan Fayaz Ahmed Khan on the vocals and sarangi. A few music companies abroad have evinced interest in the project. They have asked me to add two more tracks and I'm now working on it. It might be one with a German musician named Fox who plays the sax, flute and clarinet. I'm having my fingers crossed."

K. PRADEEP

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