Gaurav Shah, the lead guitarist of the Mumbai-based band, loves to take a cycle tour of his city on weekends
They chose to be called Grasshopper as they liked the symbolism attached to the insect. “A grasshopper can only move forward, taking great leaps into the unknown, all the while trying to gain a kind of clarity of the world around it. It stands as symbol to a mirror to what we must do in our own world and to listen to our inner voice,” shared Gaurav Shah, the lead guitarist and business head of the band.
The band was started in 2012 by Gaurav joined by his friends Rahul Singh and Amar Saini. With the addition of Bhaven Dhanak, Gautam Deb, Suvir Singh and Crosby Fernandes in January 2013, the band was finally complete. They recently came up with their album Mirrors of the Mind. “It is India’s first cinematic psychedelia based concept album. It is an introspective musical journey about various conflicts we face with ourselves and the people in our lives,” shared Shah, adding that they toiled hard to come up with the best and not to mention weekends hardly mattered when their prime agenda was to give their best shot to the project at hand. So they jammed extensively for hours and when they got a break, they took a tour of the city on cycle. “That’s rejuvenating and a different experience. It makes you feel free,” said Shah. They collaborated with eminent artistes like Tim Palmer, Justin Shturtz and Jonathan Key for their album. Mirrors of the Mind comprises 10 songs, each successive song adding to the emotional story. “The journey of creating this album has involved each one of us looking deep into our memories, travels, emotions and most importantly the people who have touched our lives in a way that transformed our very being. Our true victory would be if someday, this album becomes a part of your memory and lives with you forever,” said Gaurav.
Grasshopper has purposely stayed away from any Indian influences in their singing style, drawing instead from their own individual influences and intuitions, thereby creating something distinctive. Profoundly inspired by Pink Floyd, Gaurav has always had an ear for music. He gravitated towards musical instruments and techniques studying Indian classical music from the age of eight till he was 13.
Gaurav has been a qualitative researcher for over a decade, working on projects across Asia Pacific and with brands across multiple categories. Currently he is a consultant with his own company Dragonfly Market Research and is pursuing music as a full-time profession.
