A dentist, an executive at a public relations agency, a dancer, a choreographer, a popular karaoke jockey and a writer — meet the Friends of lingers who have been making you groove to their ‘different take on music and performance’.
“We were listening to Elvis Presley and lady Gaga during a party at a friend’s place when someone suggested we croon our favourite number just like that. That impromptu singing cheered us up and we decided to form a band with like-minded professionals. There has been no looking back since that day,” lead singer Sharif D Rangnekar, who happens to be a former journalist and is CEO and director of Integral PR, says.
He tells you that his band of boys are also in the process of recording a video of their first original composition Head Held High and are working on other songs that talk about social issues.
“From writing a song and composing the tune, to singing it, everything is done by members of Friends of lingers who hail from all walks of life. What brings us together is our love for music. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. If one misses the lyrics, the other person enters on time just sings along. Sometimes, we end up revamping a famous song by improvising lyrics extempore. And people like this pronto fun while singing,” singer and dental surgeon with Impressive 32, Varun Kapoor, says.
Apart from Sharif and Varun, other singers include Craig Cranenburgh and Devyani Shankar who work at the same PR agency. Then there is Deepak Sharma who is a dancer, choreographer, actor and karaoke jockey. Being non-professional singers, this band has no fear of performance. “We are too new in the circuit and this is not our bread and butter. So we don’t get hyper if our music doesn’t appeal to every person in the audience. But we like it if we manage to impress even two people in the crowd,” Devyani Shankar says.
It is not just the appreciation that matters for these performers. They are equally fond of rebukes as well. “It is like a learning experience. During one of our concerts, there was a gentleman sitting in the front row who said he didn’t like my gig at all. He said it was yawn worthy. I hugged him then and there. It is these kind of transparent comments that make us give our best,” Kapoor tells you.
Out of the professional musicians, Adhir Ghosh, guitarist with Five8, Kitchen Sink, who has collaborated with various artists from South Asia, has got a great fan following. “Ironically, Adhir is the most shy person in our band but has a lot of crazy fans. When I tell my friends that I’ll be performing, the first question if the cute guitarist will come for the gig,” Deepak tells you.