Castrol Biking Brings John Abraham Even Closer to Bikers

“Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.”

This is probably the most renowned quote among bikers. Biking is a religion, and members of the brotherhood are fanatic followers. Faithfuls of a religion go to temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras, etc. Likewise, hardcore bikers head out on rides and attend events which enable them to meet people of the same faith.

One such event was organized by Castrol Biking on 9^th April, 2013 at Taj Land’s End, Bandra. They wanted to showcase the new PowerBiking app launched by Castrol for the benefit of us bikers. The celebrity who would unveil it and walk us through it was John Abraham.

I reached the venue at the allotted time. The 1^st thing that immediately impressed was that Castrol Biking had reserved a parking lot inside Taj Land’s End’s campus for us bikers. A bike is not allowed to park in the hotel’s campus. But I’m probably one of the few who did. So yeah, +1!

Bikers Posing before Parking

We got a chance to interact with other bikers during the event. It was delightful to meet Sigmund, Sharvari, Vikram, Amandeep, Tanmay, Urvashi, Saurabh, Sanket, Nikhil, Pratik (bikers must follow each and every one of them) and others. I was blown away on hearing that the event’s main compere Nikhil Kashyap owns 28 bikes! I had a good chat with him after the event. 1 hell of a warm and generous guy!

Popular bikers who attended the event

John Abraham displayed the app on a phone, showcasing various features in it. Some include:

John Abraham having a blast with fellow bikers

1. Logging in with your social media account
2. Listing your ride, finding friends and connecting with them
3. Best routes + maps for a ride depending upon your preference
4. Castrol Bike Zones at locations across India
5. DIY tips for your bike

The app is currently available only on the Google Play store. Castrol is working on launching it for iOS too.

Answering fan questions with his 'Rambo'

The usual Q&A session followed, with John answering questions from the audience as well as those posted on Facebook. He was patient and his answers were well thought through, showing clarity in thought. John was asked whether there should be separate schools for teaching women to ride. He responded saying that schools to teach better riding were essential, not just for women but for men also. He exuded passion when he spoke about biking, and regrets not having ridden his new Aprilia RSV4. He keenly wants to promote biking in India, along from football and hockey. His biking tales and experiences were awesome, despite him declaring upfront that he doesn't travel as much as some of the resident tourers. The event ended with the celeb posing with all bikers – individually and in a group.

My respect for John Abraham has gone up manifold. He hasn't just heard of John McGuiness, he reveres him. John is trying to shoot climax of his upcoming movie on bikes at the Isle of Mann. He doesn't follow only MotoGP; he tried to co own the Kawasaki team in World SBK. He knows about Evo bikes and Formula E. He has ridden on roads I haven’t even heard of. And he believes riding a bike is not about merely going fast; it is about being part of a ballad. John Abraham is not a Bollywood celebrity who rides fast bikes. He is a biker who acts and produces movies.

Selfies with individual bikers and with the group

Thank you Castrol Biking for letting me be part of this event. Regarding the goodies, Castrol can replace 1 item among them with a litre of their best 4-stroke biking oil. Once a rider uses it and likes it, s/he will stick to that oil for her/his bike for a long time and also refer it to others. That will help increase sales. After all, we bikers treat our bikes better than we treat humans, don’t we?

KK Provides Mumbai With A Memorable Evening.

Perfect! That’s one word to sum up KK’s performance on 16^th June, 2012 at Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai. Well, almost perfect. The only thing not perfect about the evening was when the audience would song ;)

My company was organizing an event at the venue the next day. So I was fortunate to go backstage before this Fever 104.8 FM organized event began. There I got a 1^st glimpse of him; a figure of calm energy who spoke quietly to an organizer before quickly retreated to his dressing room. As expected, I was delighted, but didn’t know the evening would only get better.

KK  the Legend - Need I say more?

KK took centre stage to a standing ovation by around 7:30. Dressed in well fitting black trousers, shirt and blazer, he looked at ease right from the word GO. He explained to us what an Unplugged Concert is – no electronics. The instruments to compliment him were an acoustic guitar, an acoustic bass, drums, percussions, grand piano and harmonium. He immediately broke into a sensational unplugged version of Tu Aashiqui Hai from the movie Jhankar Beats. WOW! It evoked a thunderous applause and gave us Goosebumps. He said he didn’t have good PR, and that was evident from the fact that we didn’t know how many good songs were sing by him. Many times, we’d ask each other “Oh! He’s sung this too?” Songs he sang included Oh Meri Jaan (Life In A Metro), Aashayein (Iqbal), Zara Si Dil Mein (Jannat), Oh Mehki Hawa (from his debut album Aap Ki Dua), Yaaron (Aap Ki Dua), Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai (Gangster), Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe (Dil Chahta Hai), Awarapan Banjarapan (Jism), Khuda Jaane (Bachna Aye Haseeno), Ek Nazar Mein Bhi (Taxi No. 9211), Zindagi Do Pal Ki (Kites) and more. The ones that drove us nuts the most were Tadap Tadap (HDDCS), Alvida (Life In A Metro) and Pal (he ended the show with this one).

KK’s full name is Krishnakumar Kunnath. He is India’s best singer and unfortunately, also the most under rated. The strength in his voice and his ability to sustain high notes seem out of this world. He effortlessly reaches crazy octaves which mere mortals like us can’t reach even if we scream! Born in Delhi, the secret to his magical voice is merely self practice; he hasn’t learnt music/singing formally from anyone. I’m sure this can be attributed to the 10,000 hour concept – he must have practiced solo for above 10,000 hours to reach this legendary level. He rightly stated (although humorously) “I’ve made a pact with God. He’ll give me good songs to sing, but I must be quiet about it.” He doesn’t blow his trumpet, believes in letting his songs to the talking. Although he’s a very reserved person, he gets into his element very quickly on stage, cheering and jogging from one side to another, breaking into impromptu jigs and getting the audience to clap. Each of the musicians enjoyed themselves as much as he did.

My office friend had told me KK is very punctual and leaves every venue within minutes of the show getting over. He also had shown me where KK would exit from. I went there and waited alone, quietly. As predicted, KK stepped out to leave in his Audi Q7 within 20 minutes. He vigorously shook my hand when requested and almost bear hugged me. As I walked away from his car, I kept trying to digest the fact that my idol had hugged me. Hell, I still can’t come to terms with it! A person with easily the best voice in the country, some of the best songs sung and no airs. Barely any PR, barely hogging any limelight... I’m just ranting. I don’t know what to say. I’m still mesmerized by yesterday.

I’ll leave you with a cameo of that evening’s performance. If you like it, do share. KK deserves much more credit than he gets.

Interview with Zedde Frontman 2Blue — The Original Madman

It’s not often that the frontman of a leading Rock N’ Roll band from India spares an hour to chat with you. The band we’re talking about here is Zedde, which was formed in around 2009 but is already creating typhoons (f**k ripples or waves) in the Indian music scene. The band comprises of seasoned musicians; all of them – 2Blue on vocals, Deepu on bass, Claver on guitars and Trevor on drums.

Zedde (L-R Trevor, 2Blue, Claver, and Akashdeep)

I’ve known 2Blue since he was the frontman of his previous band, Vayu (another kick ass rock band). The sheer talent and stage presence of the band would enthrall spectators. Zedde (with 5000+ fans on Facebook) has taken things a couple of notches higher. I got to speak to 2Blue about a lot of stuff, which is quite interesting. I have to share them with you! So here goes:

Q: What is music according to you?

2Blue (lead vocalist) the Trooper

2Blue: Music, according to me, is a religion. It’s the one thing that makes waking up every morning so exciting… the one thing that makes life worth living.

Q: So what do you think of the current music scenario?

2Blue: The scene is a lot better than what it used to be, say 5 years back. Audiences are a lot more receptive to original music now than ever before. There are many more venues to play and doors to knock… but yet, making a career out of rock music alone could still be a hardship. As a bass player who’s been in the local rock circuit, I’m sure you would agree. But living off music alone isn’t impossible. You could write about it, give lessons, and record advertising jingles amongst other things that interest you. There are also a number of platforms that have begun to extend support for independent artists. Just that you’ll need to be careful enough to read everything they ask you to put your signature on. *Winks*

Q: What does Zedde (the band) stand for? How does Zedde stand out?

Claver (with the guitar and DRILLER) & 2Blue

2Blue: We are very passionate about our live performances. Every gig is played like it’s our last. As you have seen at our gigs, we always try and give the audience something to write home about. There’s the electric drill machine guitar solo in ‘Blame It On Her Youth’, the megaphone, the whole skull mask act during ‘Mr. Horny’… there’s something that will warrant a reaction. Love us, hate us, but you can’t ignore us. So I guess Zedde stands for the unbridled rock n’ roll energy that the young-hearted would love to embrace.

Q: What are you future ventures and plans? Fill us in on what we should be excited about.

2Blue: A full length album, a music video… and what else? You tell me. *Smiles*

Q: Any advice for youngsters starting up?

2Blue: We all need to get out of our comfort zones if we really want to chase our dreams seriously. No great band was formed by people working 5 days a week as white collared slaves or by people whose parents had all the money in the world. We need to go against the grain to do what we truly believe in. We need to have the courage to follow the heart.

Zedde (in their 140 charactered avatar) continues to push the envelope with their brand of hard hitting rock music. With multiple awards under their belt, and countless headlining performances at college festivals and Hard Rock Cafés across India, the band has become quite the force to be reckoned with. What makes them even more praiseworthy is the way they’re still grounded. 2Blue and I have been friends for more than 7 years. While our hectic schedules don't let us talk very often, when we do, it always feels like the good old times when our bands shared more than just stage space, bottles of booze, and a dozen dirty jokes.

Don't just go by what I'm saying. Listen to their music here (http://www.facebook.com/ZeddeLIVE/app_2405167945) to know for yourself. Also check out their official site www.ZeddeLIVE.in. You can always thank me later.

Zedde frontman 2Blue performing at Rider Mania, Goa

How to Restore Your Yamaha RD350...

The Yamaha RD350 was indeed the most legendary bike which stormed Indian roads. But it also was the most difficult to maintain. Or so some say. In this post, I’ll talk about how a little dedication and effort will take you a long way in resurrecting your RD 350 and enjoying a everlasting love – affair with her.

I’ve already given preambles to the 350 here. So let’s get down to business directly.

There are many who wish to buy and ride an RD, but fear the fact that she’ll be too much effort to maintain and still not give rewards like they expect. Suckers! Her spares will be tough to find and so will a competent mechanic. True! We find many mechanics who claim to be able to restore an RD (they’re just posers actually). But if you pick the right mechanic (and I mean a good one) and know where to look for parts, life becomes much easier. It’s still NOT a cakewalk! Trust me, if you’re looking for a cakewalk, go look elsewhere. Don’t waste an RD... It’s simply too precious to fulfil stupid whims and fancies.

The best thing to do (if you REALLY want to OWN an RD) is to buy one in a beaten down condition with the engine running and clear papers. Yes, clear papers! Else, boy, are you gonna be in trouble! You may even forge papers, but you don’t know the history of that bike! God knows which jackass got her into trouble and bailed. So go for one with clear papers and a running engine. Then approach a mechanic whom you’ve known for some time, who’s less talk and more action, and get ready to have the time of your life. Depending on the diagnosis, your RD will need:

1.      A New Ignition Kit – Lots of folks go for RDD (Ron Chinoy’s kit), or the Raju brothers Racing kit, or a CDi with TVS Scooty Pep ignition coils, or others. The 1^st 2 work okay for a while, after which compatibility with modern and classics starts to wane and it shows on the performance of your bike. The best option is to pick a Points or Kiran Bhide TCi kit, both of which are highly compatible for with RD350 (Hell, they’ve been made for the RD). The ignition kit will also need an alternator, a magnet, a mounting plate and a cam. The Kiran Bhide kit can be sourced from Bangalore (you just have to look it up on the web). For Mumbaikars, the rest of the parts (points, plate, cam, magnet, etc.) can be bought at Suraj Auto at Grant Road, opposite the famous Ram Auto Parts.

Yamaha RD Points ignition kit