not so long ago, i took a month off from work to take my exams (yes, i am still studying) and instead, i set up my own firm. Vintage Media (no surprise in the name) or simply VM.
how VM was born...
in a bookshop. really. i love bookshops, they're like a second home for me. i go so often that the sales staff recognises me and know what kind of books i normally look for and so on. so one fine day (evening) i am in a bookshop with an acquaintance who also happens to be a television producer. i'm talking about this random idea i had about doing small-scale gigs and the next thing i know is... several random phone calls later, we're preparing to meet the regional marketing head of a popular clothing line.
we meet, we present, we give budget and budget gets approved. all we do now is prepare for the following events with this label:
1. jazz night
2. snz gig
3. adp gig
4. snz gig (massive)
5. photography exhibition
all spread out over a period of several weeks.
the jazz night
to put it simply, i have learnt that in event management, one is bound to suffer multiple heart attacks. the featured guitarist of the evening (aamir zaki) backed out one week before the gig on the pretex of seeking spiritual enlightenment. the featured drummer (gumby) backed out two days before the gig on the pretex that he didnt want to play with the sax player at a jazz night.
in come one of the best old-school musicians this country has to offer: Arif Barucha (bass), Gerad Vanderlowen (lead guitar) and Hilary Furtado (saxophone) along with Jason of Aaroh fame on drums. and these people rocked (err.. "jazzed") it better then i could have ever imagined. I will forever be indebted to jason for coming through for me at the last moment (yes, there is a story behind this which includes me crying over the phone with farooq on the other line and jason turning up with no
questions asked and reassuring me that it will turn out alright). the Aaroh gang rules!with the featured venue, Deja Vu, all done up in hues of blue and large LCDs mounted in the cafe area and in areas where we thought it would be difficult for people to see the band, and with candles on every table... i looved the whole effect.
and for once, branding (Dockers) looked good. the larger than life sax player on either of the large Deja Vu windows was especially eye-catching. here are the reviews that got published:
Blue light special
(The Metropolitan, Dawn)
Sultans of Swing
(Images, Dawn)
A Deja Vu of Jazz
(Karachi Metblogs)
*photographs by Fayyaz Ahmed
the sajid and zeeshan gig
...my absolute favourite. two awesomely good blogger friends, samar and imtiaz showed up as well which was wonderful in itself. yes, the event was star-studded as far as the audience is concerned but its still much better to have some friendly faces somewhere close by to prevent me from freaking out completely.
we came for a sound check at 4pm but Levi's wasn't done with their branding of the venue till then. we waited. the band actually got to do a sound check around 7pm and 7.15 (after more band-related friends came to help them out) i rushed off to get
dressed for the event. came back at exactly 9. and by 9.30ish, the band and a lot of attendees were already there.needless to say the band rocked. more then just that, they left the band super hungry for more. sajid pulled a muscle on his left arm and therefore playing the guitar was a tad painful. they performed over 12 songs in a little more then an hour and ended the night with the extended version of King of Self. for those who have not been to a sajid and zeeshan performance before, the extended version of King of Self is where they jam and jam to the fullest and display their mastery over their instruments.
we have one review already and the other two reviews (images and instep) i'm expecting this coming sunday. keeping my fingers crossed.
the first review:
One wild night
(Karachi Metblogs)
*photographs by Fayyaz Ahmed
the days that followed...
were absolutely crazy. in one weekend we (snz and i) managed to do two television interviews and two gigs. the sunday gig for cityfm89 went well, they were asked to perform one extra song (My Happiness-a personal favorite). the moment the gig was over we rushed off to Vinnies V9 fashion show... which made me realise how glad i was to be a music journalist and not a fashion journalist. i mean, honestly, the music was more interesting then the models or the clothes. reminded me of the time a bunch of 8 year old girls get together to play dress up.
anyway... had 3 red bulls (for free) for some reason. the next day, snz were due to leave and i ended up getting a little sick. y'know, throat, cold, slight-fever, the works.
haroon album launch tonight. oh bugger. and i have to go or there are many people out there who wont talk to me.
but first, i have to type out his interview. darn it.
