Amidst the barrage of regional cover bands that have been taking over the live music scene in Hyderabad, this new band is bringing back rock ’n’ roll. Pitch Please opened with their maiden gig here in Tabula Rasa last week, much to the pleasure of the fans of the genre. With Sricharan Pakala on lead guitar and Ambika Shashittal on vocals headlining the band, Marcus Johnathan joins on rhythm guitar, along with Akshay Athreya on drums and Jagadish Chintala on bass.
Sricharan, who put together the five-member crew together, is popular as a music director for his Tollywood hits like Kshanam, Goodachari and Guntur Talkies. But not many fans know that his origins lie in rock. “I began my journey with music back in college but went on to compose for about 20 films. Recently, I felt the longing to go back to playing the genre that I love. It feels like going back to my roots. That’s when I spoke to my band members and we decided to start jamming,” says the 31-year-old musician. While he got Ambika on board because of his earlier gigs with her, Jagadish, and Akshay got in touch with him when they heard he was looking for a bassist and a drummer.
Even before the band was completely formed recently, Sricharan knew what he wanted and what he was seeking from Pitch Please. “I wanted to create a sound that would be unique for the audience to hear. My experience is in classic rock, metal and hard rock, but I figured that rock ’n’ roll was a genre not deeply explored in the live music scene here,” says the guitarist. He also adds, “The usual pop numbers might get a great response but you will also see them grooving to the classics that we bring back as well. No matter what the genre, as long as you are playing good music, the Hyderabadi audience will show you love.” Although the band is relatively new, Pitch Please is already set to perform in Bengaluru next week and have a dozen shows lined up in the city for the rest of the year.