Down memory lane: Subject to Change to perform at Bay 146 in Chennai after a four-year gap

It was at a college festival back in 2007 where the band members of Subject to Change first met. “The original members of the band met at a cultural event at one of the colleges and ended up jamming together. It was so much fun and I’m told, that’s how the band came to be,” says Anjana Raghavan, one of the band’s many vocalists, who joined the band later that very year. This year, the band will be celebrating 15 years and will be performing in Chennai after a long hiatus.

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Anjana says the band initially had seven members including popular singer Benny Dayal, but had never thought to make music as their career. “We weren’t very ambitious. We didn't necessarily think of music as a full-time career. All of us had different ambitions, except for Benny (Dayal) and Toby (Joseph) who later went into the music industry professionally,” she adds. 

In the upcoming show, their return to the stage after four years, three original members of the band including Anjana, Aakash Jacob (guitar and vocals) and Salwin Alfred (percussionist) will be collaborating with two other musicians — Mario Nambiar (bass) and Vikram Vivekanand (guitar and vocals) and as Anjana says, “I think we’re really excited, but also pretty nervous to be returning after a long break — our last performance was in Chennai and in 2018.”

The group will be performing popular songs and melodies from the ’70s and ’80s along with more recent music — basically, from genres that fascinate the group. “I don’t want to give away the playlist. But it’s definitely a ’70s and ’80s vibe with some new stuff and some summery specials thrown in,” Anjana explains. 

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“If you ask for a defining feature of our journey, so far, I think that it’s largely been about friendship and a lot of love. We’re performing for an audience that’s been with us and supported us for so many years. And just the other day, Akash’s daughter came for one of our rehearsals and we were like: Oh, my God, here’s the next generation and we’re still together,” Anjana concludes.

INR 1,000. 8 pm onwards. October 28. At Bay 146, Mylapore.