Hi Guys, We bring to you the first of our many showcases of musical talent that will feature on RAID101. Hundred Octane have been part of the Metal scene in India for over 17 years now and a well known band with those familiar with the Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Scene. We proudly present to you our exclusive Interview and interaction with the band and its Members! In their own words - Rocking since 1995 and after several line up changes, we musicians have never surrendered to the hardest times and the saddest moments. The final result is a revelation of sorts, an entity that is indestructible, invincible, irreversible, insatiable, inimitable, and having the sound of thunder and the days of metal. --hUndRed oCtaNe-- is a band that draws on purpLe, floyd, soundgarden, STP, pearl jam, alice in chains, led zepplin...and yet remains uniquely spectacular. The rare quality of superb music writing stacked with matchin' lyrics & above all, fashioned with that deep thought provoking voice is what we are all about. MUSIC in MADNESS and MELODY in MAYHEM is what we believe in. Hundred Octane The Members [panel] [/panel] ARVIND SINGHBeen in the Rock N’ Roll circuit actively for around 15 years now. A qualified Mechanical Engineer who quit his job to peruse his passion for music.A teacher of around 200 successful musicians in India. Often referred as the Dad of Indian Rock N’ Roll whose favorite quotation is ‘to live once only and there should be rock n roll.’Instruments he is comfortable with are Guitars, Blue Harp.Currently trying his hands on Uklele. TUSHAR PANDEYTushar Pandey the youngest and bass man of the band.A qualified mechanical engineer. He has been the most studious one. Who has time and again proved to be a contributor to the vision of Hundred Octane.His bass lines are heavy and are unique and much appreciated. He is a blazing fire on stage and carries the same for HUNDRED OCTANE.He has dedicated his life to the band and the vision that all the members carry.A one of the four pillars of HUNDRED OCTANE. PUNEET VOHRAThe Front man of the band, again a qualified Electronics engineer. Professional and reckless on the stage. He has been rocking with the band for almost 8 years now. Quit his job to continue his journey of rock and roll without looking back. Being in a 4 men band the biggest responsibility is taken by him apart from the world class vocals he has to take care of electric guitar parts, acoustic 6 string and acoustic 12 string guitars. His favorite quotation is ‘There is no giving up in Rock N’ Roll’. KEVIN BINUA freelance drums teacher from pune. Played with different bands for about ten years, also played a crucial part with the help of india foundation for arts (I.FA…Bangalore) in laying down the curriculum in terms of integration of drums with different subjects. He has the responsibility of taking care of all the drums /percussions part of the band and at present is working as a freelance drums teacher in New Delhi. He is one of the pillars of the band a new wave and sound strongly carries the vision of HUNDRED OCTANE, he is the backbone of the band. Our Exclusive With Hundred Octane! R101 : Hey, guys.. It is great to have this opportunity to be in conversation with you guys. Lets starts with how the group happened. Was it a story of inspiration to the budding musicians - where a guy stuck in a boring office job could not take it any longer and decided to go after his dream? Or was it 'I always knew this is where my heart was'? HO : You are absolutely bang on. And yes this band started in 1995, by our guitarist Arvind Singh, the founder member of the band. To make it short, the journey has been wonderful. The choice we made 17 years back was for the sheer love of rock n roll and will stay so for the rest of our lives. R101: What's the story behind the name 'Hundred Octane'? It may give out the impression of a group of Auto-Enthusiasts more than a group of Musicians. Any incidents where somebody was caught unaware of the identity of the group and was uninitiated that he's in for music and not engine troubleshooting guide. HO :When we talk about rock n roll there is a hell loads of enthusiasm and intelligence that goes into the making of it.The name got inspired by the idea of inflammatory..99 is where it ends so we thought of taking it by a notch up..yes fire, fury, peace,luv and emotions all staked in one. Ardent travelers and crazy about mean machines u got that right bro. R101: How do you define your music? Do you like it to be based on a theme or you like experimenting? Do you want to give out a message through the music, or is it about 'lets have some fun out there tonight' more than anything else? HO : As far as our genre is concerned its alternative grunge/metal/hard rock but somehow its always tough to define music but we guess in other words its outright Rock n Roll bro. Our compositions are certainly based on facts and experimentation and a lot of brain storming sessions.. We would love to give a message through our music because we certainly believe that in today's world truth is like a vanishing commodity and we do want focus on the same.That is just our plain simple inner voice. R101: What keeps you guys together as a group beside your music? How different or alike you feel as individuals? HO : Sheer love for Rock n Roll is what keeps us together and yes individually we are different from each other just like every one else in the world, but there is a beautiful common bond that makes us great friends as well. R101: If you were not doing this, where do you think you'd be? HO : Lol.....don't want to even think about it! You know what we mean! R101: What are your craziest 'fan stories'? HO : Doing Rock n Roll any where in the world is crazy in itself ...yes we have had a bunch of funny crazy fan incidents taking place the latest was when our drummer (Kevin) ended up giving autographs to the students from north campus in the metro train...that was embarrassing he says...lol. R101: Where do you see yourself a few years down the line? Realistically speaking and dreaming big? Especially with the current generation crowds exposed to international music like never before and heavy metal and rock being hot favorites among them. HO : We must say that today's generation kids are extremely intelligent and talented. The picture,especially for the Great Indian Rock scene looks bright and Hundred Octane is always going to be a part of it. R101: What's your USP according to you? What kind of surprises should the audience hope for from HO? HO : Although we are a metal band we have survived 17 long years successfully and still yearn for more. We believe that people who come for our concerts just don't come to listen in but also to watch our gigs which is packed with power and stage acts. R101: We sincerely thank you for your time, and wish you all the very best for all your future endeavors. We hope to see Hundred Octane become a huge success and a name known to people far and wide across the globe. HO : Thank you so much for giving us this honor of being the 1st band to be featured on Raid101. That's no mean feat because we know with guys like you around Raid 101 is gonna be rocking round the clock. !!! All the best .. Keep rocking !!!\m/\m/www.hundredoctane.com
