‘Vocal Rush’, Mangalore’s first all-girl band is making waves and rushing things along for them. Their melodious and smoothly blended vocals give you a rush that even the CBFC cannot take away! With their debut cover (Hello by Adele) trending on YouTube, they have gone beyond the city’s boundaries and reached out to the world. They have amassed quite a following on social media and have now come out with their second cover, which promises to be even better.
The band are all teenagers on a musical mission – Merula Pinto, Natasha Coelho, Riya Benny, Nichelle Loviza Monteiro and Apeaksha Palanna. They pursue their studies (still an important part of their life) at St. Agnes, where they met and decided to come together to make music.
Karnataka Today’s Divya Cutinha caught up with them and got some insights into what makes them tick the kind of music they like to perform and what they believe the future holds for them.
Excerpts
How did Vocal Rush come into being?
We have known each other for a year now. We met at St Agnes College. We used to sing together for competitions and programs in college. We used to get together, listen and try out songs of bands like Spice girls, Backstreet Boys, and performers like Adele, Beyonce, Rihanna, Pentatonix, Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, ABBA, Beatles and Queen. Without being immodest, we thought we sound really good together, and forming a band would be a good idea. Certainly we should give it a try and here we are!
Nathasha, Riya, Nishel, Apeksha and Merula – we are all vocalists. Nishel and Apeksha play the guitar and are learning other instruments too.
Why an all girl band? Any specific reason? What about competition from boy bands?
In a city like Mangalore, there are many all boy or majority boy bands. We knew each other and were comfortable with each other. Incidentally we were in an all-girls college, so male contact was restricted and in the end, we decided to do it – be different! No regrets!
Oh and certainly we have a competitive edge over the boy bands in the city! And why not?. We are unique as a band, and have powerful voices that blend well.
Tell me about the name. It’s unusual and catchy!
Everything’s in the name. It tells you what to expect from us – You listen to our voices and get a rush like no other. But seriously, many names came up during our brain storming sessions for a name for our band, and finally we settled on the one that Nichelle suggested because it represented what we had to offer.
Which musical genre are you comfortable with?
Right now we are experimenting. We have done two covers in English. We may do few more in English and then move on to Hindi and regional languages. We love all types of music and know we have it in us to be varied in our repertoire, but we will take it slowly.
Is your practice regimental or spontaneous?
We formed the band in April. It was holiday time and we had three four months to practice without any hindrances, so we would practice every day in the morning from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm. But now that college has recommenced, we have this fixed time on Saturdays and Sundays when we practice for at least two to three hours. We also practice whenever we get time –its difficult since we all have our own different commitments, therefore it’s easier to stick to a pre fixed schedule.
Right now you have done a couple of covers. Any plans for stage performances to popularize the band?
We are unusual in that we are an all-girl band and that in itself will make audiences sit up and take notice. Our studio performances have been uploaded on Youtube on our own channel Vocal Rush 5 and they are ringing in the audience. We have a strong social media presence via a face book page also called Vocal Rush 5 and an official email account [email protected] which brings us all the feedback we need to improve. We will take up stage shows in time.
How do you balance music with your other obligations like studies?
Nichelle: I am pursuing my degree and four others are pursuing PU studies and we are pretty serious about it. Music is not a career right now but a passion. We will see how it goes. We are really happy making music covers and we will see where it leads us to. And our parents are really supportive.
Passion or fame… What drives you?
Passion. We get that happy feeling making music together. We just want to play good music. As a first all-girl band we are proud of ourselves and want to show case our talent, that other girls may follow their dreams, for when you have passion, nothing can and should stop you. This is also message for parents, for most parents want their children to become a doctor or an engineer.
The girls of vocal rush don’t just sing! They have a life beyond their melodious vocal chords – Nichelle is a state level handball player, while Riya loves public speaking and reading. Nathasha is into compering shows on TV while Merula and Apeksha love reading books and listening to music.
Karnataka Today them to continue to bring their brand of music into the lives of people, for music is the language of the heart, and the heart of language!
(This article was published in the recent issue of Karnataka Today Magazine)
