Thermal & A Quarter Live At Hard Rock Cafe: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR THERMAL & A QUARTER...

True to its name, Hard Rock Cafe has been presenting bands from all over India, every Thursday. This week, it's the rock band Thermal & A Quarter.

Based in Bangalore, the group is noted for its focus on original music at a time when the nascent Indian rock music industry focused on cover songs, and its innovative use of the Internet to reach out to new audiences. They were among the first groups in Asia to make their music available under a Creative Commons-like license.

The name is derived from the fact that when they started, 3 of the band members were of Malayali descent and the 4th member was one-quarter Malayali, hence "Three Malayalis And A Quarter Malayali", which was later shortened to "Three Mals and a Quarter" and corrupted to "Thermal And A Quarter". Currently, the band has 3 members - Bruce Lee Mani with the guitar and vocals, Rajeev Rajagopal on the drums and Rzhude David with the bass guitar and vocals.

In its 10-year career, TAAQ encompasses different styles, including Carnatic to Jazz-Funk. The group has 4 albums and hundreds of live performances under its collective belt. It did a Middle East Tour with performances in Dubai and Bahrain in June 2007, won a WorldSpace Award for Outstanding Contribution to Indian Rock, was voted one of the Best Indian Bands by The Hindustan Times in 2006, performed the opening act for Deep Purple & Jethro Tull, and was winner of the Battle Of The Bands during 1996