ILLUMINATI

Bangalore has seen a great variety of genres through the years, dominated by heavy and death metal. Rock and Roll was something that crowds of metal heads were not exposed to, and what Illuminati had endeavoured to deliver. Formed in June 2006, the band has an amazing repertoire and is rated as one of the leading college bands of Bangalore. The first impact was placed at Guru Nanak Bhavan, where they played for a charity event – ECHO, organized by Mallya Aditi International School. Their first competition – “Rhapsody with Rockers” at Dayanand Sagar College – saw them walking away with the first prize, leaving music lovers wanting for more. The college band was, unlike others, more inclined towards own compositions, making ten originals within a span of six months. “Use Protection”, an AIDS awareness song, was an instant hit among people and received critical appreciation. It showcased the vocal skills of the front man and crowd favourite – Venky Nayak. “Rock ‘N Roll” – a tribute to their own genre of music – emphasizes on the strong and technical bass lines of Shubodeep and the guitar wizardry of Bhushan and Ravish. “The Guitar Song” – one of the band’s earliest songs – brings out the control of the sticks by Thomas Joseph. Other songs of Illuminati include “Yada Yada” – a vedic song of outburst, “Speed Kills” – about teenage adrenaline, “Fly Away”, “Dragonfly”, “Sing”, “Head Over Heels” and “My Friend Jack”. The newer songs include crowd loving numbers like 'Stop', 'Lovestruck', and 'Superbad'. There was no stopping the band – steam rolling their way through every stage – being placed at almost every competition that they have been part of. The band was placed 2nd at their first out-station competition at the prestigious IIT-Chennai fest – “Saarang”. They were placed third at the Mount Carmel College fest – Cul-Ah, where Venkatesh received tumultuous applause from audience, receiving the coveted best vocalist prize. Illuminati won the best band prize yet again at the Adarsh Sagar Jain College’s fest - Chimera, where Galeej Gurus subsequently headlined. At St. Josephs College of Commerce, they came a close 2nd . With each show, they gained more experience and recognition too, as one of the most gritty and technically perfect college band. Illuminati’s most significant achievement was at Campus Rock Idols 06-07, where they were the first Bangalore band to be picked in the prelims in over 35 bands. They ended up as regional finalists at CRI receiving huge adulation and response from the judges and crowd alike. Also the band not only won Spandan 07' hosted by JIPMER pondicherry but also grabbed the best vocalist, best guitarist and runner up drummer n bass guitarist. With the change in the line up now the band features siddharth on the bass guitars and Yadu on the drums , with ravish n venky on guitars and vocals respectively. This new line up has proved to be even better, winning the regional round of Campus Rock Idols 07-08 from bangalore and winning the IIM Lucknow fest "hellraiser-08" and the IIM bangalore fest, apart from these the band recently also won "Whiplash 08" hosted by BMS college of engenieering also winning a chance to open the stage for the internationally acclaimed UK based band Def Leppard during the fall in 2008(dates not announced). Also the band had been featured and mentioned on Headlines Today and newspapers such as “Deccan Herald”, “The Hindu”, "Indian express", "Mid Day" and "Bangalore Mirror" subsequently.

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