No Bollywood, All Backbone: GIRISH AND THE CHRONICLES Fly The Rock Flag

Interview by Ali WilliamsIf you’ve ever wondered what it takes to fly the classic hard-rock flag out of a country where Bollywood runs the audio monopoly, Girish and the Chronicles have the answer: persistence, volume, and a deep love of the big-chorus, big-guitar stuff that got most of us into this mess in the first place. Ali’s chat with bassist Yogi quickly locks into the band’s origin story, which starts simple and very rock’n’roll: Girish was gigging solo as “Girish Unplugged,” the rest of the crew jumped in, “The Chronicles” got scribbled onto the poster, and suddenly it was a full band with a proper name and a mission. Musically, they’re not pretending to reinvent the wheel, they’re polishing it and lighting it on fire. Yogi straight-up credits the holy trinity of hard rock and metal upbringing: Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and Iron Maiden, and you can hear that DNA all over the newer material. Ali clocks it immediately and calls out the classic-rock backbone, which Yogi happily owns. On home turf, the Indian heavy scene sits in the shadow of a massive mainstream industry, but Yogi explains the maths of it: even a “small percentage” of rock and metal fans becomes a serious crowd when your population is… well, India. He points to the proof: when international bands hit major cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi, the rooms are stacked and the fans actually know the songs, sing along, and show up loud. The conversation also ducks into Asia and the band’s wider wish-list. Japan sits high on it, with Yogi nerding out over anime and shouting out Japan’s long-standing rock culture, plus names like Marty Friedman and Paul Gilbert as examples of how deep that scene runs. They’ve already played Thailand and Vietnam, and he’s clear-eyed about the next step: Southeast Asia needs more work, more shows, more presence. Then comes the bit Australia always cares about: yes, they’re coming here, and it’s soon. Yogi says they land on the 15th March for their first ever trip “Down Under” not just as a band, but as tourists too. They’re lining up roughly five to six shows across the major cities, plus a New Zealand date. The tour kicks off in Brisbane, at the Crow Bar, and they’ve got a couple of days between landing and the first show (they mention the first gig being on the 19th) to explore, soak up the country and, naturally, sample the pub culture that keeps this nation emotionally upright. Ali does her civic duty and warns them about drop bears, prompting Yogi to promise he’ll Google it, which is the correct response to any Australian wildlife briefing. Fresh music is also on the immediate horizon. Yogi says a new album is coming, with a couple of singles released first, and that the full production is finished, they’re just waiting on the official release date. They’re also tossing around music video ideas and hoping to shoot footage while in Australia. Their video “process” is pleasingly human: start with an idea that fits the song, then accept that things drift off-script and sometimes the unplanned bits end up being the best bits. There’s a quick peek behind the curtain on what else the band has been up to too. Yogi notes that while the group’s focus is firmly on Girish and the Chronicles, Girish has been involved in side projects with some serious names (George Lynch and Jeff Pilson get mentioned, along with Chris Adler and Joel Hoekstra), especially after signing with Frontiers. It’s a neat reminder that while the band has that classic-rock heart, they’re plugged into the wider rock world and they’re not shy about doing the work to stay there. Bottom line: Girish and the Chronicles aren’t selling a gimmick. They’re a hard-rock band from a country where rock isn’t the default setting, who’ve still managed to stack up major support slots, years of European touring, a surprise AGT run, and now an Aussie/NZ tour with a new album loading in the chamber. If you want to see what happens when the “classic” part of classic rock turns out to be alive, sweaty, and very ready to prove a point, grab a ticket and give them some lovin.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/heavy-music-interviews--2687660/support.