Date:24/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/24/stories/2007062461520300.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

It’s rocking time for local bands

Staff Reporter

Best bands to battle it out in ‘Oooh la la la’

VIJAYAWADA: Here is some good news for music bands in Vijayawada for the audition to select the best band in Andhra Pradesh by Saregama India is all set to take place at Automobile Technicians’ Association hall here on Sunday.

The programme ‘Oooh la la la’, conceived with the help of music maestro A.R. Rahman, will be held in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. “The audition will be held at Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Vizag, Hyderabad and Tirupati. We have short-listed 60 bands from over 2,000 entries and 18 bands will be selected from AP to take part in the finals to be held at Chennai under the guidance of Mr. Rahman. One band each will be selected both from TN and AP and the winner will be given an opportunity to cut an album with Saregama India in their respective regional language,” said S. Kumar, programme director for AP.

He also said the selected teams will undergo a workshop with Mr. Rahman, primarily to fine-tune their skills before the final round of selection.

Vision Pro Event Management manager S. Venkataraghavan said that any band comprising three or more artistes could take part in the audition. “The band can perform any genre of music but the emphasis will be given to the local language. Each band will be given around five to six minutes to perform,” he added.

Telecast

He said the Telugu version would be telecast on July 15 in Gemini TV while the Tamil will be beamed in Sun TV. “The entire programme will be of 13 episodes. This is the first time a programme has be conceived in South to assess the musical strength of a band,” Mr. Venkatraghavan explained.