Messrs Fancypants

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Innovating on the spot. That sums up what Helga’s Fun Band is all about. Formed in November 2004, this is a band to watch out for. The group’s four happy-go-luck chaps — Siddharth Coutto (also drummer of Zero), Meghashyam (ex-guitarist of Acquired Funk Syndrome and Zero guitarist), Gino Banks (son of Louiz Banks) and Johan Pais (ex-Vicious Circle) — are always game to come up with a song on the spur of the moment. It’s a mini “supergroup” with seasoned musicians.
The “jam” band was formed by Coutto to fulfil his desires to become a singer and mainly because he was bored playing the drums all the time. “We are just a bunch of guys out to have fun. If there’s a gig and you want four fun-loving musicians, think of us,” says Coutto before a performance at Someplace Else.
HFC started off as Helga’s Funk Castle but soon dropped the “k” from “funk”. “We were considered a funk band even though we performed all kinds of numbers. To spice up things, we became known as Helga’s Fun Castle. It’s a mysterious name!” he adds with a wink and a smile.
The group’s rise to stardom began with their gig at Channel [V] Launchpad concert. “Early 2005 we were performing at Launchpad. One of the judges, Luke Kenny, asked us to compose a tune on the spot. And we came up with ‘For Luke’,” chips in Meghshyam. And soon their album, Thank You. Come Again was cut, which received rave reviews. The group is currently working on the sequel. “It should be out later this year or early next year. We have already recorded six tracks and need to work on two more,” says Pais.
“Each of us has been in another successful band which doesn’t necessarily sound like anything we do. Each of us infuses his own blend of style and experience into everything we do with HFC and we never consider limiting ourselves to a genre,” continues Glenn.
Some of the tracks on their repertoire in Someplace Else were their version of the Michael Jackson classic Smooth criminal, Elevation by U2 and original HFC tracks like Mr Fancy Pants and Brother Jim. The best part of the night was the track dedicated to SPE.
Sidd’s vocal range is awe-inspiring and Meghashyam is definitely among the best guitarists around. Pais is a newcomer and he is learning the tricks of the trade and little needs to be said about Gino. Many upcoming drummers in western India are eager to take lessons from him.
The main objective of the band is to bring about a change in the current live music scene in Kolkata by incorporating the sound of jazz, funk, soul and R&B into the existing sound. In Someplace Else they explore their venture into the international music scene, charting tracks from John Coltraine to Steely Dan.
-- Mathures Paul

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