Jai Row Kavi needs no introduction. He has played with with bands like Pin Drop Violence , Helga’s Fun Castle and now with Whirling Kalapas and Bhayanak Maut. IRMP3’s Neerav Gupta* caught up with one of India’s finest and versatile drummers..

Neerav: What inspired you to be a drummer? Do you play any instrument other than the drums?
Jai : I started playing drums when I was 16, back in 2002. I was really into bands like Limp Bizkit and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Both of them had a serious element of groove that you couldn’t really ignore. The thought of being behind a drum-set, playing music really appealed to me. Drums looked so damn cool man, all the cymbals and stuff. I thought I had fat fingers (then I met Warren and that misconception was cleared.) I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but I pretty much made up my mind after a couple of lessons that playing drums was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I can play a couple of chords on the guitar and just basic keyboard that I learnt when I went to music school. I think I’m gonna take some guitar lessons soon enough though.

Neerav: Give us a small brief on your early days as a drummer, how many bands have you played for? Do you also do sessions?
Jai: As soon as I got my first drum set, I started playing along to bands I loved. I wanted to be in a band, so I found some guys and started playing with whoever I could. I pretty much just wanted to play all day and I’d have like 2-3 different rehearsals through the day, even if there were no rehearsals I’d make sure I’d play for hours. I’ve played with a LOT of bands and artists over the years. Currently I play drums for Tough on Tobacco, fill in for my friend Rahul Hariharan in Bhayanak Maut, The Naina Kundu Trio, The Whirling Kalapas. I also get called for live and studio sessions with various artists, which is great because there’s always something new and challenging, keeps things fresh and interesting.

Neerav: How was the experience of studying drums at the Musicians Institute in LA? Did you meet any famous drummers there?
Jai: It was surreal. Drums 24/7. The environment was highly motivating and I met a lot of like minded people (drum nerds). All we would do was talk drums and just have a ball. The faculty was super cool and I can say I learnt a lifetime’s worth of material. I met all my heroes like Vinnie Colaiuta, Dennis Chambers, Dave Weckl, Chris Adler and John Otto of Limp Bizkit (felt great cause it probably all started because of him). Saw a lot of them play their asses off. I would highly recommend MI.

Neerav : Which drummers do you draw influence from? What style of drumming do you follow the most?
Jai: Well it really depends on what I’m listening to. Right now it’s Stef Broks of Textures, Steve Judd of Karnivool. But there are definitely some greats that have inspired me over the years like Jose Passilas, Marco Minnemann, Virgil Donati, Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Colaiuta, Toss Panos, Ron Bruner Jr. and many more. I guess I’m probably a rock drummer, but I do have a fondness for way too many types of music, so I try to play as many as I can, while trying to do justice to them.

Neerav: Who all are on your list of favorite Indian drummers?
Jai : Gino Banks, Kurt Peters, Vinayak Pol, Sandy, Rahul Hariharan, Virendra Kaith, Yuvraj from Undying Inc, JP, Yasmin (she is going to kill when she comes back from MI), Sahil Sarin, Surojit Dev of Them Clones, Pentagram‘s Shiraz, Jivraj Singh.

Neerav: I’m a drummer and a huge gear whore. Can you tell us in detail what all gear you possess? Also about your coveted Sabian cymbal collection?
Jai : I play and endorse Pearl drums. I think they are magnificent and totally worth all the hype. I’ve been playing Sabian cymbals since I started playing, I consider myself quite an obsessed enthusiast and I’m pretty proud of my collection that I’ve managed to acquire. Here’s the set up in detail :
Drums – Pearl Masters. (Maple, Chestnut Fade)
1. 20’/18” Bass drum.
2. 14”/5” Masters Maple snare drum.
3. 10”/8” Tom tom.
4. 12”/10” Tom tom.
5. 14”/14” Floor tom.
6. 16”/16” Floor tom.
7. 10”/6” Pearl Popcorn Piccolo snare drum (Maple).
8. 14”/6” Dennis Chambers Signature snare (Maple).
Hardware: Pearl 2000 Series.
1. Eliminator hi-hat stand.
2. Cymbal boom stand BC2000. (x 3)
3. Tom holder.
4. Snare stand S2000 .
5. Drum throne D2000.
6. Eliminator Strap Drive double pedals.
7. Gibraltar cymbal clamp/boom arm. (x 2)
8. Gibraltar clamp (Jam blocks).
9. Pearl Tambourine with clamp mounting system.
Cymbals: Sabian.
1. AAX Stage 20” Crash
2. AAX 18” China
3. AA Medium 16” Crash
4. B8 6” Splash.
5. B8 8” Splash
6. B8 Pro 10” Splash
7. AAX 8” Splash
8. Hand Hammered 20” Medium Crash
9. Hand Hammered 16” china
10. Signature Paragon Neil Peart s 13” hi- hats.
11. Signature Jack De Johnette Encore 20” Ride .
12. Ice bell 6” (Bright).
13. AA Sound Control 16” Crash ( bright)
14. HHX Evolution Ozone Crash 18”
15. AA Rocktagon Crash 16”
16. HHX Evolution Dave Weckl Sig. Ride 20”
17. HHX Power Crash 16”

I also play Vic Firth Sticks. Various models depending on the gig.

Neerav: You have been a part of some of the biggest bands in the country PDV, Helgas Fun Castle and recently you have played with Warren in Blackstratblues and Bhayanak Maut. All of these bands are so different from each other in musical style. How exactly are you able to pull that off with ease?
Jai : I guess its because I truly love playing music and I would get bored if I was to play just one style. It’s great to pull out lighter sticks, softer cymbals and be able to tone things down a bit and concentrate on playing maybe texturally at times. At the same time I love to play big stages with Bhayanak Maut where it’s all about playing as hard and consistent as I can with all the gear. Mainly it’s because I really love listening to metal and pop or jazz/fusion. So I try my best to play whatever I hear. It’s funny how people are shocked when I tell them I play for a metal band when they meet me at a softer gig. It’s all music at the end of the day.. and it’s FUN!

Neerav: Describe the experience of touring with Bhayanak Maut.
Jai :It’s a riot, man. People have this misconception that metal bands are pissed off all the time and they eat glass for breakfast. But it’s super fun. It’s just like being in South Park. And it’s always great to meet Bhayanak Maut fans. They are hardcore. People come up to me and say, man you killed it on the album. And I’ll say thanks, but that was all Rahul Hariharan. He definitely played some great parts on that album. Also whenever we play big gigs, Vinit and I will walk around with Vinay and just be hanging and nobody recognizes him. It’s funny as hell!

Neerav: How many gigs have you played since the time you started? Also which was your most memorable gig?
Jai : Well probably more than a 1000 gigs, at least. A lot of them have been EPIC and a lot them utter shit. In terms of there being no crowd, just some bar tenders maybe. Some terrible sound, some great sound. Aweful rented drums, drums I wish I could have. Some of my most memorable gigs would probably with HFC in some college in Delhi, where everyone was drunk, us included and I missed the steps and fell like 8 feet, almost broke my leg. And went on to finish the gig using my left bass drum pedal. That was the last gig I played drunk. The recent BM gig with Textures was great cause they are one of my favourite bands. And there were a whole bunch of PDV gigs that I will always remember . The 13th Hour Razzberry Rhinoceros gig because Zorran is one of my heroe. And the Blackstratblues gigs. Because there were times where things felt great and flawless.

Neerav: With many recording engineers these days programming drums for recordings, the whole aspect of setting up a kit in a recording studio and micing it for live recordings is getting lost. How do you feel about this?
Jai : Frankly it’s a scary thought, because the programming softwares keep getting superior everyday. And its really hard to tell what’s programmed and what’s live these days. I guess it’s a great solution to times when budgets are low and drummers can’t nail things in the studio. That being said, live drums are live drums and you cant really recreate something that’s been played with a little push and pull and just plain human touch.

Neerav: What do you like to do in your free time? Any hobbies?
Jai :I can kick back and watch movies all day. TV shows too.Watch a lot of Top Gear (Jeremy Clarkson is a pimp!). I read a book once in a while. Lately I’ve been doodling around on Logic Studio and trying to write some songs that I can play on.

Neerav: Any advice you’d want to give to fellow drum enthusiasts and upcoming drummers?
Jai :All I can say is have fun, at the same time if you want to play music professionally you have to put in the time and effort to practice your ass off. Try and open up to different styles of music, it definitely helped me in countless ways. Be nice to your folks. Play Pearl drums and Sabian Cymbals to sound better

Neerav: Last words?
Jai :Thanks for taking the time out for having me here and for promoting Indian bands and artists through your website. Chuck Norris can’t play a pataflafla. He’s not that badass after all.

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* Neerav Gupta is a student who enjoys drumming, photography, progressive metal, and good reading every now and then.