Bangalore's One Nite Stand is generating a buzz, not only in the city, but also around the country. They won the ‘Best New Artist’ award last year, and this year they were honoured with ‘Best Live Act’ by Hard Rock, India. One Night Stand is definitely one of India’s most promising young bands.

Two years ago, in 2011, a professional pilot, a team-builder and drum circle conductor, a music instructor and an Indian National Youth Orchestra alumni, came together for the first time, to perform for a friend’s cocktail party.
The gig was supposed to be a one-off. So the band thought it would be clever to call themselves One Nite Stand. The show was a super- success and everyone at the event wanted to hear more. One show led to another and the band began growing in popularity.

In fact, the band was so successful that they have all given up their day jobs. It’s going to be music, full time.

The band consists of Behram Siganporia, 27, on vocals and bass, Hemanth Diwakaran, 26, on lead guitar, Neville Bharucha, 23, on keys, and Abhilash EK, 28, on drums. They came from four different bands and diverse musical backgrounds.

Siganporia has been playing the guitar since he was fourteen. He was with Mumbai-based band, The Other People before ONS was formed. Bharucha is a western classical pianist, playing since the age of two. Abhilash EK, was the drummer for Bangalore band Shikados and Diwakaran played with Haven, before joining the band.

They are known for their lively and energetic performances with their high-octane dance-pop-rock music. ONS has performed and headlined several music festivals and leading concert venues across the country. This includes The Great Indian Octoberfest 2012, United By Music Festival, Pin Drop Music Festival, where they shared the stage with Indian Ocean, Poets of the Fall, Children of Bodom, Chicane, DJ Ma Faiza, DJ Flower (Hungary), White Shoe Theory with cricketer Brett Lee and many more.

Because of the easy-to-listen aspect of their tunes, the band is a popular choice at fashion events and launches. They played at the premiere of Shahrukh Khan’s film Ra.One, IPL 6 after-parties and the Great Indian Derby 2013.

You’re all from diverse musical backgrounds. How did u decide on the genre for ONS?

When we decided to take the band seriously and go places with our music, we wanted to do something very different, yet interesting. We have been influenced by various genres and when we put them all together we came up with this ‘big’ sound, which we call ‘dance rock.’ It’s a combination of Rock n Roll and EDM.

So it seems ONS is quite busy. How often does the band get gigs?

Our schedule is packed with shows all over the country. We’re working very hard on an album, hoping that it will be recognised in the international market. We’ve only covered less than half of our musical goals by performing across all major cities in India. We’re aiming for a lot more.

We perform about four to five shows in a month, in Bangalore. We usually play three to four gigs across India, in a month. Besides travelling and performing, we try to spend time in the jam room and studio so we have been quite busy in the last 6 months. We are currently booked for two different tours.

We rehearse twice a week. Given that we have around two shows every week across the country, it’s hard for us to rehearse more than we would like to.

How much does ONS charge for a gig?

It depends on several factors. We have different rates for pub shows, corporate shows, private events and college and music festivals. So, the business we rake in is quite customised.

What can we expect from the upcoming album?

The album is something we are taking our time with. We’re not rushing in to it. We will probably have the entire album produced in London.

The album tells a story and every song is a chapter of that story. It starts with a man at a bar, getting a lot attention from the women around. He finally meets a girl. It turns into a relationship. The girl moves to another city… and the rest of the story follows. If you’re curious enough as to how it ends, you’ll have to wait for the album to come out.

To sum it up, the album is about having a good time. It’s something we hope people can relate to.

Can you describe your journey so far?

We know we’ve come a long way considering the number of offers we get on a daily basis. We started as a band doing covers. Now, we are focusing on our own music, but we still love playing covers. We always try and bring something new to every show. That keeps the crowd hooked.

The crowd and fan following that we have slowly, but steadily built is growing. Our audience are between the ages of 16 and 70! The after-effect of most shows is usually a number of encores.