The Man Behind the "Rock Nation"

The music scene in Dubai is still on the 'cradle' stage. Like Dubai Lime's initiative to grow and encourage musicians in Dubai, there are people in the city who are trying to nurture the Dubai music scene. Nikhil Uzgare is one of these people - he organizes "Rock Nation" to prove that music and other form of entertainments are a very promising venture in Dubai.

Here's an interview with Nikhil Uzgare, the organizer of Rock Nation:

Tell us something about you.

Well my name is Nikhil Uzgare. I’ve been in Dubai for the past 5 years. My roots are Indian and I was born and brought up in Mumbai. I own an ad agency. The ad agency is called Hook Line and Sinker.

So, aside from being the owner of an ad agency. You are also a musician, has a band called Point of View and you been playing in the open mic with Dubai Lime – what other gigs you’ve done in the Dubai or UAE so far?

I’ve been singing from the age of 9. My first song that I can say, put me on a singing career map was Harry Bela Fonte’s version of “Jamaican Farewell”. I remember winning a prize in school, for that one. I am a founder member of the band “Point of View”. I formed it along with a close friend and Point of View bass guitar player, Yohann Dsouza.

We have played a couple of open mics with Dubai Lime and have also been in Zahra's Show at 92FM. We have been playing together as a band for the past 2 years and have played some very credible gigs.

1. The 4th Assembly at CUD

2. The Knowledge Village Annual Festival – Colors

3. ESPN X-games Headliners

4. Shamal 2007

5. Volume Eleven at Jimmy Dix

Tell us something about your band.

The band is called Point of View. I guess each of us in the band is driven with a will to do music that can make a difference to someone. We believe that it's very important to have a point of view and that is what defines a person's individuality. The band was formed in the year 2006 and has gone through a couple of line up changes. Me and Yohann have been the founder members and a permanent feature of the band.

The current line up consists of:

Nikhil Uzgare (lead vocals)

Yohann D'souza (bass guitars + back up vocals)

Murtaza Jafar (lead + rhythm guitars)

Jon Watson (drums + percussion)

Sidiq Mohammed (rhythm guitars)

you You are organizing the “Rock Nation” could you tell us more about this event?

Rock Nation is just a series of gigs that will lead to a big gig called Megarocknation. The objective of having these gigs is to bring locally-based rock talent to the forefront and provide them with an opportunity to showcase their talent on professional sound and then reward them with studio time, record deals and anything else that helps them achieve their dreams and aspirations that could be connected to their love and passion for music.

The first gig is on the 16th of August 08 at the nightclub called touch at 4 Points Sheraton. It would feature local rock talents, “Moonshine” and “Juliana Down”.

The second gig is on the 30th of August 08 at the same venue and will feature local hard-rock talent, “Point of View” along with local rock/punk talent, “Sand Wash”.

There would be 2 gigs every alternate Saturday. Each gig will have 2 local rock bands playing for 45 minutes. These gigs would go on till Nov. '08 with the exception of the Ramadan month of September '08. These gigs will mainly feature bands which are senior and more experienced amongst the local rock talent in the UAE. We are hunting for sponsors to support this event on a regular basis and we are hoping to get some onboard soon.

What encourages you to put up this kind of event?

I am very passionate about the genre, “rock”. In India, I have been in the music scene for about 6 years and on Dubai music scene for about 4 years. The issues that bands' face are very much the same. I have been seeing and experiencing the 2nd grade treatment that rock bands generally get as compared to other genres or DJ’s playing recorded music.

Rock bands are expected to practice and deliver without giving them professional sound. Rock bands are supposed to play free gigs. Rock bands are supposed to be substitute acts in case everyone else backs out. Rock bands are at the bottom of the rung despite the UAE featuring giant rock gigs like Dubai Desert Rock.

UAE has loads of international rock artists visiting but there is nothing really done to promote local talent. I tried doing this a couple of years ago and sponsors backed out for ridiculous reasons.I did not have the resources and the contacts to re-initiate the process, but today I feel, I can pull it off with the experience, contacts and study/surveys that I have indulged in, with regards to the music scene here.

I have come to believe that rock bands have not been getting their fair share of appreciation and fame. This can be mainly because of “no local platform or opportunity” to showcase their original material on “good quality sound”. I wanted to fill up those 2 spaces and propel the movement. You will never see anyone consciously promoting rock gigs to a general audience. Also, I have never seen anyone very consciously promoting live rock gigs to pubs in the UAE. But, I have seen a lot of people trying hard to propel an existent underground rock scene to the forefront but facing a lot of problems from venues and other basic things that come into contributing to a high quality rock gig. I somewhere dream and aspire to change that.

I want to make people be aware that rock is all about having a good time. rock is a drug. It’s adrenalin. It has the power to give you a high if delivered to its end listener in the right way. I want Rock Nation to give rock and locally based rock talent the attention it truly deserves.

Rock Nation is an event which will be a lot more than just a series of rock concerts. It’s going to be an institution in rock for the audiences and musicians in the UAE. Rock Nation will evolve with the help of workshops from sound and equipment dealers and suppliers in the region. We are in the process of sealing something very interesting with a very prominent entity in the field of sound and stage equipment. The agenda would be do workshops with local bands, both semi-pro and amateur bands. The idea is to, not only promote rock but to impart an education in rock sound and equipment to musicians and in the process also provide entertainment opportunities to the rock hungry audience in the UAE.

wh What do you think the hindrances of doing an event like the Rock Nation?

1. Sponsorships

2. Money to run and sustain such events

3. Convincing sponsors that there is an audience and its fast growing.

What do you think of the entertainment and music scene in dubai, where’s the trend going?

It’s a very promising scene out here for all kinds of entertainment and music. Its just rock music that ends up getting a little bit of the step motherly treatment, especially when it comes to local talent.

Unfortunately there is a dearth of independent record labels that cannot take bands further from where they are. Also, as there is no platform for these bands to cultivate their talent, they end up being short term projects. More than that, there are very few gigs, mainly because no venue is ready to host them readily due to a mental block that rock does not sell. Finally due to all these hindrances sometimes organizers feel that its not worth investing into quality sound for a gig that is not fetching them great revenue anyways. Even if organizers try getting decent sound gigs, their budgets really don't permit them to deliver quality sound for local gigs.

Rock Nation aspires to change all this and offer something tangible to the local rock musicians and in the process offer quality gigs to the rock audience in the UAE.

- Any word of inspiration to musicians specially the original musicians in Dubai?

Never say die! Lookout for details on the Rock Nation series of gigs. we are here to stay for a long time to come.

If you are interested to contact Nikhil Uzgare for more information and sponsorships on this event, you can reach him at:

Email : This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Web : www.hlsproductions.co.uk