We wanted to compose soft rock songs mostly but our final songs leaned more towards pop. Since it is our first album, we have experimented with different genres of music. We will see how our listeners label us as what type of band we are.

Tell us the brief history of your band. Who are you and your band members?

The Vibez is Direk (Drums/Percussion/Guitar), Prayeen (Vocals/Arranger) and Rupak (Guitar/Lead).

Direk is one of the members of The Uglyz Familia, musicians from New Road. He has played in over 60 concerts with various bands in Nepal and the US.

Prayeen had a solo career before and has already released an album called, “A Creation”. His composition “Kunai Jadoo Thiyo” was a big hit.

Rupak has performed with his local band in various concerts in his hometown, Jorpati.

Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

We grew up in different times, in different circle and background. When it comes to listening to music, we do not have anything in common. Prayeen listens to Gazals and soft music. Direk listens to classic rock and roll, jazz and blues, and early alternate music. Rupak listens to R&B songs and classical guitar pieces.

What are your dreams and goals?

We always played music since we were kids. Now our goal is to release an album. By releasing album, we want to find out if we are producing just noise or really playing music? If music, good or bad?

We recorded music when everyone was sleeping. We did not get much sleep. So, I guess our day dream is to be recognized as good musicians.

Who writes the songs, what are they about?

Since we came from different background, we have different friend circles. They know we play music so they send us lyrics. We change the lyrics only if we have to adjust it with the flow of our music. We write lyrics ourselves too. In our album, the song “Aaamaa” was solely written by Rupak.

 
How do you promote your band and shows?

We will promote our music mostly through electronic media but we will be using print media too. We have been promoting ourselves playing in concerts all over Northern California. In June 2006, we will be playing in ANA convention in Los Angles, California. We have three concerts scheduled in San Francisco and Oakland in the month of July 2006.
 
Once we release our album, we want to tour the East Coast and Mid West of the US as well.

Describe your show, visual and musically

So far, we have been playing in an unplugged version, with semi-acoustic guitar and Yamaha DTX drums. Soon, we are planning to use projectors in our concerts and show slides relevant to the lyrics of the songs.
 

PHOTOS

What do you think about downloading music online?

We compare this with smoking cigarettes. Everyone knows it is injurious to music industry but he/she does it anyway. Everyone knows it is unethical to do so but he/she does it anyway. We think downloader should pay certain fee to encourage musicians.
 

What's your outlook on the record industry today?

We cannot answer this question with accuracy because we have seen the music industry only from the surface. The packaging looks good. We will soon find out and share with you.

What's your claim to fame?

If luck favors you just a little bit, you get what you deserve.

Tell us a story about a day in your life.

In the summer of 2006, The Vibez (Prayeen – Vocals, Dipendra – Lead, Rupak – Rhythm, Suneel – Bass, Direk – Drums) played in various cities of Northern California to get direct feedback from the audience about their new compositions. When the band sang, “Thaaki Saken” in an unplugged version in Oakland, California, for the very first time, there was literally a pin drop silence in a hall of about five hundred people.  Then the band played, “Tehi Pal” and no noise at all. Well we are talking about a hall with more than 50 kids under 10 years old, who were running around all over the hall during the entire cultural program. Even the kids sat down to watch the band play. The band ended the night playing the Reggae version of “Aakashaima Chil Udyo” making everyone dance.

What inspires you to do what you do?

Encouragement from friends, and fans and personal interest in music keeps us rolling.

What advice would you give to fellow bands?

“Life is the US is very hectic. Work and school kills you.” Do the statements sound like your lines? We think it is bunch of bullshit. Your life is what you do in your life. There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you want to be successful, you got to go extra miles. Don’t give up the talent you have or else you will never get rewarded. If you do, life will go “San Francisco” downhill.

What are some of your pet peeves?

NO ENGLISH.

How does music affect you and the world around you?

Music for us is like breathing air. We wake up to the sound of jazz alarm. We breakfast with the Beatles. We work with Jack Johnson, Sublime. Slow down in the evening with classical music. In the night, we record our own music.

What's new in the recording of your music?

We have used real orchestra instruments in “Thaaki Saken”.

Song “Khai Ke Bho” has unusual arrangement pattern than usual Nepali pop songs. You will notice when you hear the song itself.

What are the biggest obstacles for bands?

The different schedule and locations of band members are the two major obstacles for the band. We are all students and have different college and work schedule. On top of that, Prayeen just transferred to another college in San Francisco. We used to hang out together at least five days a week before. These days we hang out once a week for music.  

What's the best and worst thing about playing clubs?

We have not played in clubs and restaurants as much because we do not have CDs to sell yet. Once we release our album, we will be performing in clubs and restaurants. This way we can make extra money.

If people do not get drunk and start requesting for “I’m a Barbie Girl”, or “Thriller”, playing in the pub and bars is very good. You usually have about 100-150 people and you get the feeling of homely environment.
 

Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.

ANA Convention, Los Angeles, California, June 2007
More than 10,000 Nepalese from all over the US will come to the convention. If they like our music, they will spread the word around all over the US. We are releasing our album so this will be an opportunity to get direct exposure and feedback from audience.

Sonoma, Oakland, and San Francisco, July 2007
We have tentatively scheduled three concerts in the three Northern California cities in the month of July 2007. Please visit www.thevibz.com to see our tours update.                                                

Have any of your songs been published?

We have uploaded rough version of the song titled, “Bandhak” on cybersansar.com and murchunga.com

How do you describe your music to people?

Are we the pioneer in using real orchestra in Nepali pop music? We are not sure if anyone has used it so far. We don’t know how to describe our music but we will share with you what some of the local musicians have complemented us with.

“Your songs and compositions sound like A.R. Rahman.”

“You guys have the best plugging in Nepali music scene. After ages, you guys made me listen to old classic Scorpions. Keep it up guys.”

What live performance experience have you had?

Prayeen has performed in college (V.S. Niketan) programs while in Nepal. Rupak has performed in various concerts in his school days. Direk has tremendous experience of playing in over 60 concerts in Nepal and the US with various bands. Wherever he went, he made noise all the way from Little Angels and Gyanodaya High School Days to the US colleges. Rupak has performed in several places in Jorepati.

At present, together as The Vibez, we are like the official band of the Northern California. Whenever there are Nepalese cultural shows or hangouts, we are invited to perform.

What do you think are the leading roles the Nepali music artists staying in US are playing for the promotion of Nepali music?

You can never give up something you like, something you cannot live without. Don’t make busy schedule an excuse to stay away from whatever you enjoy doing. You got to go extra miles to get recognition. Do something extraordinary and you will get what you deserve.

So far the task of Nepali music artists in the US has been limited to entertaining local Nepalese crowds in the US in get together programs and cultural shows.  The bands play few original compositions and some old classic Nepali music. This keeps Nepalese in the US refreshed with old classic Nepalese music.

We wish there were an association of Nepalese artists living in the US so that artists can promote each other. If we could help each other out to organize programs in each other’s states, life of musicians would be wonderful.

The US is the fourth largest country in the world. In other countries, there will be two or three big cities such as Sydney and Melbourne in Australia. However, in the US, there are over 20 big cities where Nepalese artists can perform for both pleasure and dollar. Therefore, we see lots of potential and room for growth for Nepali artists in the US Nepalese market.