THE BEATBOX
30 Aug 2015, it was a Sunday morning, 8.30 a.m.; my eyes
could hardly open their lids. I was feeling lazy, wrapping myself into the
thick blanket; as the cold breeze danced around my bedroom. The sunlight gave
me the hope to rise and start a new day. As usual, I peeped into my diary and
checked out the appointments, glad that I didn’t have to step out that day.
However, I was alarmed with the highlighted date written in bold characters “30
AUG 2015, Nathaniel school of Music”. I
was overwhelmed by a wave of excitement, as I was eagerly waiting for this day.
How had it slipped off my mind?
I jumped off my bed, trying to keep myself calm. I had been excited since the day I got an
appointment from this unique personality. My fascinating guest of the day is one of the pioneers in music. Music! The thought of music transported me to an
enchanting world of notes, musicians and melodies.
I reached the venue where I was waiting for a glance of the
person whose purpose of life is “Music”. For him, Music is not a profession; it
is more of a passion. I am mentioning my
guest, Jason Zachariah, the renowned offbeat musician. I am quite fortunate to
have him on my couch today. I am all set to listen to his words of dreams, challenges
and success.
“Jason” as the name suggests “a healer” who heals wounds and
spread happiness though his charismatic music. He is a person who tries
everything on his feet and music is his
jaundra. Currently, music is his hobby as well as profession. Jason, is
mysterious in nature as he does not have any fair idea with what he is going to
come up with. He is very spontaneous and unpredictable too. He is a kind of a
person who would like to come up with a proper process to get a job done in an
appropriate manner and hence I can specify him as “Process Driven”. His first
creation “Chronicles of a shape shifter” describes him. He calls him as a
“Shape Shifter” as he does not have a definite personality. My champion likes
to rediscover himself by meeting, talking and listening to different people. “I
like following people and it becomes part of me”, Jason added in enthusiasm.
Jason is a devotee of music. Music was not in his blood
however it was there in his family. Being born and brought up in a musical
environment, he picked up music in his veins. Jason was not forced by any one;
however his life voluntarily participated in the pool of music.
Like every other kid, sports especially cricket drove him
crazy. Till class X, he used to play cricket. With time the focus shifted to
academics, and he got into an engineering college. While studying engineering,
he was largely fascinated by the people who used to play in bands. This is when
Music created a special niche in his heart. Jason was not sure of opting Music
as his career as Music was not his profession, it was his passion! Music was
key to his happiness. He started to play in bands, played different kinds of
music from “Blues” to “Death Metal”. He played with almost 9 bands and found
Music as his soul mate. In spite of knowing the challenges that music industry
had to offer, Jason was ready to face the tough blow. He knew that he had to
build his own brand, manage himself and communicate with people which are the
topmost challenges that were ready to hit him once he is into the industry. He
decided to take a step and then never turned back.
In this new life, his parents supported and he was all set
to move forward. Performer, music engineer and a teacher; combination of these
three strong facets completes Jason. Jason likes to work in the studio in
addition to performing on stage and share his knowledge through teaching. Every
day he learnt something new. Teaching was his second way of learning which he
inherited from his mother. Jason’s mom is a great lady and a teacher too. She
travels worldwide and teaches the Rhythm of Music.
It was two and a half years ago, Jason and his mom
officially set up the studio which was a result of serendipity, it was an
outcome of their challenges they faced while recording a demo. Jason found out
that the recording could have been better than what they had done by using
their mobile phones and basic microphones. The shortcomings became their
strengths as they started getting proper mikes, drums. The studio was a
constant evolution. It is a kind of standard service that it provides to
musicians. Gradually, it is becoming bigger and better in every way. “We don’t
do commercial work”, Jason made a mark feeling proud. This is the unique thing
about the studio. The studio is a place for the local bands and aspiring
musicians. It is a very peaceful and chill out place to provide enough
happiness and satisfaction to a musical heart. Local bands come, jam and they
move out for the rest of the world being big musicians. Studio also experiences
one of the coolest vocals like Raghu Dixit. “Studio is the place where audio
comes in and audio goes out”, Jason added with a smile.
Jason owns a music school too which is famously known as
“Nathaniel School of Music”. This school
provides a 4 months programme “Music Method” which aims to have students from
different age groups. It provides a broad spectrum of music for beginners,intermediates to advance musicians to the stage. The 4-months programme comprises
of teaching 6 instruments namely guitar, drum, trumpet, base, vocal and
piano. Nathaniel is celebrating its 7
years of inception on 3rd October with its 43rd batch. It
organizes 3 shows per batch or concerts.
At Nathaniel School of Music, one will get an opportunity to
perform on shows. However, they do not provide artist management. Various music
directors and producers approach for the appropriate candidates. In this way,
the students get the exposure to perform in front of the real world. Nathaniel
school has tie-ups with musical equipment stores and one can have their
favorite instrument on discounted prices.
Jason and his team which also includes his mother also, are
reaching to the world. He organised a Production workshop in CMC Vellore. His
mom is also a part of this workshop team who does workshops in places like
Thailand. They have networked with schools and orphanages to promote music. The
primary objective of the programme is to create awareness on music. Their aim
is to provide 2 types of instruments- Melodic (trumpet) and Rhythmic (drums)
which is a way to reach out those children who cannot afford an education.
Jason believes that children themselves convince their parents
about their musical passion. On the other hand, the parents also should
understand the happiness quotient that one child gets while getting indulged
into music. They should encourage rather than discourage or suppress the
child’s talent and passion.
Currently, Jason is trying to raise funds, aims in opening
different branches of his schools around the country. Jason and his cause are
growing. Meeting this remarkable
multi-talented personality, has been a tremendous inspiration and learning for
me. I have inspired and charged with hope and passion to move forward in life.
It’s time to wrap up and our conversation took a beautiful
turn towards the sign “Full stop”.
Before leaving I had a golden opportunity to meet one of the students of
Nathaniel school of music. “It’s been 6 months, I like the place as it gives me
immense pleasure to be here. The
atmosphere here is very casual. Classes
are one on one; hence learning is fantastic followed by jamming. I met
like-minded people and feels better whenever I come over to this place”, added
Sanchit Chakravarty.
It’s time for me to leave though; I wish I could linger on
in this timeless world of rhythm and melody. As I walked of the studio, I
recalled what Jason taught me in his own way, “Music is bigger than the
instrument and is bigger than you. Instrument always has challenges and you
have to play challenges” which gives me immense strength and a new way to look
towards music. Unwind wishes Jason all the very best for the future walks of
his life.