The Score Magazine August 2018 issue | Page 24

MUKESH AMARAN Hi Harshit, A little bit about yourself? Hi There, well I am just a nerd who happened to drop out of mechanical engineering and learn the art of sound and music eventually being a Sound Engineer but primarily a producer/ synth and electric bassist. Oh and did I tell you I love sneakers and Pringles Salt n Vinegar? We all realize the stereotypes surrounding bass players; tell us how Bass guitar became your weapon of choice? Well this is a question that would burn people but none the less I am honest as always I actually used to play keyboards until 2010 when I joined my engineering college and wanted to be in a band and the guitar players gave me this instrument which felt like a guitar and sounded heavy and boomy but had a character that connected to my soul instantly and hence I started playing bass and I went all around India to ask other players to learn and always got responses that either they are busy, or I have small fingers ( Yes I got that ) , I don’t have good sound etc. etc. , long story short then I embarked on my own journey of discovering this wonderful melodic and rhythmic instrument which became such an integral part of me that when I shifted from keyboards to bass it all made sense in my head sonically and I could write melodies and bass lines play chords it was purely a WOW moment and indeed that was my journey to have the bass guitar as a weapon and later as I studied playing synth bass has also become an equivalent weapon of choice , supposedly now I see cats getting influenced and trying the synth bass sounds in live sets . I dig it! Talk to us about your complete education in music and how you have become an educator? ARTIST OF THE MONTH HARSHIT MISRA Post dropping from engineering I moved to Chennai for 2 and half years to study live sound and production from School of audio engineering that is when I stated playing with the band 83 miles per hour, one of the most craziest times of my life I had with the boys where we just played and I developed my bass playing with them, until one day a friend of mine connected me with Abe Thomas who told me about Musicians Institute in Los Angeles Hollywood, California and also told me about the Full Ride Scholarship , for which I made a video and got selected by Then Bass Department Chair Stu Hamm and was one of the 6 contender from around the world . They flew me in and I got 70% scholarship, which in turn made me decide to move to MI to study and I also one two, more scholarships while studying at the school. Graduated with a 3.9 GPA and was the first India to get the Outstanding student award of year 22 The Score Magazine highonscore.com