BloodRockz

History

In 2005, Adnan Muhammad Mattoo (founder and rhythm guitarist)have a glimpse of a video by an emerging band of Pakistan those days “JAL”, it inspired him so much that he wondered if kashmiri youth could ever do something of that sort. It gave birth to a desire within him,the desire to learn music and play the guitar. Mean while his friend ‘suhaib mahajan’ came over to his place and watched the same video which drove him crazy. They got very much inspired . Next day, as luck would have it, an advertisement came on the local daily Newspaper about the “Zoom institute of English learning & Music”. Both of felt that it was a good opportunity to pursue their dream. They spoke to their families about it, tried their level best to convince them, but all in vain . they tried to convince them by making an excuse for the English speaking course to which their families agreed happily. So they went to the institute to learn and understand the basics of music but could not continue for more than 15 days because the teaching skills and tact didn’t impress them. Suhaib ‘s father realized his son’s love for music and he got him a guitar of their own, both Adnan and Suhaib would practice and try to learn to play the guitar without any guidance, be it books or anything they quite enjoyed all this. Very close to Adnan’s place lived a guy named “Rahil” who too was a music freak. He once accidentally met Suhaib and Adnan, all three of them had a good long chat about their personal opinions on music, they understood each other well and formed a group. They would jam regularly afterwards, spending hours together. Adnan used to sing, Rahil would play the rhythm and Suhaib the lead. Some days later, they discovered that one of their friends could play the synthesizer very well, he was “Mohsin”. He impressed them and became a part of the group. One day, while they were jamming as usual Rahil sang the opening Alaap of “jals” song “AADAT” which amazed the other members of the group. They felt that Rahil could sing very well and is a much better vocalist than Adnan . so Adnan and Rahil switched positions, now Rahil would Sing and Adnan Would play rhythm. Mohsin wasn’t a teamperson, he wanted to get famous in a day, which is impossible. Though he spent a good long time with them, he could not adjust, felt uncomfortable and left the group. Some time later kamran joined in as the drummer for the group and it was here that the group and it was here that the group became a band, which Adnan named “Boxsters”, but he somehow didn't like this name as it didn't convey any kind of a message, on the contrarily appeared incident, graceless and awkward. So he changed the name to “Blood Rockz” which he felt was catchy and meaningful. They used to play the Hard-Rock genre, so this name reflected their genre as well to some extent. Thus Blood Rockz started...

All of them would practice day in and out for hours together at Adnan’s place which they continued for 2 and half years. Finally the day came when all that they had learnt was to be put into practice, it was the day of their first show. They stunned everybody . But it did not go well for long, destiny had something else in store for them. A rift struck them over some money issues. Adnan and Rahil were thinking for the betterment of the band, they had decided to get instrument and other useful gadgets with the money they made from the shows. But Suhaib and Kamran acted selfish and demanded their share from that money. Moreover, they felt that what they were doing had no future purpose so why be with Adnan and Rahil. So Suhaib and Kamran leave the band; Adnan and Rahil are by themselves. What would appear to be the end of “Blood Rockz” inspired Adnan and Rahil to start another band, this time with more valour and vigour. They did not lose hope and worked harder than ever. The search had started again, many came but none left any impression behind. Struggling hard, all their toil paid off when they met “Younus Ahmed Thakur” of ganderbal, who was learning music under the guidance of “Mr. Irfan & Mr.Bilal” . he was learning the lead under “Mr. Irfan”. Adnan and Rahil Got inspired to a great extent and wanted him to be a part of the band. Younus used to play more and melodies genre of Bollywood, but Rahil and Adnan wanted him to change his style and they had this form belief in him that he can change. Thus Younus got in as the lead guitarist of the band. Since Younus was learning under “Mr.Irfan & Mr.Bilal”, Adnan and Rahil realized that it will be helpful for them if they too join Younus to learn over there.

They met a guy “Asjad Qadri” who would also come to “Mr.Irfan & Mr.Bilal”, but not regularly. Asjad could play the lead so well that Younus thought of getting himself replaced by Asjad. Adnan and Rahil also spotted his talent immediately and approached him. He was a bit hesitant initially but later accepted the deal. Thus he was the new “Lead guitarist” of the band, and Younus settled down as the ”Bassist”. They were preparing for a show which was to be held in the “University Of Kashmir” they spent a lot of time jamming together for the prelude, one day while they were jamming, they watched a video of ’Rahat fateh ali khan & ali azmat” which was a pure classical rock fusion. It inspired all of them very much they desired to play on the “Sufi Rock” genre. Asjad suggested his closed friend “Davar Naqshbandi” for the classical vocals. They contacted him, and everything went right, he got his place as the other vocalist in the band, alongside Rahil Saleem. The band yet another addition, with Zayd Qureshi taking on the positions as a General Manager and online editor of the band. Later Rameez joined in as a Drummer and filled the vacante position. We have another addition in the management section with Moosa Saleem as promoting manager.

Compositions

After the reform of band, the band worked vigorously to create their own compositions. Though the band ran short of finance and instruments, it was able to create few singles. Their first single's(Yeh Kaisi Aazadi ) success encouraged the band to work out further and create a few more singles. The following singles were released by the band after their reformation:

1. Yeh Kaisi Aazadi(lyrics/compose: Sheikh Rahil)
2. Maula Maula(lyrics/compose:younis/Rahil)
3. Armaa(lyrics/compose: Sheikh Rahil)
4. Madhosh Hoon'(lyrics/compose: Sheikh Rahil)

Performances and Progress

After their reform, the band has performed many stage shows. The band won a rock show Battle of bands held in Kashmir that listed them among the best bands of Kashmir. BloodRockz also received a good response from users on Reverbnation. Besides this the performed shows at Jammu, New Delhi, Dehradun and Goa.
BloodRockz was invited by CRPF, Kashmir Division in Badami Bagh to perform a stage show. The band was also interviewed on BIG FM and BBC Radio recently.

Members

After their start in 2005, the band has faced extensive lineup change since. Nearly every member in the band has been replaced except Adnan and Rahil who remain to be the permanent members of the band.

Present Members

Current members in the band include:

Former members

Members who left the band include:

Management