Motherjane

Motherjane is an Indian rock band from Kochi, India, formed in 1996. The band consists of John Thomas (drums and percussion), Clyde Rozario (bass guitar), Nithin Vijayanath (lead/rhythm guitar) and Vivek Thomas (vocals). They have released a total of two studio albums, and four singles. Since their formation, genres like progressive rock and Carnatic music have influenced their music.

History

Formation and early days

Motherjane was formed in 1996 by drummer John Thomas, guitarist Mithun Raju and bassist Clyde Rozario to "fill in" for another band which had backed out from a college festival at St. Albert's College, Kochi. The initial line up consisted of John Thomas (drums), Clyde Rozario (bass), Mithun (guitars) and Laji and Nirmal (vocals). Vocalist Laji soon left the band and Motherjane had to continue as an instrumental band without a vocalist. In 1999 lead guitarist Mithun Raju left the band and was replaced by Baiju Dharmajan. Around that time, Motherjane used to jam at a restaurant called Ancient Mariner at Marine Drive, Kochi. In 2000, Suraj Mani a HVAC engineer by training, who used to perform with Bangalore based rock bands, shifted to Kochi and chanced to meet the band at the Ancient Mariner. Thomas invited Mani to sing with the band, but he was not satisfied with the band only doing covers and not writing original material. Mani became the band's vocalist and wrote Motherjane's first original song "Disillusioned" soon after. About the same time, Motherjane recruited yet another guitarist, Rex Vijayan. Things took a slight detour after six months, when Mani moved back to Bangalore, but they continued to meet and jam as a band.