http://www.jonahmatranga.com/

Band Members: Jonah Matranga, Tim Chang, Andrew Stess, Larry Marcus

Special Guests: Alison Murdock, Terence Swee

Tech Industry Affiliations: Tim Chang is with Norwest Venture Partners; Andrew Stess is with Music IP; Larry Marcus is with Walden Venture Capital; Terence Swee is with muvee; and Alison Murdock founded Silicon Valley Rocks!

SVR: Tell us about your band. How did you get started? How long have you been playing?

The Open Source Band: Most are in other bands or have played in bands over the years. Jonah Matranga is a singer, songwriter, and producer and has been on tour with his prior band, Far – now called Hot Little Pony. Larry is playing in the Corinne Marcus band, progressive rock band Wayward Monks and alongside jazz singer Megan Keely and honky-tonk singer Tom Brigham. He also used to play with the Flying Other Brothers.Tim was with a band called Blackporch, and also played with the Chris Marsol Band. Andrew plays with Ian Hopkinson in Los Angeles and used to play with the former SF band Buddhakowski. Terence was music director for a band when he was a student and won a band jam competition. He now guests with jazz bands in Singapore, where he recently moved from. Alison just messes with vocals, bass guitar, and keyboard at Ladies Rock Camp and sometimes Blue Bear.

We formed this band just for Silicon Valley Rocks! and will have played together for a couple of sessions before the show.

SVR: Who are your major influences?

The Open Source Band: Among all of us, there are likely many. But for Silicon Valley Rocks!, we were inspired by some of the great bands that rose to fame in the 80s such as The Police, REM, U2, and The Pretenders.

SVR: What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune—at least in the music business?

The Open Source Band: In the immediate future, play a great show at Silicon Valley Rocks! After that, who knows?

SVR: What’s your day job?

The Open Source Band: In our band, we have a mix—two VCs (Larry and Tim), two CEOs (Andrew and Terence) of tech companies, and singer/songwriter (Jonah) who embraces using technology to sell his music directly to his fans. And the SVR event producer, Alison.

SVR: How does your music influence your work or vice versa?

The Open Source Band: For most of us, music is an outlet and escape from the daily concerns of our day jobs. Also, music has the ability to bring people together, those who might only collaborate professionally. The VCs in our group focus on digital media and are lucky enough to be able to tie their personal passions into their day jobs!

Terence particularly uses his music knowledge and engineering background in the company he co-founded. muvee’s software automatically cuts video to the beat of the music, and Terence wrote the code that analyzes the music track chosen, determining its beat location, feel, and emotional index of that music.

SVR: Why is music education important?

The Open Source Band: There are so many ways music can enhance a child’s education. It can actually boost test scores, improve reading and listening ability, and improve fine motor skills. Learning music requires discipline (practicing!). And many kids become more self-confident through playing or singing in groups.

SVR: What was your own experience learning music as a kid? Who flipped that switch in your brain?

The Open Source Band: Alison’s grandmother said she started singing at 6 weeks old. As a 3-year-old she could sing no less than 20 songs by heart—which her mother insisted she do to impress the neighbors. She went to a grade school in Dallas, TX that had a strong emphasis on performing arts—in fact two of the Dixie Chicks were among her contemporaries.

Andrew got Abbey Road as his first album and from then on wanted to play music. He has composed music for radio, film, and television and played bass for 30 years. Andrew holds a bachelor of music in film composing from Berklee College of Music.

Tim, like the offspring of many Asian immigrants, dutifully grew up on classical piano and violin before rebelling in favor of rock guitar in high school (inspired by Marty McFly’s antics in Back to the Future). All the classical training made it much easier to do the self-taught guitar thing.

http://www.myspace.com/BLACKMAHALSF

Band Members: Lal Singh Bhatti, Jon Cook, Satish Pillai, Mandeep Sethi, Vijay Chattha

Special Guest: Tim Chang

Tech Industry Affiliations: Vijay Chattha is Chief Talker of VSC Consulting, a PR boutique focused on mobile and Web 2.0 clients ranging from start-ups to blue-chip players. Tim Chang is a partner at Norwest Venture Partners, where he concentrates on digital media and mobile investments.

SVR: Tell us about your band. How did you get started? How long have you been playing?

blacKMahal: Actually blacKMahal had two manifestations. Vijay met Lal Singh at an Indian wedding and was blown away by Lal’s amazing dhol drumming and Punjabi vocals. Vijay, at that time a DJ, decided to join forces with Lal Singh and create a new modern take on traditional Punjabi folklore.

That’s when blacKMahal was born. Over the years the band has continued to acquire members met during jam sessions, freestyles, and events hosted at Craigslist Foundation’s Darian Heyman’s house. blacKMahal has now been playing together for five years and has performed all around the Bay Area and Toronto. The band is finishing their debut album.

SVR: Who are your major influences?

blacKMahal: Too many to name. Everything from hip hop’s “golden age” (1987-1992) to Gurdass Maan to Lee “Scratch” Perry.

SVR: What’s the ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune—at least in the music business?

blacKMahal: Our ultimate direction is to bring people together through music, find universal truths that unite us all, and bring happiness to people through music. Our spiritual leader and lead singer Lal Singh Bhatti has built his storied music career around these tenets, which has earned him the distinction of playing for every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter and touring around the world.

SVR: What’s your day job?

blacKMahal: Lots of day jobs, from PR to music teacher to HIV research to venture capital.

SVR: How does your music influence your work or vice versa?

blacKMahal: Vijay: For me at least, music is an extension of the creativity we exhibit every day in helping our clients “out-innovate” their competitors. Marketing and music both take a seventh sense of dynamic thinking and creativity, so the music makes me more effective in my day job.

Tim Chang is a VC and digital media connector by day whose job often deals with working with artists such as Will.i.am. It should be noted that Tim has been a musician for three times longer than he’s been in the VC game. Tim and Vijay not only jam together but also work together in their day jobs, as VSC PR handles PR and strategy for some of Tim’s investments. They’ve also both invested in start-ups and connected each other with business contacts over the years. Music was a common thread and thus it all comes together for the Great American Music Hall show.

SVR: Why is music education important?

blacKMahal: First of all, it brings people together from every background, age, and race. Secondly, it’s a creative outlet that exercises a different part of the brain than what most of us use in our day jobs. Lastly, it’s fun to engage with an audience and other band members to create something on the fly.

SVR: What was your own experience learning music as a kid? Who flipped that switch in your brain?

blacKMahal: Vijay: My parents loved Indian Bollywood music, but I never could sit down and learn the piano or violin. When I hit adolescence, I started listening to the Oldies Channel and then hip-hop. I knew every lyric to every song in those days. Then I decided to take my first entrepreneurial leap and become a DJ. I funded my music tastes by DJing at weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and graduation parties. We had an old brown van that stored our equipment and over time we started to record our own stuff. And those were our humble beginnings.