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American heavy metal band called "BANGLADESH" |
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| HuLeEYa |
 Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 3:40 am |
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Enfant
Joined: 05 Aug 2007
Posts: 341
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Bangladesh, by way of enlightenment
What's in a name? This Austin band found out before choosing it
By Nariman Ahmed
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Monday, August 06, 2007
In Austin, there aren't a lot of reminders of my native country of Bangladesh. I never guessed that one of them would be a metal band.
Bangladesh the band is a local group that plays politically charged music and is a finalist in Famecast, the Austin-based online talent competition. They'll find out today if they won in the metal category.
Bangladesh the country is where I was born and where I spent my summer vacations after my family moved away.
The band has no Bangladeshi members, and they've never visited the country. How they chose the name Bangladesh surprised and impressed me.
At first, I suspected that the members picked Bangladesh just because it's a cool-sounding word. And that was the initial pull. Then the name began to take on a greater meaning.
Lead guitarist John Deleon (whose day job is being a counselor at Johnston High School) first suggested the Bangladesh moniker. The idea came from the "Made in Bangladesh" tag on his baseball cap.
"It sounded unique and had a certain mystique to it that went beyond the trends metal bands were falling into at that time," said guitarist Shaun Tenberg, an Army veteran of the Gulf War.
The band started coming together in October 2005, but members were still undecided about a name until lead singer Jay Childress (a gymnastics coach at Flipnastics) joined about a year and a half later.
"I wanted to look this up because if we were going to use this name, I really want to know what it's about and what is going on with this country," he said. "There needed to be a bond, a true understanding before we even played our first show."
As he researched Bangladesh, Childress saw parallels between the country's history and the band members' life experiences.
"When Bangladesh separated from Pakistan, they were trying to separate from what was oppressing them," Childress said. (A quick history lesson: Over political, economic and linguistic differences, Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, became a separate nation from West Pakistan after a bloody civil war in 1971).
"This was kind of what we wanted with the band — we wanted to separate ourselves from everything and try this (music) a different way."
Separation for the band members meant leaving former bands and taking their music to the next level.
"We knew we wanted to separate ourselves from other bands and other forms of this particular art," Childress said. "We wanted a voice that had economical, social and political implications."
That's clear in songs such as "Tainted Democracy."
" 'Tainted Democracy' is about the cycle of corruption in our leaders," Childress said. "It is the most right-there-in-your-face because it speaks of the poverty and the children as well."
Tenberg adds: "We are not bashing any particular government, but the truth is that when individuals get up to positions of power, no matter whether it is a government or business, they are greedy and lose all sense of humanity."
That song is from Bangladesh's album "Running with Bulls," which was inspired by the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain.
The band sees the bulls as any trouble a person faces during the day.
"It can be your job, traffic on an Austin highway or that old girlfriend who won't leave you alone," Tenberg said. "It's coming at you from the sides, head on and from behind you."
Because some members of the group grew up in rough neighborhoods, they're passionate about using their music to raise money for disadvantaged children.
Earlier this year, the band played a tribute show to honor slain guitar legend Darrell Abbott that raised about $1,500 for Communities in Schools of Central Texas.
Bangladesh also aims to empower its audience.
"We are just trying to let them see that there is educational music out there," Childress said. "It's our way of saying we get up every day, we run with the bulls. This is what we have done with it; you can do it, too."
The band members are in their early to mid-30s. Besides Childress, Tenberg and Deleon, Bangladesh includes drummer Mike Amaya, a former field engineer for the Department of Defense, and bassist Jay Puente, a supervisor/technician at Furniture Marketing Group.
Except for Tenberg, the "obligatory tattooed guy in the band," none of them looks the part of metal rockers.
"We have matured as individuals, and we like metal, but it's not a look to us," Tenberg said. "I don't feel we have to walk into a club and look metal because other bands do. I'd rather much get up on the stage and show what a metal band does."
In case you're wondering, while most Bengali music is traditional and mellow, there are metal bands in Bangladesh.
Tenberg heard some Bangladeshi metal on the Internet.
"Holy cow! They have metal music in Bangladesh?" he recalls thinking. "Their music is raw, and it's mostly young guys trying out the art."
After spending time with the band Bangladesh, I realized how much thought went into blending the history and politics of my home country into their music. I felt I was seeing Bangladesh through their eyes. It was enlightening and humbling all at once.
The band's name is appropriate because its members want to relieve the world's suffering and Bangladesh the country has known its share of tragic events. Since its independence, the country has seen constant political turmoil. The 2006 election was postponed indefinitely, and emergency law took effect in January.
To symbolize their aspirations, the members of Bangladesh have a signature move they call "The Bangla-Pyramid": Childress stands atop Deleon's and Tenberg's upper thighs while Puente rises out through the middle. The band members form the pyramid at shows, much to the delight of the audience.
Childress believes that failure is not an option for the band.
"It's like the pyramid is complete," he said. "There is going to be a focal point — the top can be reached but only with team effort. It takes everybody together to make a movement happen, and that's everything that embodies Bangladesh the metal/rock band."
**Link dekhte chan? Log In koren OR Goo Khaan** |
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 3:40 am |
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| Numb_with_Rage |
| Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:27 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 4310
Location: Haha Land
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HuleEYa
thank u so much for this  topic!
jantam nah. onek kisu shiklam 
thx
tc. |
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| Numb_with_Rage |
| Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:38 am |
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Site Admin
Joined: 19 Apr 2006
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Location: Haha Land
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Bangladesh Lead singer J.C. Childress (R) rehearses with (L to R) rhythm guitarist Shaun Tenberg, bassist Jay Puente and Lead guitarist John DeLeon at The Music Lab on E St Elmo Wednesday evening.
Bangladesh Lead singer J.C. Childress (L) rehearses at The Music Lab on E St Elmo Wednesday evening with drummer Mike Amaya (R).
**Link dekhte chan? Log In koren OR Goo Khaan** |
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| -Maya- |
| Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:29 am |
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WallFloweR
Joined: 22 May 2005
Posts: 900
Location: nYc
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OH! majhe moddhe ami kisu korar na thakle Filckr er bangladesh tag wala pics dekhi boshe boshe and usually after weekend there'll be like gazillion pages of pics posted by them. mezaz ta kharap kore dey! koi nijer desher opics dekhbo! naa.. bunchaa while folks performing page after page after page! ugh!!
ekhon chinlam unara ke.
btw **Link dekhte chan? Log In koren OR Goo Khaan** another bangladesh band/production company - they do hip-hop i guess :S |
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| Numb_with_Rage |
| Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 10:33 am |
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Joined: 19 Apr 2006
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Location: Haha Land
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lolzzzzzzzzz aito info koi lukai rakhen apnara!!!!!!
hahaha
thx for the link apiiiiiiiii |
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| xanthis |
| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 12:59 am |
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Bébé
Joined: 16 Sep 2006
Posts: 108
Location: ,,,.-``-.,.-``-.,.-``-.,.-``-.,,,
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| wao... |
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| xanthis |
| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 1:19 am |
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Bébé
Joined: 16 Sep 2006
Posts: 108
Location: ,,,.-``-.,.-``-.,.-``-.,.-``-.,,,
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As Mayapi...
flckr-e egula ami akbar dekhsilam... magar ei rockster bhaijan-ra Bangladesh-er tag keno lagailen... ta she shomoy bujhinai... eta niye pore ar bhabio nai...
akhon bujhlam...
Go ahead Bangladesh...
ar... Mayapi je link-ta dise...
shekhane oi bhodrolok to Bangladesh-er naam diye logo-togo banae felse... tar music video-teo Bangladesh lekha akta logo dekha jachchhe...
shune besh chomokrito holam... |
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| sumonlalmatia |
| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 4:07 pm |
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Bébé
Joined: 22 Dec 2006
Posts: 183
Location: Shahjalal Bank (Office) & Lalmatia C-Block (Res.)
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