Thermal And A Quarter as seen on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine in 2013. Line up L – R: Rajeev Rajagopal (Drums) Bruce Lee Mani (Guitars/Vocals) Leslie Charles (Bass/Vocals)

“Thermal And A Quarter is on the vanguard of the Indian Rock scene” - National Public Radio (All Things Considered), USA

Thermal And A Quarter (TAAQ) is a path-breaking band from , India. TAAQ describes its music as ‘Bangalore Rock’; an eclectic mix of genres with a sensibility that is uniquely global while retaining the essence of this South Indian city that is now on the world map of culture and technology.

Since 1996, TAAQ has played all over India, toured across London, Bonn, Glasgow, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, New York, Dallas, Seattle, Hong Kong, Dubai, Bahrain, Jakarta, Singapore, Maldives and more; released eight studio albums, opened for acts like Guns N’ Roses, Deep Purple, Slash and Jethro Tull; charted at #1 on both Euro Indie Charts and World Indie Charts, and won several awards for individual musicianship as well as overall contribution to Indian Rock.

Live, TAAQ delivers an unforgettable, immersive musical experience. From packed clubs to arena-size venues, TAAQ’s stellar musicianship, hard-hitting lyrics, and fluid improvised style make every gig unique.

Links

LESLIE CHARLES : BASS, BACKING VOCALS RAJEEV RAJAGOPAL : DRUMS BRUCE LEE MANI : GUITARS, VOCALS TONY DAS : GUITARS, BACKING VOCALS

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2010 – 2020______New Single ‘Tilt’ launched for worldwide streaming in Oct 2020; Tilt also gets airplay on radio stations in the US & Europe. 8th Album ‘A World Gone Mad’ launched. The Single ‘Leaders of Men’ gets radio airplay around the world and spends 12 weeks at the top of the World Indie Chards and Euro Indie Charts, achieving the #1 spot simultaneously! As of October 2020, Leaders of Men has spent over 30 weeks on both charts. 4* and 5* reviews of the single from prominent US Indie Music magazines. 3rd single and video from 8th Album – ‘Stone Circle’ released. Spends 4 weeks in the top iTunes charts. 2nd single and video from 8th Album – ‘Leaders of Men’ released. 1st Single and title track from upcoming 8th Album ‘A World Gone Mad’ released 2nd Tour of Ireland, playing 6 cities with support from top local acts Opened for The Dire Straits Experience TAAQ song Willow Man featured on an international Compilation Album in Ireland TAAQ celebrates its 20th anniversary in October 2016 Opened for Slash, legendary guitarist of Guns n’Roses fame, on his tour of India in 7th album No Wall Too High launched internationally at UN Day Celebrations, Bonn, Germany Released 7th Studio Album No Wall Too High (becoming the first Indian band to release two concept albums in the same calendar year). Front man Bruce Lee Mani becomes a Fender® Artist, receiving his first Stratocaster® in October 2015. Released 6th Studio Album The Scene, which goes on to spend 4 weeks on top of the online charts

Supported Wayne Krantz on tour in India. Krantz sits in on a few jams with TAAQ as well! Featured on MTV Sync, The Dewarists, and on MTV Indies Won GIMA Award for ‘Best Rock Album – 3 Wheels 9 Lives’. Featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine Largest-ever international tour by an Indian Rock Band – 50 gigs/60 days/4 countries Won ‘Spirit of the Fringe’ Award at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe, the world’s largest Arts Festival Front man Bruce Lee Mani wins Rolling Stone Magazine ‘Guitarist of the Year’ Award (again) Opened for Guns N’Roses, headlined IIT Mood Indigo Released unprecedented 3-disc, 28-song album, 3 Wheels 9 Lives (#5 in the catalogue) US Tour, playing clubs, theatres and colleges across New York, Dallas and Seattle Featured at the 2012 Mosaic Festival, Singapore Toured Hong Kong (including a co-headline spot with Jackson 5 producer Bobby Taylor) and the Maldives

2005 – 2010______Released 4th album This Is It (recorded at AR Rahman’s studios and mixed by Grammy™ Winner Jeff Peters) Feature Spot at the Java Jazz Festival with special guests Prasanna and Vinny Valentino WorldSpace Radio Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Indian Rock’ Front man Bruce Lee Mani wins Rolling Stone Magazine ‘Guitarist of the Year’ Award Front man Bruce Lee Mani wins Leon Ireland ‘Vocalist of the Year’ Award Opened for Greg Howe, Megadeth and Machine Head during their India Tours Ranked #48 in Blender Magazine’s list of ‘100 Ultimate Rock Bands’ Opened for Jethro Tull Middle-East tour, with club dates across Dubai and Bahrain First UK tour with club and theatre dates across London and Glasgow Released 3rd album Plan B; freely available on the Internet via a modified Creative Commons License TAAQ and Plan B showcased on NPR’s hit show ‘All Things Considered’ across the US and the world

2000 – 2005______Released 2nd album Jupiter Café, one of the first-ever concept albums by an Indian Rock Band Opened for Deep Purple in Bangalore, India Released debut album thermalandaquarter dotcom Headlined various college festivals around the country

1996 – 2000______Recorded 15 original tracks as demos Swept college-level competitions, winning ‘Best Band’ ‘Best Guitarist’ awards

DISCOGRAPHY A WORLD GONE MAD (2020) THIS IS IT (2009) NO WALL TOO HIGH (2015) PLAN B (2005) THE SCENE (2015) JUPITER CAFÉ (2002) 3 WHEELS 9 LIVES (2012) THERMALANDAQUARTER.COM (2000)

PRESS

“Leaders of Men is a vital single from one of the best rock bands working today… this is a band continuing to challenge themselves, participating in a global dialogue through musical art, and while they present listeners with a totally Westernized sound, you can’t help but detect the unique point of view their music provides compared to acts hailing from the Western world” - John McCall, Too Much Love Magazine, USA

“A World Gone Mad…promises to be quite a work. It is my opinion that TAAQ are working at or near the peak of their powers rather than marking time.” - Sebastian Cole, Gashouse Radio, USA

“(TAAQ) write, record, and perform music brimming with life and certain to resonate with anyone who loves muscular and credible rock music. They didn’t earn spots opening for Hall of Fame acts such as Deep Purple and Guns ‘n’ Roses by luck alone. Thermal And A Quarter has earned their spot because of talent and hard work and, based on this single (Leaders of Men), it’s a spot they are unlikely to surrender any time in the near future. - Mark Druery, Indie Shark Magazine, USA

“Songs such as Sunset Man, Without Wings and the excellent Look at Me rest on a genre-defying, impossibly funky, but irrefutably Indian rhythm section which rocked in 5/4 time all night. Let's see the Red Hot Chili Peppers try that…” - ★★★★★ Stuart Morrison, The Herald, UK

“This is rock with a twist at its finest!” - ★★★★ Elspeth Rudd, Three Weeks Edinburgh, UK

“Thermal And A Quarter ventures far from the straight-ahead four-beat patterns of American music… all sorts of tricky syncopations…” - Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, National Public Radio (All Things Considered), USA

“It’s about time the West has something to listen to from India that isn’t born in Bollywood… I could see TAAQ blowing minds at Bonaroo or the Newport Jazz Festival.” - Ed Douglas, President, Brash Music, Atlanta

“The new record is an eminently listenable effort, with sharp, precise instrumentation, great vocal harmonies and nice hooks. If one was to make comparisons, Steely Dan would come up, with slight detours into Phish territory. It’s also beautifully put together…” - Time Out Magazine, , on This Is It

“The most prolific band that India has ever known” - NME

“With influences ranging from jazz to rock to funk, (Bruce Lee) Mani’s playing is instantly recognizable: sinuous wah-wah riffs, funky rhythms and staccato solos.” - Rolling Stone Magazine – on Bruce Lee Mani, featured as one of ‘India’s Best Axemen’

“The material is excellent, and the band can obviously cut it live.” - Art Edelstein, Festival Productions, New York

“At the heart of the (TAAQ) enterprise is the creation of songs that resonate with the mood of contemporary India” - The Times of India, Bangalore