Late last year music journalist and author Verus Ferreira released his second book The Great Rock Music Quiz Book with Bollywood composer Lesle Lewis giving his stamp of approval. The book that takes you into the green room of 16 bands, hopes to be the Wikipedia of rock music history. It is now available in the overseas market in the US and Canada on www.amazon.com and soon the UK.
In a short interview, we chat up with the Bandraite to know more about his book.
What was it like giving this kind of quiz book direction?
I can tell you I didn’t want it to be too difficult and neither too easy. If you have followed these bands on a regular basis, it would be an easy trip. There are song lyrics to complete, questions on famous album covers, trivia on when bands performed in India. You might find that you have the answer on the tip of your tongue, but you really can’t remember it, so it all boils down to a bit of enhancing your knowledge about rock bands.
In terms of research, how long did it take you to compile the entire book?
After I had done my first book ‘The Great Music Quiz Book’ in 2013, I worked on promoting it. Many who liked it, asking me when the next book would be released. I hadn’t planned it at all, but when I checked on the unused questions and answers that didn’t make it to the first book, I found that there were about 40 – 50 Q & A in the rock genre. It was then that I thought of bringing out a book on rock music instead. This was sometime in mid-2015. I collated the list of my favourite rock artists and believe me the list was endless. From over 35 – 40 bands, I had to shortlist it to 16 of my all-time favourites. I completed the book in April 2017 and approached Story Mirror, who liked the concept and decided to sign me on and publish my book.
Were the artists you took up to include as chapters essentially ones you have followed or was it the choice of artists more dictated by what was popular?
All the bands featured here are my favourites and were bands I grew up listening to and followed closely. I also attended the concerts of artists like The Scorpions, Roger Waters, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Gilby Clarke, Coldplay. In fact, the cover picture of Slash was shot by me at his concert in Mumbai in 2015.
In the case of some newer artists, did you feel like you had to explore their history on a different level and learned something new about them through the process of compiling the questions?
The only new artist among the granddaddies of rock is Coldplay. While I was working on the book, I got to know that Coldplay was part of a mega event Global Citizen which was held in November 2016. I love Coldplay and knew that they are one of the world’s biggest bands. I decided to feature them, targeting the EDM generation of fans who would pick up the book to know more about Coldplay and in turn also get to know the granddaddies of rock music that they probably missed out and which I am sure they might have been heard down the years.
What do you think is the appeal of the book in the age of online quizzes and instant information?
I am not competing with online quizzes and neither are they, my competitors. They are in a different format. The millennials would prefer participating in a quiz where they meet face to face, unlike an online quiz. It’s like reality shows, they happen in real-time and not online. There is a certain charm when quiz contests were held in schools and on TV back in the nineties, the competitive team spirit, the points grading system and the prizes were a major attraction. It is still widely prevalent and loved even today in many schools and colleges and even in corporate houses to break the ice with staff. It also makes for a perfect gift, at a very reasonable price. Can you gift an online quiz? Imagine just chilling out with friends over a beer, listening to your favourite band, taking the book in your hand and bombarding your friends with questions on the antics of Pink Floyd, the lyrics of Eagles, or the escapades of Mick Jagger. Online quizzes definitely do not give you such a thrill.
Was there any particular artist you had a lot of fun researching when you compiled their particular chapter of questions in the book?
Guns N’ Roses, The Scorpions and The Rolling Stones were the most entertaining for me, with the latter having some really quirky songs and album covers.
Published by: Story Mirror
Pages: 204
Price: Rs 225/-
Available on: Amazon.com/in, Flipkart, Title Waves, Bandra, and book stores across the country.
