Refused 13

by GITA GURUNG

FROM ISSUE # 173 (May 2010) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Anyone who knows Chaman Gurung, frontman of the band Refused 13, will also know of his great rockstar antics. Infamous in his home tol Nakhipot for the same, and then again for many other things, he is intimidating at the first meeting and even more so in the ones that follow.

"Being in a band gives you a high nothing else can give," says Chaman, while we talk in his room, with copies of Metal Hammer stacked neatly beside him. "I shipped it for 10 dollars each," he says pointing at the magazines.

While most people may be hearing the name Refused 13 for the first time, it has been one of the more consistent bands in the Nepali underground scene. And whenever they've played at their home ground, they have always sold out.

Formed on a whim by a group of friends back in 1999, Refused 13 has had their  share of highs and lows."It's funny how something that started on a whim has now become something that means so much to us," muses Chaman. 

Rat bag, their first ever single recorded back in 2002 was received well by local enthusiasts and even radio stations. "We were actually very surprised to hear the song on Kantipur FM (now Radio Kantipur)," says him.

Aside from the eventful life he's had (he's lived in garage and has toured around the world in a cruise), the music and the band, in his own words gives him the 'perfect distraction' from everything that is around. "But life events and the music I play is hard to separate from each other," he counterpoints his own point, "it always shows, unwittingly as it may be, on the music we play."

"I think we came out pretty good," says Chaman gleefully, "We still had to regroup and start all over again though, but there's definitely going to be one more album", he adds. The frontman of Refused 13 is encouraged by how positively their last album, Corpse Flower was taken, and now anticipates the same for their upcoming one.

LINE-UP
Vocals: Chaman Gurung & Subodh Yakka
Drums: Srawan
Guitar: Bijei Gurung
Bass: Kisan Gurung
Drums/Guitar: George Senduwa
Current Status: Working on a second album