MUMBAI: The Road to Converse Rubber Tracks initiative by NH7 and Converse has almost reached completion and will have its finale at the Richardson & Cruddas Industrial Estate in Byculla on 19 April, while featuring eight Indian rock bands.

The NH7 team previously tried to book Mehboob Studios in Bandra, but was open to other options as well. They seem to have found a large enough venue to host their novel initiative. The 15,ooo square feet industrial warehouse will host a pop-up recording studio, a screen-printing setup, a jam pad, workshops, and F&B stalls, amongst other things.

This is the first ever Rock show hosted by Richardson & Cruddas Industrial Estate, and with it the trendsetter organisation OML, may just have given Mumbai a new venue to host large scale live music events. The take away here, most definitely, is that the event is a free gig.

Performances will begin at 4pm, when the pop-up studio will be converted to a stage. The three headliners for the finale are progressive metal act Pangea, punk trio The Superfuzz and Mumbai bases rock n' roll band Zero!

The bands that made the final cut are Spud in the Box from Mumbai, Ganesh Talkies from Kolkata, Frisky Pints from New Delhi, Space Behind The Yellow Room from Bangalore and the F16s from Chennai. While bands like Ganesh Talkies and F16 have been on the scene for a while, Spud in the Box and Space Behind The Yellow Room have seen only a couple of 'live' years. Frisky Pints, on the other hand, have been mentored by Uday Benegal, fairly recently, for the Rayban MTV Never Hide Sounds.

"The recording studio will be such that people will be able to see the band recording and the gig will also be open to the public. The whole idea is, not only to give those five bands that whole experience, but also to encourage young people who are starting a band and show them the possibilities," said Ravi, Editor NH7.in. "It will almost be like an album recording, and every attendee will get a chance to take home a music CD consisting of all the five bands' top tracks," Ravi exclaimed. The event will have professional photographers, a screen printing outpost so people can screen print their t-shirts and more.

One of the five bands will win a chance to travel to New York and record at the Coverse Rubber Tracks Studio in Brooklyn. Each of these was chosen by Band-hunter Rohit 'P-Man' Pereira after they outshone the other participating bands from their respective cities. The promising finale is slated to start at 11 am on 19 April at the roomy venue that can accommodate about 1500 people.